John Newton (cf. Google books):
I am not what I ought to be. …
Not what I might be …
Not what I wish to be. …
I am not what I hope to be. …
[But] I am not what I once was, a child of sin, and slave of the devil. …
I think I can truly say with the apostle, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’
D. A. Carson: “That encapsulates Christian sanctification in pithy statements better than anything I know.”
Update (8/17/2015): Tony Reinke explains Newton’s statement in his book Newton on the Christian Life: To Live Is Christ, Theologians on the Christian Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 267–69:
To explain the riddle of the Christian life in all its shortcomings and its hopes, John Newton penned what has possibly become the most famous sermon outline in church history. He had been asked to preach a little homily in the home of a friend, which he happily obliged. He chose for his text 1 Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” All that remains of Newton’s living-room message is an outline, written down by a nameless note taker in attendance. Over time, the sermon outline morphed and merged into this remarkably concise summary of the Christian life on earth:
I am not what I ought to be. Ah! how imperfect and deficient. Not what I might be, considering my privileges and opportunities. Not what I wish to be. God, who knows my heart, knows I wish to be like him. I am not what I hope to be; ere long to drop this clay tabernacle, to be like him and see him as he is. Not what I once was, a child of sin, and slave of the devil. Though not all these, not what I ought to be, not what I might be, not what I wish or hope to be, and not what I once was, I think I can truly say with the apostle, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10).
[Note 5: My paragraph blends the two published versions of what Newton reportedly said. …]
The parallels and contrasts within Newton’s statement become clearer when decorated with visual cues to highlight corresponding clauses:
I am not what I ought to be.
Ah! how imperfect and deficient.
Not what I might be,
considering my privileges and opportunities.
Not what I wish to be.
God, who knows my heart, knows I wish to be like him.
I am not what I hope to be;
ere long to drop this clay tabernacle, to be like him and see him as he is.
Not what I once was,
a child of sin, and slave of the devil.
Though not all these,
not what I ought to be,
not what I might be,
not what I wish or hope to be, and
not what I once was,
I think I can truly say with the apostle,
“By the grace of God I am what I am.”
Related:
- John Piper wrote the foreword to Reinke’s book.
- Tim Challies interviews Reinke about his book.
