It seems that Bunyan has answered this question from his prison cell hundreds of years ago. The answer is found in hardship in a Christian's life. Hardship is a gracious work of God to restore a sense of reality to a glowing believer. What he learns when he comes face to face with hardship is that what really matters in the Christian life is the actual development of Christian character. Too often, believers go to a conference, hear lofty preaching and fully embrace what the speakers are saying. What they are saying is terrific! But then because they enthusiastically agree with what the speakers are saying, they presume that they have actually grown spiritually. When a person who thinks he has actually grown spiritually by agreeing with a conference speaker encounters difficulty, he discovers that he is still the same person he was before the conference! Nothing has changed, he has not grown, he has not disciplined himself to change by God's empowering grace.

As Bunyan shows, such a man struggles through hardship and indulges the flesh at the first available opportunity. Because he has sinned, he staggers forward without spiritual confidence and is shaken by anything that comes his way. What he must do is deal with his sin of failing to develop the Christian character necessary to weather the difficulties he will face. He must apply himself to a disciplined Christian life so that when difficulty comes in the future, he will excel as God desires him to.

In this sermon, Christian also faces danger-the lions in the road. Here I have commented on the terrible struggles of Christian brothers and sisters in China. China is becoming my second biggest downloader of sermons and when I preach I always have them in mind as a second audience. May God use this sermon to encourage them and use them for His glory!