Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It. 175

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

3. As he pleadeth by himself alone, and nowhere else but in the court of heaven with the Father, so as he pleadeth with the Father for us, he observeth this rule-

(1.) He granteth and confesseth whatever can rightly be charged upon us; yet so as that he taketh the whole charge upon himself, acknowledging the crimes to be his own. "O God," says he, "thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins"; my guiltiness "is not hid from thee" (Psa 69:5). And this he must do, or else he can do nothing. If he hides the sin, or lesseneth it, he is faulty; if he leaves it still upon us, we die. He must, then, take our iniquity to himself, make it his own, and so deliver us; for having thus taken the sin upon himself, as lawfully he may, and lovingly doth, "for we are members of his body" ('tis his hand, 'tis his foot, 'tis his ear hath sinned), it followeth that we live if he lives; and who can desire more? 5This, then, must be thoroughly considered, if ever we will have comfort in a day of trouble and distress for sin.

And thus far there is, in some kind, a harmony betwixt his being a sacrifice, a priest, and an Advocate. As a sacrifice, our sins were laid upon him (Isa 53). As a priest, he beareth them (Exo 28:38). And as an Advocate, he acknowledges them to be his own (Psa 69:5). Now, having acknowledged them to be his own, the quarrel is no more betwixt us and Satan, for the Lord Jesus has espoused our quarrel, and made it his. All, then, that we in this matter have to do, is to stand at the bar by faith among the angels, and see how the business goes. O blessed God! what a lover of mankind art thou! and how gracious is our Lord Jesus, in his thus managing matters for us.

(2.) The Lord Jesus having thus taken our sins upon himself, next pleads his own goodness to God on our behalf, saying, "Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel: because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face" (Psa 69:6,7). Mark, let them not be ashamed for my sake; let them not be confounded for my sake. Shame and confusion are the fruits of guilt, or of a charge for sin, (Jer 3:25), and are but an entrance into condemnation (Dan 12:2. John 5:29). But behold how Christ pleads, saying, Let not that be for my sake, for the merit of my blood, for the perfection of my righteousness, for the prevalency of my intercession. Let them not be ashamed for my sake, O Lord God of hosts. And let no man object, because this text is in the Psalms, as if it were not spoken by the prophet of Christ; for both John and Paul, yea, and Christ himself, do make this psalm a prophecy of him. Compare verse 9 with John 2:17, and with Romans 15:3; and verse 21 with Matthew 27:48, and Mark 15:25. But is not this a wonderful thing, that Christ should first take our sins, and account them his own, and then plead the value and worth of his whole self for our deliverance? For by these words, "for my sake," he pleads his own self, his whole self, and all that he is and has; and thus he put us in good estate again, though our cause was very bad.

To bring this down to weak capacities. Suppose a man should be indebted twenty thousand pounds, but has not twenty thousand farthings wherewith to pay; and suppose also that this man be arrested for this debt, and that the law also, by which he is sued, will not admit of penny bate; this man may yet come well enough off if his advocate or attorney will make the debt his own and will, in the presence of the judges, out with his bags, and pay down every farthing. This is the way of our Advocate. Our sins are called debts (Matt 6:12). We are sued for them by the law (Luke 12:59). And the devil is our accuser, but behold the Lord Jesus comes out with his worthiness, pleads it at the bar, making the debt his own (Mark 10:45. II Cor 3:5). And saith, Now let them not be ashamed for my sake, O Lord God of hosts: let them not be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. And hence, as he is said to be an Advocate, so he is said to be a propitiation, or amends-maker, or one that appeaseth the justice of God for our sins: If any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins."

And who can now object to the deliverance of the child of God? God cannot; for he, for Christ's sake, according as he pleaded, hath forgiven us all trespasses (Col 2:13, Eph 4:32). The devil cannot; his mouth is stopped, as is plain in the case of Joshua (Zech 3). The law cannot, for it approves of what Christ has done. This, then, is the way of Christ's pleading. You must know that when Christ pleads with God, he pleads with a just and righteous God, and therefore he must plead law, and nothing but law; and this he pleaded in both of these pleas: first, in confessing the sin, he justified the sentence of the law by pronouncing it evil; and then, in his laying of himself, his whole self, before God for that sin, he vindicated the sanction and perfection of the law. Thus, he magnifies the law, makes it honorable, and yet brings off his client safe and sound in the view of all the angels of God.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It. 174

 

II. I come now to show you how Jesus Christ manages his office as an Advocate for us. And that I may do this to your edification, I shall choose this method to open it first. Show me how he manages this office with his Father. Second. I shall show you how he manages it before him against our adversary.

