Interpreter’s house turned out to be an interesting place. Christian toured seven rooms of the house, each depicting spiritual truth. I want to take a closer look at the dusty room, and the room which contained the man in the iron cage.
The Dusty Room
The second room of Interpreter’s house was full of dust. I remember having to clean my room when I was a kid. I wasn’t the best at it. I shoved junk under my bed, or piled everything up on a chair to give the perception of a “cleaned” room. The more I put off cleaning my room, the dirtier it became. That’s what happened in this room at Interpreter’s house. The prolonging of cleaning allowed dust to accumulate.
Interpreter called for a man to sweep the room. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust began to abundantly fly about the room. Christian nearly choked! Interpreter then called for a damsel to bring some water and sprinkle the room; the which, when she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure.
Interpreter explained that the room was the heart of man, that had never been sanctified by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like the dusty room, man’s heart had been defiled by sin. Now, the man who initially swept the room was the Law. The Law was unable to cleanse man of sin, rather, it only revealed man’s sinfulness (Rom. 7:7-13). The dust only multiplied as the man swept. Likewise, the Law came in to increase the trespass of sin (Rom. 5:20).
The damsel who sprinkled water in the room was the gospel. Though the Law reveals the nature and power of sin, a heart can only be cleansed through the gospel. The apostle Paul said that we are washed and cleansed by the washing of water with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, by the Name of Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:5-6; 1 Cor. 6:11; cf. Heb. 10:22). The dust of sin in the heart can only be cleansed through gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Man in the Iron Cage
The room which contained the man in the iron cage was the most tragic room of all. The man in the iron cage was a pitiful sight to behold. The man seemed very sad; he sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, his hands folded together, and he sighed as if his heart would break.
Christian asked the man for the reasoning behind his plight. He replied, “I am not what I once was.” Christian inquired further, “What were you previously?” The man in the iron cage answered, “I was once a professing believer. I was once on my way to the Celestial City, and believed I would arrive there. I am now a man of despair, and am shut up in it, as in this iron cage. I cannot get out!” The man continued, “I became careless, and ceased to be vigilant in my pursuit of righteousness. I gave into my lusts and desires, and sinned against the light of the Word. I have grieved the Holy Spirit, and He is gone. I have hardened my heart, that I cannot repent.”
Christian couldn’t believe his ears. Here was a man who had been on the same journey as Christian, but was now living in an iron cage. Inside the iron cage the man lamented, “I have crucified the Lord afresh; I have despised His person; I have despised His righteousness; I have counted His blood an unholy thing; I have done despite to the Spirit of grace.” The man in the iron cage had committed apostasy, he had turned away from the faith once delivered to the saints, and gave into his lusts.
Interpreter finally added, “Let this man’s misery be remembered by you, and be an everlasting caution to you.” Believers, and anyone else on the Christian journey, could end up in the same condition as the man in the iron cage. Bunyan is writing to every Christian to persevere in the faith. The Christian journey is not without its adversaries, for Peter wrote, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pt. 5:8).
Application
What can we take away from these two rooms in Interpreter’s house?
First, we need the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9). The same gospel message that initially saves us is the same message that works for our sanctification.
Second, the man in the iron cage should serve as a warning to us, just as he did to Christian. The dusty room serves as a figure of sin in our hearts, and the man in the iron depicts the consequences of not continuing to put to death the sins of the body after salvation (Rom. 8:13). Working out our own salvation with fear and trembling is just as important as initial salvation (Php. 2:12). You and I can never become negligent in our pursuit of holiness. Sin is always crouching at the door of our heart, ready to overtake us.