Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION27

 

'O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!' (Luke 24:25). Mark you, here, slowness to believe is a piece of folly. Ay! but sayest thou, I do believe some, and I believe what can make against me. Ay, but sinner, Christ Jesus here calls thee fool for not believing all. Believe all, and despair if thou canst! He that believes all, believes that text that saith, Christ would have mercy preached first to the Jerusalem sinners. He that believeth all, believeth all the promises and consolations of the Word; and the promises and consolations of the Word weigh heavier than do all the curses and threatenings of the law; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Wherefore believe all, and mercy will, to thy conscience, weigh judgment down, and so minister comfort to thy soul. The Lord takes the yoke from off thy jaws, since he has set meat before thee (Hosea 11:4). And help thee to remember that he is pleased, in the first place, to offer mercy to the biggest sinners.

Sixth, Since Jesus Christ would have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners, let souls see that they lay right hold thereof, lest they, notwithstanding, indeed, come short thereof. Faith only knows how to deal with mercy; wherefore put not in the place thereof presumption. I have observed, that, as there are herbs and flowers in our gardens, so there are their counterfeits in the field; only they are distinguished from the others by the name of wild ones. Why, there is faith and wild faith, and wild faith is this presumption. I call it wild faith because God never placed it in his garden—his church; 'tis only to be found in the field—the world. I also call it wild faith, because it only grows up and is nourished where other wild notions abound. Wherefore, take heed of this, and all may be well; for this presumptuousness is a very heinous thing in the eyes of God. 'The soul,' saith he, 'that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people' (Num 15:30).

The thoughts of this made David tremble, and pray that God would hold him back from presumptuous sins, and not suffer them to have dominion over him (Psa 19:13). Now, this presumption, then, puts itself in the place of faith, when it tampereth with the promise for life, while the soul is a stranger to repentance. Wherefore, you have in the text, to prevent doing thus, both repentance and remission of sins to be offered to Jerusalem; not remission without repentance, for all that repent not shall perish, let them presume on grace and the promise while they will (Luke 13:1-3).

Presumption, then, is that which severeth faith and repentance; concluding that the soul shall be saved by grace, though the man was never made sorry for his sins, nor the love of the heart turned therefrom. This is to be self-willed, as Peter has it; and this is a despising the Word of the Lord, for that has put repentance and faith together (Mark 1:15). And 'because he hath despised the Word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off: his iniquity shall be upon him' (Num 15:31). Let such, therefore, look to it who yet are, and abide, in their sins; for such, if they hope, as they are, to be saved, presume upon the grace of God. Wherefore, presumption and not hearkening to God's Word are put together (Deu 17:12).

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION26

 

Despair! When we have a God of mercy, and a redeeming Christ alive! For shame, forbear; let them despair that dwell where there is no God, and that is confined to those chambers of death which can be reached by no redemption. A living man despair when he is chid for murmuring and complaining! (Lam 3:39). Oh! so long as we are where promises swarm, where mercy is proclaimed, where grace reigns, and where Jerusalem sinners are privileged with the first offer of mercy, it is a base thing to despair. Despair undervalues the promise, undervalues the invitation, undervalues the proffer of grace. Despair undervalues the ability of God the Father, and the redeeming blood of Christ his Son. Oh, unreasonable despair! Despair makes man God's judgment; it is a controller of the promise, a contradictor of Christ in his large offers of mercy: and one that undertakes to make unbelief the great manager of our reason and judgment, in determining about what God can and will do for sinners. Despair! It is the devil's fellow, the devil's master; yea, the chains with which he is captivated and held under darkness forever: and to give way thereto in a land, in a state and time that flows with milk and honey, is an uncomely thing.

I would say to my soul, 'O my soul! this is not the place of despair; this is not the time to despair; as long as my eyes can find a promise in the Bible, as long as there is the least mention of grace, as long as there is a moment left me of breath or life in this world, so long will I wait or look for mercy, so long will I fight against unbelief and despair.' This is the way to honor God and Christ; this is the way to set the crown on the promise; this is the way to welcome the invitation and inviter; and this is the way to thrust thyself under the shelter and protection of the word of grace. Never despair so long as our text is alive, for that doth sound it out—that mercy by Christ is offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinner.

Despair is an unprofitable thing; it will make a man weary of waiting upon God (2 Kings 6:33). It will make a man forsake God, and seek his heaven in the good things of this world (Gen 4:13-18). It will make a man his own tormentor, and flounce and fling like 'a wild bull in a net' (Isa 51:20). Despair! it drives a man to the study of his own ruin and brings him at last to be his own executioner (2 Sam 17:23; Matt 27:3-5).

Besides, I am persuaded also, that despair is the cause that there are so many that would fain be Atheists in the world. For, because, they have entertained a conceit that God will never be merciful to them, therefore they labour to persuade themselves that there is no God at all, as if their misbelief would kill God, or cause him to cease to be. A poor shift for an immortal soul, for a soul who liketh not to retain God in its knowledge! If this be the best that despair can do, let it go, man, and betake thyself to faith, to prayer, to wait for God, and to hope, in despite of ten thousand doubts. And for thy encouragement, take yet, as an addition to what has already been said, the following Scripture: 'The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy' (Psa 147:11). Whence note, They fear not God, that hope not in his mercy; also, God is angry with them that hope not in his mercy; for he only taketh pleasure in them that hope. 'He that believeth,' or 'hath received his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true' (John 3:33). But he that receiveth it not, 'hath made him a liar,' and that is a very unworthy thing (1 John 5:10,11). 'Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly' multiply 'pardon' (Isa 55:7). Perhaps thou art weary of thy ways, but art not weary of thy thoughts; of thy unbelieving and despairing thoughts; now, God also would have thee cast away these thoughts, as such which he deserveth not at thy hands; for 'he will have mercy upon thee, and he will abundantly pardon.'

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION25

 

But I have no experience of God's love; God hath given me no comfort, or ground of hope, though I have waited upon him for it many a day. Thou hast experience of God's love, for that, he has opened thine eyes to see thy sins: and for that, he has given thee desires to be saved by Jesus Christ. For by thy sense of sin thou art made to see thy poverty of spirit, and that has laid under thee a sure ground to hope that heaven shall be thine hereafter.

Also, thy desires to be saved by Christ has put thee under another promise, so there is two to hold thee up in hope, though thy present burden be never so heavy (Matt 5:3,6). As for what thou sayest as to God's silence to thee, perhaps he has spoken to thee once or twice already, but thou hast not perceived it (Job 33:14,15). However, thou hast Christ crucified set forth before thine eyes in the Bible, and an invitation to come unto him, though thou be a Jerusalem sinner, though thou be the biggest sinner; and so no ground to despair. What if God will be silent to thee, is that ground of despair? Not at all, so long as there is a promise in the Bible, that God will in no wise cast away the coming sinner, and so long as he invites the Jerusalem sinner to come unto him (John 6:37).

Build not, therefore, despair upon these things; they are no sufficient foundation for it, such plenty of promises being in the Bible, and such a discovery of his mercy too great sinners of old; especially since we have withal a clause in the commission given to ministers to preach, that they should begin with the Jerusalem sinners in their offering of mercy to the world. Besides, God says, 'They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles'; but, perhaps, it may be long first. I waited long, saith David, and did seek the Lord; and, at length, his cry was heard: wherefore he bids his soul wait on God, and says, For it is good so to do before thy saints (Psa 40:1; 62:5; 52:9).

And what if thou waitest upon God all thy days? Is it below thee? And what if God will cross his book, and blot out the handwriting that is against thee, and not let thee know it as yet? Is it fit to say unto God, Thou art hard-hearted? Despair not; thou hast no ground to despair, so long as thou livest in this world. 'Tis a sin to begin to despair before one sets his foot over the threshold of hell gates. For them that are there, let them despair and spare not; but as for thee, thou hast no ground to do it. What! despair of bread in a land that is full of corn! despair of mercy when our God is full of mercy! despair of mercy, when God goes about, by his ministers, beseeching of sinners to be reconciled unto him! (2 Cor 5:18-20). Thou scrupulous fool, where canst thou find that God was ever false to his promise, or that he ever deceived the soul that ventured itself upon him? He often calls upon sinners to trust him, though they walk in darkness, and have no light (Isa 50:10). They have his promise and oath for their salvation, they flee for refuge to the hope set before them (Heb 6:17,18).

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN;OR THE APPLICATION24

 

But, I say, why so unconcerned? Hast no soul? or dost think thou mayest lose thy soul, and save thyself? Is it, not pity, had it otherwise been the will of God, that ever thou wast made a man, for that, thou must set so little by thy soul? Sinner, take the invitation; thou art called upon to come to Christ: nor art thou called upon but by order from the Son of God, though thou shouldst happen to come of the biggest sinners; for he has bid us offer mercy, as to all the world in general, so, in the first place, to the sinners of Jerusalem, or to the biggest sinners.

