The Pilgrim's Progress
The only book that has sold more copies than The Pilgrim's Progress is the Bible. Bunyan's masterpiece, first published in 1678, rapidly became a classic among English readers and beyond, serving as a unique spiritual edification source to this day.
The Pilgrim's Progress is full of vibrant and meaningful imagery, as well as a creative force that pushes the reader to contemplate the Christian life. It tells the story of Christian, who appears in a dream to the writer, and his path to Salvation through life's trials and tribulations. The Pilgrim's Progress, which has been translated into over a hundred languages, significantly impacts literary studies and readers everywhere.
You can download an online version from Desiring God ministries. This version contains a recently discovered preface by John Newton written in 1776.
Apple Books, Kobo, Nook | Kindle | PDF | If you want a hard copy, we recommend the Penguins Classics version. Spurgeon’s commentary on The Pilgrims Progress is also available for no charge here. There are also many of Bunyan’s writing available online on Dr. Barry Horner’s site.
The Pilgrim's Progress, a timeless tale of faith written over 300 years but still makes us think about what it means to be a pilgrim on this side of glory. Readers rightly grapple with truths about redemption and the Christian life does that Bunyan's work communicates.
John R. Muether, Library Director and Associate Professor of Church History at Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando), rightly observed:
Pilgrimage is a pervasive theme throughout Scripture. Peter addresses believers as “aliens and strangers” (NIV) or “sojourners and exiles” (ESV) (1 Peter 2:11). In contemporary parlance, we are homeless. As homeless people, we encounter unjust accusations (2:12), suffering (2:19), daily insults (3:14) and fiery trials (4:12-14). Similarly, Paul constantly reminds us of our pilgrim status when informing us that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1-3).
The letter to the Hebrews is an operating manual for pilgrimage. It locates the Christian squarely in the desert, likening the Christian life to the wilderness wandering under the Old Covenant. In 3:7-4:13 the analogy is particularly compelling. Theologian Richard Gaffin comments on this passage:
Israel in the wilderness and believers under the New Covenant are in analogous situations. Christians receive the same promise of rest (3:11; 4:1); they are exposed to similar trials and the same danger of unbelief and apostasy (3:12,19; 4:6); they are exhorted to the same perseverance in faith (3:8, 14; 4:1,11). In New Testament as well as Old Testament times, God’s people are pilgrims and travelers; now as then, they are a people “on the way.”
Despite its historical fame and importance, this masterpiece remains unknown to many people today. Christians today will benefit as much as they did hundreds of years ago from this novel.
“This hill, though high, I covet to ascend;
The difficulty will not me offend.
For I perceive the way to life lies here.
Come, pluck up, heart; let's neither faint nor fear.
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.”
― John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress