Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan - Conviction of the Necessity of Flying

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The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan - Conviction of the Necessity of Flying · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome back to Reformed Thinking for another deep dive.
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  Hello. Today we're digging into some
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  sources about, well, the very beginning of a really well known
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  allegory, the Pilgrim's Progress.
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  That's right, we've got these descriptions of a man just
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  deciding to up and leave everything.
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  He starts running and faces challenges almost immediately.
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  And our goal here is to unpack why he feels he has to run, what
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  guidance he gets right at the start, and how the people around
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  him react. See what kind of insights come
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  up for you as we talk through it.
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  Sounds good. OK, so let's start with the man
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  himself. Before he even gets the name
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  Christian, the sources paint a picture of him being really
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  distressed, just standing there kind of paralyzed because he
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  doesn't know where to go. Yeah, a sense of being
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  completely burdened and lost, and that's when Evangelist shows
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  up. This key figure.
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  Right. And he hands the man a
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  parchment, a scroll, and on it there's this message.
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  Fly from the wrath to come. Fly from the wrath to come.
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  That's pretty direct. It is, and it's presented as the
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  immediate reason, the catalyst for everything that follows.
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  This isn't just general unease anymore.
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  It's a specific warning about impending judgment.
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  Tied to where he lives, this city of destruction.
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  Staying means facing well a a a terrible outcome, according to
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  the source. OK, so he knows he has to flee.
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  He gets that message loud and clear.
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  But where does he go? He asks Evangelist, doesn't he?
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  Whither must I fly? He does an evangelist well, he
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  points across this wide field. He asked him, Do you see Yonder
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  wicked gate? You know, come all gate.
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  But the man can't see it. Not.
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  From No, not yet. So then Evangelist asks, Do you
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  see Yonder light? The light and the man says he
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  thinks he could see it, Yes. And that becomes the first
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  instruction. It's quite simple, really.
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  Keep that light in your eye and go up directly there too.
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  So shalt thou see the gate. So follow the light and then
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  you'll find the gate. Right.
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  And at the gate, he's told he'll find out what to do next.
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  He'll get instructions about the way.
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  Interesting. So the first step isn't about
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  understanding the whole path, just heading towards that
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  visible light. It seems so.
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  It's about acting on the immediate direction given, and
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  the sources say he acts right away.
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  As soon as he gets this direction, he starts to run.
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  Just like that, no hesitation. Apparently not.
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  It's a direct response to the command to flee and this initial
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  guidance. So as he's running, what exactly
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  is he leaving behind? We know it's called the City of
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  Destruction. Right.
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  He's running from his home, his birthplace.
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  He sees it as a place doomed to sink, as the text puts it, lower
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  than the grave, into a place that burns with fire and
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  brimstone. Staying equals destruction in
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  his mind. And while he's running, he's
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  crying out something specific, isn't he?
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  Yes. Life, life.
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  Eternal life, so it's not just escaping from something
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  terrible. No, it's also running towards
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  something. He's actively seeking eternal
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  life, escaping judgement but also pursuing this better
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  lasting state. You.
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  Can just picture it, can't you? A man suddenly runs out of his
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  house shouting about eternal life.
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  How do people react? His family?
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  His neighbors. Well, his wife and children see
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  him go. They cry out for him to come
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  back. But he doesn't.
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  No, the sources are quite specific.
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  He puts his fingers in his ears, keeps running, and doesn't look
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  back. Wow, putting his fingers in his
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  ears. That's quite an image.
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  It really shows how serious he believes the danger is.
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  The need to escape overrides even those family ties, at least
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  in that moment. Then the neighbors notice.
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  Yeah. What do they do?
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  It's a mix. Some mock him, call him crazy.
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  Others threaten him, maybe try to intimidate him into stopping.
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  And some also just plead with him to return, like his family.
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  So ridicule. Anger, maybe some concern mixed
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  in, and among them there were two who actually decide to chase
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  him down. Obstinate and pliable.
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  Exactly. They don't just shout from the
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  sidelines, they decide to fetch him back by force.
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  Their aim is clear, to persuade you to go back with us.
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  They represent that pull back to the familiar, the world he's
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  leaving. The act of resistance to his
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  departure. So they catch up with him and he
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  asked them, you know, why they've come after him.
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  They tell him straight they want him to go back.
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  And the man who the source is now called Christian is just as
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  firm. That can by no means be.
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  He won't even consider it. No, and when Obstinate pushes
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  him, he says something like no, not I, because I have laid my
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  hand to the plow. That's a biblical reference,
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  isn't it? Signifying he started something
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  he can't turn back from. That's the sense, yes.
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  A settled decision. And he explains why.
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  He tells them they are the ones in danger, living in the City of
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  destruction, facing this fire and brimstone.
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  He actually urges them to come with him.
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  So he flips it on them. Don't pull me back.
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  You should come forward with me. Right.
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  And he draws this sharp contrast.
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  He talks about what they value, their friends, their comforts,
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  basically everything in their world and compares it to what
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  he's seeking. How does he put that comparison?
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  He says all the things they leave behind, everything they
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  cherish now is not worthy to be compared with a little of that
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  which I am seeking to enjoy just.
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  A little bit of what but he seeks outweighs everything they
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  have. That's a strong claim.
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  What is this thing he's seeking? He describes it to obstinate.
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  He calls it an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and
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  that fadeth not away. So something permanent, not like
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  things in this world. Exactly something that doesn't
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  decay or get ruined or lose its value.
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  And where is it? It's laid up in heaven and safe.
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  They're reserved, he says, for those who diligently seek it.
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  And, he adds, there are many more glories besides.
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  He calls it his desired place. And he backs this up, right?
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  He doesn't just say it. No, he points to his book.
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  He tells them to read it for themselves if they doubt him,
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  and the source adds a note that this book is confirmed by the
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  blood of its maker. Which clearly points to the
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  Bible in the context of the allegory, the source of his
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  conviction about the danger, the escape and the reward validated
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  by Christ's sacrifice. That's the strong implication,
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  yes. So Christian lays all this out,
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  The danger, the hope, the source of his belief.
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  How do obstinate, impliable respond now?
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  They came together, but do they react the same way?
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  No, very differently. Obstinate just digs in his
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  heels. He thinks Christian is
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  completely off his rocker. Just dismisses it all.
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  Totally calls him a crazed headed cockscomb.
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  A brain sick fellow. He basically says I'm going
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  home. I'm not hanging around with you
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  delusional types. He's made-up his mind.
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  He represents that complete rejection, them rooted in the
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  here and now, unwilling to consider anything beyond it.
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  Absolutely. But pliable?
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  He's different. How so?
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  Well, he tells obstinate not to be so harsh.
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  He actually says, you know, if what Christian is saying is
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  true, then things he looks after are better than ours.
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  He admits his heart inclines to go with his neighbor.
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  So he's well, pliable, open to persuasion.
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  He sees the possibility that Christian might be right.
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  Yes, obstinate tries one last time, tells him be ruled by me,
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  go back. But Christian encourages pliable
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  points him again to the promise of glory as to the book.
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  And Pliable makes his decision. He does.
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  He says. I intend to go along with this
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  good man and to cast in my lot with him.
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  He chooses Christian's path over obstinate certainty.
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  So Obstinate turns back alone, heading back to the City of
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  Destruction. While Pliable decides to join
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  Christian, he then asks Christian, reasonably enough, do
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  you know the way to this desired place?
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  Does Christian know the whole way?
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  No, not yet. He just repeats the instruction
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  he got from Evangelist. He knows they need to head
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  towards that little gate that is before us.
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  That's the next step. They'll get more directions
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  there. So the two of them, Christian
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  and pliable, they start walking together towards the gate,
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  guided by that light. That's how this first section
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  ends. Obstinate heads back.
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  Christian and his new companion head forward.
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  It really sets the stage, doesn't it?
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  You see this man, Christian, driven by this urgent need to
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  escape judgement and find eternal life.
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  Guided initially just by a light towards the gate, facing
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  immediate opposition from the world he knew.
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  And finding just one person out of all his neighbors and family
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  willing to even consider going with him.
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  Yeah, his first steps really highlight the urgency, the need
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  for clear, even if simple direction, and the fact that
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  choosing this path means immediate separation from the
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  familiar. It makes you wonder, doesn't it?
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  Why do people react so differently when faced with that
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  kind of call? The call to live what's
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  comfortable for something unseen.
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  Obstinate certainty versus pliable's inclination.
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  Yeah, something for you to think about until our next deep dive.