Christian: And what did you do then?
Hopeful: I made my objections against my believing, for that I thought he was not willing to save me.
Christian: And what said Faithful to you then?
Hopeful: He bid me go to him and see. Then I said it was presumption; but he said, No, for I was invited to come. Then he gave me a book of Jesus, his indicting, to encourage me the more freely to come; and he said, concerning that book, that every jot and tittle thereof stood firmer than heaven and earth. Then I asked him, What I must do when I came; and he told me, I must entreat upon my knees, with all my heart and soul, the Father to reveal him to me. Then I asked him further, how I must make my supplication to him? And he said, Go, and you shall find him upon a mercy-seat, where he sits all the year long, to give pardon and forgiveness to them that come. I told him that I knew not what to say when I came. And he bid me say to this effect:
God be merciful to me a sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ; for I see, that if his righteousness had not been, or I have not faith in that righteousness, I am utterly cast away. Lord, I have heard that You are a merciful God, and have ordained that Your Son Jesus Christ should be the Savior of the world; and moreover, that You art willing to bestow him upon such a poor sinner as I am, (and I am a sinner indeed); Lord, take therefore this opportunity and magnify Your grace in the salvation of my soul, through Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hopeful knew that Christ was his only hope. He heard the gospel clearly explained by Faithful. He understood the gospel—even wanted to believe the gospel. Yet he hesitated. He thought himself to be too great a sinner. He did not believe God was willing to save him.
This was Bunyan’s own experience. Though he wanted the forgiveness and grace promised in Scripture, he did not believe it could be his. He describes his dark feelings in Grace Abounding.
Nay, thought I, now I grow worse and worse; now am I further from conversion than ever I was before. Wherefore I began to sink greatly in my soul, and began to entertain such discouragement in my heart as laid me low as hell. If now I should have burned at a stake, I could not believe that Christ had love for me; alas, I could neither hear him, nor see him, nor feel him, nor savor any of his things; I was driven as with a tempest, my heart would be unclean, the Canaanites would dwell in the land.
[Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, par. 78]
But, I observe, though I was such a great sinner before conversion, yet God never much charged the guilt of the sins of myignorance upon me; only he showed me I was lost if I had not Christ, because I had been a sinner; I saw that I wanted a perfect righteousness to present me without fault before God, and this righteousness was nowhere to be found, but in the person of Jesus Christ.
But my original and inward pollution, that, that was my plague and my affliction; that, I say, at a dreadful rate, always putting forth itself within me; that I had the guilt of, to amazement; by reason of that, I was more loathsome in my own eyes than was a toad; and I thought I was so in God’s eyes too; sin and corruption, I said, would as naturally bubble out of my heart, as water would bubble out of a fountain. I thought now that everyone had a better heart than I had; I could have changed heart with anybody; I thought none but the devil himself could equalize me for inward wickedness and pollution of mind. I fell, therefore, at the sight of my own vileness,deeply into despair; for I concluded that this condition that I was in could not stand with a state of grace. Sure, thought I, I am forsaken of God; sure I am given up to the devil, and to a reprobate mind; and thus I continued a long while, even for some years together.
[Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, par. 83–84]
At times he felt so wretched and miserable that he thought creation itself was reluctant to suffer his presence.
Thus was I always sinking, whatever I did think or do. So one day I walked to a neighboring town, and sat down upon a settle in the street, and fell into a very deep pause about the most fearful state my sin had brought me to; and, after long musing, I lifted up my head, but methought I saw as if the sun that shines in the heavens did grudge to give light, and as if the very stones in the street, and tiles upon the houses, did bend themselves against me; methought that they all combined together to banish me out of the world; I was abhorred of them, and unfit to dwell among them, or be partaker of their benefits, because I had sinned against the Savior. O how happy, now, was every creature over [what] I was; for they stood fast and kept their station, but I was gone and lost.
[Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, par. 187]
How can God save a soul so polluted and mired in sin? Why would He even want to?
Faithful’s response to Hopeful’s objection against believing is worth noting. He does not try to minimize Hopeful’s sin—Oh, you’re not that bad! Don’t be so hard on yourself! Of course God wants to save you! Nor does he attempt to build up Hopeful’s self esteem—Stop being so negative! Think of all the good things you’ve done! Of course you’re worth saving! Instead Faithful continues to exalt Christ and magnify His goodness, kindness, and mercy. He points Hopeful to the gracious promises of God’s Word. He shows Hopeful how God’s power and glory are magnified in His grace and mercy toward sinners. He encourages Hopeful to “go to Him and see.” When Hopeful fears that he would be presumptuous in going, Faithful reassures him. It is not presumption to go to Christ for grace and forgiveness. He invites us to come!
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).
The Bible gives us both command and example of entreating God in prayer.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
(Psalm 95:6)
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days (Daniel 6:10).
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:12–13).
This invitation to come to Christ and display of God’s love in the cross of Christ is for all the world to hear and see.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
In John 6:37 Jesus promises: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” Bunyan removes all objections of those who hesitate when he expounds this verse in Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ.
For this word, “in no wise,” cuts the throat of all objections; and it was spoken by the Lord Jesus for that very end; and to help the faith that is mixed with unbelief. And it is, as it were, the sum of all promises; neither can any objection be made upon the unworthiness that you find in yourself, that this promise will not assail.
But I am a great sinner, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
But I am an old sinner, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
But I am a hard-hearted sinner, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
But I am a backsliding sinner, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
But I have served Satan all my days, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
But I have sinned against light, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
But I have sinned against mercy, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
But I have no good thing to bring with me, you say.
“I will in no wise cast out,” says Christ.
Christ has promised that all who come to Him “I will by no means cast out.” We must believe this. We need never doubt the promises God gives us in His Word. The Word of God is certain. Everything He has said will come to pass.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away (Matthew 24:35).
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light (Genesis 1:3).
Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass (Joshua 21:45).
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:17–18).
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
In the Old Testament, the prophet Joel reminded God’s people that God “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Joel 2:13). And so we hear God graciously say: “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (Joel 2:12).
Faithful encouraged Hopeful to take God at His Word and go to Him in repentance and faith. He said, “you shall find him upon a mercy-seat.”
You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:21–22).
The Mercy Seat in the Old Testament tabernacle and Temple (Leviticus 16:2, Number 7:89) was but a type of the true Mercy Seat in heaven. It is Christ who has opened our access to the throne of grace where we are entreated to come with boldness.
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14–16).
Cast aside your objections and come to Christ! Hesitate no longer!
Say to them: “As I live,” says the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)
Take God at His Word and believe Him! Come repenting of sin and cast yourself on His mercy.
And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)
And come to Him by faith believing that true righteousness is found in Christ alone.
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9–10).
O sinner, come to Jesus Christ!
And find the riches He can give.
In Him find all for life and peace.
O sinner, look to Christ and live!
(from “O Sinner, Come to Jesus Christ”)
A Guide to John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress
See TOC for more posts from this commentary
The text for The Pilgrim’s Progress and images used are public domain
Notes and Commentary ©2018 Ken Puls
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV) ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
One Reply to “Hopeful’s Testimony Part 6 Invitation to Christ”