John Bunyan and Variegated Antinomianism

• Published in: Bunyan studies no. 19; p. 76
• Main Author: Caughey, Christopher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Newcastle Upon Tyne Northumbria University, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences 01.01.2015
• Subjects: British & Irish literature; Bunyan, John (1628-1688); Bunyan, John (1628-88); Christianity; English literature; Ethics; God; Puritanism; Reputations; Spirituality; Theology
• ISSN: 0954-0970

2, and so when, and while he hath not Faith about it, but is ungodly'.13 But he also wanted to consider justification from the believer's perspective. Since God had already imputed Christ's righteousness to the believer from eternity, faith was simply the application of that act to the believer's conscience and consciousness for the assurance of having peace with God. [...]people 'gather' their justification not simply from God's single act of imputation, but from 'the word, the which they neither see nor understand, till it is brought to their understanding by the light and glory of the Holy Ghost'.14 Perhaps concerned that he might be misunderstood as having downplayed faith, Bunyan added that 'He then that is justified by Gods Imputation, shall believe by the power of the Holy Ghost; for that MUST come, and work Faith, and strengthen the Soul to act it, because imputed righteousness has gone before'.15 By 1685, Bunyan's mind appears to have changed, because his promotion of justification from eternity in The Pharisee and the Publicane is deliberate. [...]the person bound by the covenant of works is bound upon pain of eternal damnation, to fulfill, and that compleatly, and continually, every particular point of the Ten Commandments, by doing them; do this, and then thou shall live: otherwise, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all (in every particular thing) (or) things that are written in the book of the Law to do them, Gal. 3. [...]the book ends with Emmanuel's proclamation of what Mansoul's fealty should look like: 'Deck thy self therefore according to my bidding, and make thy self by my Law straight steps for thy feet, so shall thy King greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him.'40 This is the third use of the Law in its positive disposition, informing the inhabitants of Mansoul how to show gratitude to the King for his deliverance from the tyranny of Diabolus.