As the regular readers of this blog will know, we are currently participating in the 2008 Puritan Reading Challenge issued by Timmy Brister on his blog, “Provocations and Pantings”. Each month I invite Timmy (and all others involved in the challenge) to join me on the broadcast to discuss the book currently under consideration.
On today’s broadcast we will turn our attention to “Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ” written by John Bunyan. The book is an exegesis of John 6:37 “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
Of all John Bunyan’s writings, this book most fully expresses his delight and joy in the free and gracious welcome given to sinners by Jesus Christ. Bunyan not only explains the meaning of the terms used in the text, but also labors to remove the doubts and difficulties of sinners and backsliders in their approach to Christ. This work could be said to have given rise indirectly to the modern missionary movement, since it strongly influenced Andrew Fuller, the first secretary of the pioneering Baptist Missionary Society, and helped him to set his denomination free from the grip of hyper-Calvinism. It is a Christian classic that deserves a wide modern readership. (Adapted from the publisher)
One fellow-reader of Bunyon’s book commented on Timmy’s blog stating; “Bunyan’s look at John 6:37 was really quite amazing especially knowing what we know about Bunyan’s minimal formal education. This simply shows how God can reveal His word to its fullest to any that He chooses. I would have to say that Bunyan’s zeal to see what every word of God is saying further motivates me to not take a single word of scripture for granted. Bunyan by the leading of the spirit looks deep into this verse and reveals God’s sovereign hand in the calling of His people and as he shows at the close of the book we are to get: Information, Examination and Encouragement and that I got.”
To listen to the program, click on the words “Read more”
