God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life

Christian and Faithful enjoy a timely encounter with Evangelist, which as we read it, might strike us as strange. We are used to thinking about evangelists as those who get us started on the Way, perhaps introducing us to Christ, helping us to understand the benefits following Him might bring, and as being instrumental in our conversion. But here he is again, half way through the Pilgrim’s Progress. In part this is simply due to the fact that Evangelist is himself, first and foremost a Pilgrim. He too is on his way to the Celestial City, and so an evangelist will be journeying with those they have played a part in leading to Christ. But Bunyan’s point is more subtle. We have too compartmentalised a view of evangelism. We tie it too firmly and exclusively to the earliest stages of someone’s journey to Christ. But we’ve seen that Evangelist’s Gospel-ministry is much wider, rebuking Christian earlier for listening to Mr. Worldly-Wiseman, re-focusing him on the Narrow Way at key points, and now, encouraging him - and Faithful - in their pilgrimage. Evangelist keeps them in the Way, as well as starting them in it. It is s amuch more dynamic view of salvation, that understands we are being saved, as well as having been saved (e.g. I Cor.1:18).

And of course, his concern for their spiritual well-being doesn’t end once they become Pilgrims. He reminds them, somewhat ominously that they (and we) have many trials to go through if they are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Acts 14:22). This is no abstract exhortation… ‘You will soon come into a town that you will by and by see before you; and in that town you will be hardly beset with enemies, who will strain hard but they will kill you; and be you sure that one or both of you must seal the testimony which you hold with blood. But be you faithful unto death and the King will give you a crown of life’.

Evangelist encourages them to remain steadfast, to run in such a way as to gain the prize, to let the Kingdom be always before them. He calls them to courage and perseverance, reminding them that martyrdom will mean they will have ‘arrived at the Celestial City soonest’, and that they will escape many hardships that the other pilgrim(s) will have to endure. ‘Commit the keeping of your souls to God in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator’. This is a very different message to the one we are accustomed to hearing from evangelists. Yet it is far more true to Scripture, and we would do well to remember it as we are sharing our faith with others. We must warn them of the struggles and hardships of following Chist, that the call to discipleship is a call to take up our cross and follow Him (Matt.16:24); it is to recognise that Christ is more to be valued than all the treasures or comforts of this world. Failure here is a dereliction of spiritual duty, and will cause significant problems for those we are seeking to introduce to Christ. Many have turned back because those speaking to them of Christ were simply not honest about the difficulties that lay ahead.

Earlier in the story, when Christian was benefitting from the counsel of more mature Christians and ministers, he was plagued by an impatience to get going. At the Interpreters House, and again at Beautiful Palace, he had to be restrained, bid to stay to learn and experience more that would be to his advantage. It is a sign of Christian’s maturing in his faith and discipleship that he thanks Evangelist, ‘but told him that he would have him speak further to them for their help the rest of the way’. Spiritual growth is evidenced by a developing desire for fellowship and teaching.

There is a pattern in Pilgrim’s Progress that is true to life. Before trial and tribulation there is often a time of especial encouragement. Before his battle with Apollyon, Christian enjoyed the blessings of the Beautiful Palace. Here again, before their entering Vanity Fair, there is - even in the wilderness - strong fellowship, rejoicing at the re-union with old friends, encouragement and exhortation from the Scriptures. They will need to draw on such benefits to endure the spiritual contest that lies ahead.

Questions to ponder:

How does thinking about Evangelist and his ministry change the way you think about the Gospel? …and about evangelism?

How would you encourage someone in the face of their martyrdom? Would you encourage them? …or would you commiserate with them?

All mouth and no trousers...

It is a relatively easy thing to speak of being a Christian, and even at times, to speak as a Christian. If you hang around Church a while, you can soon learn how to do it. It can happen inadvertently, but the danger is that we start to think that because we know how to fit in, and how to sound like one, we must therefore be a Christian. Occasionally there might be an intention to deceive, but more often than not, it just happens… and the person doing it is as deceived (or perhaps well-meaningly confused?) as anyone.

And our sense of what it is to be a Christian these days has fallen to such a low ebb, that if someone says they have become a Christian, we tend to assume that the reality is as they say it is. We’ve already met Discretion who seeks to test the authenticity of any claim to faith. And once we’ve met Talkative we appreciate how valuable such Discretion can be. It turns out that in Bunyan’s day - as in our own - there are those who talk a good game, but whose profession of faith runs no deeper than their tongue! They have an opinion on everything, and are willing to share it, but as Faithful concludes: ‘I saw you forward to talk, [but] I knew you had aught else but notion … you are a man whose religion lies in talk…’ But because it lies only in talk, ‘religion fareth the worse for your ungodly conversation’. The lack of integrity becomes apparent to everyone except themselves, and they end up undermining genuine discipleship in others by their hypocrisy.

