Podcast - 3 min 30 sec
From time to time we recommend other sources of Scriptural resources to help Christians like you with your own personal social witness.
Barry Cooper explains how translations of the Bible from Latin, Greek and Hebrew led to the Protestant Reformation.
Ad fontes is a Latin expression which means “[back] to the sources”. The phrase epitomizes the renewed study of Greek and Latin classics in Renaissance humanism. Similarly, the Protestant Reformation called for renewed attention to the Bible as the primary source of Christian faith. Wikipedia
Many Christians are familiar with John Bunyan’s, THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, but IF you will look around you at church this Sunday, you may be surprised to see some of these allegorical characters sitting right next to you in the pew or carrying on conversation at a table in your Sunday school social group.
Hopefully you will recognize some of our own local (yet well-worn) doctrinal drifts among lost ones of the flock where we claim Christ as a ‘professor‘ of the faith.
Below:order and read any of the three editions used and quoted for this post.– RH
John Bunyan, b.1628-d.1688, a Spirit-led seer of a DREAM of similitude, writes an allegory while imprisoned (for illegal preaching) illuminating a pilgrimage of challenges to everyday faith and exhortation from Scripture as practical cautions to the flock of everyday Christians. – RH
From THIS LIFE To The Next
The Pilgrim's Progress From This World to That Which Is to Come
Oh, that You would rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your presence—
As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
When You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
For since the beginning of the world
Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.- Isaiah 64 [A Prayer for Help] vs. 1-4, NKJV
As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I came to a certain place where there was a cave.. As I slept I dreamed a dream.. I saw a man clothed in rags, standing in place with his face turned away from his own house.
“He had a BOOK in his hand and a heavy burden upon his back,” says Bunyan.
It is the same BOOK of Scripture, the BIBLE which Christians claim as HOLY.
(This is where it all fits into Doctrine – Christian TEACHINGclaimed in the PULPIT to come from the book.)
“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
A Christ-like concern for preaching, learning and following the doctrines of an authentic Scriptural faith permeated the writings of Augustine, Luther, Bunyan and many others.
Some Key Moments of Pilgrims passing through THIS LIFE
I looked then, and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, and asked, Wherefore dost thou cry?
Sir, I perceive by the BOOK in my hand, that I am condemned to die..
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
.. AND I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second.
Then said Evangelist,
Why NOT willing to die, since THIS LIFE is attended with so many evils?
The Man answered,
Because I fear that this burden that is upon my back will sink me lower than the Grave, and I shall fall into [the place of passing thru the fire]..
IF THIS is your condition, why do you stand still?
The man's pilgrimage begins here(and it's only somewhat different for his wife) -- that difficult journey of faith and hope even before coming to the Cross with the BOOK. Bunyan points to our destined damnation as a result of this LIFE and Salvation only in the Cross of Christ Jesus.
Christian’s dilemma which he shares with Evangelist is the BURDEN of every unsaved man, the BURDEN of every unsaved woman: JUDGMENT, our destined damnation as a result of THIS LIFE
BUT THE BOOK has shown him Salvation found only in the Cross of Christ Jesus.
DEATH, JUDGMENT and pointing so many SOULS of LOVED-ONES we know are not saved is the Gospel of the Christian Evangelist. So few find the narrow gate and follow the only path of pilgrimage prescribed to THE WAY of ETERNAL LIFE by grace of the Cross of Christ.
To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 9:28
WHAT MUST I DO?
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
As I have already mentioned, YOU will have met some of these on your own journey of faith, perhaps even 'in church.'(Go ahead, 'What's the NEW Name they go by in YOUR local church?'Later you can see what Bunyan thought to do with their doctrine.)
Why not SHARE in a comment (without 21st c. names) the fruit of what they do in YOUR church LIFE.)
Mr. Worldly Wiseman
Obstinate
Pliable
The Professor
Talkative
Ignorance
Lord Hate-good
Hopeful, Faithful & many others
a Quick-glance at Character in the Characters
Obstinate represents an intolerant class of people who think it is foolish and senseless to give up all the comforts of this world.. — its friendships, opportunities, riches, security and approval. – C.J. Lovik
Pliable and Obstinate are neighbors. One tends to stand in his worldly comfort against any change, but Pliable is a curious sort always looking to ‘something better’ than he has in THIS LIFE.
Pliable: “And do you think the words of your book are certainly true?”
(Later, as both are stuck in the mire of the Slough of Despond)
“Is this the happiness you have told me all the while of?”
.. with that he.. got out of the mire, on that side of the slough which was next to his own house, Bunyan notes of his turning back, so away he went, and Christian saw him no more.
I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
Does your church’s ‘worship team’ sing about the LORD like this?
