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Books: The Works of John Bunyan Volume 1

J >> John Bunyan >> The Works of John Bunyan Volume 1




But to forbear to illustrate, till anon. One reason why Christ Jesus
shows mercy to sinners, is, that he might obtain their love, that
he may remove their base affections from base objects to himself.
Now, if he loves to be loved a little, he loves to be loved much;
but there is not any that are capable of loving much, save those that
have much forgiven them. Hence it is said of Paul, that he laboured
more than them all; to wit, with a labour of love, because he had
been by sin more vile against Christ than they all (1 Cor 15).
He it was that 'persecuted the church of God, and wasted it' (Gal
1:13). He of them all was the only raving bedlam against the saints.
'And being exceeding mad,' says he, 'against them, I persecuted
them even unto strange cities' (Acts 26:11). This raving bedlam,
that once was so, is he that now says, I laboured more than them
all, more for Christ than them all. But Paul, what moved thee thus
to do? The love of Christ, says he. It was not I, but the grace
of God that was with me. As who should say, O grace! It was such
grace to save me! It was such marvellous grace for God to look down
from heaven upon me, and that secured me from the wrath to come,
that I am captivated with the sense of the riches of it. Hence
I act, hence I labour; for how can I otherwise do, since God not
only separated me from my sins and companions, but separated all
the powers of my soul and body to his service? I am, therefore,
prompted on by this exceeding love to labour as I have done;
yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Oh! I shall never forget
his love, nor the circumstances under which I was, when his love
laid hold upon me. I was going to Damascus with letters from the
high-priest, to make havoc of God's people there, as I had made
havoc of them in other places. These bloody letters were not imposed
upon me. I went to the high-priest and desired them of him, and
yet he saved me! (Acts 9:1,2). I was one of the men, of the chief
men, that had a hand in the blood of his martyr Stephen; yet he
had mercy upon me! When I was at Damascus, I stunk19 so horribly
like a blood-sucker, that I became a terror to all thereabout.
Yea, Ananias, good man, made intercession to my Lord against me;
yet he would have mercy upon me, yea, joined mercy to mercy, until
he had made me a monument of grace. He made a saint of me, and
persuaded me that my transgressions were forgiven me.

When I began to preach, those that heard me were amazed, and said,
'Is not this he that destroyed them that called on this name in
Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring
them bound to the high-priest?' Hell doth know that I was a sinner;
heaven doth know that I was a sinner; the world also knows that I
was a sinner, a sinner of the greatest size; but I obtained mercy
(Acts 9:20,21). Shall not this lay obligation upon me? Is not love
of the greatest force to oblige? Is it not strong as death, cruel
as the grave, and hotter than the coals of juniper? Hath it not
a most vehement flame? Can the waters quench it? can the floods
drown it? I a m under the force of it, and this is my continual
cry, What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits which he
has bestowed upon me?

Aye, Paul! this is something; thou speakest like a man, like a man
affected, and carried away with the love and grace of God. Now,
this sense, and this affection, and this labour, giveth to Christ
the love that he looks for. But he might have converted twenty
little sinners, and yet not found, for grace bestowed, so much love
in them all. I wonder how far a man might go among the converted
sinners of the smaller size, before he could find one that so much
as looked anything this way ward. Where is he that is thus under
pangs of love for the grace bestowed upon him by Jesus Christ?
Excepting only some few, you may walk to the world's end, and find
none. But, as I said, some there are, and so there have been in
every age of the church, great sinners, that have had much forgiven
them; and they love much upon this account. Jesus Christ, therefore,
knows what he doth, when he lays hold on the hearts of sinners of
the biggest size. He knows that such an one will love more than
many that have not sinned half their sins.

I will tell you a story that I have read of Martha and Mary; the
name of the book I have forgot; I mean of the book in which I found
the relation; but the thing was thus:--

Martha, saith my author, was a very holy woman, much like Lazarus,
her brother; but Mary was a loose and wanton creature; Martha did
seldom miss good sermons and lectures, when she could come at them
in Jerusalem; but Mary would frequent the house of sports, and the
company of the vilest of men for lust. And though Martha had often
desired that her sister would go with her to hear her preachers,
yea, had often entreated her with tears to do it, yet could she
never prevail; for still Mary would make her excuse, or reject her
with disdain, for her zeal and preciseness in religion.

