“And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:3-8)
There are four specific soils mentioned in our Lord’s parable of the sower, but only one actually leads to salvation. Take heed here folks, there is no in between ground. There are multitudes of professing Christians who comfortably call the wrong ground home. The problem is many, though claiming a relationship with Christ, may not have a relationship with Him at all. Ignoring Jesus’ parable of the sower can be detrimental to your eternal life.
“And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:” (Matthew 13:4)
The wayside ground proves to be horrible ground for planting or for expecting any growth. This first ground points to those who hear the gospel yet understand it not. They are blinded to the truth, thus they can’t understand it. “…then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.” Matthew 13:19b.
Void of understanding they are easy prey for the enemy (fowls). Satan steals what these folks heard (blinds them to the truth). So these folks, although having heard the truth, remain ignorantly lost. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
“But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” (Matthew 13:20-21)
These folks heard the word of God and received it with much joy. They started off enthusiastic about the gospel of truth, yet after some persecution raises its ugly head in their lives they fall away from the truth, meaning they never really had it. The apostle John tells us who they were.
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” (1 John 2:19).
What we see here is that among those who claim to be Christian, it’s obvious that there are many who have never gone through a conversion from death to life. Thus the words “falling away” come into play. They knew the truth and accepted what they heard as the truth, yet they allowed life’s troubles to move them away from that truth. They never became justified (saved).
“And He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22:
These folks heard the word but the world got in their way. They were deceitfully seduced by wealth, so much so that they bore no fruit for the Kingdom of God.
“Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:19-20)
It’s a sad commentary on our times; many believe they are doing just fine as Christians, but the truth never embedded itself in their hearts, there’s no commitment to Christ, and no salvation, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
These kinds of verses are warnings from the Creator Himself. Heed them or not – your choice.
“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:23.
This is the only soil classified as good ground in Jesus’ parable. The first soil speaks of those who are thoroughly blinded to the truth by Satan and his hoard; they now refuse to believe anything that has to do with the truth of the gospel.
The next two soils are packed with professing Christians who, when the time comes, are going to be screaming the words “Lord, Lord.” Remember it’s the soil that is bad not the seed.
Jesus explains in various parables that not everyone who thinks they’re Christians actually are. Just claiming to be a Christian doesn’t necessarily make it so. I spent most of my younger years believing I was a Christian, but one day a born-again believer in Christ explained what it took to be a Christian and I realized I had been wrong for years; I had swallowed the lie.
There must be a conversion from a life of sin to a new creature who repents and turns from sin. Then they begin to walk in newness of life.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
In many cases, just watching the lifestyle of someone who professes a faith in Jesus Christ can be quite telling. Jesus gave us the parable of the soil to teach us the difference between “born again” and “in name only” Christians.
The last ground Jesus mentioned is the good ground which produces much fruit through the understanding and acceptance of His Word as the truth. Every true believer produces some fruit but we all don’t produce at the same level. Some are more active in the spreading of the gospel than others. Some make it their life’s work, spreading the gospel to all parts of the globe. Still others find plenty of work right in their own communities. Nonetheless, all born again followers of Jesus Christ will eventually, at some point in their Christian walk, bear fruit, you can count on it.
The question is if you are a professing Christian today, of which soil are you? In writing this commentary I’m not attempting to judge whether a person is saved (justified) or not. The purpose is to help those who will read this commentary to do some soul searching before it’s too late. The fourth soil is the only good ground so the idea here is to do some self-evaluation to be absolutely certain where you will spend eternity.
[Jesus said ,] “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.” Matthew 7:26. Only the foolish ignore His warnings.
This world places incredible pressures on all humans so they will weaken and give into temptation. The only way to avoid sinking into the abyss is to be sure who we’ve placed our faith and trust in. Jesus Christ is the One and only Savior and Lord and our only hope for everlasting life. Satan is the god of this world and if you aren’t born again you’re Satan’s property. It is his intent to persuade you through evil means to reject and even ignore Jesus Christ and His Word.
We are taught in the Scriptures that most will comply with their father the devil’s demands. But it doesn’t have to be you. Three of the soils in Jesus’ parable above are owned by Satan, and he convinces many that they are on good solid ground – that everything will be fine. Yet they remain lost – just where Satan wants them.
Don’t fall for his traps. Don’t allow anyone to convince you that there are many ways to the Father, many good grounds. Or that good people will not go to Hell. Another trap is that you don’t have to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
These are all lies that trap and bind, don’t believe them. There are many more being promoted as truth today, even in many Christian churches. Born-again believers in Christ are firmly planted on soil four, the only ground where salvation is found.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham