The Riches of Bunyan: Selected from His Works. John Bunyan
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and will seek by my goodness to be commended to the mercy of God; for surely he that hath something of his own to ingratiate himself into the favor of his prince withal, shall sooner obtain his mercy and favor than one that comes to him stripped of all good."
I answer, "But there are not two ways to heaven: there is but one 'new and living way which Christ hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;' and besides that one, there is no more. Heb. 10: 19–24. Why then dost thou talk of two strings to thy bow?"
Mercy then is to be found alone in Jesus Christ. Again, the righteousness of the law is to be obtained only by faith of Jesus Christ; that is, in the Son of God is the righteousness of the law to be found; for he, by his obedience to his Father, is become the end of the law for righteousness. And for the sake of his legal righteousness—which is also called the righteousness of God, because it was God in the flesh of the Lord Jesus that did accomplish it—are mercy and grace from God extended to whomsoever dependeth by faith upon God, by this righteousness of Jesus, for them.
He that is dark as touching the scope, intents, and nature of the law, is also dark as to the scope, nature, and glory of the gospel.
I must confess it is a wonderful mysterious thing, and he had need have a wiser spirit than his own that can rightly set these two covenants in their right places, that when he speaks of the one he doth not jostle the other out of its place. O, to be so well enlightened as to speak of the one, that is the law, for to magnify the gospel—and also to speak of the gospel so as to establish and yet not to idolize the law, nor any particulars thereof—it is rare; and to be heard and found but in very few men's breasts.
A man may appeal from the law to the throne, from Moses to Christ—from him that spoke on earth to him that speaks from heaven; but from heaven to earth, from Christ to Moses, none can appeal. Acts 3: 22, 23.
Tell me, you that desire to mingle the law and the gospel together, and to make of both one and the same gospel of Christ, did you ever see yourselves undone and lost, unless the righteousness, blood, death, resurrection, and intercession of that man Christ Jesus in his own person, were imputed to you; and until you could by faith own it as done for you, and counted yours by imputation? Yea, or no? Nay, rather, have you not set up your consciences and the law, and counted your obedience to them better and of more value than the obedience of the Son of Mary without you to be imputed to you? And if so, it is because you have not been savingly convinced by the Spirit of Christ of the sin of unbelief.
I would riot be mistaken; I do not say that the Spirit of Christ gives the least liberty to sin; God forbid; but its convictions are of a more saving and refreshing nature than the convictions of the law, and do more constrain the soul to holiness than that: the law saying, Work for life; the Spirit saying, Now to him that worketh not (for life,) but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. As thus: if I should owe to two creditors ten thousand talents, the one should say unto me, "Thou owest me five thousand talents, pay that thou owest;" the other should say, "Thou owest me five thousand talents, and I frankly and freely forgive thee all."
Now, these expressions are contrary one to another; even so is the end of the convictions of the law not according to the end of the convictions of the Spirit of Christ: the one saying, "Pay me that thou owest;" the other saying, "Thou art frankly and freely forgiven all."
Then the Interpreter took Christian by the hand, and led him into a very large parlor that was full of dust, because never swept; the which, after he had reviewed it a little while, the Interpreter called for a man to sweep. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust began so abundantly to fly about, that Christian had almost therewith been choked. Then said the Interpreter to a damsel that stood by, "Bring hither water and sprinkle the room;" the which, when she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure.
Then said Christian, "What means this?"
The Interpreter answered, "This parlor is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the gospel; the dust is his, original sin and inward corruptions that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first is the law; but she that brought water and did sprinkle it, is the gospel. Now whereas thou sawest that so soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about that the room by him could not be cleansed, but that thou wast almost choked therewith: this is to show thee that the law, instead of cleansing the heart by its working, from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase it in the soul, even as it doth discover and forbid it; for it doth not give power to subdue it. Rom. 5: 20; 7:11; 1 Cor. 15:56."
Again, as thou sawest the damsel sprinkle the room with, water, upon which it was cleansed with pleasure this is to show thee that when the gospel comes in the sweet and precious influences thereof to the heart, then, I say, even as thou sawest the damsel lay the dust fry sprinkling the floor with water, so is sin vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean through the faith of it, and consequently fit for the King of glory to inhabit. John 14: 21–23; 15:3; Acts 15:9; Rom. 16: 25, 26; Eph. 5:26.
When Christ dwells in my heart by faith and the moral law dwells in my members, the one to keep up peace with God, the other to keep my conversation in a good decorum, then am I right, and not till then.
But this will not be done without much experience, diligence, and delight in Christ. For there is nothing that Satan more desires, than that the law may abide in the conscience of an awakened Christian, and there take up the place of Christ and faith; for he knows if this may be obtained, the veil is presently drawn over the face of the soul, and the heart darkened as to the knowledge of Christ; and being darkened, the man is driven into despair of mercy, or is put upon it to work for life. There is therefore much diligence required of him that will keep these two in their places assigned them of God; much diligent study of the word, diligent prayer, with diligence to walk with God in the world.
When this law with its thundering threatenings doth attempt to lay hold on thy conscience, shut it out with a promise of grace: cry, The inn is taken up already; the Lord Jesus is here entertained, and here is no room for the law. Indeed, if it will be content with being my informer, and so lovingly leave off to judge me, I will be content; it shall be in iny sight, I will also delight therein: but otherwise, I being now made upright without it, and that too with that righteousness which this law speaks well of and approveth, I may not, will not, cannot, dare not make it my saviour and judge, nor suffer it to set up its government in my conscience; for by so doing I fall from grace, and Christ Jesus doth profit me nothing.
The sum then of what hath been said is this: the Christian hath now nothing to do with the law as it thundereth and burneth on Sinai, or as it bindeth the conscience to wrath and the displeasure of God for sin; for from its thus appearing he is freed by faith in Christ. Yet he is to have regard thereto, and is to count it holy, just, and good; which that he may do, he is always, whenever he seeth or regards it, to remember that he who giveth it to us is MERCIFUL, GRACIOUS, LONG-SUFFERING, and ABUNDANT IN GOODNESS AND TRUTH.
Here thou mayst say, O law, thou mayst roar against sin, but thou canst not reach me; thou mayst curse and condemn, but not MY SOUL; for I have a righteous Jesus, a holy Jesus, a soul-saving Jesus, and he hath delivered me from thy threats, thy curses, thy condemnations; I am out of thy reach and out of thy bounds; I am brought into another covenant, under better promises of life and salvation, free promises to comfort me without my merit, even through the blood of Jesus, the satisfaction given to God for me by him.
The law is that which standeth at the entrance of the paradise of God, as a flaming sword, turning every way to keep out those that are not righteous with the righteousness of God—that have not skill to come to the throne of grace by that new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. For though this law, I say, be taken away by Christ Jesus for all that truly and savingly believe, yet it remains in full force and power in every tittle of it against every soul of man that now shall be found in his tabernacle, that is in himself and out of the Lord Jesus; it lie'th, I say, like a lion rampant at the gates of heaven, and will roar upon every unconverted soul, fiercely accusing every one that new would gladly enter in through the gates into this city. So then, he that can answer all its most perfect and legal commands, and that can live in the midst of devouring