Thus far I did come laden with my sin;
I love Pilgrim’s Progress! You can read my full book review by clicking here. I’m sharing some of my favorite passages from this classic.
This is part of a dialogue between Great-heart and Christiana—
Great-heart: “He [Christ] has more righteousness than you have need of, or than He needeth Himself.”
Christiana: “Pray make that appear.”
Great-heart: “With all my heart: but first I must premise, that He of whom we are now about to speak, is one that has not His fellow. He has two natures in one person, plain to be distinguished, impossible to be divided. Unto each of these natures a righteousness belongeth, and each righteousness is essential to that nature; so that one may as easily cause the nature to be extinct, as to separate its justice or righteousness from it. Of these righteousnesses therefore we are not made partakers, so as that they, or any of them, should be put upon us, that we might be made just, and live thereby. Besides these, there is a righteousness, which this person has, as these two natures are joined in one. And this is not the righteousness of the Godhead, as distinguished from the manhood; nor the righteousness of the manhood, as distinguished from the Godhead; but a righteousness which standeth in the union of both natures, and may properly be called the righteousness that is essential to His being prepared of God to the capacity of the mediatory office, which He was to be intrusted with. If He parts with His first righteousness, He parts with His Godhead; if He parts with His second righteousness, He parts with the purity of His manhood; if He parts with this third, He parts with that perfection which capacitates Him for the office of mediation. He has therefore another righteousness, which standeth in performance, or obedience to a revealed will; and that is it that He puts upon sinners, and that by which their sins are covered. Wherefore He saith, As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.”
Christiana: “But are the other righteousnesses of no use to us?”
Great-heart: “Yes; for though they are essential to His natures and office, and so cannot be communicated unto another; yet it is by virtue of them that the righteousness that justifies is for that purpose efficacious. The righteousness of His Godhead gives virtue to His obedience; the righteousness of His manhood giveth capability to His obedience to justify; and the righteousness that standeth in the union of these two natures to His office, giveth authority to that righteousness to do the work for which it is ordained.
“So then here is a righteousness that Christ, as God, has no need of; for He is God without it. Here is a righteousness that Christ, as man, has no need of to make Him so; for He is perfect man without it. Again, here is a righteousness that Christ, as God-man, has no need of; for He is perfectly so without it. Here then is a righteousness that Christ, as God, as man, as God-man, has no need of with reference to Himself, and therefore He can spare it; a justifying righteousness, that He for Himself wanteth not, and therefore He giveth it away. Hence ’tis called the gift of righteousness. This righteousness, since Christ Jesus the Lord has made Himself under the law, must be given away; for the law doth not only bind him that is under it, to do justly, but to use charity. Wherefore he must, he ought by the law, if he hath two coats, to give one to him that has none. Now our Lord indeed hath two coats, one for Himself, and one to spare; wherefore He freely bestows one upon those that have none.”
Read a dialogue between Faithful, Christian, and Talkative by clicking here.
And a dialogue between Christian and Hopeful by clicking here.
I love Pilgrim’s Progress! You can read my full book review by clicking here. I’m sharing some of my favorite passages from this classic.
This is part of a dialogue between Christian and Hopeful—
Christian: “Then I say, sometimes (as I think) they may; but they being naturally ignorant, understand not that such convictions tend to their good; and therefore they do desperately seek to stifle them, and presumptuously continue to flatter themselves in the way of their own hearts. … True or right fear is discovered by three things: (1) By its rise: it is caused by saving convictions for sin. (2) It driveth the soul to lay fast hold of Christ for salvation. (3) It begetteth and continueth in the soul a great reverence of God, His word, and ways; keeping it tender, and making it afraid to turn from them, to the right hand or to the left, to any thing that may dishonour God, break its peace, grieve the Spirit, or cause the enemy to speak reproachfully. … Now the ignorant know not that such convictions that tend to put them in fear, are for their good, and therefore they seek to stifle them.”
Hopeful: “How do they seek to stifle them?”
Christian: “(1) They think that those fears are wrought by the devil (though indeed they are wrought of God), and, thinking so, they resist them, as things that directly tend to their overthrow. (2) They also think that these fears tend to the spoiling of their faith; when, alas for them, poor men that they are, they have none at all! and therefore they harden their hearts against them. (3) They presume they ought not to fear, and therefore in despite of them, wax presumptuously confident. (4) They see that those fears tend to take away from them their pitiful old self-holiness, and therefore they resist them with all their might.”