First, how does he manage his office of Advocate with his Father?

1. He doth it by himself, by no other as deputy under him, no angel, no saint; no work has a place here but Jesus, and Jesus only. This is what the text implies: “We have an Advocate”; speaking of one, but one alone; without an equal or an inferior. We have but one, and he is Jesus Christ. Nor is it for Christ’s honor, the honor of the law, or the justice of God that anyone but Jesus Christ should be an Advocate for a sinning saint. Besides, to assert the contrary, what doth it but lessen sin, and make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous? It would lessen sin should it be removed by a saint or angel; it would make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous, yea, needless, should it be possible that sin could be removed from us by either saint or angel.

Again; if God should admit of more advocates than one, and yet make mention of never a one but Jesus Christ; or if John should allow another, and yet speak nothing but of Jesus only; yea, that an advocate under that title should be mentioned but once, but once only in all the book of God, and yet that divers should be admitted, stands neither with the wisdom or love of God, nor with the faithfulness of the apostle. But saints have but one Advocate, if they will use him or improve their faith in that office for their help; if not, they must take what follows. This I thought good to hint at, because the times are corrupt and because ignorance and superstition always wait for a countenance with us, and these things have a natural tendency to darken all truth, so especially this, which brings to Jesus Christ so much glory and yields to the godly so much help and relief.

2. As Jesus Christ alone is Advocate, so is God’s bar, and that alone is that before which he pleads, for God is to judge himself (Deut 32:36). Heb 12:23). Nor can the cause for which he is now pleading be removed from any other court, either by appeals or otherwise. Could Satan could remove us from heaven to another court, he would certainly be too hard for us, because there we should want our Jesus, our Advocate, to plead our cause. Indeed, sometimes he impleads us before men, and they are glad of the occasion, for they and he are often one. Still, then we have left to remove our cause, and to pray for a trial in the highest court, saying, “Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal” (Psa 17:2). This wicked world does sentence us for our good deeds, but how then would they sentence us for our bad ones? But we will never appeal from heaven to earth for right, for here we have no Advocate; “our Advocate is with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

T

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It. 173

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

[Imperfect in their Duties.]—Further, as Christ Jesus, our Lord, doth save us, by his intercession, from that hurt that would unavoidably come upon us by these, so also, by that, we are saved from the evil that is at any time found in any or all our holy duties and performances that is our duty daily to be found in. That our duties are imperfect follows upon what was discoursed before, for if our graces are imperfect, how can our duties be so too?

(1.) Our prayers—how imperfect are they? With how much unbelief are they mixed? How apt is our tongue to run, in prayer, before our hearts? With how much earnestness do our lips move while our hearts lie within as cold as a clod? Yea, and oftentimes, it is to be feared; we ask for that without saying a word that we care, whether we have it or not. Where is the man who pursues with all his might what he seems to ask for with all his heart? Prayer has become a shell, a piece of formality, a very empty thing, as to the spirit and life of prayer on this day. I speak now of the prayers of the godly. I once met with a poor woman who, in the greatest of her distresses, told me she used to rise in the night, in cold weather, and pray to God while sweating with fears of the loss of her prayers and desires that her soul might be saved. I have heard of many who have played, but of few who have prayed till they have sweated because they wrestled with God for mercy in that duty.

(2.) There is the duty of almsgiving, another gospel performance, but how poorly is it done in our days? We have so many foolish ways to lay out money, in toys and fools' baubles for our children, that we can spare none, or very little, for the relief of the poor. Also, do not many give that to their dogs; yea, let it lie in their houses until it stinks so vilely that neither dog nor cat will eat it, which, had it been bestowed well in time, might have been succor and nourishment to some poor member of Christ?

(3.) There is hearing of the Word, but, alas! the place of hearing is the place of sleeping with many a fine professor. I have often observed that those who keep shops can briskly attend to a two-penny customer, but when they come themselves to God's market, they spend their time too much letting their thoughts wander from God's commandments, or in a nasty, drowsy way. The heads and hearts of most hearers are to the Word as the sieve is to water; they can hold no sermons, remember no texts, bring home no proofs, and produce none of the sermons to the edification and profit of others. And do not the best take up too much in hearing, and mind too little what, by the Word, God calls for at their hands, to perform it with a good conscience?

