John Bradshaw - Writer of 'Amazing Grace' Overcame His Dark Past
He was one of the architects in the ending of slavery in the British Empire, and he wrote one of the most famous and best-loved hymns ever sung, "Amazing Grace". His life story is fascinating, barely believable. He is, without exaggeration, one of history's greatest figures, a towering giant within Christianity, whose influence and accomplishments changed the world. His name was John Newton.
His early life was very definitely something of a contradiction as the young man, who knew far better, tangled with some very considerable demons. Yet somehow he went on to become the greatest preacher of his time and one of the best-known men in all of Great Britain.
Tom Jones: Newton was born in 1725 in an area of London called Wapping, which today would be regarded as a particularly rough area of London. In those days it was a very mixed area, so you had sea captains living there as well as rough sailors from, from all over the world.
John Bradshaw: The early 1700s was a time of hard living and harsh justice. Convicted pirates and mutineers were brought here to Wapping to be hanged for their misdeeds, their bodies often left on display for days as a warning against lawlessness. The infamous "hanging" Judge Jeffreys used to drink right here in this pub. And it's said that pirates were hanged on gallows right behind the pub on the banks of the River Thames. In fact, just a month before John Newton was born in the year 1725, six pirates were hanged for their crimes. When Newton was born, King George the First was on the throne, and the Church of England was the ruling church. Religion was very formal, and the church was really a political institution.
Tom Jones: He was taken to the chapel in Old Gravel Lane by his rather pious mother, um, but sadly, she died when he was only 6 years old. Uh, he went to school a little bit on the site of what was the the London Olympic Park in in Stafford, um, but was taken off to sea by his father when he was 11, and his father was a, a captain in the Mediterranean trade.
John Bradshaw: Now, his father was austere, very distant, aloof, probably very much a product of his time. After the death of Mrs. Newton, the young boy was sent away to boarding school, where the headmaster was a cruel man. Newton would later write about the man's "imprudent severity". His father remarried, and Newton became a very angry person. It definitely didn't look like his mother's hopes for her son would be fulfilled.
Tom Jones: With his mother dying, his father then married again very quickly afterwards, um, and I think there was a little bit of a, a bust-up within the family in, in that sense, so there was lack of control over him. Father had new children to worry about; he was sidelined a little bit, I think, at that point. So and so there was no one really looking after his, his moral wellbeing, if you like.
John Bradshaw: The die was cast early. The young man had a temper and was prone to destructive, antisocial behavior. Now, there was plenty in his life to make him bitter. At the ripe old age of 10, John Newton left school and went off to work. His father decided it was time for the boy to go to sea. It was inevitable, really, that he would end up at sea as his father was a ship's captain and had high hopes that his son would follow in his steps. The younger Newton made his first voyage when he was just 11, sailing to Spain. But in what would be a pattern for much of the next 15 years or so, once the ship arrived in Spain, Newton walked off the job.
Tom Jones: Well, we've only got Newton's word for how bad he actually was. Um he certainly lost any religion that he had when he was with his mother. So, he became, effectively an atheist. He called himself "an infidel". Uh, so when he finally found religion, he referred to himself as "no longer an infidel".
John Bradshaw: When he was 19, he was press-ganged. In those days, the Royal Navy had the authority to essentially kidnap able-bodied men and force them to serve on board warships. That's what happened to Newton. And five weeks later, England was at war with France. Fortunately for Newton, his father intervened, and he was promoted. But his attitude was so bad and his treatment of other people so harsh he was hated.
Tom Jones: He certainly indulged in, in all sorts of nefarious activities in his younger days. And he was particularly bad as a subordinate. So, he, he was, um, he would wind up his captains and superiors in the, in the ships to such an extent that they were prepared to exchange him in later years uh, with other ships.
John Bradshaw: When his ship anchored ahead of a journey to Asia that would take him away from home for five long years, he got a day's leave and went to see the girl who had captured his heart. That girl was his cousin. At the time, she was only 13. He went back to the ship 10 days later. Desertion was punishable by death. Newton was publicly flogged with a cat-of-nine-tails, and his rank was lowered. He was bitterly angry, thought of killing the captain. He even thought of killing himself. In the fullness of time, he got out of the navy, miraculously, and was employed on a trading ship. He found himself in Africa and got work on a slave ship. The next few years were a combination of sin, miracles, and, to some degree or another, wrestling with conviction. While he was living on an island off the coast of Sierra Leone, the African wife of his slave-trading employer kept him as a slave. He only survived because other slaves shared with him the little food that they had. When he was 20, his employer chained him to the deck of a ship for several days while they were at sea. Somehow he managed to get out of there alive. Evidently, God had not forgotten the prayers of his praying mother. But the worst was still to come for John Newton. Fortunately, so was the best. He'd become the captain of a slave ship, a minister of the gospel, and one of the most influential men in all of Great Britain. He'd write "Amazing Grace" and then play a key role in the abolition of slavery. It's quite the story. I'll have more in just a moment.
