Pilgrim’s Final Progress

 Our family has been reading through the Pilgrim’s Progress, the Hendrickson Christian Classics version. We had previously read Lithos’ Little Pilgrim's Big Journey Series, which the kids utterly loved, so they were eager to read the original and refused to consider a modern version of this true classic. After about a month of reading, we finished Part 1, and I was struck at how relevant this classic work is to our modern lives. We found ourselves nodding along with some of the temptations the Pilgrims faced. As they debated with other so-called pilgrims, we were saying that the same issues come up today.

John Bunyan knew how to say things about death in amazing ways.

Christian has been through the worst of life. He's been through Vanity Fair and Doubting Castle and the Slough of Despond. And you know, this is it. He’s finally going to cross the river and get to heaven and oh, it's all glory! They have angels that they can see and talk to going along with them.

Yet as they’re crossing through the river that is Death, the Pilgrims, especially Christian, “began to despond in their minds, and looked this way and that, but no way could be found by them, by which they might escape the river.” Bunyan writes Christian as weak and stumbling and sinking in despair. Christian  says, 

 "Ah! my friend, the sorrows of death have compassed me about, I shall not see the land that flows with milk and honey." And with that a great darkness and horror fell upon Christian, so that he could not see before him. Also here he in a great measure lost his senses, so that he could neither remember nor orderly talk of any of those sweet refreshments that he had met with in the way of his pilgrimage. But all the words that he spoke still tended to discover that he had horror of mind, and heart-fears that he should die in that River, and never obtain entrance in at the Gate. Here also, as they that stood by perceived, he was much in the troublesome thoughts of the sins that he had committed, both since and before he began to be a pilgrim. ‘Twas also observed that he was troubled with apparitions of hobgoblins and evil spirits; for ever and anon he would intimate so much by words.

You would think that after all that Christian has been through he’d be more mature than to have his faith falter like this, right? Except Bunyan knew the difficulty our suffering can press on us and how our faith isn’t impenetrable. 

Thankfully, Bunyan gave Chrisitan a companion named Hopeful, who was crossing the river with him. 

Christian began to sink, and crying out to his good friend Hopeful, he said, “I sink in deep waters; the billows go over my head, all his waves go over me!” 

Then said the other, “Be of good cheer, my brother, I feel the bottom, and it is good. My brother, you have quite forgot the text where it is said of the wicked, ‘There are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm; they are not troubled as other men, neither are they plagued like other men.’ (Psalm 73:4, 5). These troubles and distresses that you go through in these waters, are no sign that God hath forsaken you; but are sent to try you, whether you will call to mind that which heretofore you have received of his goodness, and live upon him in your distresses.” 

Hopeful doesn't condemn Christian. He doesn't leave Christian. Hopeful stands with him in that moment; he reminds Christian of the grace of God. 

Do not be surprised, Christian, if you have to keep watching out for sin and relying upon grace until the very end. We are supposed to be walking together on this pilgrimage, to help one another all the way home. One of the saddest things is to watch those who try to walk through the difficult times without the church in their life because they’re embarrassed about their suffering or lack of faith. Whether it is the end of their lives when they have no godly people coming to pray with them, or during trials when it’s easy to isolate, we can be tempted to cut off the very encouragement we need. Our fellow pilgrims are not perfect, yet we must walk together because we need each other. So commit to the church as a fellow pilgrim and be encouraged to look to Christ alone until the very end. 

 

 

The Courtroom of Conscience: Why No One Has an Excuse

Have you ever tried to justify yourself by comparing your life to someone else's? Perhaps you've thought, "At least I'm not as bad as that person," or "I feel genuinely sorry for my mistakes, unlike them." We all have internal measuring sticks we use to evaluate our moral standing, but what if those very standards we create condemn us?

The Universal Problem of Sin

Consider the story of Rezesh, a child born in Southeast Asia, raised to bow before various idols—one for food, another for marriage, another for old age. From his earliest memories, he faithfully worshiped these statues, considering himself a relatively good person. Yes, he made mistakes, but doesn't everyone? Yet according to Scripture, when he stands before the judgment seat of Christ, he will be declared guilty and face eternal separation from God because he never believed in Jesus Christ.

This raises uncomfortable questions: Is God unfair? Is the only reason you're a Christian because you happened to be born in a Western country with access to the gospel? Would you be Hindu if you'd been born in India, or Buddhist if you'd grown up in Thailand?

