5 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. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold (Luke 8:5-8).It's probably best to include Jesus's explanation of the parable for this discussion:
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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 (Luke 8:11-15).The parable is about a farmer who is throwing seed, the various ground conditions on which it falls, and the results of the sowing. Jesus explains what each component means. The seed is the word of God. Not much confusion there. The various types of soil are people receive the word of God. Okay, fine. And we're pretty clear on what it all means. Some have the word snatched away by Satan. The "rocky" folks have a positive initial response but burn off when testing comes. The "thorny" people also seem to take it in, but are soon choked out by the world. What's left? The "good" kind of people (not to say they're morally good -- just the soil that is prepared) grow and produce fruit.
Even as clear as that is, there are disagreements. Did those "rocky" and "thorny" folks have salvation and lose it? And what, pray tell, is "fruit"? (Some would argue it's financial benefit and that sort of thing.) But it's still pretty clear. Thorny arguments aside (pun intended), the parable is pretty obvious (thanks to Jesus and His explanation).
Here's something that I don't know if you caught. The seed ... is the word of God. "No, we got that. It was clear from the beginning." Yes, but ... isn't it interesting that it wasn't something ... more? It wasn't "a good apologetic", "a cogent argument", "a well-planned event", "an effective program", "a seeker sensitive service", and so on. It was the word of God. So effective is this "word of God" that everyone responds to it. "No they didn't," you might correct me. "That first group didn't." No, they didn't because they never saw it. "The devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved." Did you see that? According to Jesus, if the word remained, they would believe and be saved. It is, in fact, the word that is God's primary mechanism for producing faith (Rom 10:17).
Today's churches are trying all sorts of methods and programs and gimmicks to try to get out the Gospel. Jesus said that the word was sufficient to produce saving faith. So ... why are we messing around with better programs, new music, or coherent arguments? Oh, if you can use those things to disseminate the word of God, then I'm all for it. But wouldn't it be best to use the tool that Paul said was what produced faith and Jesus said could cause them to believe and be saved? Shouldn't we be preaching the word of God rather than some other "nice stuff"?
5 comments:
You would probably like the witnessing program that Kirk Cameron teaches. They rely on using the Ten Commandments as a witnessing tool. It's actually extremely straightforward, and it's using the Ten Commandments the same way Jesus did. We thought it was remarkably effective, as most people are familiar with them. It's simple to do, too.
I remember a guy I knew 20 years ago who used the same concept. He tried to point out to people that they violated all 10.
Yep, pretty much that's the size of it. It's clear cut when you ask someone if they've ever lied, after admitting they know "They shalt not lie" is one of the ten commandments. Sort of hard to say there isn't a clear behavior standard that has been laid out.
I read this then a few minutes later I saw this.
your post came to mind as I watched.
I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the blogger's take on the You Tube video.
I'd consider it "pearl before swine" myself, but I don't know what God would do with it, so I'd withhold judgment. Of course, you wouldn't find me doing that, but ...
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