And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Luke 8:4-21
A local leader of a church in Kenya, whom I have been helping with sound teaching for a few years, recently asked me the meaning of the above Scripture. Here is my exact answer:
What he uses by way of illustration in Luke 8:4-8 he then explains in 8:11-15.
Jesus is using the everyday planting of seeds by the farmer to illustrate planting the word of God in people's lives. The various kinds of soil are like the various states of man's heart: some too hard to penetrate, some absorb the seed for a while, but then problems crowd it out, until finally we have the good and honest heart that hears the word and keeps on bearing fruit.
Jesus finishes in 8:16-18 by explaining that God's word is meant to be shone into the hearts of men - instead of being hidden away - and those who are prepared to listen and obey will be blessed.
The reason we have so many denominations is because the wrong seed is being planted. What you plant is what you get. If you plant apple seed, you get apple trees. If you plant the pure word of God, you get true Christians, but if you plant the traditions and doctrines of men, you get all sorts of denominations. This is why my teaching is always filled with God's pure word.
What is sown is reaped. The disciple reaps the rewards from what is revealed in Scripture, or from what the teacher has taught. If the teacher has worked hard to interpret the Scriptures correctly, 2 Timothy 2:14-15, and then taught the outcome of that hard work by accurately teaching the word of God, then the disciple who absorbs this teaching in their good and honest heart, will be rewarded by bearing the kind of fruit that pleases God.
But if the teacher has been sloppy, and not ensured he has interpreted Scripture accurately, then the disciple who
absorbs this teaching, despite their good and honest intentions, will fail to reproduce what God wants. The disciple
will have been misled or deceived by poor teaching.
Notice a very important lesson taught by the apostle Paul as he addressed and warned the Ephesian elders:
Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came
to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set
foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Acts 20:17-32
There are six points here that every preacher, teacher and church should remember:
1. Paul did not shrink from declaring what was profitable. V.20.
2. Paul testified to the grace of God. V.24.
3. Paul was innocent of the blood of all, for he did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. vss.26-27.
4. Paul warned that savage wolves would come amongst the disciples, not sparing them, speaking twisted things, and drawing disciples away with them. vss. 29-30.
5. Paul had spent years admonishing them. V.31
6. Paul commended them to God and the word of his grace, which, he knew, would build them up and give them the inheritance. V.32.
We see those who speak “twisted things” every day when denominational teachers sometimes do not teach everything that is profitable, nor the whole counsel of God. This is not because they are deliberately trying to deceive people, but because they have not been diligent as workmen who rightly handle the word of God, 2 Timothy 2:14-15, foolishly preferring their inaccurate church traditions. We could list many examples. Here’s one:
A thorough interpretation of the New Testament reveals that the water baptism of a believer was commanded by Jesus as essential to eternal salvation. Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:18-22. John 3:5 in the context of John 3 also teaches the essentiality of water baptism.
However, many denominations, while requiring baptism, do not believe that the baptism of a believer is essential to salvation. There are two reasons for this:
1) They are following their church tradition instead of the word of God. Jesus condemned any traditions that are substitutes for God’s word. Matthew 15:1-14.
2) They have determined that only believing is necessary for salvation. This is because they have not studied the Scriptures closely enough so as to be “rightly handling the word of God.” They have not drawn their teaching from “the whole counsel of God,” but only from their favourite proof-texts. Thus they have not noticed that saving faith must be obedient faith. Romans 1:5; 6:3-4,16-18; Hebrews 5:8-9.
Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:14-19
Unlike the apostles, today’s teachers are not inspired. They get the truth they need for teaching from the Scriptures, God giving them insight into their own diligent reading and study, as the Scriptures above and below demonstrate.
the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Ephesians 3:3-5; compare 1:15-20.
How many millions of souls have been lost through poor teaching? Let’s reverse that trend. Let’s check for ourselves any teaching we hear by comparing it with what’s written in the New Testament. Acts 17:11.
Read the whole of Colossians 2 and see how many times the apostle warns about deception and false teaching. Plant the pure word of God in people’s hearts, and accept only what is consistent with the pure word of God.
Jesus said: “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given — and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” Mark 4:24-25, NLT. Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:9-15.
Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. Psalm 86:11
David Carr
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