Read a dialogue between Faithful, Christian, and Talkative by clicking here.
The dialogue in Pilgrim’s Progress is all so rich and meaningful, that it’s hard to pull out “favorite” passages from this book. You can read my full book review by clicking here. Over the next few days I would like to share some of the passages which especially stood out to me this time reading through this classic.
This is part of a dialogue between Faithful, Christian and Talkative—
Faithful: “Well, I see that saying and doing are two things, and hereafter I shall better observe this distinction.”
Christian: “They are two things indeed, and are as diverse as are the soul and the body; for as the body without the soul is but a dead carcass, so saying, if it be alone, is but a dead carcass also. The soul of religion is the practical part. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. This Talkative is not aware of; he thinks that hearing and saying will make a good Christian; and thus he deceiveth his own soul.” …
Talkative: “Why, what difference is there between crying out against, and abhorring of sin?”
Faithful: “Oh! a great deal. A man may cry out against sin, of policy; but he cannot abhor it but by virtue of a godly antipathy against it. I have heard many cry out against sin in the pulpit, who can yet abide it well enough in the heart, house, and conversation.” …
Talkative: “You lie at the catch, I perceive.”
Faithful: “No, not I; am only for setting things right. But what is the second thing whereby you would prove a discovery of a work of grace in the heart?”
Talkative: “Great knowledge of gospel mysteries.”
Faithful: “This sign should have been first; but first or last, it is also false; for knowledge, great knowledge, may be obtained in the mysteries of the gospel, and yet no work of grace in the soul. Yea, if a man have all knowledge, he may yet be nothing, and so, consequently, be no child of God. When Christ said, Do you know all these things? and the disciples had answered, Yes, He added, Blessed are ye if ye do them.” …
Christian: “You did well to talk so plainly to him [Talkative] as you did. There is but little of this faithful dealing with men now-a-days, and that makes religion to stink so in the nostrils of many as it doth: for they are these talkative fools, whose religion is only in word, and are debauched and vain in their conversation, that (being so much admitted into the fellowship of the godly) do puzzle the world, blemish Christianity, and grieve the sincere. I wish that all men would deal with such as you have done; then should they either be made more conformable to religion, or the company of saints would be too hot for them.”
It’s been awhile since I have read Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, so I thought it was high time to re-read this amazing classic.
I was not disappointed!
In fact, I think I appreciated this time reading this amazing story more than any other time I’ve read it! The pilgrimages of Christian, Faithful, and Hopeful, and that of Christiana, Mercy and Great-heart are fantastic! Very few books have portrayed the journey of a Christian from salvation until arrival in Heaven with such accuracy and emotion.
Parents, your kids will love hearing you read this classic story to them. As your children get a little older, they can read Little Pilgrim’s Progress on their own. And then encourage them to read (and re-read) the original Pilgrim’s Progress throughout their lives. This book is a true blessing!
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting this weekend.
Victory! FCC Pulls The Plug On Its Unconstitutional Plans
John Maxwell talks about delegation: Overloaded & Underempowered
“Before I became a Christian I do not think I fully realized that one’s life, after conversion, would inevitably consist in doing most of the same things one had been doing before, one hopes, in a new spirit, but still the same things.” —C.S. Lewis
“The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.” —John E. Southard
“I’m a fool for Christ. Whose fool are you?” —John Wimber
“Holiness is not freedom from temptation, but power to overcome temptation.” —G. Morgan Campbell
Are environmentalists going too far? The War On Humans
[VIDEO] The more I hear Sen. Ted Cruz, the more I like him. “I don′t work for the party bosses.”
Eric Metaxas on a baby′s innate sense of morality: Babies & The Not-So-Blank Slate
“Forget others’ faults by remembering your own.” —John Bunyan
Here is a list of the books I read in 2012. Click on any title to read the review I posted.
Amazing Grace In The Life Of William Wilberforce
Christian Disciplines
Discovering Your Spiritual Center
Grace Abounding To The Chief Of Sinners
Love, Sex & Happily Ever After
Nurturing The Leader Within Your Child
Praying Circles Around Your Children
The Greatest Thing In The World
The Inner Chamber & The Inner Life
The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask
I am looking forward to sharing more great reads with you in 2013. If there are any books you would like me to review, please let me know. (If you are interested in seeing my list of book reviews for 2011, please click here.)
