Sexagesima

There are four types of soil in Jesus’ parable: one is found outside the church, the other three are found within. The first soil describes unbelievers. These are people in whom the seed of faith has never taken root, apart from Christ and without salvation. And yet, even to these, the Word of God is spoken. No unbeliever will be able to accuse God on the Last Day, saying, “The saving word was never preached to me. If only you had sent me a pastor, I would have believed.” The only thing that all four types of soil have in common is that the seed was scattered upon all. It’s impossible to be alive in the United States today without encountering God’s Word is one form or another. We have so many Bibles that we donate them to third world countries. The gospel can be found in print, on the radio, television, podcasts, and in every other form of media. Beyond that, the conscience testifies to the Law of God that is written on every man’s heart. And is if that weren’t enough, nature itself testifies to the Creator, a clear witness that only a willfully blind man will not see.

The problem is not that God hasn’t given sinners opportunity to repent. The problem is hardness of heart. The seed of God’s Word is sown in one way or another in every heart, but in many, because of hardened unbelief, it never takes root. It is trampled underfoot, counted as worthless, discarded and forgotten. And then the devil comes along, knowing what this seed is worth, and snatches it up. God is abundantly merciful. He desires that none would perish, that all would be saved. He is willing to waste his perfectly good seed. He scatters it even in places where it will most likely never grow—on the hardest of hearts—yet out of mercy, God scatters it anyway.

This is the first type of soil—hard hearted unbelievers who are outside of the church. And yet, as long as this life continues, there is still hope. The Holy Spirit can and does break up the ground in the hardest hearts. Until the moment of death, there is still a chance for the Word of God to take root and grow. And this brings us to the other three types of soil, all of which are found within the church: the rocky soil, the thorny soil, and the good soil.

What do these three have in common? All of them are, or at least were, believers. All were baptized. The seed of faith that was sown took root and began to grow. These are Christians who heard the word with joy. But then what happened? In two of three cases, their faith was lost. How? Either it was choked out by the cares and pleasures of this life, or it was abandoned in the face of persecution.

Every Christian knows that the devil is playing the long game. When you are baptized, this is a great setback for Satan, and he knows it. Your sins are washed away. You are officially adopted as a child of God. You are snatched out of the dark ocean of sin and placed safe and secure into the holy ark of the Christian church on earth. And yet, the devil doesn’t give up. Yes, the seed of faith is now alive in your heart that once was spiritually dead. But there are so many ways for that seed to die, and the devil is a master at bringing this to pass.

One of the greatest tools he employs is to tell you how strong your faith is. So strong, in fact, that it’s no big deal if you don’t go to church to hear the Word of God regularly. “Your faith is in great shape,” he whispers, even as he watches it shrivel and die. The Bible tells us how faith grows: only by hearing the Word of Christ. “Ah, yes, the devil will say, but you are the exception. You already know everything you need to know for salvation. You believe what you believe and nothing will change that. Besides, there are so many other things to do on a Sunday morning…”

And so it is that countless Christians lose their faith, all the while believing that it is stronger than ever. For a while the Word of God is growing up in their hearts, but alongside are a host of weeds, clamoring for attention, choking out the light. Most children of Christian parents don’t wake up day and decide that they no longer believe in Christ. They simply drift away, sometimes so slowly that the change is imperceptible. The weeds grow taller and the seed of faith wilts, until one day it has altogether disappeared. What happened? Life happened, we might say. That is, the cares of life—and there are a thousand legitimate things to be concerned with. Food, drink, cars, house, marriage, children, sports, vacation, retirement. All these things can be blessings, and everyone of them can also grow into a thorn that chokes out the word of God.

But there is another way in which faith dies. Some seed falls on the rock. These people hear the word at first with great joy. They believe for a while, but in a time of testing or persecution they fall away. In the United States, I’d say that most people who fall from the faith do so because of the thorns. The deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this life has been a wildly successful tool in the devil’s arsenal. But for the generation of Christians now growing up within the Church, the threat of apostacy because of persecution is growing rapidly.

Our children go off to college and are taught that only a bigot believes a man is a man and a woman is a woman. The idea that anyone would live by a moral code written in a book that is thousands of years old is constantly subject to ridicule. Within their hearts a sense of shame begins to take root: “I know what the Bible says. I know what my parents believe. But I don’t want to be labeled as a backwards, knuckle-dragging, Bible-thumping fundamentalist. I don’t want to lose my friends, my social status, or my opportunities for a successful career.”

At present, the persecution that most Christians will face in the United States is relational. If you are not ashamed of the words of Jesus, you will lose standing in society. But already, there are beginning to be financial consequences. I’m sure you’ve read of the Christian bakers and florists who are being targeted. But the days of physical and bodily persecution are not far away. Soon any believer who holds fast to the Word of God will be set upon by an angry mob. As the crowd once shouted about Paul, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!” so the devil’s rage will soon be directed against any Christian who believes and confesses the faith of Jesus Christ. And how many believers will fall away in this time of testing and persecution?

Finally, Jesus tells us of the fourth type of soil: those who, hearing the word, hold it fast and bear fruit with patience. Only in these, who endure until the end, does the seed of faith mature and produce its desired fruit: eternal life. This is the goal of baptism and the chief purpose of the Holy Spirit’s work within our lives. Increasingly, holding fast to the Word of God will cost you. The Christians of old gave their bodies and lives. The days of physical martyrdom may soon be upon us again. But regardless of how persecution comes, we endure it with patience. We do not choose what sort of cross our Lord sends us. Instead, we cling to Jesus and his word, not neglecting to hear it, not trampling it under foot, but holding it fast as our greatest treasure. We know this for certain: nothing we give up for the sake of Christ in this life will compare to the joys he has prepared for us. For he has promised you this: “Hear the Word of God gladly and with patience and it will bear fruit to eternal life.” Amen.