MR. JOHN BUNYAN'S DYING SAYINGS (Revised and updated)

OF SIN
Sin is the great block and bar to our happiness, the gatherer of all miseries to man, both here and hereafter. Take away sin and nothing can hurt us (Romans 2:7; 6:22, 23; 1Peter 1:3-5), for death, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, is the wages of it (Romans 3:23; James 1:15; Revelation 21:8).

Sin, and man because of his sin, is the object of the wrath of God (Psalm 5:4-6; 7:11-13; Matthew 3:10). How dreadful, therefore, must his case be who continues in sin! For who can stand up against or wrestle with the wrath of God (Psalm 1:4, 5; 2:12; 2Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 14:9-11)?

No sin against God can be little, because it is against the great God of heaven and earth; but if the sinner can find a little God, it may be easy to find little sins (Genesis 39:9; Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalm 51:4) .

Sin makes all of God’s grace worthless (1Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 6:1). It s the dare of his justice, the rape of his mercy, the mocking of his patience, the disrespect of his power, and the despising of his love.

Take heed of giving yourself liberty of committing one sin, for that will lead you to another, until, by a bad habit, it becomes natural (Romans 6:1, 12-18; 1John 2:1) .

To begin a sin, is to lay a foundation for a continuance; this continuance is the mother of habit, and shamelessness is the final result (Romans 1;18-32).

The death of Christ gives us the best understanding of ourselves, in what condition we were, in that nothing could help us but that (Romans 5:6, 8, 10; Ephesians 4:18; Colossians 1:2); and the most clear understanding of the dreadful nature of our sins. For if sin is so dreadful a thing as to wring the heart of the Son of God, how shall a poor wretched sinner be able to bear it (Matthew 27:46; Isaiah 53:10, 11; Hebrews 12:14)?


OF AFFLICTION
Nothing can make affliction so difficult as the load of sin: would you, therefore, be fitted for afflictions, be sure to get the burden of your sins laid aside, and then whatever afflictions you may meet with will be very easy to you.

If you can hear and bear the rod of affliction which God shall lay upon you, remember this lesson -- you are beaten that you may be better.

The Lord uses his scourge of tribulation to separate the chaff from the wheat.

The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world’s vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God’s mind. Out of dark affliction comes a spiritual light.

In times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God.

Were we to heartily renounce the pleasures of this world, we would be very little troubled by our afflictions; that which renders an afflicted state so insupportable to many is that they are too much addicted to the pleasures of this life, and so cannot endure that which makes a separation between them.


OF REPENTANCE AND COMING TO CHRIST
The goal of affliction is the discovery of sin, and of that to bring us to a Savior. Let us, therefore, with the prodigal return to Him and we shall find ease and rest.

A man sorrowfully repenting from his sin, though formerly as bad as the worst of men, may, by grace, become as good as the best.

To be truly sensible of sin is to sorrow for displeasing God, to be sorry that He is displeased by us more than that He is displeased with us.

Your intentions to repent, and the neglect of that soul-saving duty, will raise up in judgment against you.

Repentance carries with it a Divine speech and persuades Christ to forgive multitudes of sins committed against Him.

Say not to yourself, "Tomorrow I will repent," for it is your duty to do it daily.

The gospel of grace and salvation is above all doctrines the most dangerous if it is received in word only by graceless men, if it be not attended with a sensible need of a Savior, and bring them to Him. For such men as have only the notion of it are of all men most miserable, for by reason of their knowing more than heathen, this shall be their final lot--they shall have greater punishment.


OF PRAYER
Before you enter in to prayer ask your soul these questions: "For what purpose, O my soul, are you retired into this place? Have you not come to speak to the Lord in prayer? Is he present, will He hear you? Is your business unimportant, is it not concerning the welfare of your soul? What words will you use to move Him to compassion?"

To make your preparation complete consider that you are but dust and ashes and He the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who clothes Himself with light as with a garment, that you are a vile sinner, He a holy God, that you are but a poor crawling worm, He the omnipotent Creator.

In all your prayers do not forget to thank the Lord for His mercies.

When you pray let your hearts be without words rather than your words without a heart.

Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.

The spirit of prayer is more precious than treasures of gold and silver.

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God and a scourge for Satan.


OF THE LORD'S DAY, SERMONS, AND WEEK DAYS
Have a special care to sanctify the Lord's day, for in the same way you keep it it will be with you all the week long.

Make the Lord's day the market for your soul; let the whole day be spent in prayer, repetitions or meditations. Lay aside the affairs of the other part of the week. Let the sermon you have heard be converted into prayer. Shall God allow you six days and will you not afford Him one?

In the church be careful to serve God, for you are in His eyes and not in man's.

