Introduction

Do you struggle with loving the person next to you?  Do you ever think that so-and-so cannot possibly be saved by Christ?  Reading The Jerusalem Sinner Saved will change your heart for those around you who you think cannot possibly be saved.  You can read reviews of more of John Bunyan’s works here.

Summary

John Bunyan looks at the importance of Christ’s commission for the disciples found in Luke 24:47, here the Lord tells them that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem.

In showing that those in Jerusalem were to first be exhorted with the gospel, Bunyan explains that this shows the greatest of mercies by Jesus Christ.  This is so because it was the Jerusalem sinner that crucified Christ.  It was the Jerusalem sinner that mocked Christ.  It was the Jerusalem sinner that ultimately rejected Christ while here on earth.

By preaching first to the Jerusalem sinner, Christ is showing that there is no one having ever sinned so much or so bad that they are beyond salvation.  The only person beyond salvation is the one who has lived a complete life as an unrepentant sinner.  That is, the one who has died in his sin is the only one incapable of being saved.

Review

I was constantly humbled to see the grace and mercy extended by Christ to the worst of sinners.  While most believers I know will say they are (rightly) the worst sinner they know, Bunyan shows us how Christ viewed the absolute worst of sinners in His day–those who executed Him.

Bunyan, in fine Puritanical exposition, takes three English words, “Beginning at Jerusalem,” from Luke 24:47 and expounds upon it in such detail that the reader closes the book time and again asking to have this same heart for the sinner next door.

Recommendation

If you struggle with sharing the gospel, The Jerusalem Sinner Saved is the book for you.  If you know someone who makes the claim that they have done too much to be saved, then you need to read this book.  You will be better equipped to show the great grace and mercy that Christ has bestowed upon us!  To read Bunyan is to be exhorted practical Christian walk.

Introduction

I read the book Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners in the first volume of the three volume complete works of Bunyan shown above in the picture. You are able to purchase this title as a separate volume for $15.83 at Westminster books though I would highly recommend purchasing the set.

Summary

Grace Abounding is John Bunyan’s (1628-1688) spiritual autobiography that was published in London in 1666. In this spiritual biography, Bunyan shows in great detail his wrestling with God for salvation. He lists how he often thought he was saved yet would willingly shun the Scriptures and correction by God in order to continue in his sinful ways. At one point, he actually began attending church because of the great name he was gaining within the village as a man changed by the workings of God.

After writing much of his false faith, he gloriously details his conversion and how he was changed, quite literally, overnight. Soon after, he was called to preach. While pastoring, he began writing. Bunyan is most well known for his The Pilgrim’s Progress which he wrote while in prison for preaching the gospel. Though that is his most famous book, he wrote many, many others all of which can be found in the three volume works.

Toward the end of this biography, Bunyan offers an apologetic (defense) against the charge of sexual immorality. I honestly do not know why he felt the need to address this particular topic in his spiritual biography (if anyone has insight, please comment!), but he does so at length. Also, toward the end of the book, he offers an account of his imprisonment which is when he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Review

Reading this spiritual biography was of great encouragement and blessing to me. It was a great encouragement for me personally as I read how he came with no Christian heritage or pedigree yet God saw fit to save his soul. I, too, came from no real Christian heritage (nominal Catholicism at best) nor do I have much of a spiritual pedigree in my family beforehand. To see how Bunyan, through Christ, was to live out his faith and come to grips with the sovereignty of God was refreshing to my souls. Many times I found myself thinking that I could relate to what Bunyan had written.

Bunyan is quite open with his life both before and after his conversion. He especially spends much time detailing his false faith leading up to his true salvation. This alone is worth the price of whichever book you purchase. There are many in the church today who, though they think they are Christian, are, in fact, anything but Christian.

Recommendation

Every Christian needs to read Grace Abounding not just for their own edification, but for their spiritual well-being as well. Bunyan tells it straight and in so doing, challenges everyone to take a hard look at their own standing in Christ. We need more testimonies like Bunyan’s (and I fear that there are many out there waiting to be told–Mt. 7:21) in today’s Americanized, apathetic Christian churches. Be sure to pick up a copy of Grace Abounding and rediscover the genius of Bunyan through his own eyes.

Bunyan, John, edited by C.J. Lovik.  Illustrated by Mike Wimmer.  The Pilgrim’s Progress.  Wheaton:  Crossway Books, 2009.  240 pp.  $24.99.  Purchase at Westminster Books for $16.24.

Review

What more can be said about The Pilgrim’s Progress than has already been said?  Truth be told, I would be spinning my wheels to heap praises on this timeless allegorical portrayal of the Christian life.  Did you know, though, that The Pilgrim’s Progress is actually the #2 selling book of all time?  Bet you can’t figure out which book is #1.

At any rate, the question should be running through your mind, “Why do we need another edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress?”  Glad you asked!  This particular edition has been meticulously updated and modernized in the areas that were needed.  In other words, the entire book has not been updated.  Only the antiquated metaphors and some of the allegorical phrases that are lost on modern readers today have been updated.