The answer is emphatically no. God shows no partiality. Those who live with the privilege of hearing the gospel clearly proclaimed will also be judged by that privilege. Meanwhile, those who never heard of Jesus still deny God—they sin against their own standards and their own consciences. When anyone stands before God, there will be no excuses, no loopholes, no "what abouts."

Three Witnesses That Condemn

Romans chapter 2 presents a courtroom scene with three powerful witnesses that expose our guilt before God.

1. Your Own Moral Code Condemns You

The first witness is your own standard of morality. Romans 2:12-13 explains that those who sin without knowing God's law will perish without it, while those who sin under the law will be judged by it. The key principle? It's not those who hear the law who are justified before God, but those who do it.

This creates a theoretical possibility: if someone could live in perfect obedience to God's standards, they wouldn't need Jesus. But here's the problem—there is no one who does righteousness perfectly. God's standard is holiness, and we all fall short.

Think about it practically. Imagine a mother leaves two cookies on a plate with a note: "Each of you take one." If one sibling takes both cookies, the other immediately knows this is wrong. We have inherent moral standards. We know stealing is wrong. We know lying hurts people. We understand fairness at a fundamental level.

The powerful evangelistic truth here is that people don't even live up to their own standards, let alone God's. When you lie in bed at night reviewing your day, don't you sometimes recognize you've failed your own moral code? Maybe not every day—some days we set the bar conveniently low—but on our honest days, we know we've fallen short.

Even the most moral people, those with tremendous self-discipline and sacrificial hearts, don't do enough good. God is not impressed by our relative goodness. The standard is perfection, and we all miss it.

2. Your Conscience Bears Witness

The second witness in God's courtroom is the conscience. Romans 2:14-15 explains that even Gentiles who don't have God's written law "do instinctively the things of the law" because "the work of the law is written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness."

This is what theologians call natural theology—knowledge of God imprinted on human nature itself. When God created humanity in His image, He embedded within us a reflection of His moral character. It's like the heavens declaring God's glory externally, while the conscience declares it internally.

The conscience acts like an internal attorney, accusing or defending us. It often feels like a separate voice—that's why we picture it as Jiminy Cricket on our shoulder. Children who lie to their parents feel that inner voice telling them it was wrong. That's the law of God reminding them: "You shall not bear false witness."

However, the conscience is not infallible. Unlike God, who is always correct, our conscience can be wrong. Scripture teaches that consciences can be emboldened to do wrong things (1 Corinthians 8:10) or seared and scarred by repeated sin (1 Timothy 4:2). The fall has warped our reflection of God like a funhouse mirror—distorting the image, adding weight in wrong places, creating false guilt or false security.

This is why we need the church. We cannot trust our hearts alone. Our consciences must be trained and formed by Scripture, godly teaching, and community with other believers. Ephesians 4 warns that without the church—with its apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers—we become "children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine."

Consider Chloe, a young woman from northern Thailand raised in a devout Buddhist family. Buddhism taught her that good works in this life would lead to better reincarnation in the next. But Chloe's conscience tormented her. She knew she would never be good enough. No amount of merit could offset her failures. She would cry at night thinking, "I don't want to die, because after I die, I will be punished for sure."

When Christian missionaries shared the gospel—salvation not by earning merit but by faith in someone who did live perfectly—Chloe found freedom. The conscience alone cannot save us. It can only drive us to the One who can.

3. Jesus Christ Will Judge

The third and final witness is Jesus Christ Himself. Romans 2:16 declares that God "will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus." This is the day of judgment described throughout Scripture, when "God will bring to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts" (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Many people mistakenly think of God the Father as the stern judge while Jesus is the gentle friend who protects us from His angry Father. But Jesus Himself said, "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). Jesus is the judge. Jesus sees everything. Jesus will reveal what no one else knows.

He warned that we'll give account for every careless word we speak (Matthew 12:36). Nothing remains hidden. The Ashley Madison scandal of 2015 proved this digitally—hackers exposed millions who thought their secrets were safely deleted. If our digital age can't keep secrets, how much more will the all-seeing Christ reveal everything?

You Don't Want Fair

In our family, we often say an important phrase: "You don't want fair." God's not fair in the sense of giving us what we deserve, because what we deserve is condemnation. Like Isaiah, when we see God seated on His throne in holiness, our only honest response is: "Woe is me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5).

