When Christ liberates a soul from the power of sin, He also extends an invitation to a lifetime of discipleship. Today, Derek Thomas introduces us to John Bunyan’s literary masterpiece, The Pilgrim’s Progress. Get Derek Thomas’ teaching series The Pilgrim’s Progress: A Guided Tour on DVD, plus lifetime digital access to the messages and study guide, for your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3883/donate Meet Today’s Teacher: Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is featured teacher for the Ligonier teaching series The Life of Peter and author of many books, including Heaven on Earth, Strength for the Weary, and Let Us Worship God. Meet the Host: Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
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Before John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, he was deeply convicted of his own sin, and for more than a year.
He's on his way to salvation. He's on his way to the cross, but he will be under this burden, this conviction of sin for 18 months. It's very important to understand Pilgrim's Progress because one of the questions that has often been asked of Pilgrim's Progress is why does Bunyan take so long for Christian to get saved?
And the answer is because Christian's journey traces the real journey that John Bunyan himself followed. And because of that personal connection, this literary masterpiece has been the traveling companion of believers for more than 300 years.
This week on Renewing Your Mind, Ligonier Teaching Fellow Derek Thomas will begin his guided tour through the classic allegorical tale, The Pilgrim's Progress. This is a story with powerful lessons for Christians, whether young or old, seasoned or a new believer.
So be sure to request both the DVD and digital access to the series and study guide when you give a gift of any amount at renewingyourmind.org. Well, let's get acquainted with John Bunyan, Christian, and his journey. Here's Dr. Thomas.
Well, welcome to a series of studies together on Bunyan's pilgrim's progress. Next to the Bible, Pilgrim's Progress has been the most published book in the English language. I teach at a seminary, have done for 17 years, and I frequently ask students, how many of you have read Pilgrim's Progress? And I'm
amazed, staggered even, these days to find that maybe less than 20%, sometimes as few as 10% of the class have ever read Pilgrim's Progress. And I tell them with considerable gravitas that they will not get into heaven having not read Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.
I was in the company of someone just recently, a man who'd spent his lifetime as a preacher and asked him what his favorite book was, other than the Bible. And immediately he said Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. And I think if you're of a certain generation, as a couple of you are,
then I imagine Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was something that you read, perhaps if you were raised in a Christian home, read in your home and read by maybe your parents or maybe studied it in Sunday school. But I have this fear that this may be the generation where Pilgrim's Progress sort of disappears and that would be a tragedy. The first part of Pilgrim's Progress, there are two parts.
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