Every Christian who has walked with the Lord for any length of time knows that there comes a moment when faith demands a difficult choice.
It may be the decision to obey God when compromise promises immediate relief. It may be the resolve to tell the truth when deception seems more profitable. It may be choosing holiness over popularity, integrity over convenience, or obedience over personal ambition.
John Bunyan understood this reality well.
That is why, shortly after Christian’s burden rolls away at the Cross, Bunyan places him before a steep hill with three possible routes. One is difficult. The other two appear easier.
The question confronting Christian is the same question confronting every believer today:
Which way will you choose?
That searching question formed the heart of the GospelBells Radio Readers’ Club meeting on Sunday, July 5, 2026, as participants continued their chapter-by-chapter study of The Pilgrim’s Progress. The chapter, titled “The Three Ways: Difficulty, Danger and Destruction,” proved to be one of the most practical discussions of the entire series, challenging believers to embrace the reality that the Christian life is often marked not by choosing what is easiest, but by choosing what is faithful.
Looking Back Before Moving Forward
As is customary, the meeting opened with the Readers’ Club’s cornerstone Scriptures—Matthew 7:13–14, 1 Peter 2:11 and Hebrews 11:13—reminding participants that Christians are strangers and pilgrims travelling a narrow road toward the Celestial City.
Before introducing the new chapter, the moderator retraced Christian’s remarkable journey.
Participants reflected on Christian’s awakening in the City of Destruction after reading the Book, his desperate search for salvation, his rescue at the Wicket Gate, his instruction in the House of the Interpreter, and the unforgettable moment when, standing before the Cross, his burden rolled from his back into the open sepulchre, never to be seen again.
Yet Bunyan had already demonstrated that the Cross is not the end of the pilgrimage.
Soon afterwards, Christian encountered Simple, Sloth, and Presumption, whose spiritual complacency troubled him deeply. Then came Formalist and Hypocrisy, who attempted to enter the pilgrim way without passing through the Narrow Gate.
Those encounters left Christian “lost in thought,” wondering why anyone would treat eternal matters so carelessly.
Now, however, the focus shifts.
No longer is Christian observing the choices of others.
His own resolve is about to be tested.
The Hill of Difficulty
Christian and the two pretenders eventually arrived at the foot of a steep hill.
The path leading directly onward climbed the hill itself.
Beside it were two alternative roads that branched away—one to the left and another to the right.
Their names were ominous.
One was called Danger.
The other Destruction.
The hill itself bore an equally significant name:
Difficulty.
The class immediately connected this scene with the warning Christian had received much earlier at the Wicket Gate.
Goodwill had told him that although many paths would branch away from the true road, the correct path would always remain “straight and narrow.”
Participants noted that the older English word strait in the King James Version carries the sense of being difficult, confining, and hard rather than merely straight in direction.
The point is unmistakable.
The road Christ calls His followers to walk is often demanding.
The Christian Life Is Not the Easy Life
One of the richest discussions of the evening explored whether Christians should expect obedience to be difficult.
The class concluded that Scripture consistently answers in the affirmative.
Jesus Himself warned that the gate leading to life is narrow and the road difficult, while the broad road leading to destruction is spacious and attractive.
Participants observed that many of life’s most significant acts of faith involve costly decisions.
Standing for biblical truth.
Forgiving an offender.
Rejecting dishonest gain.
Remaining sexually pure.
Refusing corruption.
Speaking the truth.
Serving Christ faithfully.
These choices frequently require believers to swim against the current of popular opinion.
As one participant observed, the Christian is repeatedly called to choose the difficult path precisely because it is the path Christ Himself walked.
The discussion also connected Bunyan’s imagery with Paul’s exhortation in Romans not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.
Following Christ often means refusing to follow the crowd.
The Spring at the Foot of the Hill
Before Christian attempted the climb, Bunyan records an important detail that became one of the evening’s major themes.
At the foot of the hill was a spring.
Christian stopped.
He drank.
He refreshed himself.
Only then did he begin the ascent.
The Readers’ Club lingered over this apparently small detail, recognising in it a profound picture of God’s gracious provision.
The spring, participants suggested, represents every means by which God strengthens His people before difficult seasons.
For some, it may be prayer.
For others, a timely promise from Scripture.
Perhaps a sermon.
Perhaps the encouragement of fellow believers.
Perhaps the quiet ministry of the Holy Spirit assuring the believer of God’s presence.
Whatever form it takes, the lesson remained the same.
God never calls His people to climb without first providing grace for the climb.
One participant beautifully summarised the point:
The same God who appoints the hill also provides the spring.
The moderator reinforced this observation by quoting a commentator who noted that both the hill and the spring come from God’s hand.
