A30211:267
A treatise of the fear of God showing what it is, and how distinguished…A treatise of the fear of God shewing what it is, and how distinguished…
A treatise of the fear of God showing what it is, and how distinguished from that what is not so : also whence it comes, who has it, what are the effects, and what the privileges of those that have it in their hearts / by John Bunyan.A treatise of the fear of God shewing what it is, and how distinguished from that what is not so : also whence it comes, who has it, what are the effects, and what the priviledges of those that have it in their hearts / by John Bunyan.
London: printed for N. Ponder, 1679
Of several sorts of fear of God in the heart of the Children of men.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
These things show, that Gods people, even after they have received the spirit of adoption, have fell foully into sin, and have been bitterly chastised for it; and also that when the rod was most smart upon them, they made great conscience of giving way to their first fears wherewith they were made afraid by the Spirit, as it wrought, as a spirit of bondage; for indeed there is no such thing as the coming of the Spirit of bondage to put us in fear the second time, as such, that is, after he is come as the spirit of adoption to the soul.
These things shew, that Gods people, even after they have received the spirit of adoption, have fell foully into sin, and have been bitterly chastized for it; and also that when the rod was most smart upon them, they made great conscience of giving way to their first fears wherewith they were made afraid by the Spirit, as it wrought, as a spirit of bondage; for indeed there is no such thing as the coming of the Spirit of bondage to put us in fear the second time, as such, that is, after he is come as the spirit of adoption to the soul.
I conclude then, that THAT fear that is is wrought by the spirit of bondage is good, and godly, because the ground for it, is sound; and I also conclude, that he comes to the soul as a spirit of bondage, but once, and that once, is before he comes as a spirit ⟨p. 82⟩of adoption: and if therefore the same fear doth again take hold of thy heart, that is, if after thou hast received the spirit of adoption, thou fearest again the damnation of thy soul, that thou art out of Christ, and under the Law, that fear is bad, and of the Devil, and ought by no means to be admitted by thee.
Quest. But since it is as you say, how doth the Devil after the spirit of adoption is come, work the child of God into those fears of being out of Christ, not forgiven, and so an her of damnation again?