Fifth, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners? Then, this shows how unreasonable a thing it is for men to despair of mercy; for those that presume, I shall say something to them afterward.

I now speak to them that despair. There are four sorts of despair. There is the despair of devils; there is the despair of souls in hell; there is the despair that is grounded upon men's deficiency; and there is the despair that they are perplexed with that are willing to be saved, but are too strongly borne down with the burden of their sins.

The despair of devils, the damned's despair, and that despair that a man has of attaining of life because of his own deficiency, are all reasonable. Why should not devils and damned souls despair? yea, why should not man despair of getting to heaven by his own abilities? I, therefore, am concerned only with the fourth sort of despair, to wit, with the despair of those that would be saved but are too strongly borne down with the burden of their sins. I say, therefore, to thee that art thus, And why despair? Thy despair, if it was reasonable, should flow from thee, because found in the land that is beyond the grave; or because thou certainly knowest that Christ will not, or cannot save thee.

But, for the first, thou art yet in the land of the living; and, for the second, thou hast ground to believe the quite contrary; Christ is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him; and if he were not willing, he would not have commanded that mercy, in the first place, should be offered to the biggest sinners. Besides, he hath said, 'And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely'; that is, with all my heart. What ground now is here for despair? If thou sayest, The number and burden of my sins; I answer, Nay; that is rather a ground for faith; because such a one, above all others, is invited by Christ to come unto him, yea, promised rest and forgiveness if they come (Matt 11:28). What ground then to despair? Verily, none at all. Thy despair, then, is a thing unreasonable, and without footing in the Word.

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION23

 

Is not this an encouragement to the biggest sinners to make their application to Christ for mercy? 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,' doth also confirm this thing; that is, that the biggest sinner, and he that has the biggest burden, is he who is first invited. Christ pointeth over the heads of thousands, as he sits on the throne of grace, directly to such a man; and says, 'Bring in hither the maimed, the halt, and the blind; let the Jerusalem sinner that stands there behind come to me.' Wherefore, since Christ says, 'Come,' to thee, let the angels make a lane, and let all men give place, that the Jerusalem sinner may come to Jesus Christ for mercy.

Fourth, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners? Then come, thou profane wretch, and let me a little enter into an argument with thee. Why wilt thou not come to Jesus Christ, since thou art a Jerusalem sinner? How canst thou find in thy heart to set thyself against grace, against such grace as offereth mercy to thee? What spirit possesseth thee, and holds thee back from a sincere closure with thy Saviour? Behold, God groaningly complains of thee, saying, 'But Israel would none of me.' 'When I called, none did answer' (Psa 81:11; Isa 66:4).

Shall God enter this complaint against thee? Why dost thou put him off? Why dost thou stop thine ear? Canst thou defend thyself? When thou art called to an account for thy neglects of so great salvation, what canst thou answer? or dost thou think that thou shalt escape the judgment? (Heb 2:3). No more such Christ! There will be no more such Christ, sinner! Oh, put not the day, the day of grace, away from thee! if it be once gone, it will never come again, sinner.

But what is it that has got thy heart, and that keeps it from thy Saviour? 'Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?' (Psa 89:6). Hast thou, thinkest thou, found anything so good as Jesus Christ? Is there any among thy sins, thy companions, and foolish delights, that, like Christ, can help thee in the day of thy distress? Behold, the greatness of thy sins cannot hinder; let not the stubbornness of thy heart hinder thee, sinner.

Objection. I am ashamed.

Answer. Oh! don't be ashamed to be saved, sinner.

Objection. But my old companions will mock me.

Answer. Oh! don't be mocked out of eternal life, sinner.

