ASSIGNMENT #3

HOW CAN I KNOW FOR SURE THAT I HAVE FAITH?
Posted by Mark

Bunyan struggled immensely with his faith. He did know that the only place to go that could ever offer him any chance of hope was the Scriptures. (Come on Aaron cut him some slack… until God opens his eyes it would be natural to take things out of context) He quotes Rom. 9:16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
(59.) With this scripture I could not tell what to do, for I evidently saw that unless the great God of his infinite grace and bounty, had voluntarily chosen me to be a vessel of mercy, though I should desire, and long, and labour until my heart did break, no good could come of it. Therefore this would still stick with me, how can you tell your are elected? And what if you should not? How then?

(61.) By these things I was driven to my wits’ end.
How many of us struggle with these thoughts? Do we really have any conception of how big God really is? Do we have any concept of how sinful we really are? Do we truly understand holiness, especially the holiness demanded by the One who would save us?
(70.) He quotes Dan. 5:18,19 He had given him all the kingdoms of the earth. Yet, I thought of him (Nebuchadnezzar), if this great man had all his portion in this world, one hour in hell fire would make him forget all.
(88.) Yea, I thought it impossible that ever I should attain to so much goodness of heart, as to thank God that he made me a man. Man indeed is the most noble, by creation, of all the creatures in the visible world: but by sin he has made himself the most ignoble. The guy constantly beats himself up because he understands the gravity of sin and he knows that it has hold on him. But it gets worse as he puts words in God’s mouth:
(109.) I should think that God did mock at these my prayers, saying, and that in the audience of the holy angels, this poor simple wretch doth hanker after me, as if I had nothing to do with my mercy, but to bestow it on such as he: alas poor fool! How art thou deceived, it is not for such as thee to have favour with the Highest.