The Pilgrimage

After entering into new life with Christ, we soon discover that this is a harder road than we may have bargained for. I would like to examine why the Christian life seems so much harder than the life of the unbeliever. This is not given as an excuse to whine, but to rejoice that our names are written in heaven. “…rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20b).

At the outset of this short study of the Christian life, I wish to make it very clear that we are referred to in Scripture as pilgrims, sojourners, and strangers. These titles or names are given to us to describe a journey. The terrain is often rugged and our footing unsure. We will always be going against the grain of this present evil world. “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4). Our mindset, worldview, and morals are a challenge to those who are of a different lineage. They are from Adam and we are from Christ and never shall the two meet. They will always disagree. We will be going uphill, upstream and always against the flow of world system thought. This is our calling. Here is a short list of reasons why the believer’s life seems to be more of a challenge than his unbelieving next-door neighbor.

1. God disciplines his children. Hebrews 12:6-7: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” Since we are children of God through the new birth in Christ we will be disciplined for our disobedience. God chastens everyone who is truly His child. The unsaved will not experience His hand of chastening.

2. Satan is our enemy and seeks to destroy us. He puts many obstacles in our way and attacks our mind to bring about doubt and discouragement since unbelievers are his children. He does not treat them this way.

3. Our flesh is a constant battle. Now that we are born again and are given a new spirit there will be a perpetual war between the flesh and the spirit, which the unsaved will never experience. They only have the flesh, which they willingly follow and thus have no internal battle.

4. The world is foreign to the believer. This is not his home. “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9-10). He is challenged daily to do warfare with its morality, entertainment, and materialistic structure. The lost find this to be their home and are very comfortable with the surroundings. Here again we are at war but for them there is not battle.

5. The Lord sends believers trials to strengthen their faith, but the lost do not experience this since they do not have God as their Father.

6. The believer and the unbeliever both experience life in a fallen world and the natural consequences of sin.

So as you can see we experience greater daily resistance than they do. This can be draining. To get out of bed and face another day of conflict by resisting temptation that the world flocks to will take its toll. To say no to loving this world can be exhausting since this is where I live.

To stop at this point would be depressing. So let’s see what Christ says about our present state. In John 16:33 he tells us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” This is a profound statement. Daily we must preach this gospel of victory to ourselves. We must see life as short and eternity as long. We must be excited to tell others about our eternal home as we see them settling down in what will some day melt with fervent heat (II Peter 3:10). That’s the way I see things.