The end notes are extremely helpful in explaining what is being shared by Bunyan without interfering with the flow of the story.  These can be read before or after reading a particular chapter though I would recommend that they not be read while reading the chapter unless you are greatly confused.  Lovik, the editor, achieves his goal of maintaining the integrity of Bunyan’s writing while updating the language for the modern reader to understand (without the use of a 1600′s dictionary!) what is being said.

The beauty of this particular edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress is the illustrative work by Mike Wimmer.  The colorful pictures will keep your children engaged as you read aloud the travels of Christian on his way to the Celestial City.

The one downfall is that the book only contains Christian’s pilgrimage to the Celestial City and not his wife’s and children’s pilgrimage.

Recommendation

Reading this particular edition will be, for the many who have read The Pilgrim’s Progress, as though they are reading it for the first time.  The reader will stop frequently and say something like, “Oh, that is what that means!”  or “I never saw that before!”  I pray that this edition would bring back the grandeur of Bunyan’s imagination.

DVD

For those interested in introducing The Pilgrim’s Progress I highly recommend the DVD to the right entitled Pilgrim’s Progress: Journey to Heaven.  I have shown it to my children (5 and younger) and to the children at my church where I currently serve as the Children’s Minister.  While they remove much from the book to adapt it to the movie, it certainly piqued the curiosity of many of the kids to the point that they wanted to read the book for themselves.  It has become one of my own children’s favorite movies.

Review

Based on Psalm 51:17, John Bunyan writes on what exactly God looks for in the heart and mind of a man.  That is, God seeks a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  Without these two, Bunyan questions the authenticity of one’s conversion.

The Acceptable Sacrifice, as is the case with most anything written by the Puritans, needs to be read today.  In an age of walking an aisle and praying a prayer, John Bunyan lays it all out on the line regarding what kind of true emotions come with one’s salvation.  Even more, he argues that the Christian must remain with a contrite heart and broken spirit.

This does not mean that Christian’s will mope around and be bummed out all the time.  On the contrary, they are to have a broken heart because of their sin, while knowing that God has forgiven them through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.  Our spirit is to be contrite because we will see more and more the reality of our sinful natures.  At the same time, we will experience more and more the grace of God in forgiving a “wretch such as I.”

As I read The Acceptable Sacrifice I was reminded one again to remain humble before the foot of the cross.  I was also reminded of the only means by which men can truly have a broken spirit and a contrite heart–the Word of God.  It takes the work of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the spoken Word (the gospel) to bring about the emotions necessary for forgiveness.

John Bunyan writes with a keen eye toward the Christian and the unrepentant sinner.  His words from 1688 may have well been written in 2008.  What we need today is more men and women to experience the emotions that lead to true salvation rather than simply praying a prayer and adding your name to a local church.  The Acceptable Sacrifice would make an excellent gift for a new believer in Christ.

The Pilgrim’s Progress needs no introduction nor would any review do it any justice. However, this particular rendition of the classic-that word does not suffice for the second most sold book of all time behind God’s Holy Word, the Bible-is not a well know resource for children. With the help of illustrator Alan Parry, Oliver Hunkin set out to arrange the story of Pilgrim so that young children could meet with Everyman who journeys from this world to the next.

Hunkin did a masterful job of choosing the pertinent sections from the original Pilgrim’s Progress and placing them alongside the masterful artistic renditions of each scene. The artwork in and of itself is worthy of the price of the book and might even be able to tell the story just by looking at the pictures. Because of the graphic display of the pictures, it is recommended for children older than eight years old. However, I have read it to my boys (4 and 2) and have witnessed no adverse affects. What I have noticed is that through these illustrations, they have given a “face” to the works of the devil and are beginning to see the reality of his work in our world to the believer.

Perhaps one of the weaknesses of this book, in my humble opinion, is that the language has been modernized. I completely understand why that was done in that today’s children would have no idea what Elizabethan English is saying. Shoot, some adults have no idea how to read it. But, for this particular book, it seems as though something is lost in the modernization of the language. It is as though we lose the full force of Bunyan’s words when we update the language.

Keep in mind that the modernization of the language is almost necessary to be able to relate to the reader what is being said by the author. After all, Bunyan wrote this masterpiece in the 17^th century! I do believe that Hunkin was able to grasp the meaning and relate it to a younger audience than if we were to just read the original book (modernized or not) to our children. By introducing our children to the doctrines found in this book through the writing genre of allegory, parents are beginning to lay the foundation for true Christian faith that we, assuming our own faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, pray that our children might some day make their own.

If you have a time of family worship, this would be a great way to engage your younger children during that time. If you are a children’s minister, or involved in children’s ministry, this would be an excellent resource to add to your ministry. If your children enjoy reading, this would be a great book for them to read and introduce them to the nature of allegorical writings so that they may better enjoy, and understand, other books like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings.

Hunkin, Oliver. Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, 1985. 126 pp.