The standard of holiness condemns us all. Only good people go to heaven, and there is no one good.

But Isaiah 6 doesn't end with condemnation. A seraphim took a burning coal from the altar, touched Isaiah's lips, and declared: "Your iniquity is taken away. Your sin is forgiven" (Isaiah 6:7).

This is the gospel. The conscience condemns, but God cleanses through the blood of Jesus Christ.

And how did Isaiah respond to this grace? Not with passive gratitude, but with active surrender: "Here I am, Lord. Send me."

The Motivation for Mission

Small sins make God seem unworthy of devoted service. When we minimize our failures, thinking they're no big deal, we spare only a little time for God—maybe Sunday morning—while claiming the rest of the week for ourselves.

But big sins, where we truly see our condemnation and yet experience forgiveness, move us to say, "Lord, I'm here to serve. Send me."

If you're struggling to serve God, if you find it hard to rejoice in the mission He has for you, spend time reflecting on your sins and how completely you've been forgiven. The greater your understanding of what you deserved, the greater your appreciation for God's goodness becomes.

This is why we'll rejoice in heaven—not because we earned it, but because we'll finally see it fully as the grace gift it truly is. Heaven is not a reward for good people; it's a rescue for condemned sinners who found mercy in Christ.

The courtroom has spoken. The witnesses have testified. Your own moral code, your conscience, and Christ Himself all declare the same verdict: guilty. But in that courtroom, there's also a Savior who took your punishment, satisfied the law's demands, and offers you His righteousness as a gift.

The question isn't whether you're good enough. You're not, and you never will be. The question is whether you'll accept the only verdict that matters—the one purchased by Christ's blood and offered freely to all who believe.

Day 2: The Kindness That Leads to Repentance

 Reading: Romans 2:1-4; 2 Peter 3:9

Devotional: God's patience isn't permission—it's an invitation to repentance. When judgment doesn't fall immediately, we might mistakenly think God approves of our sin or doesn't care. But His delay demonstrates His kindness, giving us time to turn from destructive paths. The Lord doesn't wish for anyone to perish but for all to reach repentance. His patience with you should inspire patience with others. Are you presuming upon God's grace, thinking you can repent "later"? Or worse, are you frustrated that God hasn't judged others as quickly as you think He should? Remember: the same patience God extends to others, He has extended to you. Let His kindness move you to genuine repentance today.

Day 1: The Log and the Speck

 Reading: Matthew 7:1-5

Devotional: Jesus doesn't forbid all judgment—He forbids hypocritical judgment. Before we examine the speck in our brother's eye, we must deal with the log in our own. This isn't about ignoring sin; it's about approaching others with humility and self-awareness. When we recognize our own desperate need for grace, we become gentle restorers rather than harsh critics. The same standard we apply to others will be applied to us. Are you quick to excuse your own failings while condemning others for similar struggles? Today, ask God to reveal the "logs" you've ignored in your own life. True discernment begins with honest self-examination and repentance.

A Biblical Theology of Sickness and Suffering: Where It Came From and Where It’s Going

 

Sickness and suffering are some of the most universal human experiences. As a number of people in our church were struggling with sickness, I was thinking about how the Bible doesn’t ignore these realities—it explains where they came from, why they persist, and where they’re ultimately headed. The story stretches from Genesis to Revelation, giving us a framework filled with honesty, hope, and purpose.

1. Creation: A World Without Sickness

The story begins in Genesis 1:31, where God looks at everything He made and declares it “very good.”
There was no disease, no pain, no death. Humanity had access to the tree of life (Gen. 2:9), which the requirement to eat from it to live implies that while there was no sinful corruption, mankind always needed something outside of himself/herself to stay strong and healthy. We were always dependent creatures. 

2. The Fall: How Suffering Entered the World

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve disobey God. Though every good and satisfying tree was available to them, they were deceived into wanting to be like God. Their rebellion brought the promised consequence—death—and humanity was cut off from the tree of life.

Paul explains it this way:
“Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

The effects were cosmic. Romans 8 says that all creation was subjected to futility. Natural disasters, disease, and the weaknesses in our own bodies all trace back to this moment.

A vivid picture of how Adam dragged creation into suffering is that of lead climbers tied together: when the first climbers fall, everyone attached to them falls too. Pastor Brian Croft in Visit the sick:

“sickness, disease, pain, suffering, affliction and death are undeniable evidences of the fall of man. From this point in the storyline of the bible, the desperate need for redemption begins. It is quickly revealed in the narrative that only a sovereign, eternal God can intervene to save creation from this curse. The hope of the gospel, which includes the promise of physical resurrection, there now begins to unfold in a glorious work of redemption that culminates in Jesus’ death and resurrection.”