(4.) There is faithfulness in callings, faithfulness to brethren, faithfulness to the world, faithfulness to children, to servants, to all, according to our place and capacity. Oh! how little of it is there found in the mouths and lives, to speak nothing of the hearts, of professors.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It. 172

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

OF THE BENEFITS OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION.

(1.) Faith, which is the root grace, the grand grace, is sufficiently manifested by its shortness of apprehension of things about the person, offices, relations, and works of Christ, now in the heavenly place for us. It is also very defective in its fetching of comfort from the Word to us, and in continuing of it with us, when at any time we attain unto it; in its receiving of strength to subdue sin, and in its purifying of the heart, though indeed it doth what it doth in reality, yet how short is it of doing of it thoroughly? Often, were it not for supplies by the intercession of Christ, faith would fail to perform its office in any measure. (Luke 22:31,32)

(2.) There is hope, another grace of the Spirit bestowed upon us; and how often is that also, as to the excellency of working, made to flag? 'I shall perish,' saith David; 'I am cut off from before thine eyes,' said he. (Psa 31:22) And now where was his hope, in the right gospel discovery? Also, all our fears of men, fears of death, and fears of judgment arise from the imperfections of hope. But from all those faults Christ saves us by his intercessions.

(3.) There is love, that should be in us as hot as fire. It is compared to fire, to fire of the hottest sort; yea, it is said to be hotter than the coals of juniper. (Cant 8:6,7) But who finds this heat in love so much as for one poor quarter of an hour together? Some little flashes, perhaps, some at some times may feel, but where is that constant burning of affection that the Word, the love of God, and the love of Christ call for? yea, and that the necessities of the poor and afflicted members of Christ call for also. Ah! love is cold in these frozen days, and short when it is at the highest.

(4.) The grace of humility, when is it? who has a thimbleful thereof? Where is he that is 'clothed with humility,' and that does what he is commanded 'with all humility of mind'? (1 Peter 5:5, Acts 20:19)

(5.) For zeal, where is that also? Zeal for God against sin, profaneness, superstition, and idolatry. I speak now to the godly, who have this zeal in the root and habit; but oh, how little of it puts forth itself into actions in such a day as this is!

(6.) There is reverence, fear, and standing in awe of God's Word and judgments, where are the excellent workings thereof to be found? And where it is most, how far short of perfect acts is it?

(7.) Simplicity and godly sincerity also, with how much dirt is it mixed in the best; especially among those of the rich saints, who have got the poor and beggarly art of complimenting? The more compliments, the less sincerity. Many words will not fill a bushel. But 'in the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin.' (Prov 10:19) Plain men are thin come up in this day; to find a mouth without fraud and deceit now is a rare thing. Thus might one count up all the graces of the Spirit, and show wherein every one of them is scanty and wanting of perfection. Now look, what they want of perfection is supplied with sin and vanity; for there is a fullness of sin and flesh at hand to make up all the vacant places in our souls. There is no place in the souls of the godly but it is filled up with darkness when the light is wanting, and with sin so far forth as grace is wanting. Satan, also, diligently waiteth to come in at the door, if Careless has left it a little achare. But, oh! the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ever liveth to make intercession for us, and that, by so doing, saves us from all the imperfect acts and workings of our graces, and from all the advantages that flesh, and sin, and Satan getteth upon us thereby.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It. 171

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

[WHY THE JUSTIFIED NEED AN INTERCESSOR.]

And this is the reason, or one reason, why those who are justified need an intercessor—to wit, to save us from the evil of the sin that remains in our flesh after we are justified by grace through Christ and set free from the law as to condemnation. Therefore, as it is said, we are saved; so it is said, 'He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.' The godly, for now, we will call them the godly, though there is yet an abundance of sin in them, feel in themselves many things even after justification by which they are convinced they are still attended with personal, sinful imperfections.

[Imperfect in their feelings and inclinations.]—(1.) They feel unbelief, fear, mistrust, doubting, despondings, murmurings, blasphemies, pride, lightness, foolishness, avarice, fleshly lusts, heartlessness to good, wicked desires, low thoughts of Christ, too good thoughts of sin, and, at times, too great an itching after the worst of immoralities.

