This is a sample page of my companion book titled Journey with Bunyan’s Pilgrim. It’s the first day of 13 weeks of a study of The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan.
Part I: Christian Journeys to the Celestial City – Week One: Pilgrim Left Home – Week One Day One
‟What Shall I Do?”
‟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 backˮ (p.1, Barbour, 1998).
“A man clothed in rags and weighed down by a great burden on his back stood facing away from his own house. He opened the Bible he held in his hand, and as he read, he wept and trembled. Finally, no longer able to contain himself, he cried, ‘What shall I do?’” (p. 7 Barbour, 2010)
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6, NIV 2011). Peter replied, ‛Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins’ (Acts 2:38).
John Bunyan opened his narrative with a dream. He saw a man reading a Book, weeping because of a great burden on his back. The man cried out, ‟What shall I do?” Although his conviction of sin resulted from reading the book, the book also contained the remedy: ‟Repent.”
Pilgrim wanted neither to die nor face the judgment. But something had to be done. What? Appointed to help him, Evangelist pointed to his way of escape. Ahead lay a gate that doesn’t come into view until light shines upon it. God’s Word is this light (Psalm 119:105).
God’s Word is truly a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), for while it admonishes us about sin, it also shows us the way to be rid of sin (Romans 5:21). Evangelist led Pilgrim to the light. We all need qualified leaders, equipped with biblical truth and a passion to witness to others about God’s truth. Their qualifications put into practice the direct path to God.
My Takeaway: As a teenager I was thankful for a Sunday school teacher who gave opportunity for students to make a personal decision for Christ. She took this seriously, for she even withheld her own pre-teen son from joining the church after attending membership class. Being a Christ-follower is more important than being a church member.
Your Turn: How were you introduced to biblical truth?
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Ann Coker 