We have now come to the last of
our talks on this wonderful book, The Pilgrim's
Progress, and we shall follow the adventures of
the pilgrims, Christian and hopeful, as they make
their way from Doubting Castle until they enter
the glorious Celestial City.
We left Christian and hopeful on the right
side of that stile, having learned by bitter
experience that the rough and rugged path of
obedience to God's word, God's will, God's way,
God's work, God's worship, is the only safe
path for the child of God.
The path of peace and joy.
Many and many a child of God has
been made to experience the same thing, as
he has tried to avoid his responsibilities in
the Christian life, avoid the typicalties that come
with treading that straight and narrow pathway.
Oh, how often their mind has been beclouded
by doubts.
Despair has lashed them unmercifully.
Distrust of God's promises has whispered, give up
your Christian profession, go back into the world.
Darkness has enshrouded their spirit.
Until at last, like Christian and hopeful, they
come to that point where they are prepared
to honestly and openly and frankly confess their
sin.
As they do so, and turn with loathing
and detestation from that sin and that indifference
and that laziness that led to their departure
in heart from God, then God reveals that
his promises, long forgotten, form a key that
can open any door in doubting castle.
Whatever the doubt may be, there is a
promise of God that can deliver that child
of God from that particular doubt.
And Christian and hopeful learn, as they apply
the promises of God to their doubts, that
every door open, and even the giant himself,
could not stand the sunshine of the word
of God.
And Christian and hopeful, climbing over that stile,
confess that the only safe and joyous path
for the child of God was the path
that God had laid down for them in
his word.
And then you recall, before they left this
spot, hopeful suggested it would be a good
idea to put a cairn of stones at
that stile, lest any seeing by that meadow
should be tempted to follow their example.
And on that cairn of stones they placed
this notice, out of the way we went,
and then we found what draws to tread
upon forbidden ground, and that those that come
after have a care, lest they for trespassing
his prisoners are, whose castles doubting, and whose
names despair.
So they went on their way.
Presently they came to the delectable mountains, and
there they saw many hundreds of sheep feeding
on the hillside.
And in charge of those sheep there were
four shepherds, whose names were Knowledge, Watchful, Experience,
and Sincere.
As they approached the shepherds, the pilgrims inquired,
Who are you, and to whom do these
sheep belong?
The shepherds replied, These are the sheep for
which the good shepherd gave his life.
As the great shepherd he keeps his sheep,
and one of these days he will come
and gather them into that fold whence non
-constrained, and where there are pastures evergreen.
These are the sheep of the good shepherd,
and to each one of them he says,
I give unto my sheep eternal life, and
they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand, when the
good shepherd goeth before his sheep.
He goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him, for they know his voice.
These are the sheep, each one of whom
can say, The Lord is my shepherd, I
shall not want.
And who are you, inquired Christian?
The shepherds answered, Our names are Knowledge, Watchful,
Experience, and Sincere, and we are overseers among
the flock, set here by God himself.
We may guard the flock, lead them into
right pastures, feed them with food convenient, so
that they shall grow in grace and in
the knowledge of their Lord and their Saviour.
Then the shepherds inquired, And who are you?
They replied, Our names are Christian and Hopeful,
we are on our way to the celestial
city.
How do you know, inquired the shepherds?
Christian and Hopeful replied, Because we have been
saved by the grace of God, through faith
in the Lord Jesus, who loved us and
gave himself for us, through our acceptance of
him by faith as our Saviour, and confession
of him as the Lord of our lives,
the word of God has assured us, we
are saved by his grace, and shall be
kept by his power till travelling days are
done.
And then the pilgrims inquired of the shepherds,
How far is it from here to the
celestial city?
The shepherds answered, It is far for those
for whom it is far, near for those
for whom it is near.
We know not just how far the celestial
city is from here.
And when the shepherds saw that the pilgrims
were real Christians, they extended to them the
right hand of fellowship.
Now these four shepherds illustrate those in an
assembly of the Lord's people, who by reason
of their knowledge of the word of God,
watchful in the things of God, experience of
the ways of God, and sincerity in the
way of God, are thus pitted by the
Lord Jesus, the Good and Great and Chief
Shepherd, to be under shepherds who shall feed
the flock of God.
Therefore in an assembly of the Lord's people,
those who are younger should take good heed
to the voice of their elder brethren, for
they have had a much longer experience of
the ways of God than they have, and
they have been set as elder brethren in
that assembly, in order to guard and guide
and feed the people of God.
Now said the shepherds, Would you like to
see some of the sights of these parts?
Indeed we would, replied the pilgrims.
So the shepherds showed them some of the
wonderful sights.