John Bradshaw: John Newton would become famous as the man who wrote "Amazing Grace". But his journey from scoundrel to gospel minister and hymn writer, from outcast to pillar of society here in the village of Olney would take a lot of twists and turns. He would come "through many dangers, toils, and snares". This was the home of Newton's good friend and hymn-writing partner William Cowper. Today it's a museum dedicated to the two men. In the famous song he wrote, John Newton described himself as a "wretch": "Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That saved a wretch like me"! You know, I'm sure there are poets and writers who overstate certain things for effect, stretch the truth, fabricate a little just to make a point. Here, John Newton did not. When he described himself as a wretch, he might even have been understating things. He was a drunk, a bad drunk. He got involved in witchcraft. He was promiscuous, even with the girl he loved and hoped to marry at home in England. And working on slave ships, there's no easy way to say this. It wasn't uncommon for the sailors on the ships to commit indignities against the female slaves. And Newton did. But what's fascinating is that God continued to work with John Newton, continued to call to him. Having got away from the terrible situation on the island off Sierra Leone, where he was essentially kept as a slave, he agreed to return to England when he was told there was an inheritance waiting for him. Well, there wasn't. It was a ploy by his father to get him home, although he almost never made it.
Tom Jones: He set sail for the U.K. in 1747, um, on a ship called the, "The Greyhound," and he was reading anything that was available on the ship at the time. And one, one of the books on there was a book, which is apparently the, one of the more popular books of the time, called "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas Aquinas. Uh, so he's obviously starting to, to at least think around the subject. Uh, and then he was in a terrible storm. Someone was washed overseas, and they came close to, to death. And this was the epiphany moment that that set him in the direction that he headed. So, that was his conversion moment. And he relapsed, by his own admission, a couple of times en, en route. And it was only after that time, of course, that he became a, a slave captain. Um, it was in 1750 through to 1754 that he captained three voyages to the West Indies. Uh, and all of the time his religious beliefs were evolving. Uh, in particular, he met a, a chap called Alexander Clunie in 1754 in St. Kitts. Um, and he brought him up to date with the what was known as the evangelical revolution that was occurring at, at that time. And this helped him crystalize his thoughts on the subject.
John Bradshaw: It's easy to wonder about Newton's blind spot, but every single person living in Great Britain at that time had precisely the same blind spot. The first time anyone really spoke out against slavery was 1758 when the Quakers protested against the system. Otherwise, simply wasn't an issue... unless, of course, you were the one who was enslaved. Then, well, then it was a ghastly, hideous system.
Tom Jones: Well he referred to it, in the early days, as being something of a genteel profession, believe it or not. It's, it's amazing for us to consider that today. There were no anti-slavery movements. Um, 1758 in the States, 1783 in Britain were the, the first dawnings of a, of a, an abolitionist movement. There was clearly some discomfort amongst the more sensitive captains at the time, and Newton started to evidence this within his "Authentic Narrative" sometime afterwards in 1764, but he was clearly uncomfortable with, with what he was doing. He was too familiar, he said, with the shackles and keys of the, of the profession. So but how they discussed the finer points of the, um, of the evangelical movement while sitting on the top of uh, a slave vessel is, is difficult for us today to to get a grip of.
John Bradshaw: Newton would make three voyages as a ship's captain. Even with a young woman at home he hoped to marry, even while conviction was fastening itself upon his heart, Newton arrived in Africa essentially as bad as he ever was. He was back to his old sins. He would later write, "The enemy prepared a train of temptation, and I became his easy prey". One thing we need to be honest about is that faith in God can be a messy business. Growth is difficult. It isn't always neat and tidy. In fact, it is rarely neat and tidy, which might be why Newton's story is so important. He went on to become genuinely a colossus in Christianity, but he didn't get there overnight. That's probably comforting to a great many people who are struggling today.
Often a person decides to quit because of the struggles they're having, the weaknesses they see within themselves. They feel like a hypocrite. But why give up on yourself when God doesn't give up on you? "I'm not good enough," somebody might say. Well, no, that's true, but the gospel works when God works in you and His goodness is seen in your life. There's a huge difference. Paul wrote that the mystery of the gospel "is Christ in you, the hope of glory". He also wrote, "It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure".
Newton was figuring out how to allow God to work in him. As he grew in grace, he realized he needed to take steps to curb his passions. So, to do so, he became a vegetarian and drank nothing stronger than water. What really helped his faith was meeting a Christian captain while on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean. Until then, he'd never really been connected with a church or a pastor or any kind of Bible teacher.
