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“It has been said that one hallmark of the Puritan view of the Christian life was the emphasis placed on being “constant” (or being steady and unchanging),” explains Dr. J. Ligon Duncan.

“The Puritans, and certainly Bunyan, highly valued the Bible’s accent on faithfully, consistently, tirelessly pursuing the Christian life with a view to the long haul. Key to this is the role of the ordinary means of grace (chief among them the reading/preaching of the Word, the right partaking of the sacraments, the engagement of the soul with God in prayer). If we are to manifest the constancy of the Christian pilgrim’s life then we will also place much stock in the ordinary means of grace.”

1 John 2:15–17 (ESV) says, “¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Bunyan personified the opposition to the Gospel from the fallen world with the character known as Worldly Wiseman. He lived in the town called Carnal Policy. He and the town were like the current inhabitants of many places and governments.

The Apostle Paul encountered the philosophy of the carnal world. Particularly in Greece. He described it in I Corinthians 1:18-25.

¹⁸ “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” ²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:18–25 (ESV)

Worldly Wiseman despised the counsel of Evangelist. He hated the Gospel as do unconverted people today. He told Christian, “I curse him for that counsel! There is not a more dangerous and troublesome way in all the world! You shall find this out for yourself—if you follow his advice. I see that you have met with trouble already—for I see that the mire from the Swamp of Despond is upon you. That swamp is just the beginning of the sorrows which attend those who continue in that dangerous way.”

Worldly Wiseman directed Christian to the town of Morality and a man named Legality. Early in his life, Bunyan embraced a legalistic morality. However, he discovered that while he appeared to friends and family as a godly man, he remained dead in his sin (Eph. 2:1-3).

Christian initially accepted Worldly Wiseman’s counsel, but soon discovered that the supposed “easier way” to seek relief from his burden was filled with fear. Christian, like many like-minded people today, place their faith in moralistic, therapeutic religion. They have faith, but not faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed.

To embrace the moralistic counsel of the world is to forsake the One, True God. It is to abhor the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. It results in eternal death.

On which path are you on? Is it the path of morality resulting in death? Or are you on the way that leads to eternal life; the way of the cross? What is your answer?

Soli deo Gloria!

“Now I saw in my dream, that just as they had ended this talk, they drew near to a very miry swamp, which was in the midst of the plain; and they, not paying attention, fell suddenly into the bog. The name of the swamp was Despond. Here, therefore, they wallowed for a time, being greatly smeared with filth. Christian, because of the burden which was on his back—began to sink in the mire.”

Then Pliable cried out, “Ah! Christian, where are we now?” “Truly,” said Christian, “I do not know!” Being offended, Pliable angrily said to his companion, “Is this the happiness you have told me of? If we have such trouble at our first setting out—what may we expect before our journey’s end? If I can get out of here with my life—you can have your noble country without me!” And with that, Pliable, after a desperate struggle—got out of the mire on that side of the swamp which was nearest to his own house. So away he went—and Christian saw him no more. So, Christian was left in the Swamp of Despond alone; but he still struggled toward that side of the swamp which was furthest from his own house, and closest to the narrow-gate. But he could not get out, because of the heavy burden which was upon his back.” – John Bunyan

What is a swamp? It is wetland, bog or mire. It may also be called a moor.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in his story The Hound of the Baskervilles, used the Devonshire County moor as a metaphor for man’s untamed, sinful, human nature. “The moor is described as the ‘God-forsaken corner of the world.’ In other words, it lacks the heavenly brightness and instead is hellish and dark. It is mysterious territory that circulates fear,” explains one commentator.

What is Bunyan’s Swamp of Despond? It is the spiritual conviction of personal sin and the accompanying guilt. Like a swamp, moor, or bog, it drags the sinner downward into despair.

“It is where the scum and filth of the conviction of sin collects, and therefore it is called the Swamp of Despond; for as the sinner becomes aware of his lost condition, many fears and doubts and discouraging apprehensions arise in his soul. All of them together settle in the depths of this place,” explains Dr. Warren Wiersbe.

It is God alone who provides Help. Help draws Christian out of the mire, sets him on solid ground and encourages him to continue on his way. The only lasting relief from the Swamp of Despond is the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8). The Way of Holiness is literally Jesus Christ (John 14:1-6).

Trusting in Christ as Savior and Lord prevents the believer from falling into the Swamp of Despond. In Christ, there are the steps of forgiveness and acceptance (I John 1:8-10).

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God,” (Psalm 42:11 ESV).

Soli deo Gloria!

“The neighbors also came out to see him run. As he ran—some mocked, others threatened, and some cried after him to return. Among those who did so, were two who were resolved to fetch him back by force. The name of the one was Obstinate—and the name of the other was Pliable. Now by this time, the man had gone a good distance away from them; but they were resolved to pursue him—and in a little while, they caught up with him.” – John Bunyan

Do you remember when you sensed something was missing in your soul? Your life wasn’t making sense and you were aware that the world’s answers were not helping. The culture was not only not helping but raising more questions than answers.

Two individuals who resolved to take Christian back home, by force if necessary, were named Obstinate and Pliable. Obstinate is a stubborn and unmoved sinner. He resembles some of the Greeks at Mars Hill when they mocked the Apostle Paul’s message of the Gospel (Acts 17:32). Pliable is the opposite. He is flexible and adaptable to any and all teaching and teachers. He receives the Word of God with joy, but he has no room in his heart; like the shallow soil (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23).

“They that fly from the wrath to come are a gazing-stock to the world,” Bunyan wrote.

Jeremiah 20:10 (ESV) says, “For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.”

When Obstinate cannot convince Christian to return home, he storms off in disgust. However, Christian convinces Pliable to join him, which he does with an initial excitement and enthusiasm. However, once the two of them fall into a bog called the Swamp of Despond, Pliable becomes disheartened and leaves for home.

“When the sinner begins to seek salvation, well-meaning friends often try to stop him,” explains Pastor Warren Wiersbe. “Obstinate has great strength of will, but he lacks the insight and values to put it to work in the right way. Pliable seems to have some insight, but he lacks the willpower to act and continue to the end. Pliable is in a hurry to get to heaven. Unlike, Christian, he has no burden for sin to hold him back. He is a picture of the person who has never felt conviction of sin.”

Prior to your conversion to Christ, which of these three characters defined you? Were you aware of your need for Christ like Christian, or were you either like Obstinate or Pliable?  

What about today? Are you a dedicated follower of Christ or rather obstinate or pliable languishing in the Swamp of Despond? Something to consider.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV)

“Then Evangelist, pointing with his finger over a very wide field, said, “Do you see yonder narrow-gate?” The man answered, “No.” Evangelist replied, “Do you see yonder shining light?” He said, “I think I do.” Then Evangelist said, “Keep that light in your eye, and go directly to it— and then you shall see the gate; at which—when you knock—you shall be told what you must do.” – John Bunyan

The Bible is literature; much like The Pilgrim’s Progress. The Scriptures contain many genres of writing. These include historical narrative, poetry, wisdom, biography, parables, prophecy and doctrinal.

In these genres, the Bible also contains various figures of speech including similes, metaphors, idioms, ironies, antithesis, alliterations, personifications, and paradoxes. Today’s text, much like Bunyan’s work, is an allegory that compares entry into salvation as entering by a gate. In His Sermon on the Mount’s (Matt. 5-7), concluding section (Matt. 7:13-29) Jesus provides allegorical comparisons to salvation and condemnation.

“This closing section of the Sermon on the Mount is a gospel application. Here are two gates, two ways, two destinations, and two groups of people (vv. 13–14); two kinds of trees and two kinds of fruit (vv. 17–20); two groups at the judgment (vv. 21–23); and two kinds of builders, building on two kinds of foundations (vv. 24–28). Christ is drawing the line as clearly as possible between the way that leads to destruction and the way that leads to life,” explains Dr. John MacArthur.

Paralleling the opening scenes of The Pilgrim’s Progress, Jesus spoke of a narrow gate and a wide gate. Jesus commanded His hearers to enter (εἰσέρχομαι; eiserchomai) or to experience entrance into justification from God through the narrow gate. Narrow (στενός; stenos) in the context means entrance solely through one, restricted way.

Jesus elaborated this image by teaching that the gate of eternal destruction or waste was wide and the pathway was easy. This resulted in many people entering by this gate and living life on this path.   

Jesus then contrasted the wide and easy gate with the narrow gate and the hard way of life. However, this gate, and the pathway that follows, leads to life; though there be few who find it.

Jesus did not leave us wondering what, or who, the gate is. John 10:1–7 (ESV) says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. ⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” See also John 14:1-6.

Many people have told me that as there are many roads and streets into a city, there are many ways into heaven. You just have to choose the one that is right for you. In other words, the way you prefer.  

The Word of God teaches the opposite. It instructs people that there is only one way into heaven and that is by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone (Acts 4:12).