And most frustrating of all, such ‘Talkatives’ come to deeply resent any challenge, and insinuation that they might not be the genuine article. They are snide towards those who call their claims into question, and who see the dissonance between their life and their lip. When Faithful pushes the conversation to the question of ‘experience, conscience and God’, when he speaks of faith in a specific Christ, and of holiness and obedience, when he asks: ‘doth your life and conversation testify the same? or standeth your religion in word or in tongue, and not in deed and truth?’, Talkative begins to blush, and then dismisses Faithful as a ‘catechiser’ (!). Talkative believes himself to be a true Christian, deeply resents such searching discussion, and dismisses Faithful as a ‘peevish and melancholy man, not fit to be discoursed with’. He is the kind of person who dismisses authentic discipleship as ‘just your opinion’, and legitimises his own inconsistencies by accusing others of being ‘ready to take up reports and to judge so rashly’. In today’s parlance, ‘Don’t be so judgemental’. His departure puts beyond dispute the spurious nature of his claims to discipleship.

To be fair, there have always been ‘Talkatives’ lurking around Churches. The Apostle Paul had to remind the Corinthians that ‘…the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power’ (I Cor.4:20); and before that, Jesus lambasted the Pharisees as those who ‘do not practice what they preach’ (Matt.23:3).

Christian knows of Talkative from previous dealings, and has learned to keep his distance, to cast not pearls before swine. Christian warns us, with a certain poetic vigour, that ‘he is best abroad; near home, he is ugly enough’. In other words, when you first meet them, or if you only have casual acquaintance, you can easily be fooled. They sound passionate, knowledgeable, serious, and at a superficial level they can look like the real deal. But once you’ve listened carefully (often to what they are not saying), or got to know them, the inconsistencies in their life become too much to bear.

Such as Talkative have never grasped that ‘while we are saved by faith alone, the faith that saves is never alone’ (Luther). …that those who have such genuine faith in Christ are those who hear His words and put them into practise (Matt.7:24-26; 12:50 & 13:20-23). It is not enough that there is ‘a great outcry against sin’, it must be abhorred and repented of. It is not enough to denounce sin, it must be disowned. It is not enough to know the Gospel, it must be believed and trusted in. It is not enough to confess Christ, but - in the words of Faithful - our life must be answerable to that confession.

Genuine disciples react differently to such questions. It may be painful to be asked them, but our response will include conviction, repentance and growth. We will appreciate those who love us enough to take the time and the risk of challenging us where sin is obviously unchecked. Our fellowship deepens, and our commitment to one another grows as we support each other’s growth.

The departure of Talkative is one of the saddest moments in the Pilgrim’s Progress. There is a tragedy about those who seem to understand so much and so little all at the same time. But Faithful is glad he made the effort. He was faithful to warn Talkative and he is ‘clear of his blood, if he perishes’. Small comfort, but comfort nonetheless.

Questions to ponder:

How can we avoid the danger of becoming merely ‘Talkative’ ourselves?

Have you ever been disillusioned by a ‘Talkative’? How did you negotiate that?

Do you think Christian’s attitude to Talkative is a bit harsh? How do you think we should relate to people like this? Can you think of any passages from the Bible that would help you formulate an appropriate response?

Faithful: adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person, cause, or idea...

Some pilgrims never make it out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It becomes more than a metaphor. It becomes a martyrdom. Christian stumbles across the ‘blood, bones, ashes and mangled bodies of … pilgrims that had gone this way formerly’. Remember that Bunyan is writing Pilgrim’s Progress in prison. He is experiencing first hand the realities of being persecuted for his faith, and so the questions of persecution and martyrdom are uppermost in his mind, as are the encouragement and inspiration a pilgrim can draw from the faithfulness of others in the midst of such suffering. We’ll experience something of this encouragement and inspiration ourselves at our Open Doors / Global Church weekend in September. But thinking about the experience of the Church in England, Bunyan - from the perspective of the 1600s - paints initially Paganism and subsequently Roman Catholicism (including insofar as it had ‘infected’ the Anglican church) as chief amongst the causes of suffering, and indeed martyrdom, for English Christians. You may feel this is a somewhat jaundiced view, and perhaps an unworthy episode in an otherwise great book. But bear in mind the experience of many Christians in that generation, that Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was standard reading for Christians of the day (detailing the persecution suffered by the Church during the Reformation), and that Bunyan had fought during the Civil War(s) in which the religion of politics and the politics of religion had played no small part.

