Fear of God (Puritan Paperbacks)

This book starts slow but picks up quickly. Once it gets going, it is soul-stirring and strengthening.Bunyan had a lot of experience with doubts, as you can discover by reading his autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. And Bunyan knew how to combat those doubts. He had a true and strong grasp of the gospel and could see its implications clearly. Here are some ideas that are found in the book:If God has told me that I am not under the law but under grace, he won’t tell me the opposite.Fearing damnation before you’re saved is right, but fearing damnation after you’re saved is to doubt the gospel.Fearing that you’re damned when you are damned is from God’s Spirit, but fearing you’re damned when you’re saved is from the devil.Here is a direct quote: “Sin cannot dissolve the covenant into which the sons of God, by His grace, are taken.”He who "has not received at the hands of God a new heart, cannot fear the Lord."Bunyan thinks that you can’t really fear God the way you’re supposed to unless you are resting in the gospel. Without that basic comfort, your fear of God will be servile, like a slave, not like a son. Excellent.Bunyan’s prose is direct and straightforward, and it almost reads itself at moments, but there are also times when it is awkward, and you must furrow your brow and sort through it. Most of the book is crystal clear, however, and it is a delight to read page after page where the ideas simply glow.Bunyan was an astute interpreter of Scripture. Spurgeon said of him “this man is a walking Bible!” You can really observe this trait in this book. Bunyan had absorbed the Bible and could use it accurately and immediately, without being cumbersome. He is not always right, but you can really learn a lot about the Bible by reflecting on how he uses it to support his claims.Read this book to grasp the implications of the gospel, to gain insight into Scripture, and of course to learn about fearing God.