Works of John Bunyan Volume II Part 25

19 "Famously," plainly, openly; in this sense obsolete. Tillotson used the words "famous malefactors." Sermon on 1 John 4:9.--Ed.

20 Bunyan here alludes to men convicted of crime; but how many innocent, nay, pious servants of Christ, have been compelled to go up the ladder to the gibbet, and when the rope has been adjusted and the ladder turned, have been ignominiously murdered by the sanction of wicked laws.--Ed.

21 The physician looks with another eye on the medicinal herb than the grazing ox, which swoops it in with the common gra.s.s. Glanville.--Ed.

SOME GOSPEL TRUTHS OPENED, ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES; OR, THE DIVINE AND HUMAN NATURE OF CHRIST JESUS;

HIS COMING INTO THE WORLD; HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, DEATH, RESURRECTION, ASCENSION, INTERCESSION, AND SECOND COMING TO JUDGMENT, PLAINLY DEMONSTRATED AND PROVED.

AND ALSO,

Answers to several Questions, with profitable Directions to stand fast in the Doctrine of Jesus the Son of MARY, against those bl.u.s.tering Storms of the Devil's Temptations, which do at this Day, like so many Scorpions, break loose from the bottomless Pit, to bite and torment those that have not tasted the Vertue of Jesus, by the Revelation of the Spirit of G.o.d.

Published for the good of G.o.d's chosen ones, by that unworthy servant of CHRIST, JOHN BUNYAN, of BEDFORD, By the grace of G.o.d, preacher of the GOSPEL of his dear SON.

'Jesus saith,--I am the way, and the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.'--John 14:6

'Neither is there salvation in any other.'--Acts 4:12

EDITOR'S ADVERTIs.e.m.e.nT.

This was the first work published by the indefatigable servant of Christ, John Bunyan; and he modestly sought the patronage of his brethren in the ministry, and Messrs. Burton, Spencly and Child wrote prefatory recommendations. The latter of these, Mr. John Child, for some temporal advantages afterwards conformed; and became notorious for having, in a fit of despair, destroyed himself.

Well might Bunyan in this treatise, call the early period of his ministry 'distracted and dangerous times,' in which many a poor sincere inquirer stood 'tottering and shaking,' bewildered with the new din of sectaries, each boldly declaring his divine authority.

In the midst of this storm of contending opinions, Bunyan stood forth conspicuously to declare 'Gospel Truths'; and to open and vindicate them these discourses were written. To enable the reader to understand and appreciate them, it will be needful to take a rapid glance at the state of society which then prevailed. The frivolities of dress and laxity of morals introduced by James the First, increased by the mixture of French fashions under the popish wife of Charles the First, had spread their debauching influence throughout the kingdom. George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, in an address 'To such as follow the world's fashions,' gives an almost incredible description of the tomfooleries of dress which prevailed. 'How doth the devil garnish himself, and the people are carried away with vanity--women plaiting their hair--men and women powdering it, making their backs like bags of meal. The men having store of ribbands of divers colours about their waists, and at their knees, and in their hats. The women with their spots on their noses, cheeks, and foreheads--rings on their fingers--cuffs double, like a butcher in his white sleeves--ribbands about their arms, hands, back, waists, knees--and hats like unto fidlers' bags--is not this the devil's adorning?'[1]

At this period the iron hand of tyranny and oppression over the worship of G.o.d had been suddenly paralyzed. The ruinous penalties, and even capital punishments, which had enforced attendance on a form of common prayer, and a pretence to believe articles, creeds, and catechisms, ordained by Acts of Parliament, were removed.