It is no accident that it is at this point in the narrative that Christian connects with Faithful. Even his introduction to Faithful is instructive as Bunyan warns against the danger of competitiveness and pride creeping into our discipleship. Pride is a recurring theme in Christian’s pilgrimage. It was Pride that had caused him to slip as he went down into the Valley of Humiliation; and Pride had been one of the patterns of sin Apollyon had exposed. But even in his stumbling we see God’s grace at work, for it is the occasion of Faithful’s coming to help him.

Faithful is ahead of Christian on the path, even though he left the City of Destruction after him. Bunyan is again teaching us, warning us of the dangers that lie in the Way. Many who have been Christians for many years can often feel aggrieved when other, more recent, converts seem to enjoy much more of Christ, to benefit more from the Church than they have, and to make a progress they have not. Rather than celebrating their growth, learning from their fellowship, and being inspried by their zeal, they seek to ‘prove’ they are more mature than they are, and to re-assert their privileged position over them. There is a tragedy in such an attitude, and it leads to a greater stumbling.

Ironically, Faithful explains that it was Christian’s witness, message and changed life that galvanised his own escape from their City. Indeed, Faithful has wisely learnt from the mistakes of Christian, and has avoided some of the difficulties as a result. Mind you, he’s faced some challenging characters of his own, such as Wanton, Adam from the Town of Deceit, Discontent, and Shame (who rather confusingly seeks to alleviate his own shame by shaming others whose shame is dealt with by Christ). And Faithful has also had his own bruising encounter with legalism…

No-one’s pilgrimage is the same. Whilst there is huge resonance between Faithful’s and Christian’s experience, giving them plenty to discuss on the Way, there are also points at which each pilgrim’s battles are unique to them. The temptations we face, the fears we succmb to, and the sins we struggle with are not necessarily those others will.

Nevertheless Faithful had proved, well, faithful. Even in the Valley of the Sadow of Death he knew the face of Christ shining upon him, coming to terms with death and judgement more easily than Christian. He kept on the path, and kept going forward (even at points where Christian had slept or wandered). Faithful has pressed on through his struggles with his own ongoing experience of sin, and his old, corrupt, Adamic humanity (Eph.4:22); he has resisted the temptation to turn back, or even to be shaped by his former acquaintance with ‘Pride, Arrogancy, Self-Conceit and Worldly-glory’.

But while he had missed some of Christian’s trials, he had missed some of his blessings too. Faithful, in his urgency, had missed the opportunity for refreshment and equipping at the Palace Beautiful (and likely Bunyan intends us to understand this as lying behind his dalliance with Discontent). And there is a lurking question about the urgency that drives Faithful so relentlessly. It doesn’t always seem healthy, or appropriate. Whilst we rejoice that he has missed some of the trials that overshadow the Narrow Way, we are saddened that he has missed the Beautiful Palace, and the benefits Christian enjoyed from his stay there.

Early in their conversation, Faithful and Christian reflect on Pliable, whose abandonment of his own pigrimage has had dire and tragic consequences (which should lead us to pray for those we know who have begun in the faith, but who have since discarded it). Faithful was obviously deeply affected by what he saw of Pliable’s condition, and by how Pliable was treated by others and by God. Is this what lay behind Faithful’s undiscerning determination to press on at all costs? We can learn from the mistakes of others, but let us not allow them to throw us off balance. Our pilgrimage must be shaped by the Word of God alone.

Questions to ponder:

Who in your life has acted like Faithful in your own pilgrimage, encouraging and supporting you , challenging and inspiring you? Is there an appropriate way you could thank them?

In whose pilgrimage are you acting like Faithful, encouraging and supporting, challenging and inspiring someone else? Is there a way you could be more intentional in this?

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Apollyon flees, but Christian is not yet out of trouble. As he struggles out of the Valley of Humiliation, he falls into another, the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Again, Bunyan is at pains to point out that this experience is part of the Pilgrimage, ‘Christian must needs go through it, because the way to the Celestial City lay through the midst of it’. He meets others who refuse to go through this howling wilderness. The Narrow Path through the Valley is boundaried by a deep dtich on one side, and a dangerous quagmire on the other… But most troubling of all, it passes dangerously close to the ‘mouth of hell’. He is confused and uncertain, wonders about turning back. He is surrounded by the cries of the lost, and all manner of fell and demonic creatures. It is a disturbing and ambiguous set of images, and one that many feel should be left in the 1660s. Indeed, if you have a more modern (abridged) edition of Pilgrim’s Progress, this section may well be left out.

