Works of John Bunyan — Complete

by John Bunyan

But farther thou sayest, that thou fearest I worship the name Mary, because I mention her name so much.

[I reply] If thou hadst said, I worship her Son, thou hadst said truly (I hope) But is not thy spite more against her son, than her? I doubt it is; for neither thou, nor they companions can endure that one should say, he is still the same that was born Mary, flesh and bones, a very man, now absent from his people, though in them in his Spirit.

Again, thou sayest I said, "That as he is God, Christ lighteneth every man that comes into the world; "which thing again I say. What then? Then say you, I will mind you of one scripture which you yourself have quoted, which saith "The law is light" (Prov 6:23). Therefore sayest thou, "The light is the law." Give me leave here to take thy words in twain:

First, if when thou sayest, then the law is light, thou mean, the light of the law is the light of the law, and no more, thou sayest right. But if thou mean the light of the law, is the light of the gospel, or the Spirit of Christ, I must needs reprove thee. For I tell thee again, the law is not of faith, the law makes nothing perfect (Heb 7:19). The law is but a weak and unprofitable thing, as to justification (Heb 7:18), though as I said before, it is good if it be used lawfully; which is, not to seek or look for justification thereby, nor yet to say, it is the sprit of Christ.

Then farther thou art offended, because I said, when the spirit of Christ convinceth, it convinceth of more sins than the sins against the law. Friend, will the law shew a man that his righteousness is sin and dung? No, for though the law will shew a man that his failing in the acts of righteousness is sin; yet I question, whether the law will shew, that a man's own righteousness is sin. For there is in scripture [that which] saith it doth, or can.

Secondly, shew me, if thou canst, that the sin of unbelief is spoken against in all the ten commandments, or that called the moral law. But now the Spirit of Christ convinceth of unbelief, that is, it sheweth, that if men do not believe, that they have redemption by the obedience of that man who was laid in the manger, hanged on the cross, &c. I say, it sheweth, that those who do not lay hold on what he hath done and suffered without them in his own body on the tree (through the operation of his Spirit, which he hath promised to give to them that ask him) or else they have not yet been convinced of the sin of unbelief, and so are still in a perishing condition; notwithstanding their strict obedience, to the light within them, or to the law. And now 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 the man Christ Jesus (in his own person) was imputed to you? and until you could by faith own it as done for you, and counted yours by reputation, yea, or no? Nay rather, have you not set up your consciences, and the law, and counted your obedience to them better, and more value, that 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.

Other things thou dost quarrel against, but seeing they are in effect the same with the former, I pass them by; and shall come to the next thing thou dost think to catch me withal, and that is; because I say, that "God only is the Saviour, there is none besides him." Therefore sayest thou, how contrary is this to that in p. 24, where I say, How wickedly are they deluded, who own Christ no otherwise that as he was before the world began. Now this in no contradiction as thou wouldest have it; for though I say there is none but God our Saviour, yet I did also then in my book shew how he was our Saviour, namely, "in that he came into the world, being born of a virgin, made under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, by his obedience in that nature, by suffering in that nature, by his rising again in that nature, and by carrying that nature into heaven with him," as the scriptures at large declare; and therefore, though I say God is our Saviour, and none besides him; yet they that own him to be the Saviour no otherwise than as he was before the world began, are such as deny that he is come in the flesh, and so are of antichrist (1John 2) For before God could actually be a Saviour, he must partake of another nature than the divine, even the nature of man (Heb 2:14,15).

Again, thou sayest, it is a sander put upon the Quakers, to say, they slight the resurrection: Ans. What say you, do you believe the resurrection of the body after it is laid in the grave? Do you believe that the saints that have been this four or five thousand years in their graves shall rise, and also the wicked, each one with that very body wherein they acted in this world; some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt? Answer plainly, and clear yourselves, but I know you dare not, for you deny these things.

But if you speak doubtfully, or covertly in answer there unto; I doubt not but God will help me to find you out, and lay open your folly; if I shall live till another cavil by you be put forth against the truth.

The next thing thou cavillest at is, that query raised from (Eph 4:10). and thou sayest I have not answered it. You should have answered it better, or else have confuted that answer I gave unto it, and then you had done something: But the great thing that troubles thee is, because I say, (further in my book) he that ascended from his disciples, was a very man, "Handle me and see; saith Christ, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." Now let the adversary shew by the scripture (said I) that there is in them any place called heaven, which is able to contain a man of some four or five foot long (or a competent man of flesh and bones) for the space of fifteen or sixteen hundred years, but that above the clouds, which troubles thee so, that it makes thy tongue run thou canst not tell how; but know, that when the son of man shall come from heaven to judge the world in righteousness, that which thou callest foolishness now, thou wilt find a truth thereby to thy own wrong, if thou close not in with him, who said, "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39).