John Newton by Kay Marshall Strom (1984)

Posted on 2026-05-06 by thelittleman

John Newton: The Angry Sailor by Kay Marshall Strom (1984)

It’s been several years since I went through a phase of reading short Christian biographies like this, event-focused books designed mostly for youth. They were more popular in the pre-cellphone era when kids actually read such things, but occasionally, you’ll still find them in church libraries or at thrift stores.

My own small library is still in storage back in the States, so I can’t even assign them as required reading to my kids yet—though I hope to this summer. There’s just something so stirring, so inspiring about a quick, high-and-low-points Christian biography!

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Book Cover John Newton: The Angry Sailor by Kay Marshall Strom (1984)
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I first wrote this review 25 years ago, and it’s part of my little catch-up series of reviews I’d written before launching my site. Back then, I was mostly focused on summarizing the book before ending with one or two spiritual thoughts, though this one has sparked an internal debate in me about God’s grace and election. I’ll save it for the conclusion.

An Early Reviews (2001) of John Newton: The Angry Sailor

Throughout this biography of John Newton—author of the most famous hymn, “Amazing Grace”—we readers are faced with Newton’s violence, pride, and bitterness towards God. Ultimately, however, we learn that our loving God can and will save even the worst of sinners.

His Early Years

John Newton grew up in London, educated at home by his Christian mother, while his father sailed the high seas. Under his mother’s godly influence, John memorized the Scriptures well, and by the age of four, he could recite many Bible passages from memory. The problem, of course, was that he only knew these as words from a book, not Truths from the Word of God. When six-year-old John’s mother passed, his life and attitude towards Christianity charged completely.

His father remarried to a woman who despised John and had him sent away to a boarding school, an evil place (as boarding schools often are) where he received many beatings due to his rebellious behavior. John blamed God for his stepmother’s hatred and for the beatings he received at school, and thus his resentment of and hatred towards God deepened. Following just one year at school, John begged his father to take him on his next voyage. His father consented, and thus John Newton got his first taste of life at sea.

His Life on the High Seas

John enjoyed sailing immensely and accompanied his father on many later voyages. At one port, however, a band of the King’s men kidnapped John and forced him to become cabin boy on a warship. Alone and scared, John once again found himself the object of continual beatings, only now, he had no father to run to for help. John struggled to find any glimmers of joy aboard his new ship, so he decided to respond to pain by inflicting more pain on others.

Very quickly, John Newton became one of the rowdiest sailors at sea—stealing, cheating, lying, and fighting with his shipmates as payback for the ill treatment he’d received since childhood. Passed or sold from one ship to the next, John soon gained a salty reputation—he was a curse to any ship he boarded. Proud of this new, wicked recognition, he found worse and more painful ways to treat his shipmates, all the while proclaiming to anyone who’d listen his hatred of God.

The Angry Sailor and His Godly Friend

But God never gave up on John, saving his life many times over throughout his many voyages. It was John who refused to recognize God’s hand, though some in his life shone the way. Mary Catlett, for example, John’s friend in England, told him often how God was trying to get his attention. John simply refused to listen. Mary warned that God’s grace would only last so long for him—soon He’d lift His hand of protection, and by then it would be too late. The longer John ignored God’s love, the less time he had to respond. Still, John hardened his heart.

Abandonment and Rescue on the African Coast

One slave-ship captain hated John so much that he had him tossed and abandoned upon a tiny island off the coast of Africa. John soon discovered that the island was inhabited by a slave-trader, his wife, and their slaves, and they allowed John live with them manager of the slaves. Perhaps his life was about to turn around without God’s help!

Then came the wife’s accusations against John. True or not, he was immediately stripped of his position and his temporary happiness and was treated like a dog. Even the slaves got in on the fun, starving him and forcing him to do the worst of jobs. This was John’s lowest point in life, yet still he refused to call out to God for help and redemption.

Throughout all these years, John’s father had always been searching for his lost son. He had ordered ships to keep their eyes peeled for John, no matter where in the world they sailed. As John walked along the beach of Africa one day, messengers from an anchored ship discovered and rescued him, taking him home to his father. Once back in England, he once again met with Mary Catlett whose preaching still failed to break his hardened heart.