God ordains the trial.
He also supplies the strength to endure it.
Encouragement Before the Climb
Having refreshed himself, Christian began climbing while speaking words of encouragement to his own heart:
“Though this hill is steep, I’m determined to reach the top… It is better to struggle on the right path than to take an easy but wrong path that leads to disaster.”
Participants reflected on the wisdom of this self-exhortation.
Like David encouraging himself in the Lord, Christian deliberately reminded himself of eternal realities.
The discussion emphasised that believers sometimes need to preach truth to themselves.
Not every battle is won by changing circumstances.
Many are won by renewing the mind with God’s promises.
Why Christian Saw What Others Missed
Perhaps the evening’s most illuminating discussion centred on the contrasting responses of Christian, Formalist and Hypocrisy.
All three men reached the same hill.
All three saw the difficult climb.
Yet only Christian noticed—and benefited from—the spring.
Why?
The class concluded that the answer lies much earlier in the story.
Christian had entered through the Narrow Gate.
Formalist and Hypocrisy had climbed over the wall.
Christian had received instruction from Goodwill.
They had not.
Christian had been taught by the Interpreter.
They had not.
Christian had received the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
They relied solely on human reasoning.
Consequently, when confronted with difficulty, Christian instinctively sought divine help.
The other two simply analysed the situation according to natural wisdom.
The difficult road looked unpleasant.
The alternatives looked easier.
Their conclusion seemed obvious.
Surely the easier roads would eventually reconnect with the main path.
How tragically mistaken they were.
The Holy Spirit Makes the Difference
Throughout the discussion, participants repeatedly returned to one central truth:
Those who truly come through Christ never journey alone.
The Holy Spirit reminds believers of Christ’s teaching.
He strengthens weary hearts.
He supplies courage.
He grants perseverance.
He illuminates Scripture.
He equips God’s people for every challenge along the pilgrim way.
The class recalled an earlier lesson from the House of the Interpreter.
Behind the wall stood a hidden figure continually pouring oil upon the fire that the enemy was desperately trying to extinguish.
That unseen Helper now reappeared in the discussion.
Christian climbed because he possessed resources invisible to others.
His strength did not originate within himself.
It came from God.
This, participants observed, explains why faithful Christians sometimes endure circumstances that seem impossible from a merely human perspective.
The strength is not theirs.
It is supplied by grace.
Danger and Destruction
Meanwhile, Formalist and Hypocrisy chose differently.
Reasoning according to appearances, they avoided Difficulty altogether.
One entered the path named Danger.
The other took Destruction.
Neither was seen again.
Their fate reinforced a lesson Bunyan has steadily developed throughout the book.
Shortcuts in the Christian life are never harmless.
Every attempt to bypass God’s appointed way eventually leads away from God Himself.
Lessons for Modern Pilgrims
As the meeting drew to a close, participants considered the chapter’s practical implications.
Every generation of Christians encounters its own hills of difficulty.
For some, the hill may involve resisting corruption in the workplace.
For others, remaining faithful in marriage.
Raising children according to Scripture.
Choosing honesty when dishonesty appears more rewarding.
Standing for biblical truth when public opinion moves in the opposite direction.
The temptation is always the same.
The easier road appears attractive.
The difficult road demands faith.
Yet Bunyan reminds believers that the road to life has never been the road of least resistance.
It is the road of faithful obedience.
Thankfully, it is also the road upon which Christ Himself walks with His people.
As the class concluded, participants reflected on the comforting words of the hymn sung at the close of the meeting:
“It’s not an easy road we are travelling to heaven… But the Saviour is with us; His presence gives us joy every day.”
That simple truth beautifully captured the lesson of the evening.
The Christian road is indeed difficult.
But Christians never climb it alone.
Looking Ahead
The Readers’ Club will continue next Sunday, by God’s grace, as Christian presses onward after successfully climbing the Hill Difficulty. Participants anticipate discovering what further lessons Bunyan has hidden along the pilgrim’s path and how they continue to illuminate the Christian life nearly three and a half centuries after the book was first published.
🎧 The full recording of the July 5, 2026 session is embedded below. Whether you attended the class or are discovering these discussions for the first time, listening to the conversation will deepen your appreciation of Bunyan’s profound allegory and its enduring biblical message.
Those who would like to join the GospelBells Radio Readers’ Club or make enquiries are warmly invited to get in touch:
📧 Email: gospelbellsradio@gmail.com
📱 WhatsApp: 08094711629
There is still room on the pilgrim road. And for every believer who chooses the path of Difficulty over the false promises of Danger and Destruction, God’s gracious spring still waits at the foot of the hill.