First they took them to the top of
a very high hill, called the hill of
error or wrong doctrine, one side of which
was very steep.
Christian and Hopper were asked to look over
the precipice and describe what they saw beneath.
As Christian and Hopper looked over the edge
of that precipice, to their horror, they saw
lying at the foot of that cliff hundreds
of bodies lying unburied.
They inquired of the shepherds, What place is
this, and who are those bodies lying at
the foot of this cliff?
The shepherds answered, This is the hill of
wrong doctrine or error.
Those bodies you see lying there were those
who would not give heed to sound teaching,
but after their own evil desires they heaped
to themselves teachers having itching ears, who turned
away their ears from the truth and turned
them unto fables.
They received wrong doctrine, which blinded them to
the truth of the word of God, and
their bodies lie unburied at the foot of
that cliff as a warning to all who
come after to take heed what you hear,
to prove all things and to hold fast
that which is good.
This hill of error still remains today and
there are many, many, many false teachers in
the world.
Modernists, who deny the divine inspiration of the
word of God, deny the deity of our
Lord Jesus, deny the necessity for the shed
blood of Christ to secure salvation for lost
humanity, deny the necessity for being born again
of the spirit of God if we would
see or enter the kingdom of God, who
deny the reality of heaven and the reality
of hell.
Many false teachers are in the world today,
therefore we must test all that people say
by what the word of God declares.
To the law and the testimony, if they
speak not according to this book, there is
no light in them.
Error has a mesmeric effect upon people.
It mesmerizes them, hypnotizes them, blinds them to
the truth of the word of God.
Let us thank God for every sound fundamental
preacher and teacher of the word of God.
Let us be on our guard, lest we
be led away through the error of the
wicked one, and our bodies lie unburied as
a warning to all that come after to
take heed what we hear and how we
hear.
Then the pilgrims were taken to a hill
called Mount Caution, from the top of which
they were asked to describe what took place
in the valley beneath.
As Christian and Hopel watched, they saw some
men wandering among tombstones.
These men did not seem to know where
they were going, for they bumped into one
another and fell over these tombstones.
Christian and Hopel inquired, what place is that,
and who are those men among the tombstones?
The shepherds answered, this is the end of
Bypath Meadow.
Those people were caught by a giant named
Despair, put into a castle called Doubting Castle,
and because they did not take advantage of
the key of promise which each Christian has
in his bosom, after a while Giant Despair
took a red-hot poker, burned out their
eyes and blinded them, and then turned them
loose amongst these tombstones, so that in these
people might be fulfilled the saying of God's
word which says, they that wander out of
the way of understanding shall dwell in the
congregation of the dead.
What a tragedy!
Christians who have had the light of their
testimony put out by their doubt and distrust
and despair, and now the light that is
in them is darkness.
They're in the world, but they're only stumbling
block in the way of those who are
spiritually dead.
Unsaved worldly people look at the lives of
these people who once professed to be Christians
and say, what?
That man a Christian?
And I don't want to become a Christian
if that's a sample of what Christianity produces.
That person born again?
And I don't want that kind of thing
if that's the thought of life it produces.
Thus these Christians who have lost their testimony
bring shame and disgrace to the name of
the Lord Jesus and become stumbling blocks in
the way of the ungodly who see in
their worldly lives no recommendation whatever of Christianity.
Is there anyone here who is in Doubting
Castle tonight?
Use that key of promise.
Ere giant despair puts out the light of
your testimony, and you join this company of
those who dwell in the congregation of the
dead.
The pilgrims were next conducted to a side
door in a hill, and behind that side
door there came the smell of burning and
the sound of those who were within that
dreadful flame.
Christian inquired, what lies behind that door?
Open it and you shall see.
Christian opened that door and out came a
great tongue of flame.
Christian shrank back and then heard in that
flame the sound of voices.
He heard one saying, cursed be the day
that I was born that I should have
come to a place like this.
I always intended to be saved.
I always intended to trust Christ as my
savior, but I kept putting it off, putting
it off, and then death suddenly came, and
before I was aware my soul was eternally
lost, and here I am weeping, wailing, gnashing
my teeth.
He heard another say, what time is it?
The answer came, time is no more.
It is eternity, eternity, eternity.
Christian couldn't stand anymore.
He closed the door and then with awed
voice and trembling limbs he inquired of the
shepherds, what dreadful place is this?
They replied, this is the side door to
hell into which mere empty professors go.
Those who profess to be saved but have
never trusted Christ as their savior.
Those who intended to be saved but died
before they trusted the savior.
This is the side door to hell.
Pay good heed to this picture because we
shall see this dreadful place again before we
conclude this story of the pilgrim's progress.