(2.) They feel in themselves an aptness to incline to errors, as to lean to the works of the law for justification; to question the truth of the resurrection and judgment to come; to dissemble and play the hypocrite in the profession, and in performance of duties; to do religious duties rather to please man than God, who trieth the heart.

(3.) They feel an inclination in them, in times of trial, to faint under the cross, to seek too much to save themselves, to dissemble the known truth to obtain a little favor with men and to speak things that they ought not, that they may sleep in a whole skin.

(4.) They feel wearisomeness in religious duties but have a natural propensity for things of the flesh. They feel a desire to go beyond bounds both at board and bed, in bodily exercise, and in all lawful recreation.

(5.) They feel in themselves an aptness to take advantage of using lawful things, such as food, raiment, sleep, talk, estates, relations, beauty, wit, parts, and graces, to unlawful ends. These things, with many more of the like kind, the justified man finds and feels in himself, to his humbling and often cast down; and to save him from the destroying evil of these, Christ ever liveth to make intercession for him.

[Imperfect in their graces.]Again, the justified man is imperfect in his graces and therefore needs to be saved by the intercession of Christ from the bad fruit that that imperfection yields.

Justifying righteousness is accompanied by graces—the graces of the Spirit. Though these graces are not that matter by and through which we are justified, nor any part thereof, that being only the obedience of Christ imputed to us of mere pleasure and goodwill, they come when justification comes. (Rom 9) And though they are not so easily discerned at first, they show themselves afterward. But I say, how many soever they are and how fast soever they grow, their utmost agreement here is but a state short of perfection. None of the graces of God's Spirit in our hearts can do their work in us without shortness, and that is because of their own imperfections and also because of the oppositions that they meet with in the flesh.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It.170

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

Inferences from the benefits of Christ's intercession.

Third. And now I come to the third thing that I told you I should speak to, and that is, to those inferences that may be gathered from these words.

1. Are they justified by Christ's blood, such as those who have yet to be saved by his intercession? Then, from here, it follows that justification will stand with imperfection. It doth not, therefore, follow that a justified man is without infirmity, for he that is without infirmity—that is, perfect with absolute perfection—has no need to be yet saved by an act to be performed by a mediator and his mediation.

When I say, justification will stand with imperfection, I do not mean that it will allow, countenance, or approve thereof; but I mean there is no necessity of our perfection, of our personal perfection, as to our justification, and that we are justified without it; yea, that, in justified persons, remains. Again, when I say that justification will stand with imperfection, I do not mean that in our justification we are imperfect, for in that we are complete; 'we are complete in him' who is our justice. (Col 2:10) If otherwise, the imperfection is in the matter that justifies us, which is the righteousness of Christ. Yea, and to say so would conclude that wrong judgment proceedeth from him that imputes that righteousness to us for justification since an imperfect thing is imputed to us for justification. But far be it from those who believe that God is true to imagine such a thing; all his works are perfect, and nothing is wanting in them as to the present design.

[Quest.] But what then do we mean when we say that justification will stand in a state of imperfection?

Answ. Why, I mean that justified men are yet sinners in themselves and are yet full of imperfections—yeah, sinful imperfections. Justified Paul said, 'I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.' (Rom 7:18) While we are sinners, we are justified by the blood of Christ. Hence, again, it is said, 'he justifies the ungodly.' (Rom 4:5, 5:8, 9) Justification, then, only covers our sin from the sight of God; it makes us not perfect with inherent perfection. But God, for the sake of that righteousness which by his grace is imputed to us, declareth us quit and discharged from the curse, and sees sin in us no more to condemnation.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It.169

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

[In Christ's ability to save, lieth our safety.]

But some may say, What is the meaning of the word able? 'Wherefore he can save.' He can save the uttermost. How it come to pass that his power to save is rather put in than his willingness? For willingness, the soul would better have pleased me. I will add two or three words to this question. And,

First, this word table suggests to us the sufficiency of his merit, the great worthiness of his merit, for, as Intercessor, he sticks fast by his merit; all his petitions, prayers, or supplications are grounded upon the worthiness of his person as Mediator and on the validity of his offering as priest. This is more clear if you consider the reason why those priests and sacrifices under the law could not make the worshippers perfect. It was, I say, because there was worthiness and merit in their sacrifices. But this man, when he came and offered his sacrifice, did by that one act 'perfect for ever them that are sanctified,' or set apart for glory. 'But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God.' (Heb 10:1-12)

