Guide to The Pilgrim's Progress Part Two

Again, he had them into his field, which he had sowed with wheat and corn; but when they beheld, the tops of all were cut off, only the straw remained. He said again, “This ground was dunged, and ploughed, and sowed; but what shall we do with the crop?” Then said Christiana, “Burn some, and make muck of the rest.” Then said the Interpreter again, “Fruit you see, is that thing you look for; and for want of that you condemn it to the fire, and to be trodden under foot of men. Beware that in this you condemn not yourselves.”

Notes and Commentary

The Interpreter then shows the pilgrims his field. The field is in sharp contrast to the garden. Whereas the garden is lush and vibrant, the field is dry and barren. Though the ground was at one time well prepared and sown with good seed, all that remains are stalks and chaff. Like the garden, the field is another representation of a church. But this is a church that has imbibed the world and lost its spiritual vitality. Though it once may have born fruit and produced a harvest, now it stands dry and dead. Like the church in Sardis, it is a church in name only.

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead”’ (Revelation 3:1).

It is a church that a maintains its events and programs, yet it lives and acts like the world. Services and activities are on the schedule. But changed lives that bear witness to the power of the gospel are absent. The rows in the field are in order, but only straw remains. The life-giving gifts of faith and repentance are faint or forgotten.

The Interpreter asks: “What shall we do with the crop?” Christiana sees the lack of fruit and is quick to condemn: “Burn some, and make muck of the rest.” Christiana is not wrong in pointing to judgement as the end of fruitlessness. Jesus warns in the Sermon on the Mount:

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.Therefore by their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:19–20).

Early in the book of Matthew, John the Baptist gave the same warning:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7–10).

Yet the Interpreter offers a caution as well. He tells the pilgrims, “Beware that in this you condemn not yourselves.” All who follow the Way of Christ are in danger of imbibing the ways of the world. Christian, in Part 1, though he had fled the City of Destruction, was not beyond the influence of the world. He was swayed for a time by Worldly Wiseman and was called to repentance by Evangelist. Later in the story he had to resist the lure of Vanity Fair. All through our journey, we must guard our hearts and watch our steps. We must continue to wage war against the sin that remains within us. The evil we condemn in others can too easily spring up in us if we are not actively turning and fleeing from it (repentance) and trusting in Christ as our hope and refuge (faith). Paul warns us:

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God (Romans 2:1–11).

In his Introduction to Christian Behavior: Being the Fruits of True Christianity, after making the comparison of Christians living together in the church to “flowers in the garden,” Bunyan concludes the Introduction with this warning:

From the hyssop in the wall, to the cedar in Lebanon, their fruit is their glory. And seeing the stock into which we are planted, is the fruitfullest stock, the sap conveyed thereout the fruitfullest sap, and the dresser of our souls the wisest husbandman, (John 15:1) how contrary to nature, to example, and expectation, should we be, if we should not be rich in good works! Wherefore take heed of being painted fire, wherein is no warmth; and painted flowers, which retain no smell; and of being painted trees, whereon is no fruit. “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift, is like clouds and wind without rain” (Proverbs 25:14). Farewell. [From Christian Behavior, in The Works of John Bunyan (Banner of Truth), 2:550]

These words of caution are for churches as well as individual Christians. We cannot rest content with solid creeds, sound doctrine, and well-ordered services in our gatherings. The ground may be prepared and the rows of the field set in order, but where is the harvest? Pray that God will be at work and that His Word will take root in the hearts and lives of all who hear. Pray that His life-giving Spirit will accompany the Word and bring forth fruits of repentance and faith. May our churches be revived that we might see in our day an abundant harvest.

Continue reading 31. A Robin and a Spider

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The text for The Pilgrim's Progress
and images used are public domain
Notes and Commentary for Part II ©2014, 2021–2023 Ken Puls

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from
the New King James Version (NKJV) ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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