Pilgrim Road of the
Christian
Do
you remember John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress, there was a character by the name
of Pliable. Pliable means easily
persuaded, influenced, flexible. When Christian told Pliable of the beautiful
city where he was going, the city with streets of gold, what did Pliable say?
He said, “I will go with you and I am glad to go with you.” But when the road
got tough, became extremely muddy and slippery, when danger came when they were
almost buried in mud, what did Pliable say to the Christian? He said, “Is this
the happiness that you told me.” Pliable was angry and upset with the
Christian.
In
the same way, there are some evangelists and pastors who give an altar call and
tell the people to come forward or raise their hands and some mention, you can
come just the way you are, there is nothing to lose but you will gain heaven.
There is nothing to lose this is a very deceitful statement. Many who are so
greedy for the world become Christians by coveting after more greed and that is
heaven. They become Christians just to escape hell and to go to heaven. This is
a very fleshly thought as they don’t want to give up the world but also to gain
more, heaven, to have the best of two
worlds, this world and heaven both.
Mr
8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose
his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
True
Christianity is focused on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is the
center and everything else is surrounded on him. On Pilgrim Progress Christian
had a heavy load on his back, the load of sin, realizing he is a sinner but
Pliable did not have any sense of sin, he started walking very fast. The Christian’s soul is joyful because what
Christ have done for his sins. Now he hates sin, flees from sin, he grows in
humilty downwards and grows in his sanctification upwards. This is a true Christian.
Christian
pilgrim who takes the ascending narrow road to heaven, he is faced with great
opposition of temptations, trials and hardship. He agonizes to enter this
narrow road. He is a stranger on this
earth as he passes through the glittering glory of this earth. he is enticed
with worldly amusements, ambitions, coveteousness and love for this world and
daily he wrestles the flesh with his spirit to overcome these worldly
temptations.
Christian
pilgrim’s destination is heaven but the narrow road to heaven is not a blind
road. He follows the footsteps of his
Master, the Lord Jesus Christ who showed us the way to heaven as he himself
took the narrow agonizing path to heaven.
1Pe
2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Mt
16:24 Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.
The
Lord Jesus is in heaven, calling his true sheep and they will hear his voice
and they will follow him but the hypocrites, the ones that loves this world
more than the Lord Jesus will not hear his voice as they hear the voice of
their own flesh.
Joh
10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Pilgrim
Christian’s life is meaningful as his goal is to be with his Creator, to be
with his Lord and Savior to be in heaven.
When you are in love with a girl and you want to get married, you will
do everything to satisfy her to get married as you are in love. In the same way we love our beloved Savior,
we will do everything to follow him. You may go through tough, agonizing
battles of the flesh on this earth, but he compares these trials to heaven as
he is encouraged by the word of God.
2Co
4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the
inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for
a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not
seen are eternal.
Apostle
Peter writing to the scattered Christians during the time of Nero’s
persecution, encourages them with these words.
1Pet 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and
undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.
Christian Pilgrim’s mind is not on the earthly
inheritance which fades away which he cannot takes away when he dies but
focused on the heavenly inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled which
is eternal. There is a crown and a throne reserved for the Christian
pilgrim. C.H Spurgeon tells this
story. A dying Christian man once said,
“I have no fear of going home.” But someone said to him, “Aren’t you afraid you
might lose your inheritance?” “No, no”
was the answer. “There is one crown in heaven which the angel Gabriel could not
wear, it will fit no head but mine. There is one throne in heaven which the
Paul the apostle could not fill; it was made for me and I shall have it.” Oh!
What a joyous thought to the Christian pilgrim who goes through suffering in
this world.
Many
who are taking the descending easy broad road to hell have focused their minds
on earthly things. They make their homes as if they are going to live forever,
earth is the only heaven for them. But the Christian pilgrim who is just
passing by this earth as a stranger he is content with his earthly home as he is
realizes this is not his earthly home but he is groaning for the heavenly home
which is prepared for him.
Joh
14:2 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.
The
enemy whispers to our ears telling, heaven is boring and some think there are
no material things all spiritual. God is spirit and we are all going to be
spirits floating around. But the Bible is clear that the Lord Jesus in his
resurrection had a heavenly body. He is the first one to have a heavenly body.
1
Cor 15: 40 There are heavenly bodies and
earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of
the earthly is of another.
Our
Lord Jesus is in heaven with a heavenly body. It’s a real body made with flesh
and bones, it’s an immortal body.
Luke 24:38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my
feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh
and bones as you see that I have.”
The heavenly body is a glorious body.
Philp 3:21 who will transform our lowly
body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to
subject all things to himself.
It was not easy for the
Christian to go on the pilgrim road, he had to fight a battle with his spirit
and the flesh as he had to abstain with his fleshly lusts, he was slipping,
falling and sliding on the narrow road. But wow! By the grace of God he arrived
and the pearly gates are opened.
