Dust and Water

My friend Jessica and I are reading through John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress". It was written in 1678, so the language brings a few challenges at times, but the descriptive illustrations are as applicable today as they were back then. I was floored today when I read about the room.

The main character, Christian, has a conversation with Interpreter while they are standing watching a man try to sweep a horribly dusty room. The room just gets more and more filled with dusty clouds as the man tries to sweep and clean, to the point that Christian starts coughing and has trouble breathing. Then a door to the room opens and a woman walks in and lightly sprinkles the room with water, and begins cleaning. The water, of course, settles the dust so that it can easily cleaned up. I'm going to summarize Interpreter's explanation of this to Christian, but I've copied the passage below and encourage you to take the time to read it because it's so good.

Interpreter tells Christian that the room is a man's heart and the dust is his sin. The act of sweeping is the Law (Old Testament and if you allow me the extension, our human methods of trying to better ourselves), the Law reveals dust but cannot clean the dust, it just moves it around to different piles in the room. The water that was sprinkled in the room is the Gospel, it clings to the sin, nullifies it, and is easily cleaned up, leaving the room fit for Christ to inhabit.

What a great reminder of the work of the Gospel in my heart! I was dusty and now I am not! And yet, the Gospel continually cleanses me, sweeping out those dust bunnies that collect, as He continues to grow me to be more like Him.- I can't cleanse myself from sin, but God can and I am so thankful for His grace.

Actual passage:

"The parlour (room) is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the Gospel; that dust is his original sin, and inward corruptions that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first is the Law, but she that brought water, and did sprinkle it, is the Gospel. Now, whereas thou sawest that so soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about that the room by him could not be cleansed, but that thou wast almost choked therewith, this is to show thee that the Law, instead of cleansing the heart (by its working) from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase it in the soul, even as it doth discover and forbid it, for it doth not give power to subdue.
Again, as thou sawest the damsel sprinkle the room with water, upon which it was cleansed with pleasure: this is to show thee that when the Gospel comes in the sweet and precious influences thereof to the heart, then I say, even as though sawest the damsel lay the dust by sprinkling the floor with water so is sin vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean, through the faith of it; and consequently fit for the King of Glory to inhabit"