I wrote the following transcript which is an excerpt from a sermon by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson on Romans 10:5-13:
One of our ladies gave me a little sheet the other day and I have searched this out and I’ve found this information in more than one place, but let me tell you what it is all about…
The Great Queen Victoria, one day as she left St. Paul’s Cathedral there in London with that great dome, she asked one of her chaplains, “can one be absolutely sure in this life of eternal safety?”
Sadly the chaplain responded that he did not know any way in which one could be certain.
The Court News published this conversation and a man by the name of John Townsend who was a little nobody knows Evangelist saw the comments and he began to pray for Queen Victoria and he thought about writing to her. And he wrote to her as follows:
To her gracious Majesty, our beloved Queen Victoria,
from one of her most humble subjects.
(that is the kind of thing we British people say to our rulers)
With trembling hand but heartfelt love and because I know we can be absolutely sure now of our eternal life in the home that Jesus went to prepare, may I ask your most gracious Majesty to read the following passages of Scripture: John chapter 3, verse 16 and Romans 10, verses 9 and 10?
These passages prove that there is full assurance of salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, for those who believe and accept His finished work.
I sign myself your servant for Jesus’ sake,
John Townsend
John Townsend and his friends prayed for Queen Victoria and some weeks later he received a letter through the mail:
To John Townsend,
Your letter of recent date I received, and in reply would state that I have carefully and prayerfully read the portions of Scripture referred to. I believe in the finished work of Christ for me and trust by God’s grace to meet you in that home of which He said “I go to prepare a place for you.”
Victoria