On meeting with Discretion

Christian makes it - in spite of himself - to the Beautiful Palace, but the reception is more cautious than we might anticipate! The Porter doesn’t simply welcome him in with open arms, but introduces a new character, Discretion. On the basis of her judgement, Christian will be received into the Palace, or not…

This may prove to be the part of Pilgrim’s Progress that feels most alien to us in the 21st Century British Church. We might feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea that before the Church ‘invests’ in Christian, encouraging him, equipping him, and preparing him for the trial ahead, there is a process of discernment to verify the authenticity of Christian’s faith. The need for such is apparent - we’ve already met a number of folk on the road with Pilgrim whose ‘faith’ it turns out was far from genuine.

We tend to be so grateful that anyone turns up to Church at all, that the idea of ‘testing’ the genuineness of their faith, or even their interest, seems counter-intuitive. We might even feel threatened at the prospect… There is of course a place for judgements of charity, and space for people to turn up for whatever reason and from whatever motive, good or ill. We see this in the ministry of Jesus and the experience of the Apostolic Church. But Discretion (the power to discern, and to make one’s own judgments) is required to ascertain those whose interest in Christ has spiritual integrity. She asks ‘whither he was going… what he had seen and met with in the way… and his name’. Christian’s testimony of his conversion and his pilgrimage to date bear the hall marks of sincerity, legitimacy and credibility. Only now is he welcomed in to meet others in the family, and to enjoy the privileges of the Palace.

This is in line with the historic practise of the Church, which has often included a more formal process of discernment. Indeed, in the early centuries of the Church, you wouldn’t even be considered for baptism until you had completed a three-year discipleship training programme (called the Catechumenate); and had been subjected to an examination by the Bishop. You would have needed a Sponsor who could corroborate your claim to conversion and growth in discipleship. Egeria, who visited Jerusalem around 400 AD and who kept a diary of her trip, records what she witnessed during such an examination:

“Then one by one those seeking baptism are brought up, men coming with their fathers [sponsors] and women with their mothers. As they come in one by one, the bishop asks their neighbours questions about them: ‘Is this person leading a good life? Does he respect his parents? Is he a drunkard or a boaster?’ He asks about all the serious human vices. And if his inquiries show him that someone has not committed any of these misdeeds, he himself puts down his name; but if someone is guilty he is told to go away, and the bishop tells him that he is to amend his ways before he may come to the font. He asks the men and the women the same questions. But it is not too easy for a visitor to come to baptism if he has no witnesses who are acquainted with him…’.

In some parts of the Church today such a formal process is still followed. In the Anglican Church it tends to be less formal, more relational; and we consider the genuineness of someone’s faith or otherwise to be generally self-evidencing in their involvement in Church worship and mission. In other words, people who are genuine tend to stick around and get involved in the opportunities we have for worship, discipleship, mission, and growth. People who aren’t tend not to.

There is a structured element of discretion built into Anglicanism as well - though it is more ‘negative’ in the sense that it precludes those who show clear evidence of not being genuine, rather than interrogating someone to validate their claims to follow Christ. We see a good example of this in the BCP’s Introduction to the ‘Administration of the Lord’s Supper’:

If a Minister be persuaded that any person who presents himself to be a partaker of the holy Communion ought not to be admitted thereunto by reason of malicious and open contention with his neighbours, or other grave and open sin without repentance, he shall give an account of the same to the [Bishop], and therein obey his order and direction…

Questions to Ponder:

Do you think the Church should ‘test’ the authenticity of people’s faith before accepting their claims to follow Christ? What might such a test look like?

What might be the benefits of having such a structure in place?  How might it be abused?

Should we relate differently in Church life to those who we think are Christians, as opposed to those we think are not?


Lions on a Leash

As Christian crests the Hill Difficulty, he meets Timorous and Mistrust, running in the wrong direction. Unlike Simple, Sloth and Presumption, whose sin was simply to stay where they were and not make progress in their pilgrimage and faith; and unlike Formalist and Hypocrisy, who were intent on finding an easier way, these two are determined to make a rapid retreat! Mistrust explains their hasty withdrawal: ‘…just before us lie a couple of lions in the way, whether waking or sleeping we know not, and we could not think, if we came within reach, but they would presently pull us to pieces’. The further they went in their pilgrimage, the more danger they found they had to navigate.

In his spiritually weakened state, having lost the joy and confidence of the Lord’s presence and preserving grace, Christian feels the pull of fear in his own heart. He feels caught: if he goes back to the City of Destruction, there ‘is nothing but death, but; to go forward is fear of death’. The difference Christian perceives even in his fearful condition, is that if he goes forward there is sfatey and life everlasting in the Celestial City beyond death. And so he resolves, ‘I will yet go forward’.

