Every time I post a study on the completed work of the Lord who took away all the sins of the world, and how all that’s left for us to do is believe, I get a number of questions from people.  These questions are always about others who don’t seem to have been changed at all by their salvation experience.  The writers ask me, “Where’s the evidence of a changed life?” or, “What about sacrifice, and repentance, and death to sin?” or “Are you saying that just because a person went forward and mouthed some prayer, and then never did anything else, that means they’re saved?”

If we look carefully we’ll find that the Lord anticipated questions like these, and answered them in advance.  In this case the answer can be found in Matt. 13, so that’s where we’ll look.

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matt. 13:3-9)

As He explained later in the chapter, the farmer represents the Lord, the seed is His word, the soil is the world, and the birds represent the evil one.  While the parables He gave us in Matt. 13 are often called the Kingdom Parables, it’s important to understand that this first one describes the whole world, not just His kingdom.  In the world His word is met with four kinds of responses.

No Comprehension

The first kind is called the seed that falls on the path.  It represents people who hear the word but fail to  comprehend it.  In Matt. 13:19 He said this is due to the fact that the evil one comes and snatches it away.  Paul put it this way.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor 4:3-4)

Because of their lifestyle choices some people have developed a heart so hard that the Gospel cannot penetrate its shell.  The words lie there on the surface for the enemy to sweep away lest any should slip into a crack and take root. When you try to share the gospel with these people, they look at you like you’ve come from another planet. It’s foolishness to them, as Paul said it would be. (1 Cor. 2:14)

No Conversion

The Lord called the second response the seed that falls on the rocky places. This refers to people who hear the Gospel message and in the passion of the moment run forward for the altar call, but never really let the Lord into their hearts, so there’s no conversion.  It all sounded so good at that crusade or revival meeting and they got all caught up in the excitement of the event. But they didn’t really open their hearts to the Lord so the first time someone laughs at or ridicules them for their beliefs they deny the Gospel and act like the altar call never happened.  Sadly this describes an overwhelming majority of those who come forward at public events.  They don’t ever wander into a church afterward, or even crack open their Bible, so they were never really saved at all.  Had they sincerely asked the Lord to forgive them, they could have been part of the small minority who really does get saved this way, but they didn’t give it a thought. They just jumped up and ran down front because it felt good at the time.  Paul warned us against letting this happen to us.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col 2:6-7)

No Fruit

The seed among the thorns describes believers who are saved but are so distracted by the things of the world that they bear no fruit.  Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)  He wasn’t talking about our salvation there because salvation is not a fruit bearing event.  Fruit has an effect on others where salvation is purely personal.  In other words, fruit is not something that happens to the branch, it’s something that happens through the branch.  And the branch does not make fruit grow by its own effort.  It’s the vine that does the work.

Why are there so many believers who don’t bear fruit?  It’s because of the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.  According to Matt. 13:22 they choke the Word and make it unfruitful.  Preoccupation with the things of this world makes it impossible to hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  This is probably the biggest group in all of Christianity, saved but not fruitful. This is the group some other believers look at and wonder, “Are those people really saved”?  Odds are the answer is yes, but you’d never know by looking at them.

But before we go on, there’s something we should remember.  Living a “sacrificial life” is not the same as being fruitful.  To sacrifice is to give up something for nothing, like the lambs did on the altar.  They received no benefit from it.  The notion  that Christians have to live sacrificial lives is man’s idea, not God’s.  Jesus said that He came so that we could have an abundant life, not a sacrificial one. (John 10:10)

Christians are not asked to give up something for nothing.  No one who is truly walking with the Lord thinks of it as a sacrifice, he thinks of it as a greater blessing than anything he could have otherwise received.  People who take pride in living a sacrificial life are missing the point, and by denying themselves the things they secretly still want (it wouldn’t be a sacrifice if they didn’t), they not only aren’t producing any fruit, they may just be performing works of the flesh. You can tell because the result is not joy, it’s jealousy, envy or resentment toward others.  These are not the fruit of the Spirit.

No Problem

The seed that lands in fertile ground produces a crop many times its size.  This is the group that  Paul wrote about in Galatians 5:22-26, where he also described the fruit we produce.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

This fruit grows when the gospel finds fertile soil.  It impacts others, and draws them to the Lord.  The peace and contentment we feel, and the love and kindness we express, causes others to want what we have. When they get it, they in turn draw still others, and without trying or even knowing, we’ll have produced a crop that will multiply us over and over.

So we take pity on those for whom there is no comprehension and pray that the Lord will soften their hearts.  And likewise for those for whom there was no conversion.  The Gospel was just a passing fancy for them, a rush of emotion that never became a commitment.  Let them hear it again, Lord, and this time may they choose to invite you in.   And especially for those who though saved, are so caught up in the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth, that they’re totally unfruitful.  Help them gain the eternal perspective.

The best witness we can offer to the world lies not in doing what we think the Lord wants us to do, but in being what He wants us to be.   So while we’re at it let’s pray that since we live by the Spirit, He’ll  keep us in step with the Spirit, so we won’t become conceited, and begin provoking and envying each other. Amen.

“And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66:24)

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)

Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”  Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matt. 25:41,46)

If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:15)

For most of the Church’s existence the belief that punishment for unbelievers is eternal was taken for granted.  The above verses, especially the one in Isaiah, were the basis for what’s become known as the traditional view.

But then an alternative, called the conditional view, came on the scene.  This view is based primarily on Rev. 20:12 which says that the unsaved dead will be judged according to their works.  Proponents of the conditional view interpret this verse to mean that while no unbeliever can go to heaven, their punishment will be based on the quality of their lives while on Earth.  Those who’ve led meritorious lives on earth will receive less severe punishment for a shorter period of time than say a Hitler or Stalin before being destroyed altogether. They claim that this view makes more sense because it shows God to be fair, making the punishment fit the crime so to speak, before mercifully ending their existence altogether.

On the surface it seems to make sense and some people are more comfortable with this view than the traditional one that appears excessively harsh to them and of no purpose other than making people suffer. But is the conditional view the result of greater enlightenment in our understanding of Scripture or just another in a long line of attempts to re-cast God’s word into a kinder gentler document as it pertains to those who’ve rejected Him?

A closer look reveals that the conditional view is decidedly biased toward the world view of unbelievers.  They look at the traditional view and say, “All I did is not believe that Jesus died for me.  Other than that I tried to live a good life and I helped a fair amount of people along the way.  What did I do to deserve eternal punishment?”

What they don’t realize of course is that they failed to do the only thing God requires.  Since the cross, God has only asked one thing of us.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”(John 8:28-29)

If He’s going to judge unbelievers by how they’ve done the  works that He requires of them, it’ll all be over pretty quickly because without that even the good we do otherwise is considered evil in God’s sight.

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:22-23)

So much for a meritorious life!

Unbelievers don’t think rejecting the Lord is a big deal because they don’t appreciate the value of the life that was sacrificed for them, and they don’t realize that their rejection of His sacrifice has eternal implications. Because of their unbelief they’re only thinking in terms of a 70-80 year lifespan, not an eternal existence.

Surprisingly, believers who adopt the conditional view make the same mistake. In saying that it makes the punishment fit the crime and gives credit for good behavior they’re only considering Earthly things, not heavenly ones.

So let’s take a look at this from the eternal perspective and try to understand how different it is.  Unlike discipline we receive from God, His punishment is not intended to help us learn something.  Rather it’s the penalty we must pay for having done something.  The man who is executed or given life in prison for killing someone is not being taught that it’s wrong to kill people.  He’s being punished for his crime.  It’s an adaptation of the Biblical injunction, a life for a life (Lev. 24:17) On Earth we’re in a physical environment so it’s a physical life for a physical life.

But a person who rejects the pardon God provided for him has in effect murdered his own soul and spirit which have eternal existence, so the punishment has to be eternal to fit the crime. Our physical bodies are only intended to serve a temporary purpose, and that’s to house the eternal part of us for a little while.  Compared to our eternal existence, putting our physical existence to death is a minor infraction. This is why Jesus told His disciples not to fear those who can only kill the body, but rather fear him who can kill both body and soul (Matt. 10:28).  He was talking about Satan of course, but those who reject the Lord’s pardon for their sins turn themselves over to Satan for his disposition.

Refusing to accept the Lord’s completed work on the cross as payment in full for our sins is a crime against our eternal life and therefore the only just punishment is eternal punishment.