3. Life of Israel: God Uses Sickness with Purpose

Exodus 15:26- And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”

In Exodus, God sent plagues to compel Egypt to release His people Here He also warned Israel that if they abandned Him, similar diseases would come upon them.

Scripture teaches that God remains sovereign even over disease.  Isaiah 45:6–7- That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these. Evil originates not from God but from the fallen creature

This doesn’t mean every sickness is caused by personal sin—but Scripture does show that sometimes our choices contribute. Psalm 32:2–3 “Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.” Think of someone whose unresolved anger or fear leads to serious physical consequences. Instead of working through his anger, his blood pressure skyrockets so when he goes to the doctor, the alarms go off on that little machine and they instantly want him on medication.

Yet even when God brought plagues, He also brought restoration. These moments pointed forward to a greater promise—One who would ultimately heal.

4. The Life of Christ: God Meets Suffering Face‑to‑Face

See John 9:1-7

Jesus Christ, the God-man is born into this sinful, fallen world with all its disease, suffering, and death. Though Scripture doesn’t directly say He became sick, as a full human being He was capable of it.

Christ demonstrated authority over sickness repeatedly.
In Mark 2, He heals the paralytic to prove that He also has the authority to forgive sins.

But in John 9, Jesus makes an important clarification: not all suffering is a result of personal sin. The man born blind was not being punished—his condition existed “that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Paul echoes this truth in 2 Corinthians 12, where his “thorn in the flesh” becomes a means for God to show that His power is made perfect in weakness.

Therefore, disease and suffering also exists to show God’s power over it, and also through it!

Most importantly, Jesus’ death and resurrection give us the hope of our own future resurrection (Rom. 6:5).

5. Life of the Church: Suffering in the Present Age

Until Christ returns, the church still experiences the effects of sin and sickness:

• Some in the early church suffered consequences for sinful actions 
• Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5
• Because some were taking the Lord’s supper in a sinful way, 1 Corinthians 11:30 says That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
• And yet, James instructs believers to call the elders to pray for healing (James 5:14).

Jesus said in Matthew 25- When I was sick, you visited me…

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40, ESV)

Thus believers are commanded to care for one another in their suffering

6. The New Creation: Where All Suffering Ends

Revelation 21:4 gives us the final word on sickness and suffering:
God “will wipe away every tear,” and death shall be no more. We await the return of Christ where he does not come as a lowly man in the midst of a sinful world,

(1 Cor. 15:26 tells us the last enemy to be defeated will be death itself. The world will be remade into a paradise, and humanity will once again have access to the tree of life, thus will no longer be plagued by sickness (Rev. 22:1–2).

This future hope is designed to make us long for Christ’s return. As John prays at the end of Revelation: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Pastor Brian Croft beautifully summarizes this hope: in every instance of sickness or affliction, we have the privilege of pointing others to greater realities—reminders of the fall, the need for a Redeemer, and the coming resurrection that will make all things new.

 

Having a biblical theology is necessary for us to endure sickness. When you are reading a book or watching a movie, you come upon a stressful part of the story. The scene is dark, the heroes may not make it. But you glance at how many pages you have to go, or you look down at your watch. You can sigh in relief… oh, there is plenty of time for the heroes to make it out and turn this around. And isn’t the truth the same when we face the weight of sickness and health problems? 

 

A biblical theology of sickness tells us there is plenty of time for God to work this out, even when it takes a while

 

So, do you encourage others this way, and do you see your sickness this way?

We are blessed to live in a time with remarkable medical advancements. Many of us enjoy a level of health and recovery that previous generations could hardly imagine. These are good gifts from God.

But we must beware of a subtle and dangerous belief—that if we simply find the right practice, supplement, or medication, we can secure lasting wellness for ourselves. The reality is that perfect health will not exist until humanity once again has access to the tree of life, the tree that Revelation says will heal the nations. Any promise of complete, pain‑free living here and now is ultimately a lie.

So do not look down on those who are constantly getting sick. You may have a helpful suggestion for better health—Paul did when he advised Timothy to drink some wine—but this side of eternity, there is no final remedy. Sickness will come. Weakness will remain. Death will eventually touch every household.