Man, by nature averse to religious inquiries, was now stimulated, under a threat of eternal ruin, personally and individually, to seek for truth and salvation. At this time a little persecuted band of puritans had directed every inquirer after salvation to the sacred Scriptures, which alone were able to make wise unto salvation, by the aid of the Holy Spirit enlightening their minds to understand, and subduing their wills to receive those eternal truths. But a new light was now discovered--that which lighteneth every man that cometh into the world; and which, it was alleged, would alone, if cherished and followed, lead the honest inquirer into all truth. National religion, so called, had been propagated at an incredible expense of treasure, and by the sacrifice of the best blood in the country, to the shrine of infallibility--called uniformity. A hireling priesthood had limited to themselves the right to teach men how to be Christians. The result of all this was clearly seen, when the people were driven to think and choose for themselves. Their minds were in darkness and confusion, which quickly produced the most whimsical, mischievous, and even ludicrous opinions, mixed with truth.

National establishments, whether Pagan, Mohamedan, or Christian--be this latter either Greek, Roman, or Protestant--have a direct and natural tendency to repress and prevent personal inquiries, lest they should interfere with uniformity in faith and worship; which is a presumed incapability of error on the part of those who impose them. Systems, which IN FACT, although not in words, claim infallibility, by requiring implicit and absolute submission, must have had a direct tendency to hoodwink and blind the people; nor can we be surprised, that when their eyes were first opened, they saw indistinctly; or, to use a scripture phrase, 'men as trees walking.' They utterly failed in preparing the mind to receive divine truth, or in furnishing an antidote to extravagant speculations in religion.

The state of the millions can hardly be conceived; they had paid a priest to think on religion for them--to read the Bible for them--and to pray for them. They had paid the church to make them Christians--to confirm them--to forgive their sins--and to bury their bodies in sure and certain hope of heaven. From this fatal sleep of ignorance and error, they were aroused by itinerant preachers; many of whom were men of education, of irreproachable morals, and most benevolent habits. They went forth upon their mission at a fearful sacrifice of comfort, property, health, and even of life; calling all to repentance, and to obey the light within--to follow on to perfection in this life--and, at the same time, denouncing all hireling ministers. They were called in derision, Familists, Ranters, Quakers, New Lights, &c. The old leaven, which had led the people without inquiry to follow the priests, now operated on mult.i.tudes to follow those ardent and self-denying leaders. The Familists, or family of love, were consistent in their lives;--considered every day a sabbath, and baptized none under thirty years of age. The Ranters mingled a little truth with much error--abused their Christian liberty--and lived licentiously, and were a scandal to religion. The Quakers--so called from their trembling agitation when under a powerful sense of eternal realities, and because, in preaching, they admonished their hearers to tremble and quake at the word of G.o.d--considered the sacraments as mere ceremonies, inconsistent with spiritual worship--lived and dressed with the utmost simplicity, and took the lead in attacking error at all risks.

These itinerants went through the whole length and breadth of the land, and in every place of public resort they made proclamation.

In fairs, markets, meetings, a.s.sizes, and steeple-houses, their voice was heard denouncing evil and exhorting to righteousness.

Short weights and deceit were declared an abomination to the Lord, in fairs and markets. Every religious delusion was exposed in meetings and parish churches. The journals of George Fox, and others, are exceedingly interesting in recounting their hazardous adventures, zeal, and no ordinary degree of ready wit and talent.

Some of these itinerants came to Bedford, and in the parish church, called 'the steeple-house,' in Bedford town, on the 23d of May, 1656, they met John Bunyan, probably after he had been ministering there. With him they held a public disputation or controversy, to which allusions are made by both parties,[2] and in Bunyan they met a master spirit who confounded them. The subjects in dispute were of the deepest importance--the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion--the authority of the Bible--the perfection of holiness in this life--and whether it was lawful to perform the work of the ministry for hire.

After a very careful perusal of E. Burrough's answers to Bunyan, it is gratifying to find that the whole truth is set forth in the following pages;--some of the facts are worthy of a careful notice. The Baptists and Independents had long existed in this country, and had published confessions of faith. The Ranters and Familists existed not as sects but in name, and soon disappeared.

