“A sower went out to sow
his seed:and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down,
and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as
it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell
among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell
on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had
said these things, he cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke
8:5-8).
Here is how the Lord
Jesus explained this parable to His disciples:“The seed is the Word of God.”
Let us be clear about this. We are to give God’s Word, not our own thoughts and
imaginations. The seed is the Word and those who are children of God should sow
the seed. What about the different classes of hearers? “Those by the way side
are those who hear; then comes the devil and takes away the Word out of their
hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12). They listen
casually, pay attention for a while, and then become occupied with other
things. “Then comes the devil and takes away the Word out of their hearts, lest
they should believe and be saved.” You remember the apostle Paul’s words to the
Philippian jailor, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”
(Acts 16:31). People say that it is too simple, that it is too easy a way. One
cannot be saved just by believing the gospel. But even the devil knows that
you can! We are told that “he who believes on the Son has everlasting life”
(John 3:36). Do you object to this? Stop and think what has transpired that
you might have everlasting life by believing. “For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). You see you cannot separate the
last part from the first part of that verse. God has already given His only Son
to settle the sin question. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). The Son of Man had to be
lifted up on the cross in order that you might be saved. The devil knows this,
and that is why he tries to take the Word away from you. That is why we who are
servants of God are so eager to have you trust Christ at once because we know
how the devil will bring in other things to try to get you not to believe.
“Those on the rock are
those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy; and these have no root,
which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). It
is not always a good sign when people seem to receive the Word with joy. A dear
friend of mine told me of a young woman who was frivolous and careless all
during a meeting one evening. When he returned the next night someone came up
and said, “You remember that girl who was in the service last evening; well,
she has found peace at last.” The preacher inquired, “Did she ever find
trouble?” The servant of God must present to the people the truth of God so
that they may see their need of repentance; then when they judge themselves in
the sight of God, He gives peace when they believe the Word. But when people
receive the Word only with joy, it is often like the soil in which seed is sown
which is just barely covering the top of the rocks. It is generally an evidence
of shallowness when people who have known no real exercise about their sins
profess to receive the message of the gospel with gladness. God’s way is to
wound that He may heal (Deut. 32:39). Men need to see their need in order to
appreciate the remedy. It is a great mistake to try to lead souls to make a
profession of faith in Christ who have never known what it is to face their
sins in the presence of God. This is the root-cause of much of the falling away
after so-called “revivals,” where many, under emotional stress, or
over-persuasion, have made a profession of faith, but with no exercise of
conscience or repentance.
“And that which fell
among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with
cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection”
(Luke 8:14). They have heard and really have been quite concerned, but they are
so occupied with the cares and pleasures of this life that they bring no fruit
to perfection. These are people who have been interested to some extent in the
gospel message, but are far more interested in the things of this life such as
pleasure-seeking, money-making, and similar things. Many of these objects may
be innocent enough in themselves, but if you become so occupied with them that
you forget your responsibility to God, you will be sorry all through eternity
that you did not put the things of the Lord first.
“But that on the good ground
are they who, in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it and
bring forth fruit with patience” Luke 8:15). “An honest and good heart”! Does
not the Bible say that “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked” (Jer. 17:9)? What then is meant by a good and honest heart? It is
referring to a person who says, “I know I have been wrong and occupied with the
wrong things, but I am going to face these things and acknowledge my sins and
confess them to God.” When a man takes that stand, then he is honest before
God.
When a man condemns
himself and says, “I have sinned,” then the rest is easy. At last he has
reached the place where God can justify him.
The four classes of
hearers are found wherever the gospel is preached. Some pay no attention and
the devil plucks away the good seed. Some give apparent heed, but there is no
realization of their guilty condition before God. They accept the gospel
mentally, even gladly, but soon give evidence that there was no exercise of
conscience. Others are seriously perturbed and appear to be earnest believers,
but the things of this world are soon seen to be far more important in their
eyes than spiritual realities. A fourth group face their true condition before
God, confess their sinfulness and acknowledge their guilt. Trusting in Christ
they enter into peace, a peace that abides, the fruits of which are seen in the
life.
The seed is the same in
each instance. It is the attitude of the hearer that is different. Some are
utterly careless, others effervescent and easily moved, but vacillating. Others
again are in earnest to begin with, but allow other interests to crowd out
spiritual things. Then there are those who are seeking to know God and are
ready to receive His Word when it is presented to them. These bear fruit to
perfection, and so glorify the Father. Fruit-bearing is the proof of spiritual
life. If there be no fruit, profession is a mere sham, as the after-experience
will soon make manifest.
(From Addresses on the
Gospel of Luke; used by permission of Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Neptune, NJ.)