Four Types of Responses

Luke 8:4-8 ESV

Jesus Christ said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 8:11-15 ESV

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”

When you look at the gatherings of what is called “church” today you will find four classes of people: 1. Those who never made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. 2. Those who made a superficial profession of faith in Christ which never took root in their lives. 3. Those of genuine faith in Christ who probably began well with God but who later fell back into sinful practices. 4. Those who are listening to the Lord and who are obeying his word, in practice, and who are living holy and righteous lives in the power of God.

And this is how I picture these four types of soil in this parable, too. For definitely I see the first one as those who hear the Word of God, but then the devil comes along and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. So, is that totally the devil’s fault? No! Not according to Romans 1 where it teaches us that God has revealed himself to all humankind through his created works so we are all without excuse if we choose to follow the flesh and not God (Romans 8:18-32).

Now I see the second one as those who make superficial professions of faith in Jesus Christ which never take root in their lives. Many are these who believe they can make a one-time profession of faith in Christ and now all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future) and that heaven is guaranteed them when they die, and that nothing can take that away from them, but regardless of how they live. So their “belief” in Jesus does not withstand the temptations of the flesh, so they fall back into sin.

I see the third one as genuine believers in Jesus Christ, for they are described as those who hear the word of the Lord, and it mentions that their fruit did not mature, which would seem to indicate that they had some fruit, at least for a while. But as they go along with their lives, soon the cares of this world and worldliness, even within “the church,” begin to seep into their lives and begin to pull them away from Christ and from his word. And so they end up falling back into sin and away from God.

But before I get to #4 I want to talk about the state of these first three. All three of them still have the potential, as long as they are living, to believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith which dies with Christ to sin and which lives to God and to his righteousness, in the power of God. Their eternal destinies can change if they choose to repent (to leave their lives of sin behind them) and to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands in holy living. So their story can change if they turn from sin and obey God.

Now you may not agree with my analysis of #2 and #3, and that’s okay. They are somewhat open to interpretation, and I get that. #1 and #4 are much more direct and can be understood more easily. But whatever your thoughts are on #2 and #3, the result is still the same, according to God’s Word. For if we walk in sin and not in obedience to our Lord and not in holiness and righteousness we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what faith we profess with our lips.

But now on to #4. Yes, there are those who believe strongly in Jesus Christ from the very beginning and their faith never falters, and they hold fast to the word of the Lord throughout their lives on this earth to the very end. They walk by faith and not by sight. They walk in obedience to the Lord, in practice, and daily by the Spirit they are putting to death the misdeeds of the body. And they serve the Lord Jesus with their lives and they are bearing fruit for the kingdom of heaven in keeping with true repentance.

But let me throw this out here. There are some of us who began well with the Lord, and we were following the Lord in obedience, and we were living for him, though not perfectly, and we were serving him with our lives. We loved the Lord Jesus and we earnestly sought to follow him, and we were bearing spiritual fruit for his kingdom in keeping with repentance. But then something happened, and we got sidetracked, and we got tempted, and then we fell and so we had a period of time where we went back and forth.

Now some of us have returned to the Lord via repentance and renewed faith in Jesus Christ and we have been walking faithfully to him in obedience to him for many years now. But some people will tell us that means we were never saved to begin with, which could be true for some. But that is not biblical salvation. It only agrees with their “once saved always saved” theology which says that if you fall away from the Lord and you go back to living in sin that you were not really saved to begin with. 

But biblical salvation is progressive, not a one-time event in one’s life. We are saved (past), we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns for his bride but provided that we are walking in obedience to our Lord and not in sin. And it is only then that our salvation will be complete. So the story is not over until it has come to an end. So anyone who never believed or anyone who superficially believed or anyone who believed and then fell away still have the chance to repent of their sins and to turn or return to the Lord and be saved for eternity.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Seek the Lord  

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him. 

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you, 

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

https://vimeo.com/379408296