Obstinate and Pliable

"The neighbors also came out to see him run;1 and as he ran, some
mocked, others threatened; and some cried for him to return. Now
among those that did so, there were two that were determined to
fetch him back by force. The name of one was Obstinate, and the
name of the other was Pliable. Now by this time the man was a
good distance ahead of them; however they were resolved to
pursue him, and this they did and in a little while overtook him."
John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress Progress

The man's first two traveling companions are aptly named, Obstinate and Pliable. That the man was well ahead of the two at one time, but that they were able to catch up to him shows that the man wasn't moving very fast. Perhaps he began to daydream, to dawdle, to hesitate. We are commanded to, "not be slow, to be swift in entering in and possessing the land." Judges 18:9

Obstinate is a class of those that hear the word of God. They hear, but their hearts are hardened. Pharaoh was such a person. He knew what was right, but God hardened his heart. The parable of the sower also explains such a person. 


"Even when Christ wrought miracles and preached sermons there were numbers of His hearers who remained utterly unmoved. What right have we to wonder if the hearers of modern sermons in countless instances remain unbelieving? ‘The disciple is not greater than his Master.’ If even the hearers of Christ did not believe, how much more should we expect to find unbelief among the hearers of His ministers? Let the truth be spoken and confessed: man’s obstinate unbelief is one among many of the indirect proofs that the Bible is true." J.C. Ryle


Another class of those that hear the word of God are those that are pliable. It was not unusual to see these people join a church. but after hearing the word of God preached from the pulpit they don't last long. Many pastors have "weakened" their sermons to keep these people in the congregations. Paul warned against doing this.


"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." II Tim 4 


I think that the pastors who do not preach against sinful life styles and the reality of Hell, think that as long as the non-believer is going to their church the better. The problem is they are not doing the non-believer a favor. They need to know they are going to hell.


"The beginning of the way to heaven, is to feel that we are on the way to hell." J.C.Ryle