“Both the narrow gate and the wide gate are assumed to provide the entrance to God’s kingdom. Two ways are offered to people. The narrow gate is by faith, only through Christ, constricted and precise. It represents true salvation in God’s way that leads to life eternal. The wide gate includes all religions of works and self-righteousness, with no single way (cf. Acts 4:12), but it leads to hell, not heaven,” concludes Dr. MacArthur.

So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now, he had not run far from his own door—before his wife and children, seeing him depart, began to shout after him to return. But the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on, crying, “Life! Life! Eternal life!” So he did not look behind him—but fled towards the middle of the plain.” – John Bunyan

When did God call you unto salvation and to enter into a covenant relationship with Him through the narrow gate of His Son, Jesus Christ? Or is God calling you to enter through that gate at this moment and receive forgiveness of sin? Respond by God given faith to His call.

Soli deo Gloria!

“O my dear wife and children,” he said. “I am greatly troubled by a burden that lies heavy upon me. Moreover, I have been informed that our city will be burned with fire from heaven; and in this fearful destruction both myself and you, my wife and my sweet children, shall perish, unless we can find some way of escape or deliverance, which presently I cannot see.” (Isa. 64:6; Luke 14:33; Psa. 38:4; Hab. 2:2; Acts 16:31 Acts 2:37).

King David, much like you and me and the Pilgrim, knew the reality of the burden of sin. David, in Psalm 38, expressed deep sorrow, grief and pain due to his own sin.  While this lament psalm is by a believer needing God’s forgiveness from the power of sin, it can also apply to the unbeliever needing God’s forgiveness from the penalty of sin. The outline of Psalm 38 is a follows; The Personal Burden of Sin (38:1).““O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!” David understood that whatever his sin was, it resulted in God’s righteous anger and wrath.

“O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger. “The word LORD (יהוה; Yahweh) is the most personal name for God. Yahweh means self-existent One. In the English, it also means “I Am” (Exodus 3:13-14).

To rebuke (תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי; tokiheni) means to continually accuse and punish. Anger (קֶצֶף; quesep) in the context refers to God’s wrath. Wrath can mean rage and fury. While David understood that his behavior was deserving of God’s judgment, he prayed and begged for God’s grace and mercy.

A parallel statement follows. David prayed, “…nor discipline me in your wrath!” To discipline (יסר; ysr) also means to punish and chasten. Wrath (חֵמָה; hemah) literally refers to God’s heat and rage.

David does not blame others for his sin. He accepts the responsibility in all its ugliness. Whatever his sin was, David comprehended it deeply in his mind, emotions, will; and even in his physical body (Ps. 38:2-3).

“(David’s) prayers surround a core of intense lament (vv. 2–20). In many ways David’s laments parallel those of Job. David’s perspective is that his painful plight is due, at least in part, to his personal sin,” explains Dr. John MacArthur.

Have you ever sensed in your soul the painful plight of your personal sin? The fascination and delight of rebellion against God and His Word results in a conviction and remorse before God by His Word. The only hope of forgiveness is not penance but confession and repentance.

Repentantly pray to God at this moment to receive His gracious forgiveness.

Soli deo Gloria!  

“As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a den; and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and as I slept I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and as he read, he wept and trembled: and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry; saying, ‘What shall I do?’” – John Bunyan

The cry of the sinner who God makes aware of their burden of sin is “What shall I do? What can I do? What am I able to do? Is there any hope for me?

A burden is a weight. It is a heavy load. A burden may be the source of great worry or stress. In the life of the Pilgrim, the traveler in this life, it is the great weight or burden because of one’s sin. It is the knowledge of one’s sin, and the guilt experienced because of sin.

King David, much like you and me and the Pilgrim, knew the reality of the burden of sin. David, in Psalm 38, expressed deep sorrow, grief and pain due to his own sin.  While this lament psalm is a song by a believer needing God’s forgiveness from the power of sin, it can also apply to the unbeliever needing God’s forgiveness from the penalty of sin. The outline of Psalm 38 is a follows.

I. The Personal Burden of Sin (38:1).

II. The Sickening Burden of Sin (38:2-3).

III. The Overwhelming Burden of Sin (38:4-16).

IV. The Removable Burden of Sin (38:17–22).

Why would God even consider forgiving us of our sin and relieving us of the weight we bear because of our sin? It is because He is gracious and merciful (Eph. 2:1-5; 8-9).Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone is the pilgrim’s only hope from the burden of sin’s penalty, power and God’s eternal judgment.  

What is the burden of sin and guilt that you carry? Is it the burden of not knowing your sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ? Is it the burden and guilt of sin you have committed as a follower of Jesus? Is it a burden you give to the Lord, only to immediately, or eventually, take back?

