Are We Looking for Jesus in the Wrong Places?

Part 2 – The First Responses to the Gospel

In Part 1, we established that God has not left us to discover Christ through our own imagination, religious traditions, personal experiences, or the opinions of men. The Lord Jesus Himself answered the question of where we should look.

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me."

(John 5:39, ESV)

If we are to look unto Jesus, we must look where God has chosen to reveal Him. The Scriptures testify of Christ.

With that foundation laid, we now begin our journey through Pilgrim's Progress. John Bunyan introduces us to a number of memorable characters, each representing a different distraction, temptation, or attitude of the heart. Rather than simply studying Bunyan's allegory, let us use these characters as mirrors to examine ourselves in the light of God's Word.

Obstinate – The Man Who Refused to Listen

Every journey must begin with a first step.

Christian had become burdened by the knowledge of his sin after reading the Book. He understood that the City of Destruction was under God's judgment and that he must flee if he were to be saved. Yet not everyone who heard the same warning responded as he did.

One of the first men we meet is Obstinate, and his name tells us almost everything we need to know about him. Christian pleaded with him to consider the danger. He spoke of the coming judgment and urged him to leave with him, but Obstinate would hear none of it. His mind was made up before the conversation had even begun. He dismissed the warning, ridiculed the journey, and eventually returned to the very city from which Christian was fleeing.

At first glance we may think that Obstinate represents only the unbeliever who openly rejects the Gospel. Certainly he does represent such people. Every generation has those who refuse to hear the Word of God, regardless of how plainly it is preached. No amount of evidence, persuasion, or pleading will move a heart that has already determined not to believe.

Before we conclude that Obstinate has nothing to teach the believer, perhaps we should ask ourselves a more searching question. Is it possible for Christians to display the very same spirit?

How often have we read a passage of Scripture that challenged us, only to explain it away because it demanded a change we were unwilling to make? How often have we defended a tradition, an opinion, or a long-held belief simply because we had already decided we could not be wrong? Have we ever resisted correction because it was easier to remain comfortable than to submit to the Word of God?

Obstinacy is not merely refusing to hear the Gospel; it is refusing to hear God.

The Pharisees searched the Scriptures, yet when those very Scriptures pointed them to Christ, they refused to believe Him. Jesus said,

"...yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."

(John 5:40, ESV)

Notice that Jesus did not say they could not come; He said they would not come. Their problem was not a lack of evidence but a stubbornness of heart. They searched the very Scriptures that testified of Christ, yet they refused the One to whom those Scriptures pointed.

How different is the attitude of the believer who truly looks unto Jesus. He comes to the Scriptures, not to prove himself right, but to be taught. He is willing to have his opinions corrected, his traditions examined, and his life brought into conformity with the Word of God. His desire is not merely to defend what he has always believed, but to know Christ more perfectly through the testimony God has given concerning His Son.

Before we leave Obstinate behind, let us ask ourselves one final question.

Is there any area of my life where I already know what the Scriptures say, yet I have quietly decided that I will not obey them?

If so, then Obstinate has not merely crossed our path.

He has found a place within our own hearts.

Pliable – The Man Who Started Well

If Obstinate represents the man who refuses to begin the journey, Pliable represents the man who begins with enthusiasm but without conviction.

Unlike Obstinate, Pliable was willing to listen. The promise of the Celestial City appealed to him, and he gladly joined Christian on the journey. Everything appeared promising—until they both fell into the Slough of Despond.

It was there that Pliable's true character was revealed.

The difficulties of the journey quickly outweighed the joys that had first attracted him. Rather than pressing on, he blamed Christian for his troubles, climbed out of the mire, and returned to the City of Destruction.

His faith lasted only as long as the journey was easy.

Sadly, Pliable is just as common today. Many gladly receive the message of salvation while it promises peace, blessing, purpose, and hope. Yet when following Christ brings opposition, sacrifice, disappointment, or suffering, their enthusiasm quickly fades.

Jesus described such people in the Parable of the Sower.

"Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away." (Matthew 13:21, ESV)

The issue was never the seed.

The issue was the root.

Saving faith is not measured by how enthusiastically we begin, but by whom we continue to trust when the road becomes difficult. The Christian life has never been promised to be an easy path. Our Lord Himself said that those who would follow Him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.

Every believer will eventually encounter his own Slough of Despond. For some it will be suffering. For others it will be unanswered prayer, persecution, loss, temptation, or disappointment. Those moments often reveal whether our faith rests in Christ Himself or merely in the blessings we hoped to receive from Him.

Before we leave Pliable behind, we should ask ourselves another searching question.

Am I following Christ because He is worthy to be followed, or only because I expect the journey to be easy?

Before we move on to the next characters in Bunyan's remarkable allegory, it is worth pausing to reflect on what we have already seen. Obstinate and Pliable represent two very different responses to the Gospel, yet neither reached the Celestial City. One refused to begin the journey, while the other began with enthusiasm but faltered when the path became difficult.

The Christian life is not measured by how we start, but by whether we continue looking unto Jesus through every trial, every disappointment, and every temptation. As we continue this study, we shall discover that Bunyan's next characters become even more subtle in their attempts to draw our eyes away from Christ. Some will appeal to our reason, others to our pride, our desires, or even our religion. Yet every distraction has the same objective—to persuade us to look somewhere other than where God has directed us.

In our next study, we shall meet one of the most persuasive characters in Pilgrim's Progress: Mr Worldly Wiseman. His advice sounds reasonable, compassionate, and even helpful. Yet beneath his counsel lies one of the greatest dangers facing the Church today.

Signing off,

Tyrone