Grace Abounding: With Other Spiritual Autobiographies

Grace Abounding....is an excellent autobiography of John Bunyan and his spiritual struggle to obtain assurance of his salvation in light if his belief that he had committed the unpardonable sin. Recommended to anyone who may be facing the same struggle with this question. Each paragraph of the text is numbered and, thus, it is easy to put the book down at any point and pick it back up later without losing train of thought. Since the book was written over 300 years ago, it is interesting to have insight into the thoughts of a Christian who lived during that time and to compare with current Christian thinking.

A lot of us are familiar with John Bunyan as the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, whose influence in Christendom is second to the Bible. Bunyan was a preacher, a prolific writer and a shining saint for God. However when we read this book we find out that he was an atheist and infidel in his youth, enjoying sin and rebellious towards God. Inwardly he suffered from tormented nightmares of demons and judgment, but outwardly he went on pretty much as any other sinner, taking delight in sin and being the ringleader of mischief. Several times he nearly lost his life, and even though there were several close calls, still he did not turn to God. After his marriage, he participated in religious activities, went through the motions of attending church and generally lived as he pleased, each time successfully shrugging off pangs of guilt. One day, after church, while playing a sport, a voice seemed to call out to him from heaven to his soul, which said, "Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven, or have thy sins and go to hell?" Bunyan was convinced it was the Lord Jesus looking down on him in displeasure. What follows details his sinking into despair, his desparate attempts at working his way into God's good graces, and his struggles with temptation and doubt. In a strange sort of way, it is comforting to read about Bunyan's struggles and identify with them because you can see how he turned out so greatly used by God. He rationalized, made excuses and tried every way to justify himself. Bunyan did not try to gloss over his motivations but gave an honest account of his struggles from avowed sinner, to religious hypocrite before he was finally converted. He describes in great detail his doubts and despair, his yearning to be converted to Jesus Christ, and then being assured of his salvation by reading the Bible and praying. Reading this book will help you realize how God's grace can abound and save even the most wretched of sinners and gives us abounding hope.

The Pilgrim's Progress is the 2nd most famous book in the world. John Bunyan is a genious and the arguments in the book are very convincing and hard to deny. Anyone who believes in "free will" would be turned around if they read this book. It clearly explains that we do not choose God, He chooses us, or rather, he CHOSE us before the foundations of the world. Everything in his book is scriptual and I love it!

John Bunyan's journey toward saving faith parallels my own more closely than any other fellow sinner's. When I first read his story, I grabbed a pen and filled the margins, and all the while my heart whispered, "Comrade!" At once, I was comforted by the realization that though Bunyan was long gone, there had been another human being who had known the same fearsome battles waged on our behalf by the God who never relinquishes what belongs to Him. Those years when I had felt strange and apart from other believers, suddenly became "safe" to recall. For anyone who is still holding on to the arrogant belief that a person chooses God, rather than the other way around, Bunyan's story is for you. It puts all arguments to rest, leaving only humility and worship in its wake.