Receive the forgiveness found only in Jesus Christ. Confess and repent of your sin. God promised to forgive (Luke 18:9-14; Acts 16:25-34; I John 1:8-10). Have a blessed day.

Soli deo Gloria!

“As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a den; and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and as I slept I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and as he read, he wept and trembled: and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry; saying, ‘What shall I do?’” – John Bunyan

Pilgrim’s Progress is the story of one man’s dream of the Christian life. As such, the story is filled with images and symbols. Pilgrim’s Progress is identified in literature as an allegory. What is an allegory?

An allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event represents a hidden meaning; with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughout history in all forms of art to illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in ways that are understood or impacting to viewers, readers, or listeners.

Writers and speakers typically use allegories to convey semi-hidden or complex meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, or events. Together, these create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author has in mind. Many allegories use personification of abstract concepts, persons, places or things.

The allegory, as a distinct genre of literature, was first used in English in 1382. The word allegory comes from Latin allegoria, the Latinization of the Greek ἀλληγορία (allegoría), meaning “veiled language, figurative”, which in turn comes from both ἄλλος (allos), “another, different” and ἀγορεύω (agoreuo), “to harangue, to speak in the assembly” which originates from ἀγορά (agora), “assembly.”  

“Since meaningful stories are nearly always applicable to larger issues, allegories may be read into many stories which the author may not have recognized. This is allegoresis, or the act of reading a story as an allegory. Examples of allegory in popular culture that may or may not have been intended include the works of Bertolt Brecht, and even some works of science fiction and fantasy, such as The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis,” explains one historian.

While the allegory genre may be found in visual art and music, the following examples are from literature.

• Edmund Spenser – The Faerie Queene: The several knights in the poem actually stand for several virtues.
• William Shakespeare – The Tempest: an allegory of the civilization/barbarism binary as it pertains to colonialism
• John Bunyan – The Pilgrim’s Progress: The journey of the protagonists Christian and Evangelist symbolizes the ascension of the soul from earth to Heaven.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne – Young Goodman Brown: The Devil’s Staff symbolizes defiance of God. The characters’ names, such as Goodman and Faith, ironically serve as paradox in the conclusion of the story.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter: The letter represents self-reliance from America’s Puritan and conformity.
• George Orwell – Animal Farm: The pigs stand for political figures of the Russian Revolution.
• László Krasznahorkai – The Melancholy of Resistance and the film Werckmeister Harmonies: It uses a circus to describe an occupying dysfunctional government.
• Edgar Allan Poe – The Masque of the Red Death: The story can be read as an allegory for humans’ inability to escape death.
• Arthur Miller – The Crucible: The Salem witch trials are thought to be an allegory for McCarthyism and the blacklisting of Communists in the United States of America.
• Shel Silverstein – The Giving Tree: The book has been described as an allegory about relationships; between parents and children, between romantic partners, or between humans and the environment.

I encourage you to obtain a copy of The New Pilgrim’s Progress (in today’s English). It contains an updated text by Judith E. Marlham with instructional notes by Pastor Warren W. Wiersbe. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

ONE HAMMER in the hand of an obscure Augustinian monk changed the world forever. Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany calling his fellow professors to examine issues of supreme theological importance. Thus began the Reformation through which the light of God’s Word was brought out of the darkness to shine with clarity once more.

One of the central cries of the Protestant Reformation was this: “The just shall live by faith.” Luther’s development of the doctrine of justification by faith alone recovered the gospel that had been hidden during the Middle Ages.

And at the center of that gospel is the affirmation that the righteousness by which we are declared just before a holy God is not our own. It’s a foreign righteousness, an alien righteousness, a righteousness that Luther said is extra nos—apart from us. Namely, it’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ—that righteousness that’s imputed or counted for all who put their trust in Him.

Because of that affirmation Luther was involved in serious controversies—controversies that culminated in his being brought to trial before the princes of the church and even before the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles the V. And there at the Diet of Worms, summoned in Germany, Luther was called upon to recant his views. He answered his interlocutors by saying, “Revoco? You want me to say revoco? That I recant? I will not recant unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason. I cannot recant for my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. And to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”

In every generation the gospel must be published anew with the same boldness, and the same clarity, and the same urgency that came forth in the 16th century Reformation. The church has always done this in both the spoken word and in song—producing hymns that tell us of the great salvation that has been wrought by God alone through Christ alone.”  Dr. R. C. Sproul

Have a blessed Reformation Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

“As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a den; and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and as I slept I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and as he read, he wept and trembled: and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry; saying, ‘What shall I do?’” – John Bunyan

The Apostle Paul described the condition of the lost soul without Christ. It is a bleak picture. Ephesians 2:1-3 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  

If Paul concluded his thoughts at this point in the biblical text, the unconverted would be without hope. We, as believes in Christ, would have been without hope. However, praise God that is not where the text ends.

“⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—“ (Ephesians 2:4–5 (ESV)

But God! What wonderful words. Grammatically, these words introduce a contrast to what was previously written. What a contrast! The solution to our great burden of sin and guilt is the amazing grace of God. He made us alive by grace alone, through God given faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. He did not have to, but He chose to do so (Eph. 1:1-6).

Dr. R. C. Sproul explains, “When preachers announce from their pulpits that God loves people unconditionally, there is hardly any reason for the hearer to feel any burden or cry out with any lament, saying, “What shall I do?” If indeed God loves us unconditionally and requires nothing of us, then obviously there is no need for us to do anything. But if God has judged us according to the righteousness of His perfect Law and has called the whole world before His tribunal to announce that we are all guilty, that none of us is righteous, that none of us seeks after God, that there is no fear of God before our eyes, that we are in the meantime, before the appointed day of judgment, treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath, then anybody in his right mind (and even those in their wrong mind) would have enough sense to cry out the same lamentation, “What shall I do?”

“The story of Christian is the story of a man who is burdened by the weight of sin. His conscience was smitten by the Law, but where the Law is eliminated in the church, no one needs to fear divine judgment. Without the Law there is no knowledge of sin, and without a knowledge of sin, there is no sense of burden. The pilgrim knew the Law, he knew his sin, and he realized he had a burden on his back that he could not, with all of his effort and his greatest strivings, ever remove. His redemption must come from outside of himself. He needed a righteousness not his own. He needed to exchange that weighty sack of sin on his back for an alien righteousness acceptable in the sight of God. For the pilgrim there was only one place to find that righteousness, at the foot of the cross,” concludes Dr. Sproul.

That foot of the cross moment for me occurred on a Sunday evening in October, 1974 when I heard my pastor preach and say these words; “If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity? Heaven or Hell?” That evening, the Holy Spirit regenerated my soul and enabled me to cry out in faith to God to save me from my sin. I repented of my sin and received Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord (John 1:12-13). It was at that moment that the great burden of my heart rolled away.

What about you? Have you repented of your sin, and the sinner you are, and received the righteousness of Jesus Christ as your own by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone? Respond in repentance and faith and be converted. May today be the day the great guilt of your sin roll away at the foot of the cross.

Soli deo Gloria!

What is meant by progress? Particularly in the life of the believer in Christ. Progress is a forward movement toward a destination. It is also an onward movement toward a goal.

For many church planters, progress is measured by numbers; the number of people in attendance and the number of dollars in the church’s back account. The prevailing perspective in church growth is “bigger is better.”

“The world measures success in terms of that which is tangible — by what is bigger, faster, and by what draws the most attention. For many people, success is defined solely by numbers and circumstantial outcomes. True success, however, cannot be measured merely by what is perceived by the eyes of men. We measure our success according to economic and sociological standards, which at times is certainly appropriate considering that we are to be good stewards of our time, talents, and finances; however, the problem lies in that we measure our Christian lives according to the same principles — evaluating our success in the Christian life based on what is bigger, faster, and, especially, on what draws the most attention. However, often what is considered “successful” by the world’s standards is entirely unsuccessful according to the standards of God. Though it could be said that the measure of a man in terms of his success is based upon the subjective standards of others, true success is measured objectively by God, whose standard is impartial and immutable,” explains Pastor Burk Parsons.

Understanding what progress is, and is not, what about the word pilgrim? What does pilgrim mean?

A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to foreign land or a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey to some place of special and religious significance.

The believer in Christ is on a pilgrimage unto holiness spiritually and to heaven eternally. The pilgrimage begins with the new birth (John 3:1-8; Titus 3:1-5).

“According to the prophet Micah, God has provided us with His standard of success: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Simply stated, God is not first and foremost concerned with our success; rather, He is concerned with our faithfulness. Herein is the standard of the pilgrim’s progress: As pilgrims of God, we progress not in our successfulness but in our faithfulness to God. Our standard for faithfulness does not come from the world, it does not come from those around us, and it certainly does not come from within us,” Parson continues.

“Our standard is from God alone and is found in the cross of Christ alone, and it is upon the cross that Christ took the burden from our backs and set us free to live, move, and have our being in Him,” concludes Parsons.

I would encourage you to access a copy of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress as we begin this study. Let us covenant to achieve godly progress as God’s pilgrims. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!