But he has lost much of the day because of his sleeping in the midst of Difficulty, and as the darkness falls he comes to a ‘very narrow passage’. It leads to the Beautiful Palace, but lying in the way Christian sees for himself the lions that had caused such distress to Timorous and Mistrust. His fear is exacerbated as he realises that ‘These beasts range in the night for their prey’. He realises that if he had come earlier in the day, the lions would have been sleeping (as they were when Faithful passes by the same way), and his journey would have been considerably less stressful!

Bunyan shows us something that Christian cannot see in the failing light: the lions were chained. This not an insignificant point. We face enemies in our path; ‘Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (I Pet.5:8). But - and this is crucial - he is on a leash. Even in his fury against the Church, he can go no further that he is permitted (see Job 1-2 for a graphic exploration of this).

But Christian’s earlier failure comes back to bite. He isn’t able to discern the Sovereignty of God in his suffering and trial, and in the enemies he faces. The result: ‘he was afraid, and thought also himself to go back after [Timorous and Mistrust], for he thought nothing but death was before him’. Again we witness the same temptations in Christian that others have faced. And we see him deal with them so very differently: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (Jas.4:7). Feeling the same fear as Timorous, Christian meets it with faltering courage born out of confidence in God. Feeling the same faithlessness as Mistrust, Christian meets it with a resolve to rely on the promise of the New Creation (II Cor.4:16-18).

That resolve is strengthened in fellowship. The Porter, Watchful, explains the situation, and ‘trembling for fear of the lions, he went on … taking good heed to the directions of the Porter’.

‘He heard them roar, but he came to no harm’. Again, Jesus’ prayer is answered: ‘My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one’ (Jn.17:15). I wonder how often that prayer has been answered in our own lives, when we barely had the wit to pray for ourselves? Such is the grace of Jesus, that Christian makes it safely to the Beautiful Palace.

Questions to ponder:

Can you trace similar dynamics in your own experience of pilgrimage… times in your life when your sin has made life more difficult than it needed to be?

Can you trace the patterns of grace even in such times?

Blessed Assurance

Christian has already found support and encouragement in his journey in other Christians: Evangelist; Interpreter; and Help (at the Slough of Despond). He’s met his fair share of hindrances as well… and as he presses on he meets three more: Simple, Sloth and Presumption. As soon as he has experienced the power of the Cross, Christian seeks to share this good news with others… but each awakens and speaks only long enough to warn us of the dangers they personify, and then they lie down again to sleep. Christian continues on, albeit ‘troubled’ by the idea of those who ‘so little esteem the kindness of him that so freely offered to help them’. Tragically, we’ve undoubtedly had similar encounters. Watch out for these three characters when they re-appear in Part 2.

We may think that with his experience at the Cross so fresh in his mind, Christian would be fairly immune to distraction. But then he meets Formalist and Hypocrisy on their way from '‘the land of Vainglory’ and ostensibly on their way to ‘praise on mount Zion’. Christian is confused: ‘Why came you not in at the gate?’. It is always a shock to the system to meet those involved in the life of the Church who aren’t actually born again. And as in Bunyan’s dream, they often sound so sure of themselves, so confident of their own legitimacy, and so dismissive of our own perspective and convictions. It’s hard not to be intimidated, and easy to doubt yourself. It may take some patience, and we do well to follow Christian’s example of ‘often reading in the scroll’, but eventually Difficulty exposes their true nature and their true destinies.

Mind you Christian doesn’t navigate the Hill without some problems of his own. Wearied from his exertions, he stops - legitimately, for ‘the resting place was made by the Lord of the Hill for the refreshment of weary travellers’ - but as he sleeps his scroll falls out of his hand.

This has puzzled readers of Pilgrim’s Progress for generations. Firstly, in spite of the fact that the Lord provides for rest, there is a sense in which Christian has abused this privilege. The clue seems to be in the phrase, ‘pleasing himself, he at last fell into a slumber’. Later Christian will rue ‘his sinful sleep’; and wonders at his own wretchedness ‘that I should sleep in the daytime… in the midst of Difficulty! That I should so indulge the flesh as to use that rest for ease to my flesh, which the Lord of the Hill hath erected only for relief of the spirit of pilgrims!’ . A messenger awakens him and rebukes him when it is almost night (which sounds ominous!), ‘Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise’ (Prov.6:6). Rest is good, and can be a blessing, but when it is indulged it becomes laziness and is damaging to us. Christian is not free from the faults that characterise others he meets (Sloth). Often what distinguishes true Christians from false ones is not necessarily their lack of sin, but their lack of desire for sin, and their willingness to repent. Although, over time that does lead to a mitigating of sinful behaviour.