Thy stubbornness affects and afflicts the heart of thy Saviour. Carest thou not for this? Of old, 'he beheld the city, and wept over it.' Canst thou hear this, and not be concerned? (Luke 19:41,42). Shall Christ weep to see thy soul going on to destruction, and will though sport thyself in that way? Yea, shall Christ, that can be eternally happy without thee, be more afflicted at the thoughts of the loss of thy soul, than thyself, who art certainly eternally miserable if thou neglectest to come to him. Those things that keep thee and thy Saviour, on thy part, asunder, are but bubbles; the least prick of an affliction will let out, as to thee, what now thou thinkest is worth the venture of heaven to enjoy. Hast thou, not reason? Canst thou not so much as once soberly think of thy dying hour, or of whither thy sinful life will drive thee then? Hast thou no conscience? or having one, is it rocked so fast asleep by sin or made so weary with an unsuccessful calling upon thee, that it is laid down, and cares for thee no more? Poor man! thy state is to be lamented. Hast no judgment? Art not able to conclude, that to be saved is better than to burn in hell? and that eternal life in God's favor, is better than a temporal life in God's displeasure? Hast no affection but what is brutish? what, none at all? No affection for the God that made thee? What! none for his loving Son that

has showed his love, and died for thee? Is not heaven worth thy affection? O poor man! which is strongest, thinkest thou, God or thee? If thou art not able to overcome him, thou art a fool for standing out against him (Matt 5:25,26). 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God' (Heb 10:29-31). He will gripe hard; his fist is stronger than a lion's paw; take heed of him, he will be angry if you despise his Son; and will you stand guilty in your trespasses, when he offereth you his grace and favor? (Exo 34:6,7). Now we come to the text, 'Beginning at Jerusalem.' This text, though it is now one of the brightest stars that shineth in the Bible, because there is in it, as full, if not the fullest offer of grace that can be imagined, to the sons of men; yet, to them that shall perish from under this word, even this text will be to such one of the hottest coals in hell. This text, therefore, will save thee or sink thee: there is no shifting of it; if it saves thee, it will set thee high; if it sinks thee, it will set 

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION22

 

Take therefore encouragement, man; mercy is, by the text, held forth to the biggest sinners; yea, put thyself into the number of the worst, by reckoning that thou mayest be one of the first, and mayest not be put off till the biggest sinners are served; for the biggest sinners are first invited; consequently, if they come, they are like to be the first that shall be served. It was so with Jerusalem; Jerusalem sinners were they that were first invited, and those of them that came first—and there came three thousand of them the first day they were invited; how many came afterward none can tell—they were first served.

Put in thy name, man, among the biggest, lest thou art made to wait till they are served. Some men think themselves very cunning because they put their names in their prayers and feign it, saying, God, I thank thee I am not so bad as the worst. But believe it, if they are saved at all, they shall be saved in the last place. The first in their own eyes shall be served last, and the last or worst shall be first. The text insinuates it, 'Begin at Jerusalem'; and reason backs it, for they have most need. Behold ye, therefore, how God's ways are above ours; we are for serving the worst last, God is for serving the worst first.

The man at the pool, that to my thinking was longest in his disease, and most helpless as to his cure, was first healed; yea, he only was healed; for we read that Christ healed him, but we read not then that he healed one more there! (John 5:1-10). Wherefore, if thou wouldst soonest be served, put in thy name among the very worst of sinners. Say, when thou art upon thy knees, Lord, here is a Jerusalem sinner! A sinner of the biggest size! One whose burden is of the greatest bulk and heaviest weight! One that cannot stand long without sinking into hell, without thy supporting hand! 'Be not thou far from me, O Lord! O my strength, haste thee to help me!' (Psa 22:19).

I say, put in thy name with Magdalene, with Manasseh, that thou mayest fare as the Magdalene and the Manasseh sinners do. The man in the gospel made the desperate condition of his child an argument with Christ to haste his cure: 'Sire, come down,' saith he, 'ere my child dies' (John 4:49), and Christ regarded his haste, saying, 'Go thy way; thy son liveth' (verse 50). Haste requires haste. David was for speed; 'Deliver me speedily'; 'Hear me speedily'; 'Answer me speedily' (Psa 31:2; 69:17; 102:2). But why speedily? I am in 'the net'; 'I am in trouble'; 'My days are consumed like smoke' (Psa 31:4; 69:17; 102:3). Deep calleth unto deep, necessity calls for help; great necessity for present help.

Wherefore, I say, be ruled by me in this matter; feign not thyself another man, if thou hast been a filthy sinner, but go in thy colors to Jesus Christ, and put thyself among the vilest, and let him alone to 'put thee among the children' (Jer 3:19). Confess all that thou knowest of thyself; I know thou wilt find it hard work to do thus: especially if thy mind be legal; but do it, lest thou stay and be deferred with the little sinners until the great ones have had their alms. What do you think David intended when he said, his wounds stunk and were corrupted, but to hasten God to have mercy upon him, and not to defer his cure? 'Lord,' says he, 'I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.' 'I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart' (Psa 38:3-8). David knew what he did by all this; he knew that his making the worst of his case, was the way to speedy help, and that feigning and dissembling the matter with God, was the next way to a demur as to his forgiveness.