Heaven
is a real place. The Lord Jesus did not redeem only our spirit but our bodies
too. Just like earth is a place heaven is going to be a place as he went to
prepare a place for us.
The
road to heaven is a struggle for the Christian pilgrim but at the end there is
a true paradise, a real heaven where words cannot describe, the whole world is
not enough to describe heaven, oh, it’s a place of joy for the pilgrim who
suffered for Lord Jesus on this earth.
1Co
2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him.
The
main object of heaven is God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven is his throne.
There is no sun as God himself gives light.
Re
5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts,
and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all
the earth.
The pearly gates are opened
to the weary pilgrim and streets of gold have less attraction when he sees the
King of beauty in the midst of the throne as he sees Jesus. The lamb of God
which takes the sins of the world. Apostle was not attracted to the streets of
gold but to the center of the throne the lamb of God. He was attracted to his
redeemer. The one who purchased us from hell bound to heaven. The one who gave us eternal life. We are
truly going to see our Lord Jesus, our Savior. The center of heaven is the Lord
Jesus. And we will truly admire his
beauty for eternity, we will marvel at his wonders and adore him forever. In
here Christian pilgrim’s joy is complete as he sees his Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Oh! To be with Christ is to be
in heaven and to be in heaven is to be with Christ! Our whole future destiny is to be with the Lord forever and to
beheld his glory!. Puritan Richard Baxter said, “ I cannot tell you dear friends, nor can mortal tell, what God
hath prepared for them that love him.”
Ps 73:25 Whom have I in heaven
but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
The Christian pilgrim loved
not the world or the things of this world as his love was his redeemer the Lord
Jesus Christ. Christ is the glory of
heaven. The Christian pilgrim has won the battle against the flesh and this
world, as victory is his through Christ the Lord as he enters the joy of
heaven!
The Christian Pilgrim
remembers how he was tempted to the perishing gold of the earth but now he is
walking on streets of gold, while the ones who loved and treasured the gold on
earth are burning in the lake of fire.
Can you compare the earthly home to the mansion in heaven, the earthly
roads to streets of gold?
Many would love to wear the
crown of gold on this earth as they are greedy and selfish for earthly
pleasures and comforts they don’t want to wear the crown of thorns of
suffering, taking the narrow road. Remember if you would have justification,
you must of sanctification; if you would have forgiveness of sins you must have
holiness. Many hypocrites can pray, “Oh Lord I am a sinner, please forgive me
of my darling sins.” Then after ten minutes soon forgotten what he prayed and
running after darling sins. With prayer
comes action, crucifying the flesh. The
great puritan theologian John Owen calls this mortification. It gives the
spiritual meaning to cut off the sin and to kill the sin. When I was a Buddhist, I loved sports but
when I became a Christian the love of sports was still there. But as I began to grow uphill in my sanctification
towards heaven my love to Christ became closer and the darling sports was a
hindrance for my growth and my love to the Lord. And I had to kill my darling
sports of sin which was a hinderance and it was not easy, it was very painful
to the flesh, it was not easy to kill what you loved.
Mortification does not mean
I completely killed the sin, if that’s the case we would be absolutely perfect.
No, it means by crucifying the flesh the sin’s evil dominion is weakened.
Mortification happens inwardly and can be done only by the power of the Holy
Spirit. This is the work of the Spirit that is in the Christian. Now my darling sports have no dominion
anymore as I am governed not by the flesh but by the Spirit of God.
Romans 6: 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13 Do
not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present
yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your
members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For
sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under
grace.
Christians are called
disciples of Christ Jesus, meaning we are disciplined with the doctrines of
Christ. Discipline is needed to walk the narrow uphill road to heaven.
Beloved if you would love to
walk the streets of gold above, you must walk the road of holiness below.
Earthly pleasures is only for a short time but the punishment is for
eternity. On the other hand earthly
sufferings for the Christian pilgrim is only a very short time and how
wonderful are the heavenly joy for eternity.
The
life on earth for the Christian pilgrim is filled with pain, tears, sighs and
groans.
Re
21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.
Someone said, “The path of sorrow, and
that path alone, Leads to the place where sorrow is unknown.”
Yes, where sorrow is unknown
is heaven and in heaven there are no sorrows and no more tears. Death is the
worst sorrow of all. A separation of a loved one is not easy brings much sorrow
and pain but there will be no more death as Christ our Lord conquered death on
his resurrection. The old Adam, this earthly flesh, our fallen nature is rot in
the ground, worms devour the flesh and we will be glad to get rid of this worse
enemy as there will be no more temptations and no more sin. In heaven there
will be rejoicing, in hell there will be screaming.
Forward in the narrow uphill
road is heaven but to stand here and do nothing is death and hell. There are some who have made this earth
their heaven, they have heard the gospel, have despised the messages that came
from the pulipit, they have rejected godly counsel, if they keeps on rejecting
they will die and go to desctruction
which will break the pastor’s heart.