4.29.12: Pilgrim’s Progress 19: The Difference Between Hopeful & Ignorance

This week we find Christian and Hopeful continuing down the highway toward the Celestial City. They meet a “brisk lad” named Ignorance. Ignorance told the two Pilgrims that he was also headed to the Celestial City. Christian asks Ignorance how he thinks he will enter the gate to the Celestial City.  Failing to see his need for justification by Jesus, Ignorance responds that he has lived a good life and points to many other good deeds that he had done. Ignorance assured them that his heart — a good heart — told him he was acceptable in God’s sight. Rather than listening to the Word of God, Ignorance took counsel with his own heart…and was deceived.

Christian and Hopeful found themselves walking across Enchanted Ground. To keep themselves from falling asleep, they began to talk about Hopeful’s conversion. Hopeful says that Christian’s company has been “God’s mercy to him.” I asked the question in class, “Do we view the company of other brothers and sisters in the faith as God’s mercy to us?” Hopeful then shared how after being “shaken” by God’s Word, he had first resisted conviction, then sought to earn his salvation before eventually seeing his need to be justified by Jesus. Hopeful was shaken by Isaiah 64:6 which says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

Hopeful not only saw that he had sinned but also realized that even his new best efforts were mixed with sin. He realized that he needed the righteousness of a sinless man. He then found out from Faithful that there was a sinless man and His righteousness could be Imputed him by believing in Him and what He had done. I took some time in class to explain what the word imputed meant. This glorious truth that Jesus righteousness is given to us and all of our sins are given to Christ is a truth that we must remember daily.

Listen to his humble prayer:

“God be merciful to me a sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ; for I see that if His righteousness had not been, or I have not faith in that righteousness, I am utterly cast away. Lord, I have heard that You are a merciful God and have ordained that Your Son Jesus Christ should be the Savior of the world; and moreover, that you are willing to bestow on such a poor sinner as I am — and I am a sinner indeed — Lord. Take therefore this opportunity, and magnify Your grace in the salvation of my soul through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

I ended the class by asking each student to consider this question: Who will carry their burden? Will they try to carry it themselves? Or will they entrust themselves to the One who carried the weight of our sin on His shoulders?

The truth that all our righteousness deed are like filthy rags should humble us and remind us that we are indeed sinners but let us not stop there, because Christ has bore all of our sins on the cross and we now can have all of His righteousness given to us by believing in Him and repenting of our sins and we are spotless saints in God’s eyes.

Suggested application questions for parents to discuss with students:

1. Read John 14:6, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 4:3-8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Romans 5:18 with your child, spend some time discussing each text and asking your child if he or she has any questions or observations about the text.
2. Ignorance says, “be content to follow the religion of your country, and I will follow the religion of mine” Why is this statement not true and what are some Scriptures that directly contradict this statement?
3. What are some ways that your friends and family members have been “God’s mercy to you?
4. Why do we need the righteousness of a sinless man?
5. What are some ways that help you remember your sins have been imputed to Christ and His righteousness has been imputed to you?

Teaching Slides – 4.29.12

Student Handout – 4.29.12