Now he learned of justification by faith. He learned of the power of the gospel. Now he began to reflect on the cruelty of the slave trade. And as providence would have it, he experienced a medical event, following which a doctor told him he could no longer sail. Newton was out of the slave trade. With his Christian faith growing, Newton became acquainted with some of the great preachers of his day. He attended services conducted by the great evangelist George Whitefield, an Anglican minister who became one of the founders of the Methodist Church. Newton heard Wesley preach as well and was acquainted with the great man of God. So, what would he do next? He was an out-of-work ship's captain until he got work in Liverpool as the surveyor of tides, essentially a customs officer, a long way from being an ordained minister. As it turned out, God had big plans for John Newton. Back in just a moment.
John Bradshaw: By now Newton was married to Mary, or Polly as she was better known. It was a happy marriage. Newton was a devoted husband. But what was he in terms of Christianity? He essentially believed as a Methodist. Methodists at that time were part of the Church of England, so he was an Anglican. Having said that, he was very sympathetic to the cause of the Dissenters. Dissenters were Protestants who wanted the state out of church matters. In fact, the first sermon Newton ever preached was at a Dissenter meetinghouse in Leeds in Yorkshire, and it was not a success. It lasted all of 10 minutes before his mind went blank and he completely ran out of things to say. He was so discouraged he thought he'd never preach again. Even though he'd taught himself to read biblical languages, the aspiring preacher hadn't attended school for ministers. And there was no way the establishment church, the Church of England, wanted to ordain him. Another thing that counted against him was his enthusiasm. If you wonder what that was, it's exactly what it sounds like. Newton was enthusiastic, and church authorities didn't like that. They thought he was too fervent about his faith in God. The last thing they wanted was a man in the pulpit who was evangelistic and passionate about what he believed. But after six years of waiting and praying, Newton was called into ministry, thanks largely to the intervention of the Earl of Dartmouth, the man after whom Dartmouth College in New Hampshire would be named. Newton had been asked to be an itinerant preacher for the Methodist movement, but he believed his future was with the established church, even if he did see some things a little differently. Ultimately, he was called to serve as the pastor of this church, the Church of England congregation in Olney in Buckinghamshire, about 50 miles northwest of London.
Tom Jones: Olney was a pretty rough place in, in those days, extremely poor, with 1,200 very poor lacemakers. That was the, the core of the business in the town. It was basically supporting agricultural activities around. There would be a tannery and local craftsmen but otherwise you know, a, a bit of a backwater. And they even missed the Industrial Revolution, really. No, no big industries were created here. So, if you wanted to earn more money, you'd go into the big cities to earn it. It was estimated in 1700 that 40 percent of the population were nonconformists, which is very high in the, in the country in those days. So, we have Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, and such like, with, with big congregations as well. And Newton got on very well with, with them. So, it was, it seemed to be quite a good place for him to start his career. So, from the point at which he was sort of born again, his epiphany moment in, in 1748 on a on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic, um, it was another 10 years before he even started preparing for a, a career in the church, although he had studied the Bible and other texts a lot during that period. And even then, it took another seven years for him to find his position, um, within the Anglican Church that he finally did. And he was turned down quite a lot on the way to to, to getting his position here. So, I think he would've been quite glad to have got something, his foot in the door, if you like starting at the bottom, because he was only curate-in-charge here. He wasn't the full vicar because in those days the vicars tended to hang on to their positions and some of the money associated with the role. So his predecessor had had had gone off but retained that position.
John Bradshaw: It was here in Olney that John Newton would serve as the pastor of this church. And it's here that he wrote "Amazing Grace," perhaps the best-loved hymn in the English-speaking world. He wrote the song in the nearby vicarage. The hymn-writer would also become a wildly successful author. The former slave trader would become an integral part in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Evidently a person can change, like Manasseh in the Bible, or Solomon or Samson or David or Saul or James and John, who Jesus called "the Sons of Thunder". John Newton had been a wretch, but grace saved and transformed him. But why him and not King Saul or Achan or Judas? The answer is simple. Newton surrendered. Perhaps the answer is in the song: "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears reliev'd; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believ'd"!
The story of the life of John Newton is a story of redemption. The story of a sinner, powerless against sin, who found hope and forgiveness and poured his life into helping others find the same. A hymn written more than 250 years ago is still helping others to find redemption. A life lived carelessly at first was turned around, and Newton became a colossus. God still turns lives around, and He's willing to turn yours around. If you'll ask Jesus into your heart, the grace that transformed John Newton and gave him hope in this world and for the world to come will do the same for you.
Our Father in heaven, we thank You today for grace. We thank You that You give a future to everyone who wants a future. We thank You You are the God of forgiveness and cleansing. We thank You that You are the God of a new life, just as you gave Newton a new heart and a new life and a ministry. You'd do the same for anyone willing. You'd give that person a new heart, a new life, and a purpose on this earth.
Friend, if you would receive the grace that God offers, would you invite Him into your heart right now?
Heavenly Father, take that heart, take that life, fill that person with Your presence, give that person hope not just in this world but for all eternity, that when Jesus returns, the one who has opened up his heart or her heart to You, right now, will spend eternity in Your presence. We look for that day; keep us until then by Your grace, we pray, in Jesus' name.