Amazing Grace Within: Newton on the Inner Evidence of Faith

How can we really know if grace has moved into our lives? In this abridged and updated modern English version of a letter, which reads very much like a blog post, John Newton explores how we can know that we are a Christian. The focus of his letter is the way the Spirit works in the inside us to give us certainty that we are truly Christians.  He is explaining the following passage which I quote from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the One who gives new birth loves also the one who has been born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the overcoming that has overcome the world—our faith.

Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that bear witness: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness about His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has this witness in himself. The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has borne witness about His Son. And the witness is this, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have that life.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:1-13, LSB)

Dear Friend,

You have asked my thoughts on the Apostle’s words: “The one who believes in the Son of God has this witness in himself” (1 John 5:10, LSB).  I offer them freely, though they may read more like a sermon than a letter.

If we believe in the Son of God, whatever trials we meet in this life, what matters most, our eternal destiny, is safe, and our happiness is secure. But if we do not believe, whatever else we have, we are still under condemnation and will die eternally.

I fear that thousands of people deceive themselves and assume they are Christians, even although they do not meet the test of the Bible. But there are also many genuine believers who because of their doubts and Satan’s temptations, form negative conclusions against themselves, even when the Bible speaks peace to them.

How should we understand the Bible’s promise which says that every believer “has the witness in himself”? Can someone have this evidence inside themselves and not be aware of it? God’s evidence is certain and unchanging, and yet we often burden ourselves with additional tests and signs of our own creation, rather than relying on what the Bible says about this.  That the Word and the Spirit both bear witness to God’s children is agreed by many, but there is less agreement about the nature of that witness and how it works in practice.  We must rightly understand the evidence by which we are meant to determine whether we are believers or not. 

The Threefold Evidence

Some later manuscripts include the following verse in our passage, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one” (1 John 5:7, MKJV).  On earth there are also three witnesses: “the Spirit, the water, and the blood” (1 John 5:8, LSB).

The Spirit sends a divine light into our minds, opening our spiritual eyes to see and approve of the truth.

The water seems to speak of the powerful influence of this revelation which leads to sanctification, which is our cleansing and transformation.

The blood signifies the applying of Jesus’s death to our consciences, relieving us from guilt and fear, so that we experience  “God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand” (Philippians 4:7, NLT)

The true believer holds these three together,  and they give a united testimony, not merely because of what others say but by speaking to us inwardly.  These things, which God has joined together, we too often attempt to separate.  This is one of the main cases of the dangerous errors often found among people who say they are Christians.  

When Truth Is Divided

Many errors arise when people focus on one and neglect the others. Some people speak a lot about the Spirit, claiming they have an inner light which shows them the things of God.  

Other people greatly stress the water, prizing their moral purity, abstaining from the pleasures of this World, and aim to control their natural desires and personality traits. But often both these groups of people do not seem to put enough value on the blood of Jesus as the only reason that  can be accepted by God.

But another group is all about the blood. They speak a lot about Jesus and his righteousness.  But they do not seem to to have understood the beauty and harmony of the Gospel truths.  They neglect the call to live set apart for God, although “without holiness no one will see the Lord”  (Hebrews 12:14, NIV).

But Jesus came not by water only or by blood only, but by both. The Spirit bears witness to both, because the Spirit is Truth. 

The water alone gives a cold and rigid form of godliness which is devoid of the life giving power which comes from knowing the preciousness of Jesus, the Lamb who was slain.

If anyone talks about the blood without the water, they turn God’s grace into unruliness and presumption.  Similarly if you pretend that you have the Spirit, but at the same time you have a low view of Jesus it is a delusion and vanity.  The true Spirit testifies and presents the glory of Jesus to our souls. 

Real believers receives the united evidence of all three together, and as a result they have a true inner witness in themselves.

What It Means to Have the Evidence Within

To have this witness in ourselves is to have the truths which are declared in the Bible revealed in our hearts.  This brings a conviction felt in our own experience that we can safely depend on, we know that we have received “the grace of God in Truth” (Colossians 1:6, LSB). 

A man born blind man may believe the sun is bright because others tell him that it is, but if his sight is restored, then he knows it himself.  Faith springs from sensing and seeing that the Gospel is true, and anyone who has this spiritual sight is a believer. The evidence is that we have this witness in ourselves. 

The Spirit gives light to our minds so they can see things as they are described in the Bible. We see our sin, and that it is impossible to be saved except in the way the Gospel offers.  Likewise we receive the blood. If we only understood our sin and its ugliness we would be driven to despair. But by the same light of the Spirit, Jesus is taken ahold of as a suitable and all-sufficient Saviour.  Everything that the Bible declares about who he is, his kingly roles, his love, his sufferings, his obedience is all understood and truly valued. It is here that anyone who is feeling wounded and weary finds healing and rest. 

