Sexagesima

The Lord Jesus is the Sower who goes out to sow the seed of His Word. And as He does, our enemy the devil uses every scheme in his playbook to keep that seed from taking root and springing up to eternal life. The four types of soil represent four types of hearts upon which the seed falls. There are four kinds of men, some unbelieving, some believing. But all four have one thing in common: the seed is sown upon each. Yes, our Lord is so extravagantly abundant in His mercy—some would even call Him wasteful—that He scatters His seed upon the good earth, the thorn-infested soil, the rocky ground, and even upon the hardened path. Jesus does what no farmer would ever do. Why? Because it is the will of God that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance and eternal life (2 Peter 3:9).

But even as God works to accomplish His saving purpose, the devil is also at work, seeking to steal, kill, and destroy, as he always does. The birds of the heavens in this parable are Satan and his angels who, as soon as the seed of God’s Word is sown, endeavor to snatch and gobble it away. The hardened path represents unbelievers who never come to faith. And yet, as the parable teaches, the Word of God was given to them. It was sown into their hearts. But it is snatched away before faith can take root. The devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved (Lk 8:12).

Not one person sitting here today is of this first type of soil. I suppose that’s good news. It means that Satan lost the first round in the battle for your soul. Though he wanted to, he was not able to snatch the seed away from your heart. Instead, purely out of divine mercy, the Word of God was sown into your heart with the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Baptism is exorcism. Satan was driven out, the Holy Spirit took up ownership, and the seed of faith took root and began to grow.

But the devil doesn’t give up after being driven away. The remaining three types of soil are all believers, all baptized Christians, all members of the Church. All of them began by hearing the Word of Christ with gladness. And yet, two-thirds of these will fall away from the faith. Some Christians believe that once a man has been saved, he can never lose his salvation. “Once saved, always saved,” they say. But Jesus’ parable clearly shows this to be a false and dangerous teaching, as do hundreds of like warnings in Scripture. “Be sober, be vigilant;” St. Peter writes, “because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Jesus says, “I am the Vine. You are branches. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will bear much fruit” (Jn 15:5, 7). Notice the “if.” If you abide in Me and M y words. Jesus does not say, “Once in the Vine, always in the Vine.” He says, “Ifyou remain in Me and my words.” Christians who fall away are those who do not remain in Christ and His words. Satan lost a battle when you were baptized into Christ. You were joined to Jesus. You were grafted into the Vine. You were given faith in Christ and His promises. And as long as you remain in Christ, like a branch connected to the Vine, your salvation is assured. You cannot be lost. Satan is powerless to harm you.

But what about the Christian who says, “My branch is so healthy, I no longer need the Vine. My soil is so good, I no longer need roots. My faith is so strong, I no longer need to hear the words and promises of Jesus.” I’ve heard this very thing from Christians who haven’t been to church in years. “Don’t worry, Pastor. My faith is strong,” they say, as though faith could exist by itself apart from hearing the words of Jesus. Don’t tell me you have faith. Don’t tell me that you believe. Tell me what you believe. Tell me about the One in whom you believe. Tell me about the specific promises of Jesus that sustain you in dark times.

Faith cannot exist by itself. We don’t have faith in faith. We don’t say, “I know I’m going to heaven because I have faith.” That’s just a circle of faith that doesn’t actually believe in anything. No, we say, “I know that I will be saved because Jesus has given me His promise. I have His word, and He cannot lie.” You see, that is faith—not some nebulous feeling, but a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. In the midst of trials, the Christians clings to the promises of Jesus as a drowning man to a lifeline. “I believe that He will come again with glory to make all things new. I believe that He will give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. I believe that He will wipe away every tear, that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things will have all passed away.” This is faith, faith that comes only by hearing these words and promises of Jesus.

Now, of the three types of Christian soils, the stony soil and the weed-infested soil begin by hearing the Word of God. And more than that, they rejoice to hear it. Jesus says, “The ones on the stony ground are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy” (Lk 8:13). This isn’t a sham conversion. These are true Christians, true branches of the Vine. But what happens next is two sides of the same coin. Either because of suffering and hardship or because of plenteousness and pleasure, they fall away. The devil works both sides of the street. He attempts to use both hard times and good times to lead us away from Christ.

Every Christian who walks through the valley of the shadow of death arrives at the other side changed: either with a dead faith or with a renewed and strengthened faith in the promises of Christ. Suffering causes us either to pull away from Jesus or to draw closer to Him. When terrible tragedy fell upon Job, even his own wife urged him to curse God and die, to become as the stony ground in which the seed withered during the time of trial and testing. But Job clung ever more tightly to the promise of the Resurrection in Christ, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last upon the earth. And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25–26).

The prophet Job is an example to us of the good soil, that which bears fruit unto eternal life. What does the soil do to cause the seed to grow? Nothing of itself. The Word of God is the seed. It grows of its own accord and yields fruit in abundance. But what do we do? We hear the word—yes, but so did the stony ground at first—and we keep it…with patience. To keep the Word means to hold fast to it, to guard it, to protect it, to cherish it, to treasure it above all treasures.

Satan wants to rob you of this treasure by distracting you with other things: either cares, riches, and pleasures of life—all thorns that would choke out the Word of God, or, on the other side of the coin, he will try to use trials and temptations to lead you into despair or other great shame and vice. Our task, as Christians in this broken world, is to hold fast to the promises of Jesus. Having heard His Word, we cling to it…with patience. These are the last two words of the Gospel text: with patience. And those two words sum up your life as a Christian.

Jesus has made certain promises to you. He has promised to deliver you from every evil. He has promised to wipe away every tear from your eyes. He has promised to raise you and all believers on the Last Day. He cannot lie; and He cannot break His promises. And yet, that glorious day has not yet come. We still live in the midst of this broken world. And so, we await the day of the harvest with patience. Yes, worms may destroy this body. Trial and temptations will certainly come, but this I know: my Redeemer lives and He shall stand at last upon the earth in victory. And the seed that He has planted among the hearts of those who trust and cling to His word will spring up unto eternal life. This is most certainly true. Amen.