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The Parable of the Sower
Brian Culliton
Before we can be built on the foundation of Christ, we must be born again; and before we can be born again, we
must have faith; and before we can have faith, we must hear the Good News of reconciliation between God and man.
This article will focus on a particular teaching of Christ that deals precisely with the issue of hearing the
Word of God and what we do with it. This particular teaching is a parable called, "the parable of the sower."
The parable is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels, as is Jesus' explanation to His disciples. A parable is a
story in which the characters and events represent something else. Jesus often used parables to illustrate His
teachings.
The parable of the sower is of particular importance due to the fact it was recorded in three Gospel accounts.
The story is an account of people receiving the Word - represented by a seed - and what occurs immediately after.
The following is the parable as recorded in Mathew's Gospel:
"Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured
them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they
had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered
away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and
yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
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Jesus' explanation, also from Mathew's Gospel:
"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches
away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on
stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself,
but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he
stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is
he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty,
some thirty."
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The parable really shows where it all begins for the Christian. If Christianity were something like a three-step
program, step one would have to be receiving the word of God. In his letter to the Romans, Paul explained, "So
then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
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It's illogical to have faith in something you
never heard of. Likewise, it is illogical to think we are born Christians just because we are born into a
Christian family. Our faith in Christ must be a personal experience, and that is what the parable is about - our
personal reaction to receiving the word of God.
The true character of anyone can be defined by what is in his or her heart. God knows the hearts on men, and He
knows who will and will not believe and abide in Him. In the parable the ground represents the hearts of men, and
the seed, as previously stated, represents the word of God. Jesus begins with those who totally reject the Word
The Wayside
The seeds that land in the pathway or road next to the fields are the ones that fell by the wayside. The ground
there is very hard and the seeds lay on the surface in plain sight. The birds are just sitting there waiting for
their easy meal.
The birds represent Satan, whose desires to keep a wedge between God and man. When the word reaches people with
hardened hearts, Satan swoops in to distort, deny, and destroy it in the their minds. Their hearts are too hard
to accept the word and Satan is right there to not only snatch it away, but also to feed them with his lies. To
those people the word of God is pure foolishness. Their description of the Bible amounts to nothing more than
fables and fairytales. At best they will accept that some aspects of the Bible are true, but only from a
historical point of view. These we will call, the nonbelievers.
Nonbelievers would not be a problem for new believers if all they did were not believe. However, Satan is not
satisfied with having them simply not believe. He continually feeds them lies, thriving on their willingness to
accept anything that dishonors God. As time goes on, Satan's power is increased through the willingness of lost
men to fight against God. The tireless works of these people are forever pounding on the doors of Christendom.
Sadly, many of their ideas have penetrated the minds of believers, many of whom are Christian teachers.
The affect of nonbelievers on the Christian church is in no way a new thing, but rather has been going on since
Christ established the church nearly 2000 years ago. The groundwork, however, was laid well before the time of
Christ. The entire post flood era is filled with vain philosophy, deceits, thefts, murders, idolatry, all sorts
of pagan traditions, etc. All these things were well established in the world long before Christ stepped out of
Heaven.
There is evidence from Scripture that Satan knew at least some of the prophecies concerning Jesus. When Satan was
attempting to tempt Jesus, he mentioned written prophecy saying, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.
For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest
you dash your foot against a stone."
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It is reasonable to assume therefore, that Satan prepared the world for
the coming of Christ in a negative way. It's interesting to note, for example, the existence of a virgin deity
who gives birth to a son in multiple pre-Christian cultures. Thus preparing the way for false worship in the
Christian era.
In today's society, the Bible has become a weapon in the hands of left wing liberals who want to destroy anything
good and decent. They twist and spin the sacred text with their carnal minds until it appears, to those who do
not have the Spirit of Christ, as a loathsome, what-kind-of-God-would-do-that horror story. It's ironic how these
same people will accuse the God of the Bible of being a destroyer of innocent blood, yet they themselves fully
support abortion rights. What could be more innocent than an unborn child? What is their justification? God
created man for His own good pleasure and He knows, not them, what will become of all men, even after death.