But what are we to make of it? Surely this can’t be part of a Christian’s experience? Bunyan thinks otherwise, though I have to be honest and say that there is some uncertainty about exactly what spiritual dynamic he is seeking to capture in this disturbing imagery. My own opinion is that Christian is having to confront the twin realities of Judgement, and of his own mortality. Both are disturbing, and both are necessary. A Christian who will not face these, will not make progress.

In terms of our own mortality, the Bible is replete with examples of our being called to number our days, and to come to terms with the fact that one day we will die. This is the road to wisdom (Ps.90:12). ‘Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is’ (Ps.39:4). To truly confront the inevitabilty of our own demise is a profund spiritual experience, and one that is difficult to cultivate in our cultural climate.

And with it, we must come to terms with the reality of Judgement. In the Bible this is linked closely with death. It isn’t so much the reality of our own judgement that Bunyan has in mind (though Christians will experience certain aspects of that Day, I Cor.3:11-15, I Pet.1:17 etc.). We have no fear of hell and condemnation if we are in Christ. It is more the reality of Judgement per se. Our propensity to either functionally ignore, or to openly call into question Jesus’ and the Apostles’ teaching about Judgement is both spiritually immature, and further ensnares us in spiritual immaturity. Until we have reconciled ourselves to God’s justice, goodness and wisdom in condemning the wicked, we are impoverished in our capacity for worship, and significant aspects of our own discipleship will be hopelessly hindered.

Facing these cosmic realities can be profoundly destablising, and can only be done in an atmosphere of prayer and devotion (he … betake to himself another weapon, All-Prayer'). It is worth noting in passing that Faithful passes through this Valley with much greater ease. But once he has made it through, Christian, discerns the wisdom of God in leading him through ‘this disconsolate condition some considerable time’.

He was able to recognise that others were in this Valley as well as himself, and that God was with them. Bunyan is suggesting that in our prayerfully wrestling to come to terms with these colossal truths, we are in an arena in which we can meet with the Lord in deep and compelling ways, and grow in fellowhsip with others who have confronted these same issues before us.

For part of the journey it may feel that God is absent, and that we are isolated from other Christians. And in the midst of our trials, we are tempted to think erroneously (thus being blind, we are lead by the blind into the ditch), or despairingly of God (and thus be lead into the quagmire). Indeed we are tempted to think in outright ‘blasphemous’ ways about Him. Yet our persevering brings us safely at last to ‘the light of day’.

We realise that God ‘reveals deep things in the darkness’ and indeed ‘brings light out of the shadow of death’.

Questions to ponder:

How can you come to terms with the reality of your own death? Have you done this yet? How has it shaped your pilgrimage?

Are you reconciled with the goodness and justice of God in His judging the world? Can you articulate your conerns, anxieties or disagreements?

What ‘blasphemous’ thoughts about God might we be tempted to entertain as we consider these things? How can we guard ourselves against them?

…and here’s an idea if you are struggling:

Read through Matthew’s Gospel. What does Jesus teach about these matters?

Fight the Good Fight

Yesterday, we were given some insight into the ‘schemes’ of our enemy. How can a Christian stand in the face of such an onslaught? What terrible lessons has Bunyan for us as we stand with Christian in this colossal warfare?

The Valley of Humiliation is aptly named. And it serves well the purpose of the Lord. It forces Christian to examine himself, to confront his failures, recognise his sin, and to accept that yes, his motives are mixed. Language has changed, and we might get closer to Bunyan’s point if we think of ‘humbling’, rather than ‘humiliation’, which today has connotations of degrading, mockery and loss of dignity. That isn’t what Bunyan intends, nor is it true to the Lord’s dealing with us. His design is to humble us in the sense of weaning us off our own self-reliance, and self-confidence, shattering our pride and independence, and drawing us deeper into trusting His work and wisdom, goodness and power alone. This is His purpose in taking Christian through the Valley - to take Christian out of himself.

Apollyon has different motives, and as he reads through his litany of sin and failure, his purpose is to shame and crush Christian. This is a useful insight to help us recognise the difference between conviction by the Holy Spirit and condemnation by the devil. Where am I being taken through this experience? What effect is it having on me? Is it taking me more deeply into myself in introspective shame, self-pity, and self-justification, or is it taking me out of myself, and into Christ and His Cross? There is a world of difference between humility and humiliation.

