I have been fascinated by the fact that Christian appears to have become a true believer at the wicket gate, but his burden does not actually fall off until a little later at the cross.
Why this gap?
I have read some explanations of this but I am not sure if any have solved the puzzle:
Why this gap?
I have read some explanations of this but I am not sure if any have solved the puzzle:
- Christian became a true believer at the wicket gate but did not receive true assurance until the cross (but this seems to separate the link between the cross and salvation).
- Christian became a true believer at the cross. Does this mean the wicket gate was to give conviction of sin?
- John Bunyan created the scene this way to reflect his own struggles with assurance of salvation.