When Moses prayed for the people of Israel, he said, 'And now, I beseech you, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken.' But what had he said? 'The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty—Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven these people, from Egypt even until now.' (Num 14:17-19)

Second, has he but power? We know he is willing; otherwise, he would not have promised; it is also his glory to pardon and save. So, then, in his ability lies our safety. What if he were never so willing? If he were not of sufficient ability, what would his willingness do? But he has shown, as I said, his willingness by promising: 'Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.' (John 6:37) So now our comfort lies in his power, in that he can keep his word. (Rom 4:20,21) And this will also be seen when he hath saved them that come to God by him when he hath saved them to the uttermost; not to the uttermost of his ability, but to the uttermost of our necessity; for to the uttermost of his ability, I believe he will never be put to it to save his church; not because he is loath so to save, but because there is no need so to save; he shall not need to put out all his power and to press the utmost of his merit for the saving of his church. Alas! there is sufficiency of merit in him to save a thousand times as many more as are like to be saved by him; 'he can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.'

Measure not, therefore, what he can do by what he has, doth, or will do; neither do thou interpret this word to the uttermost, as if it related to the uttermost of his ability, but rather as it relateth, for so it doth indeed, to the greatness of thy necessity. For as he can save thee, though thy condition is, as it may be supposed to be, the worst that ever man was in that was saved, so he can save thee, though thy condition was ten times worse than it is.

What! shall not the worthiness of the Son of God be sufficient to save from the sin of man? or shall the sin of the world be of that weight to destroy that it shall put Christ Jesus to the uttermost of the worth of his person and merit to save therefrom? I believe it is blasphemy to think so. We can easily imagine that he can save all the world—that is, that he can do it—but we cannot imagine that he can do no more than we think he can. But our imagination and thoughts set no bounds on his ability. 'He can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.' But what that is, I say, no man can think, no man can imagine. So, then, Jesus Christ can do more than ever any man thought he could do as to saving; he can do we know not what. This, therefore, should encourage those who come to him and those who come to hope. This, I say, should encourage them to let out, to lengthen, and heighten their thoughts by the word, to the uttermost, seeing he can 'save to the uttermost them that come to God by him.'

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It.168

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

(3.) There are also the oppositions of sense and reason hard at work for the devil, against the soul; the men of his own house are risen up against him. One's sense and reason, one would think, should not fall in with the devil against ourselves, and yet nothing more common, nothing more natural, than for our own sense and reason to turn unnatural, and are both against our God and us. And now it is hard to come to God. Better can a man hear and deal with any objections against himself than with those that he does make against himself? They lie close, stick fast, speak aloud, and will be heard; yes, they will haunt and hunt him, as the devil doth some, in every hole and corner. But come, man, come, for he can save to the uttermost!

(4.) Now guilt is the consequence and fruit of all this, and what an intolerable burden as guilt! They talk of the stones and of the sands of the sea, but it is guilt that breaks the heart with its burden. And Satan has the art of making the uttermost of every sin; he can blow it up, make it swell, and make every hair of its head as big as a cedar. He can tell how to make it a heinous and unpardonable offense, an offense of that continuance, and committed against so much light that, says he, it is impossible it should ever be forgiven. But, soul, Christ can save to the uttermost; he can 'do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.' (Eph 3:20)

(5.) Join to all this the rage and terror of men, which thing of itself is sufficient to quash and break to pieces all desires to come to God by Christ; yea, and it doth do so to thousands that are not willing to go to hell. Yet thou art kept and made to go panting on; a whole world of men, devils, and sin is not able to keep you from coming. But how comes it to pass that thou art so hearty, that thou settest thy face against so much wind and weather? I dare say it arises not from yourself nor from any of your enemies. This comes from God, though thou art not aware thereof, and is obtained for thee by the intercession of the blessed Son of God, who can also save thee to the uttermost, that comes to God by him.

