Archives For John Bunyan

Celebrating a Pilgrim's Progress

Aaron Armstrong —  February 18, 2010 — Leave a comment

Today marks the 332nd anniversary of the publication of John Bunyan‘s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress, the best-selling book in history (aside from the Bible).

First published on February 18, 1678, The Pilgrim’s Progress tells the tale of Christian, “a man clothed in rags…with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back,” on a journey to the Celestial City. This allegorical tale of the Christian life has been a powerful influence on believers throughout the last 300 years.

What The Pilgrim’s Progress taught me is that blessing comes with perseverance. The difficulties of Christian’s journey, the temptations that threatened to ensnare him, the despair he felt as he made his way through the Valley of Humiliation and Death, persecution he faced in Vanity Fair—all of these made his arrival at the Celestial City that much sweeter, where the King of Kings would welcome him home.

Now I saw in my dream, that these two men went in at the gate; and lo, as they entered, they were transfigured, and they had raiment put on that shone like gold. There was also that met them with harps and crowns, and gave them to them; the harps to praise withal, and the crowns in token of honour. Then I heard in my dream that all the bells in the city rang again for joy, and that it was said unto them, “Enter ye into the joy of your Lord.” I also heart the men themselves, that they sang with a loud voice, saying, “Blessing, honour, glory and power be to him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.”

The Pilgrim’s Progress, p. 197, (Whitaker House edition)

Is this your goal? To be welcomed home to the Celestial City, and hear those words, “Enter into the joy of your Lord”? To sing alongside those who have entered before us, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Rev. 5:13)

Is this the cry of your heart? To join Christ there because,

“…it is there that I hope to see alive my Savior who hung dead on the cross. It is there that I hope to be rid of all those things that to this day are an annoyance to me. They say that in that place there is no death, and I will dwell there with the company that I like best. For, to tell you the truth, I love Him because He eased me of my burden. I am weary of my inward sickness. I desire to be where I will die no more, with a company that will continually cry, ‘Holy, holy, holy!’”

The Pilgrim’s Progress, p. 77, (Crossway edition)

I hope it is. My hope for us all is that we do not grow weary of persevering. I want to be there alongside Bunyan and all the saints who have come before and will come after me, singing, “Holy, holy, holy!”

And I want to see you there, too.

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Sunday Shorts (07/19)

Aaron Armstrong —  July 19, 2009 — Leave a comment

“He moved out, took all our money, and left me with two children”

A powerful testimony from the Mars Hill Church blog:

After giving my heart to Jesus, he radically changed my life. I stopped being sexually active, changed my circle of friends, started singing in a choir, changed the way I dressed, started treating the people better, and used my free time to get closer to Christ. After college, I met and married a man who was serving Jesus. We had two beautiful boys, we were a part of a church, we served in the music ministry, and things felt right. My life suddenly changed, however, when I caught my husband having an affair. He moved out the same day, took all our money, and left me with two children.

Read the rest at Blog.MarsHillChurch.org.

“Why Johnny Can’t Preach”

Ben Quinn at Baptist Twenty-One offers a concise recommendation for T. David Gordon’s Why Johnny Can’t Preach:

If you’re looking for a good book on preaching, you definitely want to check out T. David Gordon’s Why Johnny Can’t Preach.  I realize that most of you theology buffs are thinking, “The last thing I want to read is a preaching book,” but I assure you that you won’t be disappointed.  The literary quality alone is the worth the price of the book ($9.99 at Amazon), and you can read it in one sitting.

Playing off the titles of Why Johnny Can’t Read (Rudolf Flesch, 1966) and Why Johnny Can’t Write (Linden and Whimbey, 1990), T. David Gordon argues, “that societal changes that led to the concerns expressed in the 1960’s to 1980’s in educational circles…have led to the natural cultural consequence that people cannot preach expositorily” (15).

Read the rest at BaptistTwentyOne.org

Dan Kimball: “The Toughest Chapter to Write and Thank You NT Wright”

Dan Kimball shares his struggles writing about the issue of homosexuality:

The most difficult chapter in this book I am struggling with in the final writing and editing is the chapter on homosexuality. I did write about homosexuality before in the They Like Jesus But Not The Church book and my theological understanding of what Scriptures teach or don’t teach on it. I also addressed it in the DVD curriculum for that book, as I interviewed my gay friend Penny for that session in the DVD. The DVD was important as I wanted people to not just think about homosexuality or read about it, but to see the emotions, the eyes as one speaks, and hear the heart of my friend Penny – so that those that may not understand can hear her perspective and damage Christians and the church have done to her over the years.

But this book I am writing now is a trade book not written to only church leaders like my others. So I feel more weight  because the reading audience is much broader and probably more diverse. With this specific chapter, I am finding myself retyping sentences and thinking through how all different viewpoints will be reading what I am writing. So this one is taking several days wrapping it up.

Read the rest at Dan’s blog.