The Quakers, who were confounded with the Ranters and Familists, were not at this time formed into a society; nor had they published any book of discipline. The Society of Friends were some years after united, and have been one of the most useful as well as the brightest ornaments to this kingdom. The works of Fox, Penn, Barclay, and others, with their books of discipline, and yearly epistles, shew that they, to a very great extent, agree with Bunyan in his sentiments; and it is well worthy of notice that, in the latter part of his life, when he wrote his admirable treatise on the resurrection of the dead, he does not accuse the Society of Friends with holding any false opinions. Bunyan is clear and scriptural upon the 'Light within,' or that conscience of right and wrong which all possess to their condemnation--as distinguished from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the gift of G.o.d to his people, revealing in them the pardon of sin and hope of glory, by opening their understandings to receive the truths of the Bible.

When Ann Blakeley bid Bunyan 'throw away the Scriptures,' he replied, 'No, for then the devil would be too hard for me.'[3] And when accused of being a hireling priest, how triumphant was the reply--it ought to be printed in letters of gold. He was charged with making merchandize of souls, and he answered--'Friend, dost thou speak this from thy own knowledge, or did any other tell thee so? However, that spirit that led thee out this way is a lying spirit. For though I be poor, and of no repute in the world, as to outward things; yet through grace I have learned by the example of the apostle, to preach the truth; and also to work with my hands, both for my own living, and for those that are with me, when I have opportunity. And I trust that the Lord Jesus, who hath helped me to reject the wages of unrighteousness. .h.i.therto, will also help me still, so that I shall distribute that which G.o.d hath given me FREELY, and not for filthy lucre's sake.'[4] How does this contrast with the description of the state clergy, before the triers were appointed.[5]

Favoured by the kind a.s.sistance of Charles Bowden, the secretary to the Society of Friends, access was afforded me to the extensive library in Devonshire House, and upon collation of Bunyan's quotations with the original editions of Burrough's exceedingly rare tracts, my gratification was great to find that every extract made by John Bunyan was perfectly faithful.

Edward Burrough, called a son of thunder and of consolation, answered both these treatises of Bunyan's,--denying, on the part of the Quakers, many of the charges made against them, as connected with the Ranters. He was a man of great talent--fearless, devoted, and pious. He became extensively useful; and like thousands of most excellent men, was sacrificed at the shrine of that fanatical church over which the profligate and debauched Charles the Second was the supreme head. He died in the prime of life, receiving the crown of martyrdom, when his happy spirit ascended from Newgate in 1662: aged 28 years.

No sect was so severely tormented as the Quakers. A fanatical clergyman, Edward Lane, in a book called 'Look unto Jesus,' 1663, thus pours forth his soul, breathing out cruelty--'I hope and pray the Lord to incline the heart of his majesty our religious King, to suppress the Quakers, that none of them may be suffered to abide in the land.' A prayer as full of cruelty against a most peaceful and valuable part of the community, as it was hypocritical in calling a debauched and profligate man [Charles the Second] 'our religious king.'

Controversy was carried on in those days with extreme virulence; learned and unlettered men alike used violent language, which, in this enlightened and comparatively happy age, is read with wonder.

Burrough called his answer 'The Gospel of Peace contended for in the spirit of meekness and of love.' He meekly commences with--'How long, ye crafty fowlers, will ye prey upon the innocent; how long shall the righteous be a prey to your teeth, ye subtle foxes; your dens are in darkness, and your mischief is hatched upon your beds of secret wh.o.r.edoms.' He says, 'I own the words but I deny thy voice.' Such was the unhallowed spirit of controversy in that age. A harsh epithet was called faithful dealing: thus, a learned clergyman, writing upon Baptism, ent.i.tled his work--'The Anabaptists ducked and plunged over head and ears--washed and shrunk in the washing'; to which an equally learned Baptist replied, in his 'Baby Baptism mere Babyism.' All this unseemly violence has pa.s.sed away, and with it much of the virulence of persecution; soon may it pa.s.s away altogether, only to be pointed at as the evidence of a barbarous age. We now look back to cruelties perpetrated in the times of Bunyan by the national religion, as a stigma upon human nature. 'What a church is this of yours, to be defended by gaols, and prisons, and whips, and stocks, and violent dealing.'