You may hear sermons often and do well in practicing what you hear, but you must not expect to be told from a pulpit all that you ought to do, but be studious in searching the Scriptures and reading good books. What you hear may be forgotten, but what you read may be retained better.

Do not forsake the public worship of God lest God forsake you, not only in public but also in private.

In the week days when you rise in the morning, consider: 1. You must die, 2. You may die this minute, 3. What will become of your soul. Pray often. At night consider: 1. What sins you have committed, 2. How often you have prayed, 3. What has your mind been bent upon, 4. What have you done, 5. What conversations have you had, 6. If you call to mind the errors of the day do not sleep without a confession to God and a hope of pardon. In this way make up your accounts with Almighty God every morning and evening and your reckoning will be the less in the end.


OF THE LOVE OF THE WORLD
Nothing more hinders a soul from coming to Christ than a vain love of the world, and until a soul is freed from it it can never have a true love for God.

What are the honors and riches of this world when compared to the glories of a crown of life?

Love not the world, for it [the love of the world] is a moth in a Christian's life.

To despise the world is the way to enjoy heaven, and blessed are they who delight to speak with God in prayer.

What folly can be greater than to labor for the meat that perishes and neglect the food of eternal life?

God or the world must be neglected at parting time, for then is the time of trial.

To seek yourself in this world is to be lost, and to be humble is the be exalted.

The epicure who delights in the dainties of this world seldom thinks that those very creatures will one day witness against him.


OF SUFFERING
It is not every suffering that makes a martyr, but suffering for the Word of God in a right way; that is, not only for righteousness, but for righteousness' sake; not only for truth, but out of love to truth; not only for God's Word, but according to it, that is, in that holy, humble, meek manner as the Word of God requires.

It is a rare thing to suffer rightly and to have my spirit in suffering bent only against God's enemy, sin--sin in doctrine, sin in worship, sin in life, and sin in conversation.

Neither the devil nor men of the world can kill your righteousness or love to it, but by your own hand, or separate you from it but by your own act. Nor will he who does indeed suffer for the sake of righteousness, or out of the love he has for it, be tempted to exchange it for the good will of all the world.

I have often thought that the best of Christians are found in the worst of times. And I have thought again that one reason why we are no better is because God purges us no more. Noah and Lot--who was so holy as they in the time of their afflictions? And yet who so idle as they in the time of their prosperity?


OF DEATH AND JUDGMENT
As the devil labors by all means to keep out other things that are good, so he tries to keep out of the heart, as much as in him lies, the thoughts of passing from this life into another world. For he knows that if he can but keep men from the serious thoughts of death he shall the more easily keep them in their sins.

Nothing will make us more earnest in working out the work of our salvation than a frequent meditation of our mortality. Nothing has greater influence for the taking off our hearts from vanities, and for the begetting in us desires after holiness. [Philippians 2:12]

O sinner, what a condition will you fall into when you depart this world. If you depart unconverted it would have been better if you were smothered the first hour you were born, or if you had been plucked one limb from another, or had been made a dog, a toad, or a serpent than to die unconverted. And you will find this to be true if you will not repent.

A man would be counted a fool to take lightly a judge before whom he is to have a trial of his whole estate. The trial we have before God is of another importance--it concerns our eternal happiness or misery. And yet we dare affront Him?

The only way for us to escape that terrible judgment is to be often passing a sentence of condemnation upon ourselves here. When the sound of the trumpet shall be heard which shall summon the dead to appear before the tribunal of God, the righteous shall hasten out of their graves with joy to meet their Redeemer in the clouds. Others shall call to the hills and mountains to fall upon them, to cover them from the sight of their Judge. Let us therefore in time be questioning ourselves as to which of the two we shall be.


OF THE JOYS OF HEAVEN
There is no good in this life but what is mingled with some bad. Honors perplex, riches disquiet and pleasure ruin health. But in heaven we shall find blessings in their purity, without any ingredient to embitter, but with everything to sweeten them.

O, who is able to conceive the inexpressible, inconceivable joys that are there? None but they who have tasted of them. Lord, help us to put such a value upon them here that in order to prepare ourselves for them we may be willing to forego the loss of all those deluding pleasures here.

How will the heavens echo of joy when the Bride, the Lamb's wife, shall come to dwell with her Husband for ever?

Christ is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the Father. What solace then must that soul be filled with that has the possession of Him to all eternity?

O, what acclamations of joy will there be when all the children of God shall meet together without fear of being disturbed by the anti-christian and Cainish brood!

Is there not a time coming when the godly may ask the wicked what profit they have in their pleasures, what comfort in their greatness, and what fruits in all their labor?

If you would be better satisfied as to what the blissful vision means, my advice is that you would live a holy life and go and see.