Having turned the Lord’s help into a hindrance, Christian repents, and speeds on his way. But he has left the scroll behind. What does the scroll represent? Some have thought that it symbolises Christian’s salvation. Can a Christian lose this? Bunyan would hardly countenance such an idea. But can a Christian lose their assurance, their confidence that the Lord is at work in and through them? …that He is preserving them in the way? That seems more likely what Bunyan is warning against. When Christian meets Timorous and Mistrust, who cannot believe that the Lord would lead them past the lions, Christian reaches for his scroll ‘that he might read therein and be comforted’. When he can’t find it, he is in ‘great distress’.

Christian’s sinful slumber has consequences for his pilgrimage. His failure to ‘watch and pray’ has left him ill-equipped to rebuff Timorous and Mistrust, and hopelessly unable to face the lions in the road ahead. He must retrace his steps and rediscover his joy and confidence in the faithfulness of His God to lead him through such dangers before he can go any further.

Questions to ponder:

How would you counsel a Christian who was insecure in their relationship with God? How serious an issue do you think it is to lack confidence in that relationship? How would it damage our discipleship?

How can we cultivate greater confidence and joy as Christians?

What is the link between spiritual assurance, and courage?

The Gift of Interpretation

The House of the Interpreter remains one of the most intriguing sequences of the whole of Pilgrim’s Progress, and in it Bunyan is laying out the key dynamics that will shape Christian’s experience of discipleship. Some speak to what he has already experienced, some are designed to prepare him for what lies ahead. As we see in the first picture, there are those authorised and able to teach such things, and to lead pilgrims safely on the way… and there are those who aren’t. It is more important than we might realise to make sure that we are listening to the right preachers, ‘lest in thy journey thou meet with some who pretend to lead thee right, but their ways go down to death’.

Interpreter draws on such homely and everyday images as dusty rooms; children waiting for gifts; a fire in a hearth; guards at a doorway; a prisoner; someone waking, trembling from a nightmare… from these humble, familiar analogies, profound spiritual truths are drawn to help Christian understand what he has already been through (e.g. his flirtation with morality and legalism), or to equip him for the journey ahead. He will face many difficulties and dangers, trials and temptations. These foundational truths will encourage our Pilgrim to press on, when his heart would otherwise fail. As with the rest of the book, we aren’t left to guess at the meanings of what we are shown. Interpreter lives up to his name.

Christian is schooled as to the presence and nature of sin in the human heart; he is taught the importance of valuing the new creation over the old; he is shown the grace of Christ in preserving His saints in the face of Satan’s opposition; he is warned of the danger of not putting into practise what we learn from Scripture, and of denying Christ; he sees the dangers of persecution and suffering; and he is shown how to live with an awareness that he does so before God, and in the light of the Day of Judgement… These are all lessons Christian will have to draw on later in the journey; and they are worth pondering in our own expereince of discipleship.

‘Then Interpreter said to Christian, Hast thou considered all these things?’ ‘Yes’ Christian replies ‘and they put me in hope and fear’. This (perhaps unexpected?) combination of emotions holds the Pilgrim in creative balance. it is a well known observation that the most frequently repeated exhortation in the Bible is for Christians to fear the Lord. But it is not a fear that shuts out hope, but one that rather gives lustre to a joyful hope of the New Creation. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Without it we cannot follow the path of pilgrimage.

Only as he leaves Interpreter’s house does Christian finally come to the cross. And finally he loses his burden, watching it roll into the tomb, ‘and I saw it no more’. The three Shining Ones bless him with peace, absolution, the robes of righteousness (Zech.3:4; Rev.19:8), a mark on his forehead (Ezek.9:4; Rev.7:3) and a scroll. Watch for that - it becomes significant later! In the meantime, Christian runs through surprise, wonder, weeping, joy and song in swift succession, and heads off down the narrow path!

The sequence of events as Bunyan describes them has caused quite a bit of discussion. Some feel that Christian has, well, become a Christian earlier, and that Bunyan’s point is that a person ‘may be a Christian and yet have a deep sense of the burden of sin’. This is undoubtedly true; but my own view is that it is only here, at the cross that Christian is saved. Only here is he freed from the guilt of sin, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, assured of peace with God and forgiveness by Him. Bunyan’s point is rather, that the Spirit can be leading us for some time before we actaully come to the cross. We can know quite a bit about Jesus, and what it would mean to follow Him, even before we are regenerated. We can experience quite a lot and still not be a Christian! Our journey to Christ starts before we come to the cross.

This is the thinking that lies behind courses such as Christianity Explored. And it is the experience of many of us in our own journey. Looking back, we can see God’s hand on us, guiding us to Calvary, long before we actually became Christians.

Questions to ponder:

Go back to the first picture Christian sees. What characterises a minister of the Gospel? Would you pray for these things in those involved in ministry at MIE?

What does it mean to fear the Lord?

How does hope feature in your life as a Christian?

Can you tell the story of how you became a Christian, tracing out how God lead you to the Cross of Christ, and what happened when you were converted? Can you find someone to tell that story to?