(6.) And for a conclusion as to this, I will add that there is much of the honor of the Lord Jesus engaged as to the saving of the coming man to the uttermost: 'I am glorified in them,' saith he. (John 17:10) He is exalted to be a Savior. (Acts 5:31) And if the blessed one does count it an exaltation to be a savior, surely it is an exaltation to be a savior and a great one. 'They shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a Savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.' (Isa 19:20) If it is a glory to be a Saviour, a great Saviour, then it is a glory for a Saviour, a great one, to save, and save, and save to the uttermost—to the uttermost man, to the uttermost sin, to the uttermost temptation. And hence it is that he saith again, speaking of the transgressions, sins, and iniquities that he would pardon, that it should turn to him for a name of joy, praise, and an honor before all nations.' (Jer 33:9) He, therefore, counts it an honor to be a great savior and to save men to the uttermost.

When Moses said, 'I beseech thee, show me thy glory,' the answer was, 'I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.' (Exo 33:18,19) And when he came indeed to make proclamation, then he proclaimed, 'The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.' (Exo 34:6,7) That will by no means clear them, and it will not come to me that they may be saved.

See here, if it is not by himself his glory to make his goodness, all his goodness, pass before us. And how can that be if he saveth not to the uttermost those that come unto God by him? For goodness is by us but by those acts by which it expresses itself to be so. And, I am sure, to save, to save to the uttermost, is one of the most eminent expressions by which we understand it is great goodness. I know goodness has many ways to express itself to be what it is to the world, but then it expresses its greatness when it pardons and saves the uttermost. My goodness, says Christ, extends not to my Father but to my saints. (Psa 16:2,3) My Father has no need of my goodness, but my saints have, and therefore it shall reach forth itself for their help, in whom is all my delight. And, 'Oh, how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men'! (Psa 31:19) It is, therefore, that which tends to get Christ a name, fame, and glory, to be able to save to the uttermost those that come to God by him.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It .167

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

Christ saves to the uttermost.

Second, I shall now show you something of what it is for Christ, by his intercession, to save to the 'uttermost.' 'He can save them to the uttermost.'

This is a great expression and carries with it much. 'Uttermost' signifies to the outside, to the end, to the last, to the furthest part. And it has respect for both people and things. (Gen 49:26, Deut 30:4, Matt 5:26, Mark 13:27, Luke 15)

1. To persons. Some persons are in their own apprehensions, even further from Christ than anybody else; afar off, a great way off, yet a-coming, as the prodigal was. Now, these many times are exceedingly afraid; the sight of that distance that they think is between Christ and them makes them afraid. As it is said in another case, 'They that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid of your tokens.' (Psa 65:8) So these are afraid they shall not speed, not obtain that for which they come to God. But the text says He can save to the uttermost, to the very hindermost, those that come to God by him.

Two sorts of men seem to be far, very far from God. (1.) The town sinner. (2.) The great backslider. (Neh 1:9) But both of these, if they come, he can save to the uttermost. He can save them from all those dangers that they fear will prevent them from obtaining the grace and mercy they would need to help them in times of need. The publicans and harlots enter into the kingdom of heaven.

2. As this text respects people, so it respects things. There are some things with which some are attending that are coming to God, by Christ, that make their coming hard and very difficult.

(1.) There is a more than ordinary breaking up of the corruptions of their nature. It seems as if all their lusts and vile passions of the flesh have become masters, and they might now do what they will with the soul. Yea, they take this man and toss and tumble him like a ball in a large place. This man is not master of himself, of his thoughts, nor of his passions—' His iniquities, like the wind, do carry him away.' (Isa 64:6) He thinks to go forward, but this wind blows him backward; he labors against this wind, but cannot find that he gets ground; he takes what advantage opportunity doth minister to him, but all he gets is to be beat out of heart, out of breath, out of courage. He stands still, pants, and gapeth as for life. 'I opened my mouth and panted,' said David, 'for I longed for thy commandments.' (Psa 119:131) He sets forward again but has nothing but labor and sorrow.

(2.) Nay, to help forward his calamity, Satan [and his] angels will not be wanting, both to trouble his head with the fumes of their stinking breath nor to throw up his heels in their dirty places—' And as he was yet a-coming, the devil threw him down and tare him.' (Luke 9:42) How many strange, hideous, and amazing blasphemies have those, some of whom are coming to Christ, injected and fixed upon their spirits against him? There is nothing so common as having some hellish wish or other against God they are coming to and against Christ, by whom they would come to him. These blasphemies are like those frogs I have heard of that will leap up, catch hold of, and hang by their claws. Now help, Lord; now, Lord Jesus, what shall I do? Now, Son of David, have mercy upon me! I say these words are hard work for such a one. But he can save to the uttermost this comer to God by himself.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Intercession Of Christ and Who are Privilege In It.166

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

Object. 1. Perhaps some may say that we are not saved from all punishment of sin by the death of Christ, and if so, we are not saved from all danger of damnation by the intercession of Christ.