After Martha had waited long, tried many ways to bring her sister
to good, and all proved ineffectual, at last she comes upon her
thus: 'Sister,' quoth she, 'I pray thee go with me to the temple
today, to hear one preach a sermon.' 'What kind of preacher is he?'
said she. Martha replied, 'It is one Jesus of Nazareth; he is the
handsomest man that ever you saw with your eyes. Oh! he shines in
beauty, and is a most excellent preacher.'

Now, what does Mary, after a little pause, but goes up into her
chamber, and, with her pins and her clouts,20 decks up herself as
fine as her fingers could make her. This done, away she goes, not
with her sister Martha, but as much unobserved as she could, to
the sermon, or rather to see the preacher.

The hour and preacher being come, and she having observed whereabout
the preacher would stand, goes and sets herself so in the temple,
that she might be sure to have the full view of this excellent
person. So he comes in, and she looks, and the first glimpse of his
person pleased her. Well, Jesus addresseth himself to his sermon,
and she looks earnestly on him.

Now, at that time, saith my author, Jesus preached about the lost
sheep, the lost groat, and the prodigal child. And when he came to
show what care the shepherd took for one lost sheep, and how the
woman swept to find her piece which was lost, and what joy there
was at their finding, she began to be taken by the ears, and forgot
what she came about, musing what the preacher would make of it.
But when he came to the application, and showed, that by the lost
sheep, was meant a great sinner; by the shepherd's care, was meant
God's love for great sinners; and that by the joy of the neighbours,
was showed what joy there was among the angels in heaven over one
great sinner that repenteth; she began to be taken by the heart. And
as he spake these last words, she thought he pitched his innocent
eyes just upon her, and looked as if he spake what was now said to
her: wherefore her heart began to tremble, being shaken with affection
and fear; then her eyes ran down with tears apace; wherefore she was
forced to hide her face with her handkerchief, and so sat sobbing
and crying all the rest of the sermon.

Sermon being done, up she gets, and away she goes, and withal
inquired where this Jesus the preacher dined that day? and one told
her, At the house of Simon the Pharisee. So away goes she, first to
her chamber, and there strips herself of her wanton attire; then
falls upon her knees to ask God forgiveness for all her wicked life.
This done, in a modest dress she goes to Simon's house, where she
finds Jesus sat at dinner. So she gets behind him, and weeps, and
drops her tears upon his feet like rain, and washes them, and wipes
them with the hair of her head. She also kissed his feet with her
lips, and anointed them with ointment. When Simon the Pharisee
perceived what the woman did, and being ignorant of what it was to
be forgiven much (for he never was forgiven more than fifty pence),
he began to think within himself, that he had been mistaken about
Jesus Christ, because he suffered such a sinner as this woman was,
to touch him. Surely, quoth he, this man, if he were a prophet,
would not let this woman come near him, for she is a town-sinner;
so ignorant are all self-righteous men of the way of Christ with
sinners. But, lest Mary should be discouraged with some clownish
carriage of this Pharisee, and so desert her good beginnings, and
her new steps which she now had begun to take towards eternal life,
Jesus began thus with Simon: 'Simon,' saith he, 'I have somewhat
to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was,' said
Jesus, 'a certain creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five
hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to
pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of
them will love him most? Simon answered, and said, I suppose that
he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly
judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou
this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water
for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped
them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this
woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed
my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say unto her, Her sins, which
are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but to whom little is
forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins
are forgiven'(Luke 7:36-48).