OF THE TORMENTS OF HELL
Heaven and salvation is not more surely promised to the godly than hell and damnation is threatened to, and shall be executed on, the wicked.

When once a man is damned he may bid goodbye to all pleasures.

Oh, who knows the power of God's wrath? None but damned ones.

Sinners' company are the devil and his angels, tormented in everlasting fire with a curse.

Hell would be a kind of paradise if it were not worse than the worst of this world.

As different as grief is from joy, as torment from rest, as terror from peace, so different is the state of sinners from that of saints in the world to come.

Shepherd Boy's Song, by John Bunyan

He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble, ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
(Phil. 4:12, 13)

I am content with what I have,
Little be it, or much;
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because Thou savest such.

Fullness to such a burden is,
That go on pilgrimage;
Here little, and hereafter bliss,
Is best from age to age.
(Heb. 13:5)

Setting One's Heart in the Law of the LORD

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. (ESV)

Is this not what we all ought to do? To set or prepare our hearts to study the Law of the LORD and obey it and teach it to those around us in our sphere of influence? The Law of the LORD is obviously the Bible, in our time. We have the completed canon of Scripture and nothing will ever be added to it nor taken away from it. Those who wish to do so, do so against their own souls. (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18,19).

This setting of the heart is not a teeth-gritting determination out of a sense of duty, though such will be present. It is, rather, a determination naturally arising out of a sense of desire, love to God and man. And the object of this determination is the greatest work one could embark upon--to know God's word that one might obey it and teach it to others, that they might do the same out of the same love to God and man. Should enough people get such a burden and do so the Scriptures could be sown around the world and multitudes of hearts changed. What a new thing this would bring about; what a new world we would have!

Seeking Wisdom

"Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves."
(John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, vol. 1, p. 35, translated by Ford Lewis Battles)

Wisdom is the greater part of our searching.

Proverbs 4:7 “ The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding. (NASB)

How we lack it! And what is sought is by and large of no value, for it is most often sought for temporal time. That which is temporal has little value. What is eternal has true value. So why should one seek what he cannot keep? Ought he not diligently search for what he cannot loose? In what is your time spent, seeking the things of this earth or of eternity?

Colossians 3:1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (NASB)

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into Hell [lit., Hades];
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting. Amen.

When I Say God

Speaking to God I say, "You are God and there is no other god." But what does that mean, "You are God."? What am I saying when I say God referring to the God of the Bible? I am saying He is exactly as the Bible says He is--His attributes, His acts, His promises are exactly like the Bible says they are! He is eternal (Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.), self-existent and self-sufficient (Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘ I AM has sent me to you.’” ; Psalms 50:12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.) [Strongs, in his theology, says "God exists by the necessity of his own being. It is his nature to be. Hence the existence of God is not a contingent but a necessary existence. It is grounded, not in his volition, but in his nature.], merciful, kind and loving (Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, . . . ” [NKJV], Psalms 103:17 But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children.), just (Exodus 34:7 ". . . by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation." [NKJV]), faithful (1Thessalonians 5:24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”  [NASB]). He is all of these things and very much more, infinitely so. There is no understanding God. He is too big to understand with our finite minds, yet He has giving us an understanding of Himself so that we can have a very real personal relationship with Him, that we may know Him as Jeremiah 9:23 speaks of. It is God's pleasure to reveal Himself to us--but the thing unrevealed are for Him alone, Deuteronomy 29:29.

Time Changer

I watched the movie Time Changer for the second time this evening (7/3/10). Kip Doan and his wife introduced it to me a few years ago when we lived in Bob Robert's triplex on Pearl St. in Independence, MO. It is a very good movie and well worth any Christian's time. It is also very convicting regarding how we live our lives. We must be 100% of God or we are perverted compromisers against Him and His commands. That is what this movie will convey to anyone who is honest and wishes to be open to the Lord and honest with his own life. I wrote some quotes from the movie which are rehearsed during the closing acknowledgments. Here they are. Rejoice, and weep.

“Satan is not against good morals. He is opposed to Jesus Christ. A man can have good morals his entire life, yet you and I know he will go to hell when he dies”
(Dr. Norris Anderson)

“The ultimate issue in Christianity is the authority of Christ, and the devil is attacking this authority by convincing us to teach morals alone. Look at our families. they are weakening. . . . and our young people are becoming more disrespectful. Now I believe that this is a direct result of eliminating the authority of Jesus Christ from His commands.”
(Dr. Norris Anderson)

“In these last few days I have come to realize how wrong I was in thinking that we could reform society through the teachings of the Lord without the Lord of the teachings.”
(Dr. Russell Carlisle)

“It says in the Bible that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. If people don’t hold reverence for the Lord, what can we expect?”
(Michelle Bain, regarding the prevalence of evil in modern society)

