Where is conviction of sin?
After Diabolus has been bound and stripped of his power, prisoners of war are taken. Lord Understanding, Mr Conscience and Lord Willbewill are put into prison (p112). Later on the prisoners are told they are to be brought before Emmanuel (p124). They fear for their lives.
“This done, each of the three prepared himself to die (and the recorder said unto them, “this was the thing that I feared”), for they concluded that to-morrow by that the sun went down they should be tumbled out of the world. The whole town also counted of no other but that, in their time and order, they must all drink of the same cup. Wherefore the town of Mansoul spent that night in mourning and sackcloth and ashes. The prisoners also, when the time was come for them to go down before the prince, dressed themselves in mourning attire, with ropes upon their heads.”.
This reminds us of 1 Kings chapter 20 when the enemy Ben- hadad (representative of Satan) has been overpowered by the Israelites under the (backslidden) King Ahab and realises that he is beaten. The servants of Ben-hadad said to their King “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and put ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother”.
This is a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. If a backslidden King of Israel can be merciful, how much more will the Lord Jesus Christ be merciful, even calling the repentant enemy “brother”. Those who turn to Christ for the forgiveness of their rebellion and sin become His brother!
Later on (p127) the prisoners in reply to various soul-searching questions reply “We can say nothing Lord; thou art just, for we have sinned”. Then said the prince “And for what are these ropes on your heads” The prisoners answered “These ropes are to bind us withal to the place of execution, if mercy be not pleasing in thy sight”. The margin notes tell us that “They condemn themselves” and refer us to Proverbs 5 v 22 which says “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins”. The cords of his sins are represented graphically by Bunyan on the heads of the prisoners ready to tether them to the execution block.
If we feel that we are condemned by our sins, we have a merciful Saviour. If we confess our sins to Him, and tell Him that we deserve death and condemnation, he will be merciful, and forgive us. 1 john 1 v 8 to 9 says “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
What is the battle of the plains?
What is the battle of the plains?
We read about the battle of the plains (or valleys) towards the end of Bunyan’s Holy War (pages 271 to 275).
The battle of the plains is the battle that Christians fight in their secular lives. In 1 Kings 20 the enemy Ben-Hadad (symbolic of the adversary Satan), declares war on the Israelites. Firstly he fights the Israelites in the hills, and is defeated. The hills or high places are symbolic of the place of worship, or religious life whether Christian or Pagan. Christ has won the battle of the hills by his substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of His people. Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. The Syrians said “Their gods are gods of the hills,; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they” (1 Kings 20 v 23 and 28). Satan whispers in the ear of a Christian and tells him that as long as we attend church on Sunday, the rest of the week is for ourselves. We can please ourselves with entertainments, and run our business life with whatever ethical stance we like. However Christ declares that he is Lord (not just of the Sabbath) but of all the other days of the week too. “Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord” (1 Kings 20 v 28). We must remember to maintain a Christian testimony in our secular lives whether this is at work, school, college or in the home. Christ is Lord of the secular world.
The part of the Holy War referring to the battle on the plain shows how Christ meets us in the battle of the secular life which he has called us to. Captain Credence has told the Mansoulians that Emmanuel will meet them in the field the next day and will fight alongside them. We are reminded of the battle between Joshua and the Amorites in Joshua chapter 10. In verse 11 God sends hailstones to kill the Amorites “The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them at Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword”. Similarly Moses prevailed by prayer against the Amelekites (Exodus 17 v 8 to 13). The Israelites prevailed over the Moabites (2 Kings 3 v 16 to 27). Is Christ interested in what we do and say at work? Yes he is. He is Lord of the secular. He will fight alongside us in our battle to uphold His name in secular settings. He will send hailstones to dampen the temptations we encounter during the week, and He will give us the victory.
We read about the battle of the plains (or valleys) towards the end of Bunyan’s Holy War (pages 271 to 275).
The battle of the plains is the battle that Christians fight in their secular lives. In 1 Kings 20 the enemy Ben-Hadad (symbolic of the adversary Satan), declares war on the Israelites. Firstly he fights the Israelites in the hills, and is defeated. The hills or high places are symbolic of the place of worship, or religious life whether Christian or Pagan. Christ has won the battle of the hills by his substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of His people. Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. The Syrians said “Their gods are gods of the hills,; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they” (1 Kings 20 v 23 and 28). Satan whispers in the ear of a Christian and tells him that as long as we attend church on Sunday, the rest of the week is for ourselves. We can please ourselves with entertainments, and run our business life with whatever ethical stance we like. However Christ declares that he is Lord (not just of the Sabbath) but of all the other days of the week too. “Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord” (1 Kings 20 v 28). We must remember to maintain a Christian testimony in our secular lives whether this is at work, school, college or in the home. Christ is Lord of the secular world.
The part of the Holy War referring to the battle on the plain shows how Christ meets us in the battle of the secular life which he has called us to. Captain Credence has told the Mansoulians that Emmanuel will meet them in the field the next day and will fight alongside them. We are reminded of the battle between Joshua and the Amorites in Joshua chapter 10. In verse 11 God sends hailstones to kill the Amorites “The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them at Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword”. Similarly Moses prevailed by prayer against the Amelekites (Exodus 17 v 8 to 13). The Israelites prevailed over the Moabites (2 Kings 3 v 16 to 27). Is Christ interested in what we do and say at work? Yes he is. He is Lord of the secular. He will fight alongside us in our battle to uphold His name in secular settings. He will send hailstones to dampen the temptations we encounter during the week, and He will give us the victory.
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