The Book in His Hand . . . Truth upon His Lips

The Puritans of Bunyan’s day insisted upon the absolute infallibility of the Scriptures, the primacy of preaching, the applicability of the Bible, and the interior quality of the Christian life. Peter Lewis characterized the period as “the golden age of evangelical preaching in England.”

Typically, the Puritan preacher began his message with a striking text. Following a few exegetical comments, he drew from his text a theme. From there he worked his way through an outline of multiple divisions and biblical cross-references arranged under the general headings of “Doctrine,” “Proofs,” and “Uses.” Formal transitions held the parts together so that the most casual hearer could follow easily the preacher’s train of thought.

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History remembers Bunyan as a Puritan because of the time in which he lived, because he shared much of their Protestant theology, and because he adopted many of their homiletical methods. He was, however, essentially a Baptist. Bunyan received his 1672 license to preach as a Congregational minister but referred to himself as an Anabaptist. He agreed with the Calvinists on most theological matters but was deeply influenced by Luther’s emphasis upon the personal nature of salvation. His theology gave his preaching and writing a more personal appeal than that of contemporary orthodox Calvinists.

John Brown served as pastor of the Bunyan Meeting in Bedford from 1864 until 1903, a position that afforded him an unique opportunity to study the legacy of his predecessor. He concluded that Bunyan’s preaching bore a number of distinct characteristics. Bunyan, according to Brown, was a master of grand and noble Saxon speech. He spoke simply and directly. He employed exquisite illustrations of an everyday sort, stressed universal and central truths (as opposed to divisive Christian issues), and spoke with clear conviction.

Obviously, Bunyan possessed an active imagination and a sense of artistry. As a twenty year old he hammered a violin out of iron to satisfy his desire for a musical instrument. While a prisoner he whittled a flute out of a stool’s leg. He unleashed his imagination in his writing and, to a lesser degree, in his preaching. When he recounted biblical narratives he added real-to-life details that brought the stories alive. He took the simplest things from everyday life and drew from them great spiritual insights. His vivid personality and sense of humor stamped themselves on all he said.

His practice of voicing what he anticipated as objections from his audience or their request for clarification as part of his transitional statements reminds the modern hearer of Billy Graham’s, “But you might say, Billy . . .” Occasionally, Bunyan asked his hearers to imagine themselves placed in a particular, concrete situation. This was another distinct trait of his. He also made much of antithesis when preaching, contrasting, for example, the states of the godly and the ungodly.