Almost immediately on our Journey of Faith
Worldly-Wiseman told him, “You will find the relief you seek in a nearby village called Morality. In that village resides a gentleman whose name is Legality, a judicious man of very good reputation.’
A current version of Mr. Worldly Wiseman is any liberal, broad-minded, and compromising person who has no regard for the atoning work of Jesus Christ and would rather believer a “gospel” advancing morality and social reform.. He is everywhere today, disguising his error and heresy by proclaiming a gospel of contentment and peace..
IF he mentions Christ, it is NOT as the Savior who took our place, bur as a GOOD EXAMPLE of an exemplary life.
– C.J Lovic
Evangelist: “How is it that you have so quickly turned aside? .. The man you have met is Mr. Worldly-Wiseman, and he is well named because he loves only the DOCTRINE of THIS WORLD.
They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.
“Now these are three things in this man’s counsel that you must utterly abhor:
His convincing you to leave the right path.
His effort to make the cross repulsive to you.
His sending you on the very way that leads to death.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.
Evangelist: “From this narrow gate, and from the way that leads to it, has this wicked man turned you, and by so doing he has almost brought you to your own destruction.
a few ‘not-so-honorable mentions’
Once again, it's seems I'm going a bit long on my Character mentions. So let's step quickly ahead in the Pilgrims Progress.
“Talkative is my most familiar brother whose like I have listened to listlessly in many a Bible study and small group. – RH
The theoretical talk is one dimension that is in constant contrast and disharmony with the behavior.. the high-sounding rhetoric is set alongside the double-dealing, self-centered, and abusive behavior that litters the path down which he has trod.
C. J. Lovic
Does your local church try to hide Talkative’s character because they bought his talk into a position of leadership or teaching?
Ignorance (another familiar follower): “I know my Lord’s will, and have been a good liver; I pay every man his own; I pray, fast, pay tithes, and give alms, and have left my country for whither I am going.“..I know you not: be content to follow the religion of your country, and I will follow the religion of mine. I hope all will be well.
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 25:12 NKJV
Hopeful: “.. let us pass him by, if you will, and talk to him anon, even as he is able to bear it.
Bunyan adds, “So they went on, and Ignorance followed.
As a Pastor looked out over the congregation he observed three men asleep. Bunyan gives them a mention and you can read of their consequence.
John Bunyan also points to at least two scenes which convict me of my own need to continue in the pilgrimage which at times becomes difficult. For today we must look past his most convicting character who brings a chill to the darkness apart from the Light, the Professor in the iron cage.
Sunday at Vanity Fair
A contemporary Evangelist once observed a Vanity Fair along a well-traveled road (even on Sunday) – a highway to all the places with shops and sport and the lure of lucre where passing pilgrims to buy every worldly treasure. This Evangelist in the 21st century of our Lord Jesus Christ WARNED of Mr. Hate-Good, the Prince of the Fair, Envy, Superstition and Flattery; Lord Old man and Sir Greed and many others in his preaching (though many lost of his flock were not present).
Bunyan relates the trouble and trial resulting from Christian and Faithful passing through Vanity Fair:
One merchant, observing the strange conduct of the pilgrims, mockingly said to them, “What will you buy?”
But they, looking sternly at him, answered, “We buy the truth.”
This caused great offense, Bunyan notes.
Does your witness to the Way the Truth and the Life in Jesus Christ offend any at Vanity Fair?
“Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
The Great One of the Fair(could it have been Jeff or Bill, perhaps a less common name like Elon 🙂 presides over Bunyan’s trial of Christian and Faithful (who is condemned to death). The Judge * ‘elected by the Fair’ is Lord Hate-good. Jurors * include: Mr. Blind-man, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-lust, Mr. Live-loose, Mr. Hot-head, Mr. Hate-light and others.
* Juries now must include Ms. Guided, M. Undetermined and a M/Ms. Color-character.
Faithful is sentenced to death for his witness of Jesus Christ.
The question is not mine, but remains valid:
IF a jury of ‘your peers’ examined your Christian witness, would they have enough evidence to convict you?
Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.
Second letter of the Apostle John 1:9 – CSB
ONLY Scripture – Sola Scriptura
IF you squirmed a bit while reading my last Saturday Post laser-focused on your PASTOR and mine, prepare to become even more uncomfortable this week as we point the BIBLICAL TEACHING finger back at ourselves.
‘Upbuilding the saints‘
By review, in our look at the theology of Dr. Martyn LLOYD-JONES on the Christian Life, subtitled: DOCTRINE AND LIFE AS FUEL AND FIRE, we observed his teaching of important distinctions.