Before I am a pastor sharing with my congregation, I am a saved sinner standing before God.
Before I open the penetrating brilliance of God’s Word to my church, I must stand in the spotlight of His Word.
In other words, I should never stand before my church with my finger pointed at them. Instead, the finger of God should be squarely pointed at me. Only then can I share with my congregation what God is doing in my life.
I’ve always tried to pastor this way, but recently I read this passage in John Bunyan’s autobiography which made this truth even more real to me—
“Sometimes I have been about to preach upon some smart and searching portion of the Word, I have found the tempter suggest, What! will you preach this! This condemns yourself; of this your own soul is guilty; so don’t preach any of it; or if you do, mince your words, as to make way for your own escape; lest instead of awakening others, you lay that guilt upon your own soul, that you will never get from under. … It is far better that you judge yourself, even by preaching plainly unto others, than that you, to save yourself, imprison the truth in righteousness.”
So, pastor, preach the Word to yourself first. Then go share with your congregation about what God is dealing with you.
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In probably the best-known prayer, the one Jesus taught us to pray, there is a line I have breezed past way too many times without thinking more about it. It says, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).
This prayer is addressed to our Heavenly Father, the One Who is all-loving and all-powerful. God loves us and He gives us His power. Even power to defeat temptation.
Sometimes we have to battle the same temptation again and again and again. Perhaps we have seen that we are overcoming that temptation more times than we’re being overcome by it; perhaps not. Sometimes it’s a totally new temptation that sneaks up on us each time. In either case, God knows what temptation we are going to face.
This line of the prayer is really saying, “God, please don’t bring me into battle with a temptation I’m not ready to face. Help me to be ready to overcome that temptation when it comes” (see 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:13-17).
NEWS FLASH—Instead of waiting to pray for help until I’m facing a temptation (a reactive prayer), I can pray for God’s help before I even face the temptation (a proactive prayer).
In my mind, proactive is way better than reactive!
Check out what John Bunyan learned about this—
“…I did not, when I was delivered from the temptation that went before, still pray to God to keep me from the temptations that were to come; for though, as I can say in truth, my soul was much in prayer before this trial seized me, yet then I prayed only, or at the most principally, for the removal of present troubles, and for fresh discoveries of His love in Christ, which I saw afterwards was not enough to do; I also should have prayed that the great God would keep me from the evil that was to come. … This I had not done, and therefore was thus suffered to sin and fall, according to what is written, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And truly this very thing is to this day of such weight and awe upon me, that I dare not, when I come before the Lord, go off my knees, until I entreat Him for help and mercy against the temptations that are to come; and I do beseech thee, reader, that thou learn to beware of my negligence, by the afflictions, that for this thing I did for days, and months, and years, with sorrow undergo.”
What would happen if the next time you are facing a temptation you could say, “Hello, temptation! I’ve already prayed about you, and my Heavenly Father has already given me strength to defeat you”? Don’t you think you would be much more successful? I do!
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One of my favorite books is Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I just finished reading Bunyan’s autobiography called Grace Abounding To The Chief Of Sinners, so now I cannot wait to read Pilgrim’s Progress again!
John Bunyan’s autobiography is almost solely focused around how he became a Christian, and then how he defended himself against the Church of England after he became a follower of Jesus Christ.
At times Bunyan’s account of his struggle with his self-doubts about whether God would ever receive a sinner such as himself are absolutely heart-wrenching. He clung so desperately to the Scriptures that said God wanted to forgive him, and yet beat himself up with other Scriptures that talked about the vileness of sin. He felt that his sin had so wounded God, that he was unsure if he could ever be forgiven.
In a way, I found this quite refreshing. It reminded me of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s warning against “cheap grace,” where far too many people trivialize the high price Christ paid on the Cross. But John Bunyan acutely felt his sin.
So once he finally received God’s forgiveness, he was a changed man who wanted to tell the world about his Savior. Unfortunately for the time in which he lived, his message of salvation wasn’t “sanctioned” by the Church of England, which landed him in jail for over a decade. The second-half of his autobiography is a play-by-play account of his interaction with the judges who tried and sentenced him. In this account, we read the words of a man who thoroughly knew Scripture, and knew how to use it!
It’s a fascinating biography, which I think any reader will enjoy.
Craig T. Owens 