I have one thing more to offer for thy encouragement, who deemest thyself one of the biggest sinners; and that is, thou art as it was called by thy name, in the first place, to come in for mercy. Thou man of Jerusalem, hearken to thy call; men do so in courts of judicature, and presently cry out, 'Here, Sire'; then they shoulder and crowd, and say, 'Pray give way, I am called into the court.' Why, this is thy case, thou great, thou Jerusalem sinner; be of good cheer, he calleth thee (Mark 10:46-49). Why sittest thou still? arise: why standest thou still? come, man, thy call should give thee authority to come. 'Begin at Jerusalem,' is thy call and authority to come; wherefore up and shoulder it, man; say, 'Stand away, devil, Christ calls me; stand away unbelief, Christ calls me; stand away, all ye my discouraging apprehensions, for my Saviour calls me to him to receive of his mercy.' Men will do thus, as I said, in courts below; and why shouldst not thou approach thus to the court above? The Jerusalem sinner is first in thought, first in commission, first in the record of names; and therefore should give attendance, with the expectation that he is first to receive the mercy of God.

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION21

 

There is a people that therefore fear lest they should be rejected of Jesus Christ, because of the greatness of their sins; when, as you see here, such are sent to, sent to by Jesus Christ, to come to him for mercy: 'Begin at Jerusalem.' Never did one thing answer another more fitly in this world, than this text fitteth such a kind of sinners. As face answereth face in a glass, so this text answereth the necessities of such sinners. What can a man say more, but that he stands in the rank of the biggest sinners? let him stretch himself whither he can, and think of himself to the utmost, he can but conclude himself to be one of the biggest sinners. And what then? Why, the text meets him in the very face, and saith, Christ offereth mercy to the biggest sinners, to the very Jerusalem sinners. What more can be objected to? Nay, he doth not only offer to such his mercy but to them, it is commanded to be offered in the first place: 'Begin at Jerusalem.' 'Preach repentance and remission of sins among all nations: beginning at Jerusalem.' Is not here encouragement for those that think, for wicked hearts and lives, they have not their fellows in the world?

Objection. But I have a heart as hard as a rock.

Answer. Well, but this doth but prove thee the biggest sinner.

Objection. But my heart continually frets against the Lord.

Answer. Well, this doth but prove thee a biggest sinner.

Objection. But I have been desperate in sinful courses.

Answer. Well, stand thou with the number of the biggest sinners.

Objection. But my gray head is found in the way of wickedness.

Answer. Well, thou art in the rank of the biggest sinners.

Objection. But I have not only a base heart, but I have lived a debauched life.

Answer. Stand thou also among those that are called the biggest sinners. And what then? Why, the text swoops you all; you cannot object yourselves beyond the text. It has a particular message to the biggest sinners. I say it swoops you all.

Objection. But I am a reprobate.

Answer. Now thou talkest like a fool, and meddlest with what thou understandest not: no sin, but the sin of final impenitence, can prove a man a reprobate; and I am sure thou hast not arrived as yet unto that; therefore thou understandest not what thou sayest, and makest groundless conclusions against thyself. Say thou art a sinner, and I will hold with thee; say thou art a great sinner, and I will say so too; yea, say thou art one of the biggest sinners, and spare not; for the text yet is beyond thee, is yet betwixt hell and thee; 'Begin at Jerusalem' has yet a smile upon thee; and thou talkest as if thou wast a reprobate, and that the greatness of thy sins do prove thee so to be, when yet they of Jerusalem were not such, whose sins, I dare say, were such, both for bigness and heinousness, as thou art not capable of committing beyond them; unless now, after thou hast received conviction that the Lord Jesus is the only Saviour of the world, thou shouldst wickedly and despitefully turn thyself from him, and conclude he is not to be trusted to for life, and so crucify him for a cheat afresh. This, I must confess, will bring a man under the black rod, and set him in danger of eternal damnation (Heb 6:7,8; 10:8,9). This is trampling underfoot the Son of God, and counting his blood an unholy thing. This did they of Jerusalem, but they did it ignorantly in unbelief, and so were yet capable of mercy; but to do this against professed light, and to stand to it, puts a man beyond the text indeed (Acts 3:14-17; 1 Tim 1:13).

