EPITAPH

John Newton’s epitaph reads:

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 labored to destroy.

Grace did not free him to serve no master, but a new Master.

Source: Amazing Grace in John Newton: Slave Ship Captain, Hymn Writer, and Abolitionist, William E. Phipps (ministry127.com)

“Live so that when the final summons comes you will leave something more behind you than an epitaph on a tombstone or an obituary in a newspaper.” -  Billy Sunday.

“Every sin is a mistake, as well as a wrong; and the epitaph for the sinner is, ‘Thou fool!’” -  Alexander MacLaren.

Heb 12:1 (TLB): “Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.”