A Sinner Saved By Grace

A Sinner Saved By Grace

My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.

JOHN NEWTON spent most of his early life at sea. The son of a merchant ship commander, midshipman of the British navy, and master of a slave ship, Newton knew the waters better than the shore at the age of twenty-three.

It was a great storm at sea that the Lord used as a beacon to cut through the darkness that had characterized Newton’s early life. From that point on, John Newton spent his life in the service of God, eventually becoming an Anglican clergyman and the author of many hymns including “Amazing Grace.”

John Newton’s final year was analogous to the setting of the sun. He had gradually lost his hearing and sight and he could no longer recognize some of his closest friends. He declined to the point where he could not walk unaided.

In his closing months Newton clung to the truths he had spent years preaching from the pulpit and conveying through his writings. In his final month, Newton summarized the sufficiency of his failing mental faculties with these words, “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.”

In spite of his decline, Newton was able to describe the approaching end of his earthly life with great insight and anticipation: “I am like a person going on a journey in a stage-coach, who expects its arrival every hour, and is frequently looking out at the window for it.” In another conversation, Newton said, “It is a great thing to die, and when flesh and heart fail, to have God for the strength of our heart, and our portion for ever. I know whom I have believed, and he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that great day. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.”

On the Wednesday before his death, when someone asked him how he was doing, he replied, “I am satisfied with the Lord’s will.”

John Newton’s final sunset came on Monday, December 21, 1807, when he died at the age of eighty-three. He was buried in his church of St. Mary Woolnoth, next to his wife, Mary, and niece, Miss Eliza Cunningham.

Newton wrote his own epitaph, which is engraved on a plain marble tablet in the church:

JOHN NEWTON,

CLERK

ONCE AN INFIDEL AND LIBERTINE,

A SERVANT OF SLAVES IN AFRICA,

WAS,

BY THE RICH MERCY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR,

JESUS CHRIST,

PRESERVED, RESTORED, PARDONED,

AND APPOINTED TO PREACH THE FAITH

HE HAD LONG LABOURED TO DESTROY.

HE MINISTERED

NEAR XVI. YEARS AS A CURATE AND VICAR

OF OLNEY IN BUCKS,

AND XXVIII. AS RECTOR

OF THESE UNITED PARISHES.

ON FEBRY. THE FIRST MDCCL. HE MARRIED

MARY,

DAUGHTER OF THE LATE GEORGE CATLETT,

OF CHATHAM, KENT,

WHOM HE RESIGNED

TO THE LORD WHO GAVE HER,

ON DECR. THE XVTH. MDCCXC.

Reflection

As John Newton’s memory began to fail him in old age, two thoughts remained as the foundation of his faith: that he was a great sinner and that Jesus was a great Savior. What thoughts would you want to characterize the end of your life?

King David spoke of this, describing the happiness of an undeserving sinner who is declared to be righteous: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the Lord.”

Romans 4:6-8