Hopeless To Hopeful: A Pilgrim’s Journey

“We are pilgrims, we are strangers, we are awkward, we are dislocated, we find no home here. No place where we properly fit because we have a city whose builder and maker is God. And our job is to take a gospel so covered up by the designs of men that it no longer has any power. It is our job to strip away all that faulty dress and to preach the bare bones of a gospel that’s nothing more than a scandal, but in that we will see the power of God.” (Paul Washer)

Never in a million years did I believe I would be an evangelist, or “a fool for Christ,” as some have now called me. A weak, introverted woman, with a trail of brokenness from sin. This was my life before I encountered the risen Christ. He knew me even before I was born and over time, I learned that He has a good plan for His children. I was His enemy, but He gifted me with a new heart and now calls me His friend. Astonishing! I met Jesus in the pages of the Bible. During a short, secluded hospital stay after I had decided it would be better not to live, my name would have been known as Hopeless. But I finally opened His Word, read with new eyes and surrendered my life to Him. My name has now changed to Hopeful.

Later in life, one Faithful Friend, a servant of Christ, presented my husband and I with a large stack of Paul Washer sermons on CDs, numerous Puritan books, and a John MacArthur Romans study book that we began to study together. One book that I believe every believer should read yearly is Pilgrim’s Progress which was written in a jail cell by John Bunyan. In this article, I will attempt to examine Chapter 9, with the hope of edifying His Church and to encourage believers in their walk of faith. God speaks to us through His Word and uses His children in many difference circumstances, in prison, or in a hospital bed. My hospital visit was where God awakened me to a new life of service for His glory. God also sent many strangers, including an evangelist who gave me a gospel tract on a Pittsburgh college campus where I was confronted about my sin and learned that sin leads to death. (Romans 6:23)

I will now focus on two main characters from Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian and Hopeful, to illustrate how glorious God is. He deserves all praise and honor, and He works to mold us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus, through the process of sanctification.

Pilgrim’s Progress- Chapter 9

In this specific chapter, Bunyan depicts the narrow road of following Christ, the dangers, the types of people we will encounter, and His faithfulness to lead us safely home.

The Word tells us that in the last days many false teachers will arise and deceive many. Detecting truth from error is vital. John MacArthur warned us that “False teachers can be sincere, persuasive, believable, and even kind and likeable. Our only tool to detect truth from a lie is the Word of God.”

Christian and Hopeful travel together through the world for Christ. They traveled through many different towns which sadly resemble our current times, e.g., they were faced with much ignorance and hostility towards the Bible and witnessed firsthand an evaporating biblical worldview. Yet, God’s great mercy was provided to both men through godly friendship and other mature believers, one such man was named Shining One. God use him to redirect Christian and Hopeful away from a dangerous path.

The people Christian and Hopeful met represent categories of people evangelists will encounter today.

Person #1- Ignorance, a man who lived in the country of Conceit and was confident that he “had been a good liver, by praying, fasting, paying tithes.” His life philosophy (relativism) was, “be content, follow your religion of choice, and I will follow mine.” Relativism is everywhere today. Examples of this post-modern thinking are communicated in the popular phrases “live YOUR truth” and “you do you.”

Person #2- Turn-Away, a man who professed faith for a time but then rejected God’s Word and Jesus. He appropriately lived in a town called Apostacy.

Person #3- Little Faith, a “good” man who lived in the town of Sincere and focused on spiritual things. Little Faith was greatly harmed by three men (Faint-Heart, Mistrust, and Guilt) who threatened him, beat him and stole from him. Sadly, Little Faith’s life progressed into a life of bitterness and complaining, and he filled his mind with empty things. At first, I was confused if Little Faith was reborn; however, after researching, I found that Bunyan used Little Faith to illustrate that even a weak, trembling faith is genuine saving faith.

Person #4- Flatterer, labeled as a false apostle who took advantage of Christian and Hopeful. He purposely led them off course when they were confused and uncertain of the direction of the path. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit made them aware of their error and reminded them that The Shepherd had warned them to beware and instructed them to mark and avoid false teachers. (Romans 16:17-18) They were wise in believing the wisdom of Proverbs 29:5, “A man who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his steps.”