“Preaching is the primary business of the church, and preaching should have two main objects in view: ..
Upbuilding the saints AND evangelizing the lost.
SAINTS & HOLY ONES
WE are the saints of Christ's Church and Kingdom to come.
O when the saints go marching in,
O when they crown Him Lord of all,
O Lord, I want to be among the number..
O when all knees bow at His name,
O when they sing the Saviour’s praise,
O Lord, I want to be among the number
When the saints go marching in!
excerpt source:
Gotta love them ole hymns evangelizing Jesus as Lord and Saviour!
The Spirit-led saints of the Church proclaim the victory of Christ on the Cross.
“Our church is really good at evangelism, but as for our membershipwe might as well have a revolving door.
Sound familiar? (It’s a common challenge.)
Is that YOUR church too?
Multitudes of evangelized faces — yet so many souls forgotten as they slipped out some Sunday through the revolving doors of our ‘church’.
THREE Marks of a true church:
In the fourth of his key distinctions, The Distinction between Right and Wrong – Understandings of the Marks of the Church, Lloyd-Jones states THREE Marks of a true church:
the Word is truly preached (our current focus)
the sacraments are truly administered (can’t go there today) and (3)
discipline is truly exercised. (Today: a bit of admonition to self-discipline concerning Scripture)
While proclaiming and evangelizing the Gospel to evangelize ‘outsiders‘ through missions distant to our personal lives, WE as Christ’s saintsmust NOT neglect a personal relationship within our local church, our fellowship of the saints to each other.
So in addition to EVANGELIZING the lost (to come take a look at our ‘church‘), the other oft’-neglected responsibility of church leadership to the Lord of the harvest is the upbuilding of Christ’s flock, the saints of our local church.
But DON’T blame your Pastor
He’s just one evangelist with a high roof over a pulpit lit up on Sundays.
Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Ephesians 4:12 CSB +(every version from the Bible points to Christ’s gift)
The finger of response points back to ALL of the church — including the Pastor AND including YOU and ME.
And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.
some evangelists
some pastors and teachers
EQUIPPING THE saints (That’s US, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus)
FOR THE WORK of ministry (YES, saints, we are ministers + AND WHY?)
to build up the body of Christ (that is, His Church)
Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.
But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head — Christ.
Last year I shared a post on BIBLICAL Doctrines of the Church from an agreed statement of the International Council of Biblical Inerrancy.
(It may help you to first, sort out what you believe about the inerrancy of the Holy Bible and secondly, give you some insight into the theology you hear from the pulpit of your church.)
We affirm that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives the Bible its canonical authority, and the role of the church was and is to recognize and affirm this authority. We affirm that Christ the Lord has established his church on earth and rules it by His Word and Spirit. We affirm that the church is apostolic as it receives and is established upon the doctrine of the apostles recorded in Scripture and continues to proclaim the apostolic gospel. We affirm that identifying marks of local churches are faithful confession and proclamation of the Word of God, and responsible administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper. We affirm that churches are subject to the Word of Christ in their order as in their doctrine. We affirm that in addition to their commitment to a local church, Christians may properly involve themselves in parachurch organizations for specialized ministry. We affirm that Christ calls the church to serve Him by its worship, nurture, and witness as His people in the world. We affirm that Christ sends the church into the whole world to summon sinful humanity to faith, repentance, and righteousness. We affirm that the unity and clarity of Scripture encourage us to seek to resolve doctrinal differences among Christians, and so to manifest the oneness of the church in Christ.
HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH THESE AFFIRMATIONS OF YOUR FAITH?
All “YES’ & Amen?
NOW think about the doctrine you hear preached each Sunday and what you do NOT believe & therefore must stand firmly AGAINST.
We deny that the church can grant canonical authority to Scripture. We deny that the church is constituted by the will and traditions of men. We deny that the church can bind the conscience apart from the Word of God. We deny that the church can free itself from the authority of the written Word of God and still exercise valid discipline in Christ's name. We deny that the church can accommodate itself to the demands of a particular culture if those demands conflict with scriptural revelation, or if they restrain the liberty of Christian conscience. We deny that differing cultural situations invalidate the biblical principle of male-female equality or the biblical requirements for their roles in the church.
These are the very doctrines -- the lines in the sand -- of the PROTESTANT REFORMATION.
HOW’D YOU SCORE?
Can you DENY false preaching and false doctrine?
Do you recognize false preaching and false doctrine when you hear it?
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
1 John 4:1-3 LSB
Do you hear this preached as written by God in Scripture through the Apostle John?
In our NEXT Saturday Post we’ll take a look at some familiar characters from your local church as described by one of the theologians mentioned previously: John Bunyan.
Jesus Christ is Lord!
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