'Let us fairly try our spiritual weapons, and not carnal cruel tortures.' 'Let us not hurt or imprison each other, nor put in the stocks, nor cruelly whip and lacerate each others' bodies; but let us thrash deceit, whip and beat that and all false doctrines': these were the breathings of our pilgrim forefathers,--it is the language of common sense and of real religion. May such sentiments spread, and soon cover the earth!--GEO. OFFOR.

FOOTNOTES:

1. George Fox's Journal, folio, p. 144.

2. See Burrough's Works, p. 304.

3. Page 201.

4. Page 201.

5. Page 178.

THE AUTHOR TO THE READER.

Seeing the Lord hath been pleased to put it into my heart, to write a few things to thee (Reader) touching those things which are most surely believed by all those that are, or shall be saved (Luke 1:1; Acts 13:38). I think it meet also, to stir up thy heart by way of remembrance, touching those things that are the hindrances of thy believing the things that are necessary to the welfare of thine immortal soul. And indeed, this is the only thing necessary; it is better to lose all that ever thou hast, than to have thy soul and body for ever cast into h.e.l.l; And therefore, I beseech thee to consider with me a few things touching the stratagems, or subtle temptations of the devil, whereby he lieth in wait, if by any means he may, to make thee fall short of eternal life (1 Peter 5:8).

And first of all, he doth endeavour by all means to keep thee in love with thy sins and pleasures, knowing that he is sure of thee, if he can but bewitch thee to live and die in them (1 Cor 6:9,10; 2 Thess 2:12). Yea, he knows that he is as sure of thee, as if he had thee in h.e.l.l already (John 3:19). And that he might accomplish his design on thee in this particular, he laboureth by all means possible to keep thy conscience asleep in security and self-conceitedness, keeping thee from all things that might be a means to awaken and rouse up thine heart. As first, he will endeavour to keep thee from hearing of the word, by suggesting unto [thee] this and the other worldly business which must be performed; so that thou wilt not want excuse to keep thee from the ordinances of Christ, in hearing, reading, meditation, &c., or else, he seeks to disturb, and distract thy mind when thou art conversant in these things, that thou canst not attend to them diligently, and so they become unprofitable; or else if thou art a little more stirred, he labours to rock thee asleep again, by casting thee upon, and keeping thee in evil company, as among rioters, drunkards, jesters, and other of his instruments, which he employeth on purpose to keep thee secure, and so ruin thy soul and body for ever and ever.

If not thus, then peradventure he will seek to persuade thee it is but a melancholy fit, and will put thee upon the works of thy calling, or thy pleasures, or phys; or some other trick he will invent, such as best agreeth with thy nature. And thus thy heart is again deaded, and thou art kept in carnal security, that thou mightest perish for ever. But if notwithstanding these, and many cunning slights more which might be named, he cannot so blind, and benumb thy conscience, but that it doth see and feel sin to be a burden, intolerable and exceeding sinful; Then in the second place, his design is to drive thee to despair, by persuading thee that thy sins are too big to be pardoned; he will seek by all means possible to aggravate them by all the circ.u.mstances of time, place, person, manner, nature, and continuance of thy sins, he will object in thy soul, thou hast out-sinned grace, by rejecting so many exhortations, and admonitions, so many reproofs, so many tenders of grace; hadst thou closed in with them it had been well with thee, but now thou hast stood it out so long, that there is no hope for thee: thou mightest have come sooner, if thou didst look to be saved, but now it is too late. And withal, that he might carry on his design upon thee to purpose, he will be sure to present to thy conscience, the most sad sentences of the scripture; yea, and set them home with such cunning arguments, that, if it be possible, he will make thee despair, and make away thyself, as did Judas.