Then, we can also use the same words as the Apostle Paul:

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ, and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ (Philippians 3:8-9, NLT)

A true Christian has also received the water, representing sanctification.  All that the Bible teaches about holiness: its beauty, its necessity, and its life-giving power will come to us with deep conviction.  Holiness is now written on our hearts and this is evidence of our salvation.   To such a person, salvation means more than being forgiven from the guilt of sin, it also means being set free from sin’s power. He sees that the origin of true happiness is nothing less than communion with God, and being conformed into his image. Nothing less than this is valuable enough for us to set our hearts on.

The believer can truly say, “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1, NLT), and “I love God’s law with all my heart.” (Romans 7:22, NLT).

A Christian’s values and choices are formed by a new spiritual taste, which comes from the written word and is consistent with it.  Just like the musical ear is trained to enjoy harmony, so our hearts hate what God has forbidden.  What he has commanded appears necessary, what he has promised appears desirable, and what he has revealed is glorious to us.  If we know these things inwardly we have the witness in ourselves, proof that God has taught us and that we believe in his Son.

What This Evidence Is Not

If you agree that my explanation is consistent with the Bible then you will agree that it is very different from what some people imagine inner evidence to be.

It is not a sudden impulse voice or an unexplained private revelation that “I am a child of God and my sins are freely forgiven.”  Nor is it necessarily tied to a powerful application of  a single verse pressed upon the heart. It is not dependent on emotional highs or special experiences. Such things can sometimes accompany the Spirit’s work but are not the essence of it, and can easily be counterfeited. The inward witness I speak of is genuine and cannot be copied. It is unbreakable, and the work of God’s own hand. It is as much caused by God’s power as the creation of the World.

Why Believers Still Doubt

Many sincere believers do still walk in darkness, and are harassed by many doubts and fear about their own faith. This is not because the evidence is not enough to ease their fears, but because they do not acknowledge that this is the case. They are misled but their own self-will and a legalistic heart. They think this evidence is too simple, and expect something dramatic.  They think they can’t be truly saved unless God leads them in the same way he has lead others. But the Spirit is sovereign and free to work in different ways.  He gives to all who are the recipients of his grace the same understanding of sin, themselves and the Saviour, but does so in different ways. Just like each of us have an amazing variety of different facial features, perhaps  no two people could ever be found who have had exactly the same experiences. But we all have the same witness in ourselves, it is common to every believer, not peculiar to just a few.

The Fruit of the Inner Evidence

This inward testimony leaves no room for living comfortably in sin and the gospel does not encourage this. Sin is a burden under which a true believer groans and longs to be delivered from to live worthy of salvation.  A key evidence of being a Christian is that you hate sin.  Yes sin does still dwell in you, but you loath it and fight against it in a constant state of war.  If this is not true of you, then you do not have the witness inside that you are born of God.

A result of this inner witness is solid evidence that the Bible is indeed God’s word because it so clearly describes the experience of every true believer.  Before conversion, the Bible feels like a closed book. Even if we read it and agree with it, we can’t understand what it really means for us any more than if it was written in a different language.

When the Spirit enlightens our minds, the Bible seems to speak to us by name, explaining every change we have faced and offers us healing for all our hurts and fears.

Finally, it follows from all this that the Christian’s hope is built on a foundation that can never be shaken, even though it will be attacked. It does not depend on moods or frames of heart, but on our deep agreement with God’s written word.  Our faith is not based on cleverly structured arguments and deductions, but to a Christian it is just as clear as light is to the eye.

Even if you are uneducated you can rest on this securely and, 

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy (1 Peter 1:8, NLT)

But even if you are the most educated, if you do not have this light, you might master all the evidence for Christianity, and be able to defeat others in debate, but you will see no real beauty in the truths of the Gospel, and you will not find real comfort there.

I have only sent you a few quick words, I could easily have expanded on them, but I did not set out to write a book but a letter.

May this inner evidence rule with power in our hearts, strengthening our hopes and defeating our sin!.

Yours in Christ,

John Newton

Adapted into modern English by Adrian Warnock from Newton, J., Richard Cecil (1824) The works of the John Newton. London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., pp. 180–187.

Read More

 

Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart

Modern English Explanation of Ancient Truths.  By John Newton and Adrian Warnock

Pre-order here

Classic writings updated and a new biography. 300 years after the author’s birth 253 years after he released the world’s greatest hymn, Amazing Grace This hymn has been recorded more often than any other song of any genre. In the same thirty-six hours which changed the world forever, his close friend William Cowper also wrote God Moves in a Mysterious Way, but then had a crushing mental breakdown from which he never fully recovered.  Such powerful grace of God, but marked by terrible suffering. The echoes still reverberate today. About Adrian Warnock

“Adrian is a first-rate communicator”—Albert Mohler Jr

About John Newton

​​​”I look forward to meeting John Newton” — R. T. Kendall  ​​​”One of my heroes”—Tim Keller   “He says it all perfectly”— Martyn Lloyd-Jones ​​​”The memory of his own gracious change of heart and life gave him tenderness in dealing with sinners, and it gave him hope for their restoration” — C. H. Spurgeon  ​”Why am I interested in this man? Because one of my great desires is to see Christians be as strong and durable as redwood trees, and as tender and fragrant as a field of clover. Oh, how rare are the Christians who speak with a tender heart and have a theological backbone of steel.” — John Piper   ​​​”If William Cowper could speak, he’d thank God for not only John Newton, but any friend who prays for and walks beside those with mental illness.” — Joni Eareckson Tada  

