Do Not Unburden the Burdened

"WORLDLY-WISEMAN: Then I would advise you to get rid of
your burden with all possible speed; for you will never have peace
of mind until then: nor will you be able to enjoy the benefits of the
blessing that God has bestowed upon you until such a time.
CHRISTIAN: What you describe is certainly what I am seeking
after, namely to be rid of my burden. But I cannot get relief by
myself, nor do I know of a man in our country who can lift it off
from my shoulders. So for this reason I am heading in this
direction, as I told you, so that I may be rid of my burden.


WORLDLY-WISEMAN: Who directed you to go this way so as
to be rid of your burden?
CHRISTIAN: A man who appeared to me to be a very great and
honorable person; his name, as I remember it, is Evangelist."
John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress


Worldly-Wiseman wants to ease Christian's pain. He thinks that the problem is the burden on his back not what is causing the burden. That is not unlike today. Some want to ease the burden of those who attend services by making them easier to attend. We don't want to talk about things that would increase their pain, they may leave and not come back. So, there is little talk about sin and certainly no messages about Hell. In fact I believe I have attended some great bible based services, but I cannot remember the last time Hell was even mentioned.


Most churches are compromising to get people in their seats. They tell sinners that God loves them and is their best friend. Here is one such church's invitation to come and visit them.


"Tomah Baptist Church is a vibrant, loving family of believers with a passion for sharing God's unconditional love revealed through Jesus Christ."


God does not love us unconditionally. Without our sins being washed by Christ's sacrificial blood, we are doomed to eternal damnation. This is how men of God preached to sinners. If we truly want to help those that have not been rescued we would tell them the truth.


AUGUSTINE (354-430, Bishop of Hippo): “For it may be that GOD HATES A PERSON to the degree more mildly, as not to destroy him, but whom He destroys HE HATES THE MORE EXCEEDINGLY, by how much He punisheth more severely. Now HE HATETH ALL WHO WORK INIQUITY: but all who speak lies He also destroys.”


JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791): “But as for the wicked, GOD HATES THEM, and will feverishly punish them.” 


JONATHAN EDWARDS: “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much in the same way one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, ABHORS YOU, and is dreadfully provoked: His wrath towards you burns like fire: He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire: He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in His sight: you are ten thousand times more ABOMINABLE in His sight than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.” 


It isn't our job to ease their burden, it is only the cross that can truly do that marvelous work.



Paul: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. I Timothy 1:15 



At the Cross

~ Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
~ Chorus by Ralph E. Hudson, 1843-1901


Stanza 1:
Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sov'reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Chorus :
At the cross, at the cross,
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away -
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day.
Stanza 2:
Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
(Chorus)

Stanza 3:
Well might the sun in darkenss hide
And shut its glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man the creature's sin.
(Chorus)

Stanza 4:
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.