In this parable that Jesus told in Luke 8, He makes it very
clear that the proof of salvation is fruit and not merely hearing the Word or
making a profession of faith in Christ. There might be many roads that “lead to
Rome” but there is only one road that leads to heaven. Jesus claimed to be the
only way. In John 14:6 He said, “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No
man comes to the Father but by me”. We are either saved, or we are lost. We
are on our way to heaven, or we are on our way to hell. That is pretty blunt,
but it is the truth. Jesus also instructs us in Matthew 7:13, "Enter by
the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
That is why this parable is so important! We should make
sure that we have experienced a genuine salvation and not a false emotional experience
that made us feel good at that time. Jesus tells us that the “seed in the Word
of God”. In every case this “seed” was sowed or scattered on these four different
conditions of soil that of course represent the four types of hearts that “hear”
the Word. There can be no salvation experience without the “Word of God”.
Jesus said in John 3:5, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.” The “water” is the Word of God,
and the “Spirit” is the Holy Spirit. The seed is planted in our hearts by
someone as they share God’s Word with us. Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 1:23,
“Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through
the word of God which lives and abides forever.” Then the Holy Spirit
germinates that seed to bring conviction of sin and open our eyes to who Jesus
really is and we see Him taking our place on the cross and dying for us!
The first soil or heart that Jesus describes is the hard
soil or the hard heart (vv. 5, 12). This soil represents the person who hears
the Word but immediately allows the devil to snatch the seed away. The second
soil or heart He describes is the “rock” or “shallow ground” (vv. 6, 13). These
people hear the Word and receive it mentally or intellectually and emotionally
with joy. But that is as far as it goes. These people appear to be saved for a
short while, but because they have no spiritual root, as soon as a trial or temptation
comes they fall away. Remember Judas!
The third soil that Jesus describes is the in the midst of
thorns but never produces fruit or grows to maturity (vv. 7, 14). These people
are hard to figure out. I think that they probably are the ones who truly or
genuinely get saved but no one disciples them and they remain baby, carnal Christians.
(1 Corinthians 3:1-3). The “cares of life” which are legitimate things like
food, clothing, shelter and a job, “choke the Word” (Matthew 8:22) and they
never bear any fruit. They never experience the abundant life available to them
in Christ. They are too busy trying to “make a living”, or get caught up making
“more” money and having “more” things, and enjoying the pleasures of this world
instead of the one to come!
The fourth soil is the “good ground” that bears fruit. It
illustrates the individual who hears the Word, understands it, receives it
within, is truly saved, and proves it by patiently producing fruit (see 1 Thes.
2:13; 1 Peter 1:22-25). Not everybody produces the same amount of fruit (Matt.
13:8), but all true believers will produce some fruit as evidence of spiritual
life. That fruit may include winning others to Christ (Rom. 1:13), money given
to God's work (Rom. 15:25-28), good works (Col. 1:10), Christian character
(Gal. 5:22-23), and praise to the Lord (Heb. 13:15).
Today, how does your life match up to this parable? Are you
sure you are saved?
