The Character and Condition of an Apostate
In Bunyan’s classic allegory of Christian’s journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, one of the most striking and horrifying sights is the man confined in the iron cage of despair. His hopeless, miserable, irrevocable condition is set before Christian to warn against the damning sins that lead to apostasy and, at last, to hell. Here one should learn to keep watch over his own soul and to make his calling and election sure, lest he prove reprobate, false, and deceived. While it is not possible for a true child of God to apostatize, it certainly is possible for one who thinks he is a true child of God to do so.
Apostasy is not a concept with which most modern evangelical Christians are at all familiar. In this day it seems that every profession of faith in Jesus is regarded genuine and soul-saving, as long as it is sincere. Sincerity and tears sway us into thinking that any person who professes to know and love Jesus actually does savingly know and love Him. Should such a sincere person turn out to be a hypocrite who ultimately turns away from Christ and the gospel in his heart, that person is still thought to be sure for heaven because of a twisted understanding of ‘eternal security.’
The apostate man in Bunyan, forever bound in the iron cage of despair until he is cast into everlasting flames, is certainly an allegorical man. It is one in ten thousand (if that many) who will ever admit to his own apostasy (or even understand it for what it is) as the man in Bunyan’s story. Most apostates equivocate, split doctrinal hairs, and continue to present themselves as true Christians, only believers with areas of struggle and difficulty; they are, in fact, aliens to the life of God, have never loved Jesus Christ, nor were they ever regenerated by the Spirit-power of saving grace. They heard the gospel declared in the Spirit’s power and experienced something spiritually real, and then trifled with it. They took holy truths into their hands and treated them as playthings. Their pretended love for Christ was always counterfeit; yet one more deception of themselves and others.
Many Christians have no concept that apostasy is real, even though it is evident all around us. Many whom the people of God have regarded as ‘carnal Christians’ are certainly apostates. They once thought themselves sure for heaven and made a good show of it; but secretly their hearts are so hardened against Christ that they cannot repent. These will never be saved. Hear the man describe himself and the sins that sealed his soul up to despair and eternal loss.
“I am now a man of despair, and am shut up in it, as in this iron cage. I cannot get out; Oh now I cannot!” “…I left off to watch and be sober: I laid the reins upon the neck of my lusts; I sinned against the light of the word, and the goodness of God; I have grieved the Spirit, and he is gone; I tempted the devil, and he is come to me; I have provoked God to anger, and he has left me: I have so hardened my heart, that I cannot repent.” “…I have crucified him to myself afresh; I have despised his person; I have despised his righteousness; I have counted his blood an unholy thing; I have done despite to the spirit of grace: therefore I have shut myself out of all the promises and there now remains to me nothing but threatenings, dreadful threatenings, faithful threatenings of certain judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour me as an adversary.”
The reason for any person’s apostasy is his own sin and wickedness of heart and willful rejection of the gospel and its promises. We must never blame divine sovereignty for anyone’s apostasy. It was out of the rich goodness of God that the apostate once perceived enlightenment through the preaching of the gospel. It was from God’s goodness that he tasted the powers of the age to come and received the clear light of the gospel and got a certain taste of the good Word of God.
What a testimony to the necessity of regenerating grace the apostate person is! No matter how many sweet favors are ours through the goodness of God, our wicked hearts would cast them all back into the face of God apart from regenerating grace! It is the wretched sin of the sinner that damns him and seals him up to lasting hopelessness. Be sure of this: every apostate, like a madman, drives headlong to hell trampling underfoot the eternal Son of God, regarding Jesus’ blood as worthless as dung.
While there may be sadness and despair in the heart of an apostate, there is never repentance. Repentance flees where there is no humility, no sorrow for sin, and no turning to Christ. Matters are so much the worse because of the tremendous privileges the apostate person enjoyed, but then ultimately despised and refused the Savior of men.
Christian asked the caged man why: “For what did you bring yourself into this condition?” His reply is chilling. “…For the lusts, pleasures, and profits of this world; in the enjoyment of which I did then promise myself much delight: but now every one of those things also bite me, and gnaw me like a burning worm.” Thinking of his own conversion and knowing the tenderness of Jesus, Christian wonders at the man; why he does not simply change his mind and turn? The man answers: “God hath denied me repentance. His word gives me no encouragement to believe; yea, himself hath shut me up in this iron cage: nor can all the men in the world let me out. Oh eternity! eternity! how shall I grapple with the misery that I must meet with in eternity?” How strange this is to the modern evangelical’s ears; but it represents a spiritual truth too quickly and too easily dismissed in this time by those who profess to be wise, yet who know nothing as they ought to know it.