Answ. We are saved from all punishment in hellfire by the death of Christ. Jesus has 'delivered us from the wrath to come.' (1 Thess 1:10) So that as to this great punishment, God, for his sake, has forgiven us all trespasses. (Col 2:13) But we being translated from being slaves to Satan to be sons of God, God reserves yet this liberty in his hand to chastise us if we offend, as a father chastiseth his son. (Deut 8:5) But this chastisement is not in legal wrath but in fatherly affection; not to destroy us, but that still we might be made to get advantage, thereby even being made partakers of his holiness. This is, that we might 'not be condemned with the world.' (Heb 12:5-11, 1 Cor 11:32) As to the second part of the objection, there are, as we say, many things that happen between or between the cup and the lip; many things attempt to overthrow the work of God and cause us to perish through our weakness, notwithstanding the price that Christ has paid for us. But what says the Scripture? 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake, we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' (Rom 8:35-39)

Thus the apostle reckoneth up all the disadvantages that a justified person is exposed to in this life and, by way of challenge, declares that not any one of them, nor all together, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, that is towards us by Christ, his death, and his intercession.

Object. 2. It may be further objected that the apostle doth here leave out sin, unto which we know the saints are subject, after justification. And the sin of itself—we need no other enemies—is of that nature as to destroy the whole world.

Answ. Sin is sin, like sin, wherever it is found. But sin as to the damning effects thereof is taken away from them, unto whom righteousness is imputed for justification. Nor shall any or all of the aforementioned, though there is a tendency in every one of them to drive us unto sin, drown us through it, in perdition and destruction. I am persuaded, says Paul; they shall never be able to do that. The apostle, therefore, doth implicitly, though to expressly, challenge sin, yea, sin by all its advantages, and then glorieth in the love of God in Christ Jesus, from which he concluded it shall never separate the justified. Besides, it would now have been needless to have expressly here put in sin by itself, seeing before that he had argued that those he speaks of were freely justified there from.

One word more before I go to the second head. The Father, as I told you, has reserved to himself the liberty to chastise his sons, to wit, with temporal chastisements, if they offend. This still abideth to us, notwithstanding God's grace, Christ's death, or blessed intercession. And this punishment is so surely entailed to the transgressions that we who believe shall commit that it is impossible that we should be utterly freed from that place, insomuch as the apostle positively concluded them to be bastards, what pretenses to sonship soever they have, that are not, for sin, partakers of fatherly chastisements.

For the reversal of this punishment, we should pray if perhaps God will remit it when we are taught to say, 'Our Father, forgive us our trespasses.' And he who admits of any other sense as to this petition derogates from the death of Christ, faith, or both. For either he concludes that for some of his sins, Christ did not die, or that he is bound to believe that God, though he did, has not yet, nor will forgive them, till from the petitioner some legal work be done; forgive us, as we forgive them that trespass against us. (Matt 6:14,15) But now apply this to temporal punishments, and then it is true that God has reserved a liberty in his hand to punish even the sins of his people upon them; yea, and will not pardon their sin, as to the remitting of such punishment, unless some good work by them be done; 'If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' (Matt 6:15, 18:28–35)

And this is the reason why some that belong to God are yet so under the afflicting hand of God; they have sinned, and God, who is their Father, punisheth; yea, and this is the reason why some who are dear to God have this kind of punishment never forgiven, but it abides with them to their lives end, goes with them to the day of their death, yea, is the very cause of their death. By this punishment, they are cut off from the land of the living. But all this means is that they might 'not be condemned with the world.' (1 Cor 11:32)

Christ died not to save from this punishment; Christ intercedes not to save from this punishment. Nothing but a good life will save from this punishment, nor will it always be that way.

The hidings of God's face, the harshness of his providences, the severe and sharp chastisements that ofttimes overtake the very spirits of his people, plainly show that Christ died not to save from temporal punishments, prays not to save from temporal punishments—that is, absolutely. God has reserved the power to punish, with temporal punishments, the best and dearest of his people, if need be.5 And sometimes he remits them, sometimes not, even as it pleases him. I come now to the second thing.