Make sure that this side door to hell
shall not be your fate.
Come to Christ, trust in him who loved
you and gave himself for you.
Receive him by faith as your savior and
own him as the lord of your life,
and you will never come to this dreadful
place.
The pilgrims were then taken to the top
of a high mountain.
They were given a telescope.
The shepherd said, now if you look through
that telescope on a clear day and your
hand is steady enough, you can actually see
the celestial city.
Christian took up that telescope, but the scenes
he had so recently witnessed so affected him
his hand was shaking.
He could not see very clearly, but what
he did say was this, I think I
see a golden glow in the distance.
Then Hopeful took the telescope.
His hand was a little steadier than Christian's
and as he looked through the telescope he
said, I see one of the gates of
the city and it makes me long to
be home with the lord who loved me
and gave himself for me.
That telescope illustrates faith.
Faith is the telescope through which we can
see the realities of God's word.
There's a land that is fairer than day
and by faith we can see the far
and our father waits over the way to
give us a welcome there.
So both Christian and Hopeful were encouraged by
their visit to these poor shepherds.
After bidding them Godspeed they proceeded on their
way.
As they continued their journey they saw someone
coming toward them with his back to the
celestial city.
It was a man named Atheist and when
Atheist came up to them he inquired who
are you and where are you going?
They replied our names are Christian and Hopeful
and we are on our way to the
celestial city.
What is your name?
He answered my name is Atheist and then
Atheist inquired however did you get the idea
there is such a city as the celestial
city?
Christian replied because God's holy word tells me
so.
My savior has said in my father's house
are many mansions.
If it were not so I would have
told you.
I go to prepare a place for you
and if I go and prepare a place
for you I will come again and receive
you unto myself that where I am there
you may be also.
At this Mr. Atheist gave a loud empty
laugh.
Celestial city there's no such place.
I've been living in this area for 40
years.
Haven't so much as clapped eyes on it
once and as for the bible being the
word of God it's nothing the kind.
Just a collection of old wives fables, fairy
tales all very well for little girls and
boys and old folks who are in their
dotage but not for free thinking people like
myself.
I believe as I please.
I neither believe in God nor in the
son nor in the holy spirit nor do
I believe the bible is the word of
God nor do I believe in heaven or
in hell.
Well replied Christian here is a strange thing.
Taking out his bible he said through the
reading of this book many years ago God
showed me my need of a savior.
Showed me I was a lost and guilty
sinner helpless unable to do one thing to
save myself deserving only of eternal wrath.
Through the reading of this book God showed
me that he so loved me as to
give his son the Lord Jesus Christ to
come into a world of sin and darkness
and go to the cross of Calvary and
allow himself to be crucified in order that
on that cross he might bear my sins
and take my place and die in my
stead and rise again that I through faith
in him might be saved.
I responded to what the word of God
told me.
I came to Jesus as I was weary
and worn and sad and I found in
him a resting place and he has made
me glad and through the reading of this
book God has filled me with joy and
peace through believing I have a peace that
passeth all understanding and garrisoning my heart and
my mind as I speak to you.
I have a joy that is unspeakable and
full of glory and an assurance of future
blessedness.
How do you account for this wonderful change
in my life if this bible is as
you say Mr. Atheist simply a collection of
old wives fables and fairy tales?
Mr. Atheist had no reply to this personal
testimony but with another empty loud laugh he
went his way.
You'll meet this man, meet him in high
school, meet him in college where the professors
will seek to deny that the bible is
the word of God and ridicule those who
place their faith and their trust in this
divine revelation.
There's only one way to meet such people,
a good experience of God's saving grace, a
godly life accompanying that and a testimony to
the saving and satisfying power of the blessed
son of God.
This will put to silence the objections of
men like atheists who are described in God's
word as being fools for the fool hath
said in his heart there is no God.
Presently as they continued their journey they saw
to their left a large city called Conceit
and leading from that city there was a
crooked little pathway which wound in and out
amongst the hills and the valleys until eventually
ended in the straight and narrow path.
Walking along that crooked pathway was a young
man and as Christian and Hopeful watched him
they decided they would wait at the intersection
and discover who he was and where he
thought he was going.
Presently this young man came into the straight
and the narrow pathway so Christian and Hopeful
accosted him.
Christian inquired excuse me who are you where
are you from and where are you going?
He replied rather briskly my name is Ignorance.
I have come from the city of Conceit
and I hope like everybody else I'm on
my way to the celestial city.
Well replied Christian one thing is certain and
that is this you will never get there
the way you've started out.
What do you mean?
