Works of John Bunyan — Complete

by John Bunyan

3. They may attain to speak of the Word as ministers, and become preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, insomuch that the people where they dwell may even take up a proverb concerning them, saying, "Is he among the prophets?" his gifts may be so rare, his tongue may be so fluent, and his matter may be so fit, that he may speak with a tongue like an angel, and speak of the hidden mysteries, yea, of them all; mark that, and yet be nothing, and yet be none of the Lord's anointed ones, with the Spirit of grace savingly, but may live and die under the curse of the law (1 Cor 13:1-4).

4. They may go yet further; they may have the gifts of the Spirit of God, which may enable them to cast out devils, to remove the biggest hills or mountains in the world; nay, thou mayest be so gifted as to prophesy of things to come, the most glorious things, even the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to reign over all His enemies, and yet be but a Balaam, a wicked and a mad prophet (2 Peter 2:16; Num 24:16-25).

5. There may not only stand thus for awhile, for a little season, but they may stand thus till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with His holy angels; ay, and not be discovered of the saints till that very day. "Then all those virgins arose,"—the wise and the foolish; then! when? why, when this voice was heard, "Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him" (Matt 25:1-6). And yet were out of the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet were under the law.

6. Nay, further, they may not only continue in a profession till then, supposing themselves to be under the grace of the Gospel, when indeed they are under the curse of the law, but even when the Bridegroom is come, they may still be so confident of their state to be good, that they will even reason out the case with Christ why they are not let into the kingdom of glory, saying, "Lord, Lord, we have eaten and drunk in Thy presence; and Thou hast taught in our streets." Nay, further, "Have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils?" Nay, not only thus, but, "done many," mark, we have "done many wonderful works." Nay, further, they were so confident, that they commanded, in a commanding way, saying, "Lord, open to us." See here, I beseech you, how far these went; they thought they had had intimate acquaintance with Jesus Christ, they thought He could not choose but save them; they had eat and drunk with Him, sat at the table with Him, received power from Him, executed the same power. In Thy name have we done thus and thus; even wrought many wonderful works (Matt 7:22; Luke 13:25,26). And yet these poor creatures were shut out of the kingdom. O consider this, I beseech you, before it be too late, lest you say, Lord, let us come in, when Christ saith, Thrust him out (Verse 28). Hears you cry, "Lord open to us," when He saith, "Depart, I know you not"; lest though you think of having joy, you have "weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Third. But the third thing touched in the question was this—What may such an one receive of God who is under the curse of the law?

1. They may receive an answer to their prayers from God at some times, for some things as they do stand in need of. I find in Scripture that God did hear these persons that the Apostle saith were cast out (Gen 21:17). "And God heard the voice of the lad," even of cast-out Ishmael; "and the angel of God called to Hagar" which was the bond-woman, and under the law (Gal 4:30). "out of heaven, and said unto her, Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is." Friends, it may be you may think, because you have your prayers answered in some particular things, therefore you may suppose that as to your eternal state your condition is very good. But you must know that God doth hear the cry of a company of Ishmaelites, the sons of the bondwomen, who are under the law as a Covenant of Works. I do not say He hears them as to their eternal state, but He heareth them as to several straits that they go through in this life, ay, and gives them ease and liberty from their trouble. Here this poor wretch was almost perished for a little water, and he cried, and God heard him, yea, He heard him out of Heaven. Read also Psalm 107:23-29. "He gave them their desire, but He sent leanness into their soul" (Psa 106:15). 7

But some may say, Methinks this is yet more strange that God should hear the prayers, the cries of those that are under the law, and answer them. Answ. I told you before, He doth not hear them as to their eternal state, but as to their temporal state; for God as their Creator hath a care for them, and causeth the sun to shine upon them, and the rain to distill upon their substance (Matt 5:45). Nay, He doth give the beasts in the field their appointed food, and doth hear the young ravens when they cry, which are far inferior to man (Psa 147:9). I say, therefore, that God doth hear the cries of His creatures, and doth answer them too, though not as to their eternal state; but may damn them nevertheless when they die for all that.

2. They may receive promises from the mouth of the Lord. There are many that have promises made to them by the Lord in a most eminent way, and yet, as I said before, are such as are cast out and called the children of the bond-woman, which is the law—"And the angel of God called to Hagar out of Heaven," that was the bond-woman, saying, "Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; FOR I WILL MAKE HIM,"—mark, there is the promise,—"for I will make him," of the son of the bond-woman, "a great nation" (Gen 21:17,18).

3. Nay, they may go further; for they may receive another heart than they had before, and yet be under the law. There is no man, I think, but those that do not know what they say, that will think or say that Saul was under the Covenant of Grace; yet after he had talked with Samuel, and had turned his back to go from him, saith the Scripture, "God gave him another heart" (1 Sam 10:9). Another heart, mark that, and yet an out-cast, a rejected person (1 Sam 15:26,29). Friends, I beseech you, let not these things offend you, but let them rather beget in your hearts an inquiring into the truth of your condition, and be willing to be searched to the bottom; and also, that everything which hath not been planted by the Lord's right hand may be rejected, and that there may be a reaching after better things, even the things that will not only make thy soul think thy state is good now, but that thou mayest be able to look sin, death, Hell, the curse of the law, together with the Judge, in the face with comfort, having such a real, sound, effectual work of God's grace in thy soul, that when thou hearest the trumpet sound, seest the graves fly open, and the dead come creeping forth out of their holes; when thou shalt see the judgment set, the books opened, and all the world standing before the judgment-seat; I say, that then thou mayest stand, and have that blessed sentence spoken to thy soul, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt 25:34).

[Objection to this head.] But, you will say, for all this, We cannot believe that we are under the law, for these reasons—As, First. Because we have found a change in our hearts. Second. Because we do deny that the Covenant of Works will save any. Third. Because, for our parts, we judge ourselves far from legal principles; for we are got up into as perfect a Gospel order, as to matter of practice and discipline in church affairs, as any this day in England, as we judge.