John Newton’s eighth letter of 41 on religious subjects addresses assurance of salvation. It rightly presupposes that each person is either saved or lost and that we need to know for sure which we are. He says this comes by applying 1 John 5.7–10. My abridged paraphrase follows with paragraphs corresponding to the original.
“Assured of salvation by an inward witness”
1. I want to write about 1 John 5.10, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.” If we believe in Christ, we shall surely be saved at last. If we do not believe in Him, we are still guilty and headed for ruin, however well things may be going now. Multitudes convince themselves they are saved even though they fail the Scripture test. Also, many true believers, promised salvation by God’s Word, are still fearful for various reasons. How do these realities square with the text above about a believer having “the witness in himself”? Can he have it and not know it? Actually, yes, because he is prone to add marks and tests which are not truly derived from Scripture. All agree that the Word and Spirit bear witness to believers of their salvation. The hard part is knowing the evidences by which we can determine our own case for sure.
2. In heaven, “the Father, the Word, and the Spirit” (1 Jn 5.7) all bear witness to the gospel.1 On earth, the threefold witness is “the Spirit, the water, and the blood” (1 Jn 5.8). In my opinion, “the Spirit” refers to spiritual light from the Holy Spirit that lets us recognize and approve the truth. “The water” is the result of this holy light powerfully influencing the soul and purifying it. “The blood” refers to Jesus’ sacrifice as the ground of peace with God. Whoever believes has this threefold testimony in himself. The more faith he has, the more proof that this witness is true because of its effects in his heart.
3. God has joined these three witnesses together. Serious danger follows from separating them or overemphasizing one of them. Some make much of the spiritual light within. Others greatly stress the importance of a holy heart and conduct. Neither side seems to appreciate enough the value of Christ’s atoning blood as the basis of acceptance with God and the spring of spiritual life and strength. Still others speak much of Christ crucified but they do not see the beauty and harmony of gospel truths or care much for a godly heart and life. What is morality without Christ, or gospel truth without divine illumination? The real Christian receives the united testimony of the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and he knows in his heart that he does so receive this testimony.
4. This internal witness is a tested and reliable conviction that we really have received God’s saving grace. It is like a man who actually sees the sun, not a blind man who only knows it shines by someone else’s report. Whoever has spiritual perception of the gospel is a believer. It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that such a person knows and deeply feels the burden of his sin, the certainty of his helplessness, and the only hope for sinners in Jesus. People like this find real comfort in the gospel message. They count the Savior worth more than everything else put together. Sanctification is another sign of saving grace. Biblical exhortations to holiness hit the bullseye of their hearts and effectively change them inside and out. They long to be delivered from their sins, not just guilt. Their supreme goal is the full enjoyment of communion with God Most Holy. They have acquired a taste from Scripture for that which is truly spiritual. They hate whatever God forbids, love whatever He commands, and prize whatever He promises. If that describes you, you have the witness in yourself. Know for sure that you are saved.
5. If you accept all this about the internal witness, then you realize it is very different from what many think. It is not just feeling sure you are saved. It comes, sometimes, apart from the powerful application of any particular Bible verse, and, sometimes, without strong feelings of comfort, both of which are something else entirely and may be experienced by unbelievers. As I have described it, this internal witness cannot be counterfeited. True, many who have it still struggle with assurance of their salvation, but only because they do not realize this witness is really all they need to be assured. Personal experiences of real Christians are widely varied, but this they all have in common: “He who believes (without exception) has the witness in himself.”
6. Just a few points and I will finish. Gospel grace is no encouragement to live in sin; a believer knows and feels that. Although he is painfully aware of much sin still in him, this is his great burden. He fights against it every day.
7. Also, a true Christian knows that Scripture exactly matches his actual experience of grace. Before conversion, the Bible is a sealed book, spiritually speaking. Yes, we can read it and have some knowledge, but it is not nearly so personal and relevant as it becomes after we know the Lord.
8. Lastly, a real Christian knows he is saved not from his ever-changing feelings but by the unchanging testimony of Scripture. We rest not on a complicated argument but truth that is self-evident to all the saved, whether new converts or mature saints.
9. I could write more but I only intended a letter, not a book. May this inward witness be ours to stir our hopes and to kill the sins still hanging on. Signed, JN.
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This illustrates John Newton’s excellence as a true pastor of souls. With this explanation, the self-deceived have no excuse to continue in that sorry state, and the newest real Christian, even if he knows little else, may safely conclude that he is saved for eternity. Let each of us apply it personally. Ω
Notes:
1. Here JN cites as Scripture the “Johannine Comma,” now widely rejected, but it may very well be genuine. See Edward F. Hills, The King James Version Defended, 8.3.