“Satan’s goal is to remove the name of Christ from His commands, and when we do this people are deceived intro thinking that if they live a good life they will receive God’s approval and attain Heaven.”
(Dr. Norris Anderson)

“The truth is is that all of us will live forever. And we will either spend eternity in the presence of our Lord or in a place of darkness the Bible calls the lake of fire. If you have not, please give your life to Jesus Christ right now. Your eternity will depend on it.”
(Dr. Russell Carlisle)

The Law of Sin in the Believer

Romans 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

"A law is taken either properly for a directive rule, or improperly for an operative effective principle, which seems to have the force of a law. In its first sense, it is a moral rule which directs and commands, and sundry ways moves and regulates, the mind and the will as to the things which it requires or forbids. This is evidently the general nature and work of a law. Some things it commands, some things it forbids, with rewards and penalties, which move and impel men to do the one and avoid the other. Hence, in a secondary sense, an inward principle that moves and inclines constantly unto any actions is called a law. The principle that is in the nature of every thing, moving and carrying it towards its own end and rest, is called the law of nature. In this respect, every inward principle that inclineth and urgeth unto operations or actings suitable to itself is a law. " John Owen

So long as this "law of sin" is in the believer he can not ever expect to be free from the malady or be slack in his warfare against it. To refuse to see sin as it is, to acknowledge its nature, power and presence in us (that is, our flesh) we shall be made all the more victims of its destructive force in our lives, and our light shall wane and eventually all but go out. To war against an enemy one must first understand the nature and reasonings of the enemy. The same is true of spiritual battle, only of infinitely greater consequences. Understand the effectual, working power of sin in you and fight it with at least the same intensity as you would the murderous intruder in your home. Bar every door, lock every latch and window to keep him out. But if he gets in--if sin makes its plea for your obedience--KILL IT!

Natural Desires and Sin

Sin shall ever be with us as long as we are in this body. There is nothing we can do about it. I don’t mean there is nothing we can do about sin lived out or unchecked. We can do something about that, though we cannot free ourselves completely from it. I refer to the thing sin, sin itself--that principle of wickedness which is in us and demands our allegiance. For all our lifetime it shall move in us and upon us, forcing its desires upon our minds and wills. It creates in us desire that is not what we want as Christians. We cannot get away from it. No matter where we go or what we do, we will be severely pressed upon by sin and its longings to be fulfilled in us.

It will make us remember our past sins and desires--one of its best weapons. It will tell how pleasurable it was and that it is OK to do it again. It will make us forget the guilt we felt and the sorrow it caused. It will make one forget the fact of death and judgment and the abyss and heaven and the face of God and His judgment seat. It moves directly to our passions and lets us know how pleasurable it would be to fulfill its temptations. Not everything it wants us to do is wrong by itself. But how deceiving! Everything it wants us to do is wrong, for the least it wants is for us to wrongly fulfill legitimate desires. And it is the wrongly part that makes it sin in every case. Sin can never be legitimate, for wrongly fulfilled desires can never be legitimate.

The Scriptures tell us how we are to fulfill our natural desires. We are first to do all things to the glory of God, not simply for self fulfillment. When we do not directly concern ourselves with God in all things we are in sin by that very fact. We are also to fulfill our desires in accordance to how God made us and how He told us we are to do this or that. God’s word tells us what is sin and what is not. We must go with it in every case.

True Life Will Come

People today are filled with frivolity. I suppose they have been in every age. Even Christians determine their non-working paths by what sort of entertainment they may engage themselves. Everything seems to be more important than it is. Sports, recreation, vacations, or what have you wastes so much of our time and talents. When we could be in the Scriptures two or three hours we would rather do nothing of eternal worth. When we could pray we choose conversation with other frail, helpless human beings rather than with the One who has no weaknesses and can strengthen us and meet our needs. We don't seek Him and His strength as we should. We don't seem to have a real sense of the essential nature of our spiritual lives. We flit about as a bird on the wing. We fly high but never come to earth. We dream and desire but never acquire the subject of our searching--pleasure, or blessings. Why? We seek it where we can not find it. We seek it in our activities, even distinctly Christian activities. We seek it in our frivolous attitudes. We need to seek it in Christ and the Father through the inner working of the Holy Spirit. Were we more disciplined we would be more pleased, blessed and content. We would also do more for Christ and His kingdom.

This discipline is the discipline of seeking Him. Spend time with Him in His word and in prayer. Read sermons and other biblical works as well as serve Him by serving others. Meditate, write, debate doctrine, etc. This should take up a good portion of our lives. This will enable us to know God better and to have a heart for what He has a heart. Only when we spend time with God, in His presence and things (Lk. 2:49) will we find real fulfillment in life. Frivolity will depart and true life will come.