But if he be prevented in this his intended purpose; the next thing he doth beset thee with, is to make thee rest upon thine own righteousness, telling thee, that if thou wilt needs be saved, thou must earn heaven with thy fingers' ends; and it may be, he represents to thy soul such a scripture; 'If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?' And thou having (but in the strength of nature) kept thyself from thy former grosser pollutions, and it may be from some more secret sins, are ready to conclude, now thou dost well; now G.o.d accepts thee; now he will pardon, yea, hath pardoned thee; now thy condition is good, and so goest on till thou meetest with a searching word, and ministry, which tells thee, and discovers plainly unto thee, that thou doest all this while deceive thyself, by a vain hope and confidence; for tho' thou seek after the law of righteousness, thou hast not yet attained to the law of righteousness, nor yet canst, because thou seekest it 'not by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law' (Rom 9:31,32). Here again, thou art left in the mire, and now peradventure thou seest, that thou art not profited by the works of the law, nor thy own righteousness: And this makes thee stir a little, but in process of time, (through the subtle sleights of the devil, and the wickedness of thine own heart;) thou forgettest thy trouble of conscience, and slippest into a notion of the gospel, and the grace thereof, and now thou thinkest thyself c.o.c.k-sure: Now thou art able to say, 'He that lives and dies in his sins, shall be d.a.m.ned for them: He that trusts in his own righteousness, shall not be saved': Now thou canst cry, 'grace, grace, it's freely by grace, it's through the death of the man Christ Jesus, that sinners do attain unto eternal life' (Heb 9:14). This, I say, thou hast in the notion, and hast not the power of the same in thine heart, and so it may be thine head is full of the knowledge of the scriptures, though thine heart be empty of sanctifying grace. And thus thou dost rejoice for a time. Yet because thou hast not the root of the matter within thee, in time of temptation thou fallest away (Luke 8:13).

Now being in this condition, and thinking thyself to be wondrous well, because of that notion of the truth, and that notion thou hast in the things of G.o.d: I say, being in this state, thou art liable to these dangers.

First, Thou art like to perish if thou die with this notion in thine head, except G.o.d out of his rich grace do work a saving work of grace and knowledge in thy heart; for know this, thou mayest understand glorious mysteries, and yet be a cast-away (1 Cor 13:1-3). Or else,

Secondly, Thou art liable to the next d.a.m.nable heresy that the devil sendeth into the world. See and consider Luke 8:13; 2 Timothy 2:18. I say, thou dost lie liable to be carried away with it, and to be captivated by it; so that at last, through the delusions of the devil, thou mayest have thy conscience seared as with an hot iron, so hard, that neither law, nor gospel, can make any entrance thereinto, to the doing of thee the least good. And indeed, who are the men that at this day are so deluded by the quakers, and other pernicious doctrines; but those who thought it enough to be talkers of the gospel, and grace of G.o.d, without seeking and giving all diligence to make it sure unto themselves? 'And for this cause G.o.d' [shall send] hath sent 'them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be d.a.m.ned, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness,' as it is written (2 Thess 2:11,12). And indeed if you mark it, you shall see, that they be such kind of people, who at this day are so carried away with the quakers' delusions; namely, a company of loose ranters, and light notionists, with here and there a legalist, which were shaking in their principles from time to time, sometimes on this religion, sometimes on that.[1] And thus these unstable souls are deluded and beguiled at last (2 Peter 2:14). So that these who before (as one would have thought) had something of G.o.d in them, are now turned such enemies to the glorious truths of the gospel, that there are none so obstinately erroneous as they. And indeed it is just with G.o.d, to give them over to 'believe a lie' (2 Thess 2:11), who before were so idle that they would not receive the truth of G.o.d into their hearts, in the love of it. And to be bewitched by the devil to obey his temptations, and be d.a.m.ned, who would not obey the truth, that they might be saved (Gal 3:1).

