What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?
If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
Romans 8:31

Read: Romans 8:31-39, Philippians 1:3-11
Pilgrim’s Progress Stage 2 Part 9

Relate: The Interpreter brings Christian to a wall, where a great fire burns. A man stands beside it, pouring water on the flames, and yet the fire burns hotter and brighter rather than diminishing. Christian is baffled. The Interpreter leads him around to the other side of the wall, where another figure stands, hidden from view, secretly pouring oil on the fire from behind. The water has no power against the fire because the oil keeps coming. The fire, the Interpreter explains, is the work of grace in the heart. The man with the water is the devil, trying to extinguish it. The hidden figure behind the wall is Christ, who maintains the work of grace in the soul in a way that no opposition can ultimately overcome.

When I think of “putting out the fire, I think of this past winter (2025-2026). Russia tried to put the flame out in Ukraine. While not by any stretch a record breaking cold, the winter by itself was the coldest Kyiv has seen since the start of the war over twelve years ago. What made it hard was the fact that Russia was making a concentrated effort to completely shut down the power and gas infrastructure. Right at the coldest part of January, we went three straight days without gas and electricity. For one stretch over a month long, we had three hours or less per day of power. Food on the counter was freezing. No lights. No heat. We would throw on layers, get under multiple blankets, and shiver ourselves to sleep. Day to day, it was grinding on our spirits. But God was adding flame to fire. So many times, He would use just the right person who would add the right fuel at just the right moment to keep the flame burning.

React: There is a reason Bunyan puts this image in the Interpreter’s house rather than at the end of the journey. It is not a comforting thought reserved for those who have almost made it. It is a foundational truth for people who are just beginning. We need to know, before we get too far down the road, that the grace begun in us is not contingent on our ability to maintain it. We need to remember that the One who started the fire is also the One keeping it burning. The enemy’s water, however persistently applied, has no power against the oil that comes from behind. The fire will not go out. Not if Christ is behind the wall. And if we have been through the gate, if we have been pulled across that threshold by the hand of Good Will, then Christ is behind the wall. He always is.

Respond:

Dear God,