As Apollyon reminds him of his history, Christian is forced to acknowledge: ‘All this is true, and much more thou hast left out!’ And yet in spite of being wounded, giving ground and losing his sword, Christian is, in the final analysis, deemed victorious. The enduring power of the Pilgrim’s Progress is not just in what is taught, but in how. But the book’s greatest strength is also it greatest danger. We can be so overwhelmed by the analogy that we forget Bunyan is teaching us deep spiritual truths to equip us for our own fight. What are the lessons this old pastor would have us learn, that we too might be deemed victorious?

We have already reflected a little on the first lesson. Such times of trial as these come to us, not because we have wandered from the path, but precisely because we are on it. They are ordained by God as our way to the New Creation. Through such testing our faith is refined, strengthened and purified. The old pastors used to speak of such times as a ‘dark night of the soul’, or as the ‘eclipse of God’. They are not caused by our sin, or our having distanced ourselves from God through negligence, weakness, or our own deliberate fault. That immediately changes how we think and respond to the Valley, and all that happens there.

The second is that Christian is resolved to persevere. His intention is always to make progress in his pilgrimage. He reminds himself (and Apollyon) that he is on the King’s Highway, the way of holiness. He has a simple confidence - strengthened and honed by his time at the Beautiful Palace - that as he perseveres, the Lord is at work to preserve. He knows Faithful has already passed through this way. He knows his armour is sufficient for the task. he has been instructed in the art of spiritual warfare. His clinching insight is from Micah 7:8, Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Christian is imbued with a settled confidence that he will finish his pilgrimage to Zion. The Church has historically spoken of this as ‘assurance’, and it is well worth cultivating!

Perhaps most significantly, Christian has a relentless focus on Christ, rather than on himself. This resonates well with Paul’s imagery of putting on Christ in Eph.6. In battle, it is Christ who fights for us, albeit in our fighting. When Apollyon challenges Christian to consider the hardships and dangers that lie ahead, and the sacrifices demanded of those who have gone before him, Christian’s response is to celebrate Christ’s forbearance, to discern Christ’s purpose and to anticipate Christ’s deliverance. When Apollyon confronts Christian with his failure and sin, Christian’s response is to declare that ‘the Prince I serve and honour is merciful and ready to forgive’. When Apollyon sets himself as an obstacle, Christian reminds him that this is the ‘King’s Highway’. Christian learns to trust not to himself and his own efforts, or to rely on his own integrity as a Pilgrim, but to rely on Christ alone. In the aftermath of the battle, Christian has only praise for Christ: ‘I will here give thanks to him that delivered me out of the mouth of the lion, to Him that did help me against Apollyon…’.

Finally, Bunyan would have us realise that the key to victory rests in our grasp of Scripture. Christian is in most danger when the Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) is knocked from his hand… and he regains his ground and his victory when he ‘nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword and caught it…’. It is when Christian remembers and trusts in the truths taught in Scripture, that Apollyon is driven back so that he ‘spread forth his dragon wings and sped him away’. ‘In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us…’ (Rom.8:37).

Bunyan walks a fine line as he brings this iconic episode to a close. He is at pains to celebrate Christian’s victory, but he does not want to undermine the ferocity and reality of the dangers Christian has faced: ‘In this combat no man can imagine, unless he had seen and heard it as I did, what yelling and hideous roaring Apollyon made all the time of the fight. He spake like a dragon … ‘. On the other hand, he didn’t see Christian ‘all the while give so much as a pleasant look, till he perceived he had wounded Apollyon with the two-edged sword’. The reality of spiritual warfare is deadly and blood-earnest.

A Prayer for the Valley of Humiliation:

Sovereign Lord,

When the clouds of darkness and unbelief cover me, I see Thy purpose and love:

in withdrawing the Spirit that I might prize Him more…

in chastening me for my confidence in past successes…

in that my wound of secret godlessness might be cured.

Help me humble myself before Thee … by seeing:

that my heart is nothing but evil, my mind and life void of Thee

that sin and Satan are allowed power in me that I might know my sin, be humbled and gain strength thereby

that unbelief shuts Thee from me so that I sense not Thy power, majesty, mercy or love.

Then posess me, for Thou only art good and worthy.

Thou dost not play in convincing me of my sin; and Satan does not play in tempting me to it.

Let me never forget that the horror of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the Person it is committed against.

When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that while in myself I am dying, yet in Christ, I am reconciled, made alive, and satisfied … that in Him I can do all things, and that what I have in Christ now in part, I shall shortly have perfectly in heaven

Amen

…taken from The Valley of Vision, ‘Humiliation’