In case you missed it

Here are a few of this week’s notable posts:

Everyday Theology: “Money is the Root of All Evil” Exploring the truth that money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is.

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit & John Bunyan What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and what we can learn from John Bunyan’s experience.

Everyday Theology: “Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child” Seeking to understand the purpose of godly discipline.

Book Review: Deep Economy Emily Armstrong offers her insights into Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy.

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Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit & John Bunyan

Aaron Armstrong —  July 15, 2009 — 1 Comment
john_bunyan

John Bunyan

Pretty much since the moment I became a Christian, I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly it means to “blaspheme the Holy Spirit.” How does that happen?

A few days back, I was once again reading Matthew 12:22-32, which deals with this issue. Here’s the story so you have some context:

Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, a he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someoneenter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not withme is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man l will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (emphasis mine).

Jesus casts out a demon, and the people begin asking if He is the Messiah. The Pharisees say that Jesus performs miracles by the power of Satan, rather than by the power of God the Holy Spirit. Essentially, they say that he’s practicing witchcraft (something punishable by death according to Old Testament law).

I’ve read this story probably a couple dozen times at this point, but when I read it this time, it was like a light was turned on in a dark room. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to continually and stubbornly reject His work and testimony concerning the identity of Jesus. To reject His work as that of Satan’s, and to unrepentantly reject God and His commands is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. And those who persistently & unrepentantly resist the Spirit and salvation through faith in Christ, will not be saved. A troubling thought, to be sure.

So, can a Christian blaspheme the Spirit?

No.

The testimony of John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, sheds some light on why this is so. Continue Reading…

In Bible, Sin, Theology , , , , ,
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Vintage Saints-John Bunyan

Aaron Armstrong —  March 6, 2009 — Leave a comment

Today begins new series of biographical sketches on the lives of godly departed saints. This week: John Bunyanjohn_bunyan

John Bunyan (November 28, 1628-August 31, 1688) was a Puritan author and preacher, best known for his classic work, The Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan received very little education before joining his father as a tinker tradesman, a lowly occupation usually associated with gypsies. He also led a thoroughly rebellious life against God. Describing his younger self, Bunyan said, “I had few equals, especially considering my tender years, for cursing, swearing, lying, and blaspheming the holy name of God. Yes, so settled and rooted was I in these things that they became as second nature to me” (from his autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners).

In 1644, after a series of tragic events, including the death of his mother and younger sister, and his father’s remarriage, Bunyan enlisted in the army at the age of sixteen. He served for three years, during which he saw little military action. In his autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, Bunyan tells of how as he and his company were going into battle, another officer took his place. That same officer was, as he stood watch, was shot in the head by a musketball and died. “Here were judgements and mercy, but neither of them did awaken by soul to righteousness. Therefore, I sinned still, growing more and more rebellious and careless of my own salvation.”

In 1649, he married his first wife. At this same time, Bunyan also began to conform his behaviour to more “polite” society, but was still did not know Jesus Christ. “I was nothing but a poor painted hypocrite,” he said amidst the praise due to his seeming growth in godliness. Eventually, true faith emerged around the year 1653, but it was long embattled.

Despair struck Bunyan when his first child was born blind, and after having three more children, his wife died in 1658. He remarried a year later. He experienced an extremely dark spiritual time, questioning his salvation, his repentence of earlier sins, and his relationship with God. Temptation and condemnation weighed upon him heavily, and he could rarely see hope, even in the words of Scripture.

Bunyan emerged from this dark time of trial as a bold and confident preacher, a Non-Conformist who practiced the faith apart from the State Church of England. In 1660, under the rule of Charles II, Bunyan was jailed for preaching of the Word of God without license. Despite his wife’s best efforts, he would remain in prison for the next 12 years.

During this time, Bunyan began his (in)famous writing career, in which he penned many books, including his autobiography. After his release, under Charles II’s Declaration of Indulgence, Bunyan took on the role of pastor to the community of Bedford, his home.  When persecution was renewed in 1677, he was again jailed for six months. In 1678, the first part of The Pilgrim’s Progress was published in London. A sequel was published six years later.

The editors of the Whitaker House edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress describes Bunyan as follows:

Although Bunyan had a limited amount of schooling, his work as a writer was that of an accomplished artist. He handled all areas of writing—satire, heroic splendor, humor and spiritual fervor—with incomparable expertise. He was able to skillfully combine the spiritual principles of the Bible with the practical living of the common people he knew so well.

The Pilgrim’s Progress would go on to become a staple of every home in Britain, Europe and North America for more than two hundred years. Of this work, it’s said to be second only to the Bible in number of copies sold and translated into other languages.

John Bunyan died at the age of 59 in 1688 in London, after journeying to preach there. Having ridden during heavy rain to settle a dispute between a father and son, he developed an accute fever, possibly pneumonia. While Bunyan has long ago gone to see Jesus face-to-face, his writing and legacy live on to bring glory to God, and encourage us to perservere until the day we join him in the Celestial city.

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