Person #5- Shining One, God used this man to lead Christian and Hopeful back on the path God ordained for them. 

The Enchanted Ground

When Christian and Hopeful arrived in the Enchanted Ground (this mirrors some churches today), Hopeful began to be very drowsy. Christian reminded his friend Hopeful of The Shepherd’s warning of the dangers of sleeping. Jesus warned his disciples to stay awake while he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46) for He knew what was to come, his unlawful arrest, crucifixion and resurrection. I believe this same warning applies today to the church and to evangelism.

Christian and Hopeful then digress by remembering the “good” life in Vanity Fair.  The Lord impressed on their minds the testimony of their friend who died for his faith in that town to awaken them to the truth found in Romans 6:21b-23, “the end of these things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Person #6- Atheist, was also a flatterer, a materialist (only believes what he sees), who ridiculed Christian and Hopeful, quickly labeling them as ignorant. This encounter showed their evangelistic heart when they boldly shared with Atheist that there is a world to come, and that they both heard, and believed, that there is such a place to be found. Despite Atheist’s rejection, both men walked away sorrowful knowing that “this man is blinded by the god of this world.”

Regeneration Is All Of God

Hopeful throughout chapter 9 shares how God regenerated His heart by the Word. He also conveyed the necessity of biblical evangelism where the law and gospel are coupled together in the proclamation of the gospel. His transformation was a process: discovering what sin was, he then tried to fix or get rid of his sin, and then he received a revelation given from God and proclaimed, “Now, I see my own sin. Lord, I am a great, very great sinner.” His next question was, “Who is this Man, and how must I be justified by him?”  The answer: The Lord Jesus Christ! Then Hopeful joyfully said, “a man gave me a book of Jesus.” While reading the Bible, Hopeful continued to “pray, until the Father showed him His Son.” Hopeful’s rebirth from death to life, a new heart transplant, led him to say, “Jesus made me love a holy life, and long to do something for the honor and glory of Him.” C. H. Spurgeon, in his book, “All of Grace,” labored hard to communicate that salvation is all of God’s grace, “We trust in Jesus for what we cannot do ourselves. If it were in our own power, why would we need to look to Him?… A saving change of heart is the work of the Holy Spirit.”

What was the means God used? His Word and an evangelist. As Hopeful said, “I met a good man on the street.”

Application: The Character Of Christ’s Witness

A witness for Christ is a commissioned representative of the Lord Jesus Christ who displays biblical compassion, holiness and integrity. John MacArthur stated, “When your deeds match your words, you have integrity. There is clearly a direct correlation between integrity and biblical holiness.”

J.C. Ryle, in his masterpiece, “Holiness,” examines the marriage of Lot and his wife. Angels warned and led their family to safety during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, minus one. (Genesis 19) Lot’s wife looked back, and God’s judgment fell upon her, and she was transformed into a pillar of salt. Jesus in Luke 17:32, one of the shortest verses in the Bible, told his followers, “Remember Lot’s wife.” It is a grave warning to not turn back, to not have a divided heart and to move forward and focus on the salvation God has put in front of you. (I am extremely convicted as I write this hard truth regarding the destruction and consequences of this sin.)

There were many people in Pilgrim’s Progress who also turned back: Obstinate, Pliable, Timorous, Mistrust, Turn-Away, and Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, to name a few.

Lot was a believer and his wife was unbelieving; her heart was in the world. Ryle reminds his readers that, “mere possession of religious privileges will save no one’s soul.” She doubted whether God was really going to destroy Sodom and did not believe the angels warning to quickly flee.

The dangers of worldly thinking depicted in Pilgrim’s Progress and found in culture have now entered the church. Throughout Jesus’ teachings, He solemnly warned of the judgment to come. For the evangelist, we must live out Romans 1:16– “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” And finally in the vital words of Ryle, “The words of our Lord Jesus Christ must be deeply engraved on all our hearts. Satan is fiercely emboldened today to lie to men and say, ‘Give up Christ, come back to the world, and follow me!’ Oh, may we say in such hours of trial, ‘Soul, soul, remember Lot’s wife!’”