The Pilgrim's Progress By John Bunyan

The Pilgrim's Progress
By John Bunyan

Summary: You've heard of it... now is a great time to read it!

Everyone should read Pilgrim's Progress. I read it for the first time last week. It is a book about a journey by the main character, Christian. It will also set you on your own journey through the Bible. John Bunyan writes that his allegory contains "nothing but sound and honest Gospel strains" and he includes references to Bible verses on nearly every page. I found it easy to understand Christian's journey by looking up these verses in my Bible as I came to them.
By doing this, Bunyan was giving me fresh guidance because I had not read many of these verses recently. The references also allow me to keep Bunyan accountable for his words by comparing them to Scripture.

Reading a book is a journey in itself, especially when it is read along with the Bible. It was also a literal journey for me because I was reading Pilgrim's Progress while on an airplane. In one sense I was meeting John Bunyan for the first time through his book while at the same time my flight from Los Angeles to London was taking me closer to Bunyan literally. On City Street in London is a cemetery called Bunhill Fields which is full of non-conformist preachers (Puritans and others who severed their ties from the Anglican church establish by Charles II). This is where John Bunyan is buried. Last night when I finished the book I came across a related quote by Charles Spurgeon:

Go into Bunhill-fields, and stand by the memorial of John Bunyan, and you will say, "Ah! there lies the head that contained the brain which thought out that wondrous dream of the Pilgrim's Progress from the City of Destruction to the Better land. There lies the finger that wrote those wondrous lines which depict the story of him who came at last to the land Beulah, and waded through the flood, and entered into the celestial city."

So the day after finishing Pilgrim's Progress I took Spurgeon's advice and went into Bunhill Fields to see Bunyan's tomb (as well as John Owens). It is ironic that a man whose life and thoughts so greatly followed and conformed to the Word of God would receive the reputation of non-conformist. It's clear from the story where Bunyan's loyalties lie:

Ignorance: What be good thoughts respecting ourselves?

Christian: Such as agree with the Word of God.

Ignorance: When do our thoughts of ourselves agree with the Word of God?

Christian: When we pass the same judgment upon ourselves which the Word passes...

Ignorance: What are good thoughts concerning God?

Christian: Even, as I have said concerning ourselves, when our thoughts of God do agree with what the Word saith of him.

I appreciate Bunyan's regard for the truth. He clearly shows that we all are born into the City of Destruction wearing nothing but rags. He insists that the only road to the Celestrial City is through the Narrow Gate. He portrays the progression of our sanctification as a grueling journey, but one that is nevertheless fueled by God's grace. The true nature of worldliness is portrayed in Vanity Fayre, Satan's schemes are encountered and explained, and numerous actions, attitudes, and feelings are examined.

Pilgrim's Progress is about the ultimate journey of life of pursuing a pure heart through faith in Jesus. By modeling faithfulness and perseverance, its characters illustrate the trials and tribulations by which God works His good in us. This book is a classic and I hope it remains in print for a long time so many more generations can learn and be encouraged by it.

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