And so, Scripture calls us to “weep with those who weep,” to enter the suffering of others with compassion, patience, and hope. We are not home yet. Let every moment of sickness, every doctor visit, every frustrating setback remind us of that truth. These frailties are not failures of faith—they are reminders that our true healing, our true wholeness, is still ahead.

God’s mercies carry us through, not out right away

Liz and I were talking the other day about the famous and encouraging passage in Lamentations 3:22–24: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God’s mercy may be new each morning, but what happens when we do not feel it?

The Psalms give us permission to speak honestly about this feeling, In Psalm 22:1–2, we read: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.”

David pens the anguished cry of someone who feels cut off from God—someone who, in that moment, God is not rescuing. Yet he has two weapons to help him: the past behind him and God above him.

He looks to God above in Psalm 22:3- Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. And He remembers God’s faithfulness in the past in Psalm 22:4–5- In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

His suffering becomes an opportunity to draw near to the God who is enthroned on the praises of Israel. David refuses to give up hope. He looks back and remembers that God’s people trusted Him in their darkest moments, and God came through. That history, which wasn’t even in his own lifetime, matters because God’s character has not changed. The same God who rescued them is able to rescue again.

He also looks back over his own life (Psalm 22:9–11) and remembers that from the moment he was born, God has been with him and has cared for him. What he is experiencing now feels completely out of step with everything he knows of God’s faithfulness. The problem, in his mind, is not that God lacks the power or willingness to save—he is convinced God can. That is why his prayer is so striking: he does not even ask for the pain to end. Instead, he pleads for God to come near again, to no longer feel so distant (Psalm 22:19).

This is where the tension lies. He is confident that God will save, but he cannot understand the delay. The past gives him every reason to trust, yet the present darkness keeps dragging on. Hope remains, but it is a hope that waits and wrestles—asking not if God will act, but why it is taking so long?

And this length of suffering is the challenge, as we discussed, because you cannot see the light of the end of the tunnel in the middle of the situation, buty when you look back that you see God’s mercies carrying you each day. When someone is in the midst of what Karrie Hahn has coined as “chronic, comprehensive suffering,” you do not always feel like you get rest or reprieve. There doesn’t seem to be an end to the difficulites, but as you keep going—keep walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)—you start to see that it would have been impossible to keep walking without God’s mercies sustaining you. The fact that you keep walking through the dark tunnel is only by the power of God.

It is also helpful to remember that “it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). To be faithful means to keep serving God. Our family has found it helpful to keep our promises, commitments, and service even when suffering means we do not feel like it. We were recently looking back at pictures from times of suffering—like when we lost another child in a miscarriage. We still showed up at church events, outreaches, and kids’ activities, and we looked okay on the outside, but the whole time we were saying, How long, O God? This was our attempt at trusting Him and trying to be faithful. Now we can say itw as the mercy of God that took us each step.

Sometimes looking back helps you remember how God has been faithful, and sometimes looking up reminds you that Jesus quoted from Psalm 22, “Why have you forsaken me, God?” so that He could later say, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If you feel like God is distant, shine the light of truth—He was only distant from one child. Jesus was cut off so God’s mercy would go to you each day.

Have you ever heard that things are getting worse, so Jesus must be coming back soon? Where in the Bible did you hear that?

I understand where Christians get that understanding from passages like 2 Timothy 3:1- But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

But does this mean that all the issues in the world today mean Jesus is more likely to come than he was in the lead-up to WW2, or during the sexual revolution of the 60s, or during the industrial revolution, or during the Crusades?

I’d push back slightly by pointing to today’s reading in the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan that our church is going through right now. Jesus said that people would not be expecting it but enjoying life even before judgment came:

Matthew 24:36–39- “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

In fact, Jesus says Matthew 24:42–44- “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

He tells us to be always prepared, which DA Carson points out is like a homeowner in a dicey neighborhood who doesn’t know when a thief will turn up. Rather, he takes such precautions that he is always prepared.

This is a fascinating article that shows the early dispensationalists actually pushed back against everyone in the 18th century trying to set dates of when Jesus was coming back, and I’d encourage you to read it. I agree with these students of God’s word that there have always been different problems and times that are to force us to always be ready – Jesus could return today, every day. So look to your own soul and those around you; what will the judge say about you when He arrives?

https://petergoeman.com/dispensationalism-and-the-interesting-history-of-date-setting/