Preview the content here:

→ I once was blind but now I see → Grace Within: The Inner Evidence of Faith → How Grace enters the Human Heart →  Growing in Grace: When Shoots Take Root → A modern parable: The Traitors: Spellbound by Lies

More coming soon: subscribe by email or follow on social media

→ The 36 hours that changed the word

and much more…

Adrian Warnock presents a modern English edition of the 18th century classic writings of John Newton (1725-1807), author of Amazing Grace, the world’s greatest hymn and the most recorded song of any genre.

Think of this book as John Newton’s own explanation of his hymn Amazing Grace. His updated autobiography and devotional writings contained in this book form the perfect commentary on his lyrics, demonstrating what really is so amazing about grace.

Modern self-help is no help at all in an existential crisis. These pages contain the secret to genuine personal growth and spiritual transformation. They are simple and yet profoundly deep.

Amazing Grace appears 300 years after John Newton was born, and 253 years after he released his most famous hymn. The result is a seamless blend of Newton’s timeless wisdom with the clarity of thought and plain English that have marked Adrian Warnock’s Patheos blog for more than twenty years, and shapes his other books Raised with Christ, Hope Reborn, and The Traitor Within. Some chapters in this book are modern commentary written by Adrian.

John Newton, the former slave trader turned pastor, wrote letters that still speak to the deepest struggles of our spiritual journeys. In these pastoral devotions, Newton traces how divine grace takes root, grows, and matures in the human heart through three phases: conviction, conflict, and mature contemplation of God’s glory.

The letters in this book are chosen from the thousands preserved from Newton’s vast correspondence, a treasury mined for pastoral wisdom for more than two centuries. A skillful soul physician, Newton describes how grace changes every aspect of a Christian’s life over a lifetime of faith.

Amazing Grace also contains an updated autobiography of this great pastor, with a living interpretation of how significant his extraordinary life still is today. This material and his thoughts on entering Christian Ministry are not included in standard editions of his Works.

Newton becomes for us a vivid example of how God’s grace changes people gradually over time.We meet the rebellious and violent youth, the slave trader who oppressed thousands of innocents, was made a slave himself, and who was found by God’s grace during a storm that nearly sank his ship. This unruly man was pursued, rescued, and transformed by grace.

We learn how over time Newton became a pastor known for his compassion and kindness, most notably demonstrated by his deeply committed care towards the poet William Cowper during his mental illness. Read about how Newton was also a pastor of a whole nation, working for the abolition of the slave trade, and mentoring William Wilberforce for decades.

Newton bridged the gap between the warring denominational movements of his time, a friend of both George Whitefield and John Wesley. He turned his fervor not into the pamphlet flame wars or revival preaching, but into the tenderhearted soul care of the distressed and depressed as they struggled to find greater spiritual freedom and transformation. These pages invite readers not only to understand Newton’s insights, but to experience the living reality of grace in their own lives.

If this book makes you want to read more John Newton, and you do not mind the old English, buy the Logos Bible Software Edition of his Works or a paper version.

The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts

By Adrian Warnock with a chapter by John Newton

Pre-order here

​“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NLT).

And yet our culture tells us to “follow your heart”.  No wonder it too is now desperately sick and beyond cure. This book will explore the cultural phenomenon The Traitors as a modern parable as it unmasks the human heart. Adrian blends his medical insights gained from his work as a doctor and psychiatrist with pastoral wisdom gathered from twenty-five years serving as part of a church leadership team. He witnessed a period of church growth from less than twenty members to thousands. In recent years Adrian has also experienced chronic illness following his diagnosis with blood cancer, and this book reflects his passion to help others face all kinds of suffering with hope and compassion.

Preview the content here:

→  TV’s The Traitors: Spellbound by Lies → How Suffering Revealed What Was in My Heart →  When Your Body Lies to You: False Messages and Appetites → Help when Life Hurts: dealing with specific challenges

More coming in 2026: subscribe or follow on social media

→  Healing Your Body: Practical Tools →  Follow Your Heart? Not When Your Mind Is Lying to You →  Healing Your Mind: Taking Every Thought Captive →  How Lies Create Our Desperately Sick Society →  Healing Our Broken Society: Work, Friends, and Family →  Our Deceitful Spirits: Without Hope and without God →  Healing Your Spirit – Meaning and Religion →  Forgiven in a Moment. Renewed Over a Lifetime. Glorified for Eternity.

John Newton’s Amazing Grace: I once was blind but now I see

Tozer: Sinful People May Now Become One With God

Real Love has Christian Roots and Without them it is Doomed

How Suffering Revealed What was in my Heart

Transformed by the Resurrection: Sanctification