This man in the iron cage had Bunyan’s knowledge of Scripture to fill his mouth with a true report of his soul’s condition. Most apostates walking about in this world continue to play out the scene, as if nothing is amiss and their hope of heaven remains sure. The reality is that there are far more people than we realize, people with whom we brush elbows day by day, who are sealed up in the sins they love. They cannot repent. Their coming misery is yet to be comprehended, for only eternity will measure their bloodguilt, they who have trampled underfoot God’s Darling Son and done despite to the Spirit of grace.
The apostate’s misery is a dreadful warning to every true saint. True saints keep watch over their souls; to live in disobedience to God’s Word while holding a Christian profession is to tempt God and to run the risk of personal apostasy. True saints live in love with Jesus and more and more despise their sins. True saints are aware that they could as easily have been deceived; they “make their calling and election sure” by a constant appeal to the unfailing promises of the gospel. They realize that they are only “accepted in the Beloved.” The redeemed take refuge in Jesus alone. To us His blood is most precious, because only by His cross do we have the sure hope of heaven. True saints trust not their own hearts, deceitful as they are; but they do trust the heart of their Savior who takes away their despair, replacing it with everlasting hope and joy for the journey. -TSA
12 comments:
This part of Pilgrim's Progress has always laid heavily upon me. I'm glad I found your post.
I don't believe this man is the apostate you spoke of, but rather a christian who has sunk into despair because of sin. This man is John Bunyan himself as he describes his desperate condition in his book "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners". Christians can despair of their sin and can remain so for long periods of time.
As I read "The Pilgrim's Progress" it is Christian who beholds such a man and questions him as to how he ever came to such a state. It is Christian who represents Bunyan himself. The caged man's response is not the response of a Christian, but of one who has found himself forever sealed up to his own lust and unbelief. Bunyan himself in his own journeying to an assured faith in Christ did despair of his sin for a considerable time. But his was the hopeful despair of a believer. The man in the iron cage despaired with the despair of one whose trifling with the gospel had left him hopeless. This is the point Bunyan makes, that the sinner may well trifle with the gospel to the peril of his own soul. Today is the day of salvation, therefore every sinner without Christ must flee to the Lord Jesus immediately, or else stand in danger of ending up wed to his sin and condemnation for the balance of time and the interminable forever that lies ahead. --TSA
Read about the life of William Cowper. He certainly was born again, but he dealt with despair for years even up to his death. The warning of the man in the iron cage is to not trust our subjectively led emotions, but rather trust the sure word of God. The devil tempts believers to this despair continually and though they are saved he makes them unfruitful. "When our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts". 1 John
The apostate, as you describe him is certainly a reality - and more common that men realise. But is it possible for a man to be an apostate and to to be in a state of despair for his condition? I don't think so. The iron cage appears to me to be the man's own unbelief - he would come to Christ, but fears that God has barred up the way, in contradiction of Christ's own promise that "him that cometh I will in no wise cast out". I believe Berkhof was right in saying that the very fact a man is worried that he has committed the unpardonable sin, is the best evidence that he hasn't.
I seldom leave comments on blog, but I have been to this post which was recommended by my friend, lots of valuable details, thanks again.
There is no such a thing as someone desiring forgiveness and not being able to get it. A person cannot desire to Be reconciled with God, and can't because they think they've committed the unpardonable sin because it is God who places that desire there. Jesus said "no man can come to Me unless the Father who hath sent Me draw him". The iron cage represents his own doubt, despair, and unbelief. There have been scores of people who backslid awfully and then came back to God and if that were impossible, Jesus would not have given us the story of the prodigal son( You can read it for yourselves if you desire). So in conclusion, when someone commits the unpardonable sin, it's comes from the heart and they would not care to even ask for forgiveness, therefore they would be unable to repent. When someone is unable to repent, that simply means that person will not even seek forgiveness, so there is none. An apostate means to deny ones beliefs, in other words to stop believing in the Gospel. Anyone and I mean anyone, who desires forgiveness can find it. Because that desire is placed there by the Holy Spirit as stated above. May God Bless You All:)
An apostate is someone who, after becoming a believer, reannounces the Gospel, as the Jews did when they turned their back on Christ and going back into The old sacrificial system. This man is simply a backslider who wants to come back to God but thinks God won't take him back. The cage is a metaphor for his own unbelief and despair. God would most certainly take this man back and if that were not so, then Jesus wouldn't have given us the story of the prodigal son, who left his father, but later came back and his father accepted him with open arms. And the phrase "unable to repent" simply means someone who just will not ask forgiveness. There is no such thing as someone desiring forgiveness and not being able to repent. Because of mans sinful nature, we would not even Want to repent unless God draws him to repentance, "no man can come to Me unless the Father who hath sent Me draw him to Me. And Jesus promised us that " him who cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out". When I person is in a position to commit the unpardonable sin, their heart is so hardened that they won't even care, not that the sin can't be forgiven, but the person just will not seek forgiveness. "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us out sins and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness", cause we are promised the all sins we can repent of, we can be forgiven of, no matter how horrible the sin may be.