But you will say, what lies are those, that the devil beguileth poor souls withal? I shall briefly tell you some of them, but having before said, that they especially are liable to the danger of them, who slip into high notions, and rest there; taking that for true faith which is not. I shall desire thee seriously to consider this one character of a NOTIONIST. Such an one, whether he perceives it or not, is puffed up in his fleshly mind, and advanceth himself above others, thinking but few may compare with him for religion and knowledge in the scriptures, but are ignorant and foolish in comparison of him: (Thus knowledge puffeth up, (1 Cor 8:1)) whereas when men receive truth in the love of the truth, the more the head and heart is filled with the knowledge of the mystery of G.o.dliness, the more it is emptied of its own things, and is more sensible of its own vileness, and so truly humbled in its own eyes.

And further, a notionist, though he fall from his former strictness and seeming holiness, and appear more loose, and vain in his practices, yet speaks as confidently of himself, as to a.s.surance of salvation, the love of G.o.d, and union with G.o.d, as ever. But now to return, and declare some of those lies which the devil persuades some of these men to believe.

I. That salvation was not fully, and completely wrought out for poor sinners by the man Christ Jesus, though he did it gloriously (Acts 13:38,39), by his death upon the cross, without the gates of Jerusalem (Heb 13:12 compared with John 19:19,20).

II. This is another of his lies wherewith he doth deceive poor sinners, bidding them follow the light that they brought into the world with them, telling them, that light will lead them to the kingdom; for (say they) it will convince of sin, as swearing, lying, stealing, covetousness, and the rest of the sins against the law (Rom 3:20). But 'the law is not of faith' (Gal 3:13). And then I am sure, that it, with all its motions and convictions, is never able to justify the soul of any poor sinner. 'For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them' (Gal 3:10), but that no man is justified by the law is evident, 'for, The just shall live by faith' (v 11). Now because I am not altogether ignorant of the delusion of the devil touching this grace of faith also, I shall therefore in short give thee (reader) a brief, yet true description from the scripture. 1. What true justifying faith is, and what it lays hold upon. 2. I shall shew who it doth come from. 3. That every one hath it not. 4. What are the fruits of it.

1. First therefore, true faith is a fruit, work, or gift of the Spirit of G.o.d (Gal 5:22; 2 Thess 1:11; 1 Cor 12:9) whereby a poor soul is enabled through the mighty operation of G.o.d (Col 2:12) in a sense of its sins and wretched estate to lay hold on the righteousness, blood, death, resurrection, ascension, intercession, and coming again of the Son of G.o.d which was crucified without the gates of Jerusalem, for eternal life (John 3:16-18 compared with Matt 3:17; Gal 2:20; Rom 5:8-10; Rom 3:25; Acts 16:31; Heb 13:12) according to that saying in Hebrews 11:1 'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,' and 'the evidence of things not seen,' that is, the things that are hoped for faith sees, lays hold upon, and embraces them (Heb 11:13) as if they were present; yea, it seals up the certainty of them to the soul. Therefore saith the Apostle, it is the evidence, or testimony, or witness, of those things that are not seen as yet with a bodily eye; which are obtained by the blood of the man Christ Jesus (Heb 9:14 compared with Heb 10:12,19,20) by which the soul sees as in a gla.s.s the things that G.o.d hath laid up for them that fear him (1 Cor 13:12; 2 Cor 3:18).

2. If you would know who this faith comes from, read Ephesians 2:8 'For by grace ye are saved [saith the scripture] through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d.' Again, in Philippians 1:29 it is thus written: 'For unto you [that are believers] it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake'; And thus much do the Apostles hold forth to us in their prayer, or request to the Lord Jesus, when they say, 'Lord increase our faith' (Luke 17:5), and he is therefore called 'the author and finisher of our faith'

(Heb 12:2). Also we find in James 1:17 that 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights,' &c., and therefore faith comes from G.o.d, for true justifying faith is a good gift, and perfect in respect of the author G.o.d, in respect of its object, Christ; and in respect of the nature, though not in respect of the degree, and measure of it in us: even as a grain of gold, is as perfect gold, as a pound of gold, though not so much.