Thus you have the story. If I come short in any circumstance, I
beg pardon of those that can correct me. It is three or four and
twenty years since I saw the book; yet I have, as far as my memory
will admit, given you the relation of the matter. However, Luke,
as you see, doth here present you with the substance of the whole.21

Alas! Christ Jesus has but little thanks for the saving of little
sinners. 'To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.' He
gets not water for his feet, by his saving of such sinners. There
are abundance of dry-eyed Christians in the world, and abundance of
dry-eyed duties too; duties that never were wetted with the tears
of contrition and repentance, nor ever sweetened with the great
sinner's box of ointment. And the reason is, such sinners have not
great sins to be saved from; or, if they have, they look upon them
in the diminishing glass of the holy law of God.22 But, I rather
believe, that the professors of our days want a due sense of what
they are; for, verily, for the generality of them, both before
and since conversion, they have been sinners of a lusty size. But
if their eyes be holden, if convictions are not shown, if their
knowledge of their sins is but like to the eye-sight in twilight;
the heart cannot be affected with that grace that has laid hold on
the man; and so Christ Jesus sows much, and has little coming in.
Wherefore his way is ofttimes to step out of the way, to Jericho,
to Samaria, to the country of the Gadarenes, to the coasts of Tyre
and Sidon, and also to Mount Calvary, that he may lay hold of such
kind of sinners as will love him to his liking (Luke 19:1-11; John
4:3-11; Mark 5:1-20; Matt 15:21-29; Luke 23:33-43).

But thus much for the sixth reason, why Christ Jesus would have
mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners, to wit,
because such sinners, when converted, are apt to love him most.
The Jerusalem sinners were they that outstripped, when they were
converted, in some things, all the churches of the Gentiles. They
'were of one heart, and of one soul: neither said any of them that
aught of the things which he possessed was his own.' 'Neither was
there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors
of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things
that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet,' &c.
(Acts 4:32,35). Now, show me such another pattern, if you can. But
why did these do thus? Oh! they were Jerusalem sinners. These were
the men that, but a little before, had killed the Prince of life;
and those to whom he did, that notwithstanding, send the first offer
of grace and mercy. And the sense of this took them up betwixt the
earth and the heaven, and carried them on in such ways and methods
as could never be trodden by any since. They talk of the church of
Rome, and set her, in her primitive state, as a pattern and mother
of churches; when the truth is, they were the Jerusalem sinners,
when converts, that out-did all the churches that ever were.

Seventh, Christ Jesus would have mercy offered, in the first place,
to the biggest sinners, because grace, when it is received by such,
finds matter to kindle upon more freely than it finds in other
sinners.

Great sinners are like the dry wood, or like great candles, which
burn best and shine with biggest light. I lay not this down, as
I did those reasons before, to show, that when great sinners are
converted, they will be encouragement to others, though that is true;
but to show, that Christ has a delight to see grace, the grace we
receive, to shine. We love to see things that bear a good gloss;
yea, we choose to buy such kind of matter to work upon, as will,
if wrought up to what we intend, cast that lustre that we desire.
Candles that burn not bright, we like not; wood that is green will
rather smother, and sputter, and smoke, and crack, and flounce,
than cast a brave light and a pleasant heat; wherefore great folks
care not much, not so much, for such kind of things, as for them
that will better answer their ends.

Hence Christ desires the biggest sinner; in him there is matter to
work by, to wit, a great deal of sin; for as by the tallow of the
candle, the first takes occasion to burn the brighter; so, by the
sin of the soul, grace takes occasion to shine the clearer. Little
candles shine but little, for there wanteth matter for the fire to
work upon; but in the great sinner, here is more matter for grace
to work by. Faith shines, when it worketh towards Christ, through
the sides of many and great transgressions, and so does love, for
that much is forgiven. And what matter can be found in the soul
for humility to work by so well, as by a sight that I have been and
am an abominable sinner? And the same is to be said of patience,
meekness, gentleness, self-denial, or of any other grace. Grace
takes occasion, by the vileness of the man, to shine the more; even
as by the ruggedness of a very strong distemper or disease, the
virtue of the medicine is best made manifest. 'Where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound' (Rom 5:20). A black string makes
the neck look whiter; great sins make grace burn clear. Some say,
when grace and a good nature meet together, they do make shining
Christians; but I say, when grace and a great sinner meet, and when
grace shall subdue that great sinner to itself, and shall operate
after its kind in the soul of that great sinner, then we have
a shining Christian; witness all those of whom mention was made
before.

