Not sure if Miriam is still planning to post or not, but just in case, I figured I'd quickly post a couple thoughts (Miriam, feel free to still post if you're working on something!).
The question I had when reading the parable of the four soils was wondering if this is an argument against those who believe in "once saved always saved". Which of the four soils (souls) is saved and which isn't?
Then I looked up a sermon by Bob Deffinbaugh and found his response to this exact line of questioning.....
When I have taught this text before I have spent considerable time attempting to answer the question, “Which of the four types of soil represent those who are saved?” I am now inclined to approach this parable differently. I believe that the first soil represents those who are lost, and that the fourth soil represents those who are saved, but I do not believe that the Lord’s purpose in telling the parable is to distinguish between believers and unbelievers. There is only one kind of soil which attains the goal. The goal which our Lord holds out in this parable is not that of being saved, but that of reaching full maturity and of bearing fruit. Someone might argue that a “rocky soil” person or a “thorny soil” person is a true believer, but our Lord would have us understand that they have not reached the goal for which they were saved. We are saved, not only to escape divine wrath and to live forever in heaven, but to attain to the “fullness of the stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) and to bear fruit (John 15:5).
The problem with many contemporary Christians is the same as that of the Pharisees and many other Jews of Jesus’ day—we are “two-category thinkers.” We think of the world only in terms of those who are saved and those who are not; those who are going to heaven and those who are going to hell. The Jews thought of the world in terms of two categories: the Jew, who was God’s chosen, the object of God’s blessings; and the Gentile heathen, who was lost and the object of divine wrath. The parable of the soils which Jesus told forces us to think in terms of more than just two categories. It is not enough to have merely escaped hell, and to have our foot wedged in the doorway of heaven. The goal for which we are saved is to persevere, to grow, to reach maturity, and to produce more fruit. To fall short of this goal (even though we may have been saved), is to fail to attain that for which we were called and set apart.
The kind of Christian which pleases the heart of God is not one which makes a dramatic start and then dies out, nor one whose commitment to Christ is slowly choked out by worldly desires. The kind of Christian which pleases God is that one which thoughtfully hears the gospel, understands its implications, and then consistently grows and matures, and which bears fruit as a result (emphasis mine)
Tomorrow's passage: Matthew 13:10-23, Luke 8:9-18, Mark 4:21-29, Matthew 13:24-30, Mark 4:30-34, Matthew 13:31-52, Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25
For less flipping read Matthew 13:10-52; Luke 8:9-18, 22-25; Mark 4:21-41
2 comments:
I wondered about that, too, since I'd actually had a discussion about that with my parents on the weekend. I'll have to read that entire sermon ~ I like his perspective.
So sorry! I had no internet connection on Monday or most of Tuesday (construction workers unexpectedly disconnected me) and before my husband could get me hooked back up on Tuesday evening I got called in to work. Thank you, Tammy, for covering for me. Especially without advance notice. Sorry again!
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