There is only one way to enter the
straight and the narrow path and make sure
you will end in the celestial city continued
Christian and that is a gate that lies
at the beginning of the way and that
gate is the owner of the pathway the
Lord Jesus who said I am the door
by me if any man enter in he
shall be saved.
All but Mr. Ignorance replied you don't seem
to understand who you are talking to.
I'd have you know sir I was baptized
when I was a child and confirmed I'm
a member of the church in good standing
too.
I'd have you know that I attend church
services quite regularly.
I recite the creeds I say my prayers
I live a fairly decent respectable life and
surely that's all that is needed to enter
the celestial city.
Christian replied ignorance is thy name ignorant is
thy nature.
Going about to establish your own righteousness you
have not submitted yourself to the righteousness of
God.
Mr. Ignorance did you ever see yourself to
be a lost and guilty sinner helpless hopeless
and hell deserving.
Well of course not replied Mr. Ignorance indignantly.
I've never been a lost sinner.
I've always been a Christian.
I was born a Christian.
Christian answered listen to these words the words
of our Lord Jesus Christ himself addressed to
one of the most religious and moral men
of his day.
Verily verily I say unto you except a
man be born again he cannot see the
kingdom of God.
He must be born again says the Lord
Jesus who is the Lord of the celestial
city and so Mr. Ignorance if you've never
been born again by the Spirit of God
one thing is certain you will never enter
the gates of the celestial city.
Again Mr. Ignorance protested his own goodness.
Then Christian very kindly but very faithfully opened
the bible to Mr. Ignorance.
Showed him first of all from the word
of God what God said about him.
There is non-righteous no not one.
There is none that understand it.
There is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way.
They're together become unprofitable.
There is none that doeth good no not
so much as one.
There is no difference for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God.
And after he had shown Mr. Ignorance what
his true condition in the sight of God
was then he showed him from that same
book the love of God.
How God so loved the world of poor
guilty sinners he sent his own son from
heaven's highest glory.
How Christ became the babe of Bethlehem in
order that as man he might die for
man his creatures sin.
He showed to Mr. Ignorance that the Savior
by his death upon that cross as he
bore our sins took our place had satisfied
all God's claims against sin and the sinner
and there was nothing left for sinners to
do to be saved to be secure but
to trust the Savior who had loved them
who had given himself for them.
Then he pled with Ignorance.
Oh Ignorance I beseech of you do not
trust any longer in your own goodness in
your religious rites and poems and ceremonies in
your sincerity in your good works in your
good resolves.
Come as a poor lost and guilty sinner
and put your trust in the Savior.
What was the effect of this on Mr.
Ignorance?
Did he thank Christian and hopeful for having
opened his eyes?
No indeed.
He lost his temper.
He snarled.
You walk too fast for me.
You talk too fast for me.
How dare you tell me a respectable church
member a man with a clean moral life.
How dare you tell me that unless I'm
what you call born again I'll never see
the kingdom of God.
I'll never be in the celestial city.
I've got my own beliefs.
You have your beliefs.
Doesn't matter much what a man believes providing
he's sincere in what he believes.
You go your own way.
I'll go my own.
Christian replied, Ignorance remember this the Lord Jesus
the Lord of the celestial city who died
for sinners and rose again to be their
savior has declared emphatically except a man be
born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God in as much as you've never taken
your place as a sinner as you've never
trusted Christ as your savior but are resting
in your own goodness.
Therefore if you die in that condition there
will be no escape from the just and
righteous judgment of a holy God.
That's enough said Mr. Ignorance.
You go your way.
I'll go mine.
He stepped back.
Christian and Hopeful went on their way and
Ignorance followed at a distance.
Christian said to Hopeful, seest thou a man
wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope for a fool than
for him.
Mark this Mr. Ignorance.
We're going to see him again before we
conclude the story of the pilgrim's progress.
Ask yourself the question, does Mr. Ignorance represent
me?
Am I like Mr. Ignorance?
Instead of trusting in Christ and in his
finished work as my alone foundation for hopes
of heaven, I'm trusting in my church membership,
my baptism, my confirmation, my communion, my sincerity,
my good works, my moral life.
If so, you're a lost soul.
May God in mercy open your eyes before
it's eternally too late.
And now that's enough said Mr. Ignorance.
You go your way.
I'll go mine.
He stepped back.
Christian and Hopeful went on their way and
Ignorance followed at a distance.
Christian said to Hopeful, seest thou a man
wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope for a fool than
for him.
Mark this Mr. Ignorance.
We're going to see him again before we
conclude the story of the pilgrim's progress.
Ask yourself the question, does Mr. Ignorance represent
me?
Am I like Mr. Ignorance?
Instead of trusting in Christ and in his
finished work as my alone foundation for hopes
of heaven, I'm trusting in my church membership,
my baptism, my confirmation, my communion, my sincerity,
my good works, my moral life.
If so, you're a lost soul.
May God in mercy open your eyes before
it's eternally too late.
And now Christian and Hopeful came into a
lovely country.
It was called Beulah Land.
Here there was no need for the sun
to shine by day nor the moon by
night.
For the land was the light in this
beautiful spot.
Here the melody of birds and the fragrance
of flowers filled the air.
Here the covenant between the bride and the
bridegroom was renewed.
Here they saw those shining ones who would
appear to them at the cross.
Here they were far removed from the noise
and the bustle of vanity fair.
This is Beulah Land.
What is Beulah Land?
Beulah Land is that experience to which many
a child of God goes just before he
is taken to be with the Lord Jesus
which is far better.
He lies upon his deathbed.
His thoughts are far removed from worldly things.
The things of time and sense mean nothing
to him.
Nothing is quite so unreal as so-called
real estate when a man is on the
borderline of eternity.
The Savior as it were, wins the Christian's
heart from the things of the world.
Makes him long to be sweet home with
his Lord and with his Savior.
This is Beulah Land, the borderland of the
believer's eternal rest.
Here they saw on the top of an
exceeding high hill the celestial city shining like
the sun in his strength.
They saw the angels of God ascending and
descending that hill.
Every now and then they heard the song
of the redeemed and oh how it filled
their hearts with holy gladness as they realized
that the homeland was not very far away.
As they sat under one of the trees
partaking of the luscious fruit, Christian turned to
Hopel and said, if you see my beloved,
tell him I am sick with desire to
enter into his glory.
I sat down under his shadow.
His fruit was sweet to my taste.
Here then Christian and Hopel are prepared for
that last wonderful step out of time into
eternity.
As they were walking in Beulah Land one
day, two angels suddenly appeared who inquired, where
the pilgrims are you going?
They answered, we are on our way to
the celestial city.
How do you know?
inquired the angels.
Christian answered, because I've been saved by the
grace of God through faith in the son
of God who loved me and gave himself
for me.
Hopel answered, and I'm another sinner saved by
sovereign grace abound into the chief of sinners.
I too have come to know him, hope
to know his life eternal.
Then said the angels, be assured of this,
a warm welcome awaits you on the other
side.
We have come to tell you of a
difficulty you must face ere you could enter
the celestial city.
What is that?
inquired the pilgrims.
The angels replied, you must cross a river
called the river of death.
When they heard this they were stunned.
They hadn't thought of dying.
Could you not make an exception in our
favor?
they inquired.
Could we not enter that city without going
through that river of death?
No, replied the angels.
From the beginning of time until now only
two people have entered the celestial city without
going through the river.
One was named Enoch, he was translated, he
should not see death.
The other was named Elijah, who was taken
by a whirlwind to heaven.
Since then all that have entered that city
do so by way of the river of
death.
But they added, for your comfort be it
said, there's a time we know not when,
when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, and with the voice of
the archangel in the trough of God, and
the dead in Christ arise first, and those
that are alive and remain unto that coming
shall be raptured, caught up without dying, to
be with their Lord, and to be with
the redeemed forever.
Until then be content to go through the
river.
Is it deep or shallow?
inquired the pilgrims.
The angels replied, it all depends on your
faith in the Lord of the city as
to whether the river shall be shallow or
deep, but it matters not whether the river
is deep or shallow.
Knowing Christ as your savior, to depart is
to be with him, which is very far
better.
A few days after this, they went down
to the edge of that sullen stream of
death, and every one of us, unless Christ
comes in our lifetime, must make this same
journey through this same river.
I wonder how many here are prepared to
enter that river.
Only those who are saved by God's grace,
born again by God's spirit, cleansed by that
precious blood, are fit to go through the
river of death and be assured of a
welcome on the other side.
So Christian and Hopeful entered the stream.
As they did so, Christian stank like a
stone, and a great horror of darkness came
over him, as the devil began to bring
to his mind all the sins he had
committed both before he was a pilgrim and
during his pilgrimage.
He was put into a doubt as to
whether he'd receive a welcome on the other
side, but Hopeful put his arms around his
companion, and lifting him up said, Christian, I
can feel the bottom of the stream, and
it's good.
Ah, groan, poor Christian, it's good for you,
Hopeful.
You've been so true-hearted, so loyal, so
faithful, so full of hope and peace and
joy, but alas, I've been such a poor,
poor Christian.
I'm afraid I'm not going to get a
welcome on the other side.
Ah, if I'd Hopeful, the devil is using
your weak physical condition to cloud your mental
faculty.
Don't you remember what David said in Psalm
73?
The wicked have no bands in their death.
Their strength is firm.
They're not plagued as other men are.
Christian, I see two angels on the other
side waiting to welcome us.
No, sigh, poor Christian, they're not waiting to
welcome us.
They're waiting to welcome you.
Go and get the welcome you deserve, and
let me die here in the darkness.
No, no, said Hopeful.
Look, Christian, Jesus Christ makes thee whole.
As he uttered these words, Christian looked up,
his face suffused with joy, and he said,
I see thee, Lord Jesus.
I hear thee say, when thou passest through
the waters, I will be with thee, and
the floods shall not overflow thee.
I see thee, thou blessed man of Calvary.
I come to be with thee.
And then the water became comparatively shallow, and
both Christian and Hopeful crossed the river with
ease.
As they reached the other side, the two
angels came down to meet them with a
smile of welcome on their faces.
And as they held out their arms to
them, they said, we are ministering spirits, said
to be ministers unto them which shall be
heirs of salvation.
We have come to escort you into the
presence of the King of kings and the
Lord of lords.
Thou shalt see the King in his beauty.
Thou shalt enter the land that is fairer
than day.
Come ye blessed, blood-washed sinners of earth.
Welcome to the celestial shore.
And as Christian and Hopeful stepped on shore,
they breathed a new air, celestial air.
The garments of their mortality fell off.
No longer had Christian any further need of
his armor.
His fights were over.
He is now on the other side.
Then said the angels, come, let us escort
you up the hill of the Lord, and
thou shalt enter the gates of the celestial
city.
And so they mounted that hill with comparative
ease, for all earth's encumbrances had been left
behind.
And as they rose higher and higher, they
heard the song of the redeemed.
Oh, what a lovely song it was.
Unto him that loved us, and looted us
from our sins in his own blood, and
hath made us unto our God a kingdom
of priests.
Unto him be glory and dominion forever and
ever.
And over that vast assembly of the redeemed,
who has swept the amen of millions of
sinners saved by grace.
And Christian and Hopeful shouted with a loud
voice, yes, be to praise and bless the
Lamb of God, who loved us and gave
himself for us.
As they rose still higher, every now and
then glimpsing the celestial city through the clouds,
a company of trumpeters came out to meet
them, who blew a blast upon their trumpets,
and these were the words they heard.
Blessed are they that are called to the
marriage supper of the Lamb.
Yea, blessed Christ, blessed are they.
As they rose still higher, between the clouds
every now and then they caught a glimpse
of the celestial city.
But they were occupied not so much with
the beauty and the glory of that city,
as the one that made that city what
it was.
For the Lamb is all the glory in
Immanuel's land.
Presently they came to the gate of the
city.
At that gate they knocked.
A voice inquired, who is there?
Christian replied, a sinner saved by sovereign grace,
cleansed by the precious blood of Christ, who
loved me and gave himself for me, kept
by the mighty power of God.
Hopeful answered, another sinner, saved by that same
sovereign grace, cleansed, sanctified, justified, kept by
God's mighty power.
The voice from within said, open ye the
gate, open ye the gate, and let these
blood-washed sinners in.
And those everlasting doors swung open.
A stream of glory came out that transfigured
the garments of Christians and hopefuls.
Crowns were placed upon their heads as they
stepped through the gate of the celestial city.
And John Bunyan, as he described this scene,
added rather wistfully, as I watched them go
in, I wished that I were among them.
Do you wish that you were among them?
You can make certain you'll be among those
who in that day shall sweep through the
gates of the new Jerusalem, washed in the
blood of the Lamb.
And the only way you can make certain
is to come to Christ.
Trust him as your Savior, and own him
as your Lord.
Live for his glory.
And then to be with Christ would not
so much be a change of company as
a change of place.
As Christian and hopeful entered the celestial city,
the first object that met their gaze was
a throne.
On that throne, the loveliest man they had
ever seen, crowned with many crowns.
As they looked, they saw there were scars
in his hands and feet.
And with one voice they said, it is
our blessed Lord, let us worship him.
They took the crowns off their heads, and
they threw it at the feet of him
that sat upon that throne.
And they said, Lord Jesus, we bless thee
for thy wonderful grace in going to the
cross for poor sinners like us, for bringing
us to a knowledge of thyself, for cleansing
us by thy precious blood, saving us by
thy wonderful grace, keeping us by thy marvelous
power, fulfilling our hearts with joy and peace
as thou didst company with us on the
way.
And now, Lord Jesus, in thy presence, we
fall at thy feet to worship and praise
in the Lord thy name forever.
Thou art worthy, for thou art slain, and
hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred and tribe and tongue
and nation.