The remark that "there is no such thing as someone desiring forgiveness and not being able to get it" is utterly false. "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" (Hebrews 12:15 ESV). This powerful warning would have been completely superfluous, i.e. unnecessary, if the remark were true. It is certainly possible for persons to fail to obtain the grace of God set forth in the gospel, all the while professing their desires for it...unholy like Esau (v16).
If, indeed, the Holy Spirit does a life-giving work of regeneration, then the believing sinner will persevere in faith unto salvation for his soul. Yet Simon Peter calls all who think they are Christians to persevere in faith and to make sure of their own election of God (2 Peter 1). -TSA
You are exactly correct on the scripture in Hebrews. Trying to live for God outside of His prescribed order, which is faith in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross, will bring nothing but failure, therefore providing the ground for "roots of bitterness". Esau was rejected because he rejected Gods Way, the Cross. He sought the Blessing without Christ. He wanted the Blessing, but did not want to repent of placing his Faith in things other than the Cross. But I just don't see how a Loving, Merciful God who desires "no one perish, but all come to repentance", reject someone who is showing true Godly Sorrow for their sins, it's not Scriptural or plausible. The Holy Spirit would not place such a desire in their heart, and then refuse to save that person. So, as it seems from the Word of God, there is no unforgivable sin, but an unforgivable state. While man looks on the outside, God looks at the heart, and a person in that state are so reprobate, they will never be saved because they could care less about Gods Grace. There is not one instance in Scripture where someone cried out to God to forgive them, and He not do so. Take for instance, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Jesus spent almost no time at all on this subject, even after He rose from the dead, these Pharisees showed no signs of accepting him or repenting. If they would have TRULY repented, they could have been forgiven, but that is out of the question, because when it is truly committed, it comes from the heart. Jesus was not saying that every sin is unforgivable EXCEPT THIS ONE, and if anyone says that, they are, in a way, implying that the Precious Blood of Jesus didn't atone for ALL sins, which is very dangerous to say. The first epistle of John says "ALL" sins, not "some". Jesus didn't go to the Cross to die for all sins expect for one. "Mercy triumphs over judgement". King David was forgiven when he Cried out to God. He also forgave Paul, who called himself the chief of sinners. God will forgive anybody because Christ died for everybody. While over time, if you continue to reject God, the heart will harden, as pharoahs did. But there is not one Scripture in the the Word of God, at least that I or anyone else can find, that says He rejected anyone who cried out for mercy. God Bless
Proverbs 1:24-31
But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you, when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
THEN THEY WILL CALL TO ME BUT I WILL NOT ANSWER; THEY WILL LOOK FOR ME BUT WILL NOT FIND ME.
Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
Esau was not lookin for repentance in his own mind. The greek word used there means that his father Isaac could not change his mind and give him blessing instead of Jacob. Esau was looking for his father changing his mind. Hebrew 12 doesnt say that Esau sinned and since that time he couldnt repent. From Old Testament we found out that he didnt want to repent he wanted to kill his brother. There s somethin more about Esau - he was reprobate since he was in the womb of his mother. Hebrew says - "dont be like Esau was" - what he did, he sold his birthright, married 2 Cananites women against his parents will. Esau had no share in God blessing because he didnt have faith in it. This is picture of person in Old Testant. Such person chooses this word things instead of Christ - reject it and then afterwards which is after death wants to have blessing for future world. Esau is example of attidute towards Lord Jezus Christ of this part of Izrael which rejected Him. Such persons dont desire to repent on this world. Later it it to late. They might want things go better in their life but will not repent of one big mistake - rejection of Christ. Everybody who feels despair and thinks that he is rejected by God, thinks that his heart is hardened, realizes he done wrong in the past has this possibility to come to Christ and ask for forgiveness no matter we feel that is in our heart. Bible teaches that our heart is full of calamities and that is why we are not able vene to repent liek we should. But if we ask God he will grant us repentance sooner or later.
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