Tuesday, October 10, 2006

GOOD SOIL

Matt. 13:23. "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Mark 4:20. "And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
Luke 8:15. "And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
     We now come to the good soil in which the seed was sown. This is the man who hears the word and understands it and is saved by it. It is truly said that the only barrier to salvation is unbelief. However, this parable is a call to examine one’s own soil to see if we are of the rocky type and have no firm root and are shallow. Are we thorny in our soil content? Is our heart more in concert with the things of the world than obedience to God’s Word? Are we a receptive hearer? Those sown by the road will never even consider these questions.
     The genuine believer has the seed that was sown on the good soil. The indicators that we are this kind of soil are made evident by the capability to hear the Word and understand it. This is the most primary indication; this word or seed is foolishness to the natural man (1Cor. 2:14). We know we are saved if we love the Word and our desire is to be obedient to it. Matt. 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Righteousness can only be determined in God’s Word where He defines His standards.
     The seed sown on good soil bears fruit. This fruit looks like that described in Gal. 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Fruit bearing does not save us but God saves us for the purpose of bearing that fruit. The fruit will reproduce on other good soil by the process of sowing the seed. Sowing the seed is another aspect of fruit bearing.
We have previously discussed that the average yield for a crop in Galilee would be about eightfold. We consider the yield of God’s seed by those who hear the word and accept it. These will bear fruit in yields of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. This is a phenomenal rate of production.
Here is another point of examination and encouragement to those who hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance.  These who will hold fast to the seed are seen by giving it away. The Christian is excited that he has discovered how sin’s dilemma is conquered without compromising God’s justice. He thus wants to share in his discovery.
We look at how this seed penetrates the soil of Martin Luther. Luther was a Roman Catholic monk who described himself as the most insane papist, drunk with the pope’s doctrines, so immersed in them he would have killed anyone who detracted one syllable of obedience from the pope. Yet he could not understand that if the pope could empty purgatory by fiat, why would he not do so out of love rather than money?
Luther studied the seed and the seed found good soil one night as he struggled with the Latin phrase, simul iustus et peccator (at the same time just and sinner) found in many lectures on Paul’s letter to the Romans. He knew he was a sinner and was never going to be able to make himself acceptable to a righteous God. Luther was very well read on his theology and feared God greatly making him terrified of death. He sat and studied high in a tower in Wittenberg, Germany Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."
Righteousness is the starting point and the theme of the gospel message. Luther said, “I hated Paul with all my heart when I read that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel.” He saw this as the obstacle to his eternal life because he was deeply aware of his own sinfulness and knew, because of that fact, he was unacceptable before God; his righteous Judge. This verse had seized Martin Luther with despair.
There are two connotations surrounding the righteousness of God in Rom. 1:17. The first is that it speaks of God’s holy hatred of sin. Luther was stuck in this first understanding. He said, “That expression, ‘Righteousness of God’ was like a thunderbolt in my heart.” Then he observed the second connotation, “As it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” He saw that this righteousness or justice was not something that God did against sinners but something that He gave to sinners. Justice, iustitia, was a favorable verdict rendered by the judge due to special circumstances. These special circumstances are that the Christian is helpless and by God’s grace He gives them faith in Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior from the wages of sin. The justified person cannot do anything to merit divine mercy or even have faith on his own.
Luther’s response was, “I felt myself absolutely reborn as though I had entered into the open gates of paradise itself.” This discovery bore the fruit of the Protestant Reformation that continues to bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

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