Abraham was among the idolaters when in the land of Assyria, and
served idols, with his kindred, on the other side of the flood (Josh
24:2; Gen 11:31). But who, when called, was there in the world, in
whom grace shone so bright as in him? The Thessalonians were idolaters
before the Word of God came to them; but when they had received
it, they became examples to all that did believe in Macedonia and
Achaia (1 Thess 1:6-10).

God the Father, and Jesus Christ his Son, are for having things
seen; for having the Word of life held forth. They light not a
candle that it might be put under a bushel, or under a bed, but on
a candlestick, that all that come in may see the light (Matt 5:15;
Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16; 11:33). and, I say, as I said before, in whom
is it, light, like so to shine, as in the souls of great sinners?

When the Jewish Pharisees dallied with the gospel, Christ threatened
to take it from them, and to give it to the barbarous heathens and
idolaters. Why so? For they, saith he, will bring forth the fruits
thereof in their season. 23 'Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom
of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing
forth the fruits thereof' (Matt 21:43).

I have often marvelled at our youth, and said in my heart, What
should be the reason that they should be so generally at this day
debauched as they are? For they are now profane to amazement; and
sometimes I have thought one thing, and sometimes another; that is,
why God should suffer it so to be? At last I have thought of this:
How if the God, whose ways are past finding out, should suffer it
so to be now, that he might make of some of them the more glorious
saints hereafter. I know sin is of the devil, but it cannot work
in the world without permission: and if it happens to be as I have
thought, it will not be the first time that God the Lord hath caught
Satan in his own design. For my part, I believe that the time is
at hand, that we shall see better saints in the world than has been
seen in it this many a day. And this vileness, that at present does
so much swallow up our youth, is one cause of my thinking so; for
out of them, for from among them, when God sets to his hand, as
of old, you shall see what penitent ones, what trembling ones, and
what admirers of grace, will be found to profess the gospel to the
glory of God by Christ.

Alas! we are a company of worn-out Christians; our moon is in the
wane; we are much more black than white, more dark than light; we
shine but a little; grace in the most of us is decayed. But I say,
when they of these debauched ones that are to be saved shall be
brought in--when these that look more like devils than men shall
be converted to Christ (and I believe several of them will), then
will Christ be exalted, grace adored, the Word prized, Zion's path
better trodden, and men in the pursuit of their own salvation, to
the amazement of them that are left behind.

Just before Christ came into the flesh, the world was degenerated
as it is now: the generality of the men in Jerusalem were become
either high and famous for hypocrisy, or filthy, base in their
lives. The devil also was broke loose in hideous manner, and had
taken possession of many: yea, I believe, that there was never
generation before nor since, that could produce so many possessed
with devils, deformed, lame, blind, and infected with monstrous
diseases, as that generation could. But what was the reason thereof,
I mean the reason from God? Why, one--and we may sum up more in
that answer that Christ gave to his disciples concerning him that
was born blind--was, that 'the works of God should be made manifest'
in them, and 'that the Son of God might be glorified thereby' (John
9:2,3; 11:4).

Now, if these devils and diseases, as they possessed men then,
were to make way and work for an approaching to Christ in person,
and for the declaring of his power, why may we not think that now,
even now also, he is ready to come, by his Spirit in the gospel,
to heal many of the debaucheries of our age? I cannot believe that
grace will take them all, for there are but few that are saved;
but yet it will take some, even some of the worst of men, and make
blessed ones of them. But, O how these ringleaders in vice will
then shine in virtue! They will be the very pillars in churches,
they will be as an ensign in the land. 'The Lord their God shall
save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall
be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his
land' (Zech 9:16). But who are these? Even idolatrous Ephraim, and
backsliding Judah (verse 13).

I know there is ground to fear, that the iniquity of this generation
will be pursued with heavy judgments; but that will not hinder
that we have supposed. God took him a glorious church out of bloody
Jerusalem, yea, out of the chief of the sinners there, and left
the rest to be taken and spoiled, and sold, thirty for a penny, in
the nations where they were captives. The gospel working gloriously
in a place, to the seizing upon many of the ringleading sinners
thereof, promiseth no security to the rest, but rather threateneth
them with the heaviest and smartest judgments; as in the instance
now given, we have a full demonstration; but in defending, the Lord
will defend his people; and in saving, he will save his inheritance.

