Bruce Collins, Evangelist

The personal website of Bruce Collins

Are we Reproducing?

Luke 8:11-15  “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. “Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

 

Four Kinds of Soil

Many people who call themselves Christians or “believers” today are not the kind of people that I identify with as a Christian.  Many seem to be more concerned with making people act like Christians before they tell them how to become Christians.

 

I believe that the problem of Christianity and of Christian behavior is found in this parable of the sower.  We have four kinds of soil represented by the parable and only one kind of soil produces true believers in Christ. Not everyone who calls themselves a believer has truly repented and believed in Christ.  The demons believe but are not saved (James 2:19).  Simon the Sorcerer believed but was not saved (Acts 8:13, 20).  Apparently he believed Philip and in the power of the Gospel but never trusted Christ with regard to his own personal need of a Savior.  We know that all who truly believe or trust in Christ are saved from the eternal penalty that they deserve because of their sins, but the parable makes it clear that we can say we believe without truly trusting in the Lord.

 

No Faith

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).  When the devil manages to snatch the word of God out of the hearts of those who hear it, those people have nothing in which to put their trust.  Satan wins.  These people are not “saved.”  They probably would not claim to be believers.

 

No Root

These who believe for a while are troublesome.  A true believer does not believe for a while.  The reason is because they have their faith in Christ and not in their believing.  If we have our faith in our believing, then our faith is in us and not in Christ.  When life becomes difficult and the Lord does not work according to our expectations, our believing will not be enough.  We will question everything that we have been taught is true.  We may start promoting the doctrines of universal salvation (the idea that all are ultimately saved).   We may accept the idea that all religions lead to heaven.  Or we may come to the conclusion that nothing that the Bible says is true.  These people only like the good news when the road leads downhill and the wind is at their back.  When troubles and trials come, they “fall away” but not from what they had but from what they could have had if their faith had been in Christ and not in themselves.

 

No Cultivation

We all know for seeds to grow the ground has to be properly prepared and the weeds have to be killed or pulled.  But when people “sign up” for the Christian experience without any conviction about the cost of discipleship, they have a shallow kind of belief that is not true belief at all.  We live in a day when most people get more enthused about movies and sports than they do about reproducing themselves through the spread of the Gospel.  The seed is choked and becomes unfruitful because people are more concerned with this life than with the next.

 

Good Ground

What is fruitfulness in this parable?  Quite clearly seed planted produces grain like the seed that is planted.  Corn produces corn, beans produce beans and wheat produces wheat.  The test of good ground is that the seed reproduces itself.  Some reproduce more and some less, but there is reproduction.  These are the only kind of believers that the Lord says are “saved” or “real.” 

 

I have noticed that when people are first saved, they are immediately concerned with friends and loved ones who are not.  They may show that by inviting their friends and loved ones to meetings where they can hear the Gospel.  They may show that by giving out literature.  They may show that by supporting churches that are concerned about the unsaved.  Many show that by sacrificially giving to those who spread the Gospel.  Not all have the same gift but all have the same desire.  That desire is to reproduce.  Those and only those are really ready to meet the Lord when this life is over.   People who hear the Gospel and receive it into hearts that are properly prepared by the Holy Spirit are the only people who can honestly advance the kingdom of God. 

 

Bruce Collins

 

Meditation for the week of February 22, 2015

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