Worthy is the land that was slain to
receive honor and riches and glory and blessing
forever and ever.
And the Savior looked down upon them, smiled
upon them, and then said with a voice
like as the voice of many waters, Christian,
hopeful, inasmuch as while on earth thou didst
own thyself to be lost in good decisions,
and thou didst believe that on that cross
I bore thy sins and died in thy
stead and rose again for thy justification, inasmuch
as thou didst trust me as thy Savior
and confess me as the Lord of thy
life, enter thou now into the joy of
thy Lord.
And with everlasting joy over all, Christian and
hopeful, were in the celestial city.
Oh, what joy was there!
Joy eternal.
No more sin, no more darkness, no more
pain, no more curse, no more sorrow, no
more death, no more sighing.
Live Christ, which is very, very far better.
Make sure this will be your portion by
coming to Christ right here and now and
receiving him as your Savior.
But our story is not ended.
Down to the side of that river of
death, some years later, came poor ignorance as
he stood there looking at death's cold, sullen
stream and realized that the sun of his
life was setting and that he was all
alone and that eternity was near.
He was afraid.
He remembered the words which Christian and hopeful
had spoken to him, how they had told
him unless he was born again, he would
never see or enter the kingdom of God,
and unless he came to Christ as a
poor, lost sinner and trusted him as his
Savior, he would never enter the celestial city.
As he stood there, fear clutched his heart
and he cried, help me!
Won't someone please help me?
I'm afraid to die!
Help!
And just then, there was a boatman on
the river, and when this person named Paul
Pope, who rowed the boat, heard his cry,
he came rowing quickly to where ignorance stood
on the shore.
And he inquired, did I hear you cry
for help?
Yes.
Can you help me?
That's my business.
My name is the Reverend Mr. Paul Pope.
I spent many years in the theological seminaries,
learning how to give people a nice, comfortable
journey across the river of death, for a
very small and nominal charge.
Is your boat safe?
Perfectly safe.
I've conducted hundreds across the river, preached a
wonderful funeral sermon, put a lovely, lovely epitaph
on their tombstone, don't be afraid, get me
to my boat.
And so ignorance stepped into the boat of
Paul Pope, and Paul Pope began to row
him across the stream, and as Paul Pope
rowed toward the other shore, he noticed a
look of terror on ignorance's face, and he
inquired, Mr. Ignorance, you seem to be afraid.
I am.
What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid of what comes after death, particularly
after what a man named Christian and hopeful
told me.
They told me that unless I was born
again by the Spirit of God, unless I
was saved by the grace of God, I
would never have a welcome on the other
side.
They told me that my church membership, and
that my rites and poems and ceremonies of
religion, and all my good works were utterly
in vain to merit a place in heaven.
Come now, come now, said Paul Pope smoothly.
Don't talk like that.
Why, those two men were nothing but religious
fanatics.
Who were ignorant people who had never seen
the inside of a theological seminary?
What do they know about these things?
Let me say, Ignorance, are you a member
of the church?
Yes, sir.
Oh, that just is lovely.
My, I can hear the angel saying, here
comes a church member, let's give him a
warm welcome.
Did you attend church service quite regularly?
Well, as much as I could.
Splendid.
What about your life?
Well, I'm not perfect, you know, of course
not.
No one is perfect.
To err is human, to forgive is divine.
But you have tried to do the best
you could sometimes, didn't you?
Yes, that's just lovely.
Lovely.
Why, you don't need to be afraid.
You're all right.
There's a beautiful isle called Somewhere.
Somewhere in that beautiful isle, in the sweet
by and by, will all be in heaven.
There now, don't worry anymore.
Don't you feel better already?
Yes, that's good.
And while Porthope was smoothing him down, the
boat slowly neared the shore.
Oh, how many people like Ignorance are given
a nice comfortable journey across the river of
death by men like Porthope, who have never
been saved by the grace of God themselves,
and slew the poor dying man or dying
woman with false promises, not based on the
word of God at all.
Don't wait until you come to lie upon
a dead bed, because some man like this
may come to you.
And with false promises, with false comfort, may
make you feel quite comfortable.
And all the while, you should be owning
yourself to be a sinner and trusting Christ
as your savior.
The boat reached the other side, but there
was no one to welcome Ignorance.
The spirit of Ignorance mounted the hill until,
at length, he came to the gate of
the Celestial City, which had opened to receive
Christians and hopefuls.
He stood there and knocked.
A voice inquired, Who is there?
Ignorance replied, I'm a respectable church member.
I've been baptized and confirmed.
I've taken communion regularly, and I've tried to
live a fairly good life.