A Small Softening of the Hardened Heart

When John left London next, he did so as captain of his own slave ship. Unchanged in character, John and his crew were soon considered the most vicious crew the world. Few slaves unlucky enough to board his ship survived.

It took his own brush with death for Newton to recognize his frailty and helplessness in this world. God had brought a storm so great, that even this proud and haughty man was forced turn to the God he hated for help. Fearing imminent death and remembering Mary’s words, John Newton gave up his selfish stance and committed his life to God.

One would hope that this spiritual change would have resulted in immediate change elsewhere, but that was not the case with John Newton. Although he read his Bible and prayed daily, he continued his vicious work as a slave trader for twelve more years, keeping his reputation as the meanest of the mean.

His Call Away from the Seas

Between voyages one year, however, God called him away from sailing—and He did so in a most dramatic way. As John prepared for his upcoming voyage from London, he suddenly fell so ill that he couldn’t shove off with his crew. Weeks later, John learned that that very ship had sunk during a storm, killing all but four men. This undeserved preservation had its desired effect. Finally, John recognized God’s hand in his life, even when he had failed to ask for it. He knew God was calling him to something greater, and he committed his life to do whatever God would ask him.

John immersed himself in the Word, studying and changing so much that he accepted a call to pastor a small church in Onley, England. John preached in this church for nearly fifteen years, sharing stories of his wicked life and praising the miraculous saving grace of Christ. He moved from Onley to London, where he prayerfully accepted another pastoral position, which he continued until his death twenty-eight years later.

A Special Burden for Music

While pastoring at these churches, John discovered a lack of depth and quality in their hymnbooks. He thus decided to write his own hymns for the church people to sing, ending up with so many that they were collected as a new hymnal and passed on to other Bible-believing churches. Among the many hymns that John Newton wrote is the most well-known of all, “Amazing Grace.”

Conclusions from 2001 and 2026

2001

John Newton’s life story illustrates so well the persistent love of God. He knows his children even before they know Him, and He has plans for them for which He has specifically designed them (see Ephesians 2:10). It makes me wonder what amazing things He has planned for me, if only I will accept His call and follow His leading!

Despite all his refusals throughout life, John Newton eventually enjoyed the grace of God—but this was never a guarantee. As Mary had told him, he needed to turn before it was too late. There is no limit to God’s grace, but there is a limit to how long He will extend it to the rebels. If a person continues to rebel and refuse God’s offer of mercy and grace, He may just say, “Time’s up,” and remove them from the picture, so they don’t prevent others from enjoying that grace themselves.

2026

Now 25 years later, as I review John Newton’s life and my own early understanding of God’s grace, I recognize the many doctrines at stake in this discussion. God’s foreknowledge and predestination assure me that nothing surprises Him. According to His timetable (though of course, He’s not bound by time), there is never a “too late” or a “time’s up”—and there isn’t even that “limit to how long He will extend His grace to rebels.”

Instead, we humans are the ones bound by time. We explain the unknowable mind of God with human vocabulary, because that’s all we have — and the Word does the same (i.e. Is 55:8-9). We do not know who the elect are; we cannot tell the future; we do not know the beginning from the end. All we have is now and the evidence of history.

Scripture emphasizes the urgency: “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). This is not a warning that God’s patience is running thin, but a reminder that we don’t know what tomorrow holds. And the longer a person hardens his heart—like Pharaoh in Egypt—the further he drifts from God’s boundless grace. It’s a mystery, but it returns me to the right perspective on election: God doesn’t choose whom to send to Hell; He chooses whom to save from it. The flawed view of this doctrine considers God a tyrant for not saving everyone, yet it overlooks His unfathomable love and mercy in saving anyone through the sacrifice of His own Son.

John Newton experienced amazing grace both in his redemption and in that redemption remaining available through so many years of hardness toward God. There is hope even for the worst sinners—the terrorists, the abusers, the murderers—because our awesome God is the God of boundless, unfathomable, amazing grace.

©2026 E.T.

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