THE EARLY YEARS AND CONVERSION

The Early Years and Conversion

John Bunyan was born in 1628, just 17 years after the first King James Authorized Version of the Bible was established. He offers that in his younger years, “For the Holy Scriptures I cared not.”
Like many children he suffered nightmares but the source of his imagination came from sermons about eternal damnation. He says, “I was afraid to sleep lest the devil should carry me to hell.” It is at this point that I commend this preaching of hell for it is the place to be avoided at all costs.
Upon marriage his wife brought into their home some religious books that he read and was convinced that he was a sinful creature who needed God’s forgiveness to get into heaven. How many people today even consider this fact?
One Sunday after attending church he was involved in a sporting game and was convicted by a voice in his head that said, “Wilt thou leave thy sins, and go to heaven? Or have thy sins, and go to hell?”  So what does he do but immediately devise an orthopraxy of giving up a couple of his favorite passions; dancing and bell-ringing.
By this time he had begun to recognize sectarian religion. As an avid reader he developed a fondness of scripture and delighted in those who spoke this “scripture language.”  But there were those known as the Ranters who were an antinomian sect that taught that for those who were saved there was no such thing as sin. He said that he found this doctrine rather seductive but resisted and began to read the Bible more carefully.
Having read Bunyan’s Visions of Heaven and Hell I’ll admit that I was not looking forward to reading more of his misery that will not let his soul rest. He goes on endlessly over his mood swings from the depth of the pit to the height of relief at the idea of making peace with God. He really wears on me but I have to admit that even I must continually learn that my sin must forever be before me that I understand the depth of the grace gift of the atonement and never view that as common.

At this point I relinquish the keyboard to one of my fellow bloggers.