Please Lord, open the gate and let me
come in.
The voice replied, Have you been born again?
No Lord.
Did you ever own yourself to be a
lost and guilty sinner, and trust the Lord
Jesus Christ as your savior, and confess Him
as the Lord of your life?
No Lord.
Did not my two servants, Christian and hopeful,
solemnly warn you from the Word of God,
that unless you are born again by the
Spirit of God through faith in Christ, you
would never enter the gates of this city?
Yes Lord.
Did they not show you from the Word
of God what you really were?
In the sight of God?
A lost and guilty, helpless, hopeless, hell-deserving
sinner?
Did they not show you from that same
book, that if you came as such, and
put your trust in the Lord Jesus, received
Him by faith as your savior, and rested
on His finished work, you would be saved
by God's grace, and born again by God's
Spirit?
Yes Lord.
Then why did you refuse to listen to
their voice?
Why did you in the pride of your
heart, turn away your ears and your heart
from the truth of God?
It is now too late.
The day of mercy is over.
The day of judgment must begin for you.
Because I called, and ye refused.
Because I stretched out my hand, and you
would not come to me.
Now, you must receive the wages of your
sin, of unbelief and rejection.
Instead of trusting in me, you've trusted in
your own good works, your own sincerity, your
own morality, in spite of what the Word
of God has declared.
Poor Ignatius cried pitilessly as he knocked and
knocked and knocked again, Lord open unto me,
open unto me Lord, open unto me Lord.
The voice from within said be gone from
me, ye worker of iniquity.
I never knew you.
Then that same voice which had warmly welcomed
Christian and hopeful, now said to those same
two angels, take that man, bind him hand
and foot, cast him into utter darkness, where
there shall be eternal weeping and wailing and
gnashing of teeth.
And those same two angels who had escorted
Christian and hopeful into the celestial city, now
took poor Ignatius in all his religion, in
all his morality, in all his empty profession,
found him hand and foot, carried him over
the hills and over the valley, until that
dreadful spy daughter Hell came to view once
more.
And as they opened that door, a sheet
of flame came up, and into that awful
place, poor Ignatius, in all his folly and
unbelief and pride and religion, was thrown to
mingle his voice with the weeping and the
wailing of the lost in Hell.
And John Bunyan agreed with it.
And I perceived that there was a way
to Hell, leading from the very gates of
the celestial city, as well as from the
city of destruction.
How sad.
Oh may God grant that not one, now
with me, shall suffer this dreadful fate.
No longer trust in your own goodness, in
your own sincerity, or your morality, or even
your religion.
Religion does not say, come as a poor
lost sinner to the Lord Jesus, believe that
He loved you and died for you.
Trust in His finished work for you, and
not in your own works.
Accept Him as your Saviour, own Him as
your Lord.
Live for His glory, and the celestial city
shall be your eternal home.
But despise and neglect Him, and the fate
of ignorance shall be yours.
Why not come as graceless Cain?
Come to the Saviour, make no delay.
Come to the One that loved you.
Believe what graceless believed when He came to
the cross.
That the Lord Jesus, in wonderful love, had
borne His sin, had taken His place, had
died in its stead.
Say to Him, as graceless said, Lord Jesus,
thank You for loving me.
Thank You for bearing my sins.
Thank You for dying for me, and obtaining
my eternal salvation through the shedding of Your
precious blood.
Lord Jesus, just as I am without one
plea, for that my blood was shed for
me, and that Thou bidst me come to
Thee, O Lamb of God, I come.
Took the action of the Word.
Trust Christ as your Saviour.
Remember the perfect plea, in the words of
Charlotte Elliot, just as I am, without one
plea, without one single excuse.
Here I am, Lord Jesus, just a poor
lost sinner.
But I've learned from Thy precious Word that
You loved me, and that You gave Yourself
for me.
I come now as a poor sinner.
With this plea, You loved me.
You died for me.
You rose again for me.
Just as I am without one plea, for
that my blood was shed for me, and
that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O
Lamb of God, I come.
Come to Christ.
He will receive you, and pardon you, and
cleanse you, and relieve you.
God grant that this decision may be Your
decision.
My decision.
Owning myself to be a guilty, lost, helpless,
and hell-deserving sinner, but believing that the
Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross, there o
'er carried my sins, took my place, and
died for me, I now, right here and
now, in simple faith, receive Him to be
my own personal Saviour, and shall confess Him
as my Lord before the world.
Make that decision now in your heart, and
this series of talks on the Pilgrim's Progress,
from this life to the life that is
to come, shall not have been in vain.
God grant, as a result of these talks,
many people.
Now, come to know Him, whom to know
is life eternal, whom to know is to
love.