But I say, what is this to him that would fain be saved by Christ? His sins did, as to greatness, never yet reach the nature of the sins that the sinners intended by the text had made themselves guilty of. He that would be saved by Christ, has an honorable esteem of him, but they of Jerusalem preferred a murderer before him; and as for him, they cried, Away, away with him, it is not fit that he should live. Perhaps thou wilt object, That thyself hast a thousand times preferred a stinking lust before him: I answer, Be it so; it is but what is common to men to do; nor doth the Lord Jesus make such a foolish life a bar to thee, to forbid thy coming to him, or a bond to his grace, that it might be kept from thee; but admits of thy repentance, and offereth himself unto thee freely, as thou standest among the Jerusalem sinners.

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION20

 

Observe, then, thy rule to make judgment of the sufficiency of the blessed merits of thy Saviour. If he had not been able to have reconciled the biggest sinners to his Father by his blood, he would not have sent to them, have sent to them in the first place, the doctrine of remission of sins; for the remission of sins is through faith in his blood. We are justified freely by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in the blood of Christ. Upon the square, as I may call it, of the worthiness of the blood of Christ, grace acts, and offers forgiveness of sin to men (Eph 1:7; 2:13,14; Col 1:20-22). Hence, therefore, we must gather, that the blood of Christ is of infinite value, for that he offereth mercy to the biggest of sinners. Nay, further, since he offereth mercy, in the first place, to the biggest sinners, considering also, that this first act of his is that which the world will take notice of, and expect it should be continued unto the end. Also, it is a disparagement to a man that seeks his own glory in what he undertakes, to do that for a spurt, which he cannot continue and hold out in. This is our Lord's own argument, He began to build, saith he, but was not able to finish (Luke 14:30).

Shouldst thou hear a man say, I am resolved to be kind to the poor and should begin with giving handfuls of guineas, you would conclude, that either he is wonderfully rich, or must straighten his hand, or will soon be at the bottom of his riches. Why, this is the case: Christ, at his resurrection, gave it out that he would be good to the world; and first sends to the biggest sinners, with an intent to have mercy on them. Now, the biggest sinners cannot be saved but by an abundance of grace; it is not a little that will save great sinners (Rom 5:17). And I say again, since the Lord Jesus mounts thus high at the first, and sends to the Jerusalem sinners, that they may come first to partake of his mercy, it follows, that either he has unsearchable riches of grace and worth in himself, or else he must straighten his hand, or his grace and merits will be spent before the world is at an end. But let it be believed, as surely as spoken, he is still as full as ever. He is not a jot the poorer for all the forgiveness that the has given away to great sinners. Also, he is still as free as at first; for he never yet called back this word, Begin at the Jerusalem sinners. And, as I said, since his grace is extended according to the worth of his merits. I conclude, that there is the same virtue in his merits to save now, as there was at the very beginning, Oh! the riches of the grace of Christ! Oh! the riches of the blood of Christ!

Third, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered in the first place to the biggest sinners? Then here is encouragement for you that think, for wicked hearts and lives, you have not your fellows in the world, yet to come to him.

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION19

 

Neither is there, set this aside, another argument like it, to show us the willingness of Christ to save sinners; for, as was said before, all the rest of the signs of Christ's mercifulness might have been limited to sinners that are so and so qualified; but when he says, 'Begin at Jerusalem,' the line is stretched out to the utmost; no man can imagine beyond it; and it is folly here to pinch and spare, to narrow, and seek to bring it within scanty bounds; for he plainly said, 'Begin at Jerusalem,' the biggest sinner is the biggest sinner; the biggest is the Jerusalem sinner.

It is true, he saith, that repentance and remission of sins must go together, but yet remission is sent to the chief, the Jerusalem sinner; nor doth repentance lessen at all the Jerusalem sinner's crimes; it diminished none of his sins, nor causes that there should be so much as half an one the fewer; it only puts a stop to the Jerusalem sinner's course, and makes him willing to be saved freely by grace; and for time to come to be governed by that blessed word that has brought the tidings of good things to him. Besides, no man shows himself willing to be saved that repented not of his deeds; for he that goes on still in his trespasses, declares that he is resolved to pursue his own damnation further.

Learn then to judge of the largeness of God's heart, and of the heart of his Son Jesus Christ, by the Word; judge not thereof by feeling, nor by the reports of thy conscience; conscience is ofttimes here befooled, and made to go quite beside the Word. It was judging without the Word that made David say, I am cast off from God's eyes, and 'shall perish one day by the hand of Saul' (Psa 31:22; 1 Sam 27:1). The Word had told him another thing; namely, that he should be king in his stead. Our text says also, that Jesus Christ bids preachers, in their preaching repentance and remission of sins, begin first at Jerusalem; thereby declaring most truly the infinite largeness of the merciful heart of God and his Son, to the sinful children of men. Judge thou, I say, therefore, of the goodness of the heart of God and his Son, by this text, and by others of the same import; so shalt thou not dishonor the grace of God, nor needlessly fright thyself, nor give away thy faith, nor gratify the devil, nor lose the benefit of God's Word. I speak now too weak believers.

Second, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners, to the Jerusalem sinners? Then, by this also, you must learn to judge of the sufficiency of the merits of Christ; not that the merits of Christ can be comprehended, for that they are beyond the conceptions of the whole world, being called 'the unsearchable riches of Christ'; but yet they may be apprehended to a considerable degree. Now, the way to apprehend them most, is, to consider what offers, after his resurrection, he makes of his grace to sinners; to be sure he will not offer beyond the virtue of his merits; because, as grace is the cause of his merits, so his merits are the basis and bounds upon and by which his grace stands good, and is let out to sinners. Doth, he then commands that his mercy should be offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners? It declares, that there is a sufficiency in his blood to save the biggest sinners. 'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.' And again, 'Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man [this man's merits] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses' (Acts 13:38).

Works of John Bunyan – GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; OR THE APPLICATION18

 

First, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners? Then this shows us how to make a right judgment of the heart of Christ to men. Indeed, we have the advantage to guess at the goodness of his heart by many things; such as by his taking our nature upon him, his dying for us, his sending his Word and ministers to us, and all that we might be saved. But this of beginning to offer mercy to Jerusalem is that which heightens all the rest; for this doth not only confirm to us, that love was the use of his dying for us, but it shows us yet more the depth of that love.

He might have died for us, and yet have extended the benefit of his death to a few, as one might call them, of the best-conditioned sinners, to those who, though they were weak, and so could not but sin, yet made not a trade of sinning; to those that sinned not lavishly. There are in the world, as one may call them, the moderate sinners; the sinners that mix righteousness with their pollutions; the sinners that, though they be sinners, do what on their part lies—some that are blind would think so—that they might be saved. I say, it had been love, great love, if he had died for none but such, and sent his love to such; but that he should send out conditions of peace to the biggest of sinners; yea, that they should be offered to them first of all; (for so he means when he says, 'Begin at Jerusalem';) this is wonderful! this shows his heart to purpose, as also the heart of God his Father, who sent him to do this.

There is nothing more incident to men that are awake in their souls than to have wrong thoughts of God—thoughts that are narrow, and that pinch and pen up his mercy to scanty and beggarly conclusions, and rigid legal conditions; supposing that it is rude, and an entrenching upon his majesty to come ourselves, or to invite others, until we have scraped and washed, and rubbed off as much of our dirt from us as we think is convenient, to make us somewhat orderly and handsome in his sight. Such never knew what these words meant, 'Begin at Jerusalem.' Yea, such in their hearts have compared the Father and his Son to niggardly rich men, whose money comes from them like drops of blood. True, say such, God has mercy, but he is loath to part with it; you must please him well if you get any from him; he is not so free as many suppose, nor is he so willing to save as some pretended gospellers imagine.

But I ask such if the Father and Son be not unspeakably free to show mercy, why was this clause put into our commission to preach the gospel? Yea, why did he say, 'Begin at Jerusalem': for when men, through the weakness of their wits, have attempted to show other reasons why they would have the first proffer of mercy; yet I can prove, by many undeniable reasons, that they of Jerusalem, to whom the apostles made the first offer, according as they were commanded, were the biggest sinners that ever did breathe upon the face of God's earth (set the unpardonable sin aside); upon which [fact] my doctrine stands like a rock, that Jesus the Son of God would have mercy, in the first place, offered to the biggest sinners. And if this doth not show the heart of the Father and the Son to be infinitely free in bestowing forgiveness of sins, I confess myself mistaken.