Nor does this speak any great comfort to a decayed and backsliding
sort of Christian; for the next time God rides post with his gospel,
he will leave such Christians behind him. But, I say, Christ is
resolved to set up his light in the world; yea, he is delighted
to see his graces shine; and therefore he commands that his gospel
should, to that end, be offered, in the first place, to the biggest
sinners; for by great sins it shineth most; therefore he saith,
'Begin at Jerusalem.'

Eighth, and lastly, Christ Jesus will have mercy to be offered,
in the first place, to the biggest sinners, for that by that means
the impenitent that are left behind will be, at the judgment, the
more left withoutexcuse.

God's Word has two edges; it can cut back-stroke and fore-stroke.
If it doth thee no good, it will do thee hurt; it is 'the savour
of life unto life' to those that receive it, but of 'death unto
death' to them that refuse it (2 Cor 2:15,16). But this is not all;
the tender of grace to the biggest sinners, in the first place, will
not only leave the rest, or those that refuse it, in a deplorable
condition, but will also stop their mouths, and cut off all pretence
to excuse at that day. 'If I had not come and spoken unto them,'
saith Christ,' saith Christ, 'they had not had sin; but now they have
no cloke for their sin'--for their sin of persevering in impenitence
(John 15:22). But what did he speak to them? Why, even that which
I have told you; to wit, That he has in special a delight in saving
the biggest sinners. He spake this in the way of his doctrine; he
spake this in the way of his practice, even to the pouring out of
his last breath before them (Luke 23:34).

Now, since this is so, what can the condemned at the judgment say
for themselves, why sentence of death should not be passed upon
them? I say, what excuse can they make for themselves, when they
shall be asked why they did not in the day of salvation come to
Christ to be saved? Will they have ground to say to the Lord, Thou
wast only for saving of little sinners; and, therefore, because
they were great ones, they durst not come unto him; or that thou
hadst not compassion for the biggest sinners, therefore I died in
despair? Will these be excuses for them, as the case now standeth
with them? Is there not everywhere in God's Book a flat contradiction
to this, in multitudes of promises, of invitations, of examples,
and the like? Alas! alas! there will then be there millions of
souls to confute this plea; ready, I say, to stand up, and say,
'O! deceived world, heaven swarms with such as were, when they
were in the world, to the full as bad as you!' Now, this will kill
all plea or excuse, why they should not perish in their sins; yea,
the text says they shall see them there. 'There shall be weeping-when
ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets,
in the kingdom of heaven, and you yourselves thrust out. And they
shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north,
and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God'
(Luke 13:28,29). Out of which company, it is easy to pick such as
sometimes were as bad people as any [that] now breathe on the face
of [the] earth. What think you of the first man, by whose sins there
are millions now in hell? And so I may say, What think you of ten
thousand more besides?

But if the Word will not stifle and gag them up--I speak now
for amplification's sake--the view of those who are saved shall.
There comes an incestuous person to the bar, and pleads, That the
bigness of his sins was a bar to his receiving the promise. But will
not his mouth be stopped as to that, when Lot, and the incestuous
Corinthians, shall be set before him (Gen 19:33-37; 1 Cor 5:1,2).

There comes a thief, and says, Lord, my sin of thefts, I thought,
was such as could not be pardoned by thee! But when he shall see
the thief that was saved on the cross stand by, as clothed with
beauteous glory, what further can he be able to object? Yea, the
Lord will produce ten thousand of his saints at his coming, who
shall after this manner 'execute judgment upon all, and so convince
all that are ungodly among them--of all their hard speeches which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him' (Jude 15). And these are
hard speeches against him, to say that he was not able or willing
to save men, because of the greatness of their sins, or to say that
they were discouraged by his Word from repentance, because of the
heinousness of their offences. These things, I say, shall then be
confuted. He comes with ten thousand of his saints to confute them,
and to stop their mouths from making objections against their own
eternal damnation.