The nonbeliever is either indifferent towards Christians or actively persecutes them. If the latter, we deal with
it knowing that it is evidence of our witnessing to the world of our love for God, for Christ said to His
disciples, "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted
Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also."
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But if the former,
indifferent towards Christians, they are hard to distinguish from the ones represented by the seed that fell on
the stony places.
The Stony Places
The stony ground is that ground just off the pathways, which allows a seed to fall into the shallow soil between
the rocks. This soil is not cultivated and is typically sandy. Have you ever picked a weed out from an area like
this? If you have, you know they pull out by the roots quite easily. This is because their roots can only grow
about an inch or so into the ground. The morning dew waters the good seed that landed among the rocks. But as
soon as the sun is high and its powerful rays start beating down on the young plant, it withers away because its
roots have no depth.
This little plant precisely describes the character of a person who receives the Word with gladness, but than
easily falls away. They usually have great excitement at first, then it just kind of wears off. Their falling
away does not put them in the same category as the nonbeliever because their reason for not hanging on is due to
lack of certain qualities within themselves. Interestingly, though, when asked, "are you a Christian" their
response is yes. They will even often identify with a particular denomination. If you ask them if they ever
attend church services, they will typically answer no or rarely - rarely usually means two time a year, Christmas
and resurrection day (a.k.a. Easter).
Of all the people in the world who call themselves Christian, a staggering number of them fit into this category.
Western Europe, for example, has become a post-Christian society. I asked a friend of mine, who hails from
Denmark, if people there go to church. He replied, "we have lots of [church] buildings but nobody goes to them;
just the preacher and a few old people." According to a number of unofficial polls, church attendance in France
is in the neighborhood of ten-percent and in the U.S., church attendance has dropped to nearly fifty-percent.
A common saying among these non-practitioners is, "why can't people worship God in their own way; we don't need to
go to church to worship God." Translation: "Don't bug me about going to church I'm not giving up my Sunday to
listen to some guy tell me how to live my life." I was even told once, by someone who hasn't attended church in
probably thirty years and who has never read the Bible, "I know God blesses me." What she doesn't know is that
she is only fooling herself; the evidence of God in her life is nil. For her and others like her, the reality of
Christ's judgment will be a rude awakening. On the other hand, if they repent and come to Christ, He will have
mercy on them because He is a God of mercy.
Like with anything, within these groups of people there are variances. We know that people who never or rarely
attend church fit into this category, but surprisingly so do many who attend often, even weekly or more. They are
Spiritually deaf and blind and have no real knowledge of Christ. Many are caught in a man-made system of rituals
and regulations. It's comforting for them to believe that by simply practicing rituals they can earn their way
into Heaven. This requires no study, devotion, or even much time; it's a system devised by the enemy of God to
keep from Him the worship He deserves. These pseudo-Christians worship what they do not understand. They are the
blind that are lead by the blind and both will fall into the ditch. The blind leaders are by far the most
dangerous of all; they are the soil that brings forth weeds, which choke the word of God.
Among the Thorns
Here lies the hearts of deceit. Both deceiving and being deceived, they are beheld with the appearance of
holiness. In this case when the word is sown into their hearts, the crop remains, though immature and fruitless.
The ground, representing the heart, appears decent, but what cannot be seen is the tiny little infants of deceit,
the seeds of the thorns.
The Lord didn't use thorns in this parable by any random choice of weed, but rather thorns have a very significant
meaning. When Adam listened to Eve and ate of the forbidden fruit, God cursed the earth because of it. Thorns
and thistles it will bring forth, He said. Thorns are the result of sin that spring up in the hearts of people
who set their hearts on riches and other worldly things.
Interestingly, God allows the thorns to choke off the word, rendering it unfruitful in the lives of those who are
infested. Also interesting is the fact that the word doesn't wither away but remains, though unfruitful and
hidden in the thicket. God does not desire to overpower the hearts of the unwilling, but a broken heart and
contrite spirit is what He seeks. "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a
contrite spirit."
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It's what's in the heart that chokes the word, and people that posses them are some of the most influential in
Christian history. The thorns are the source of many traditions dating back hundreds of years. Traditions that
are far removed from the word of God somehow appear to millions as something holy. The appearance of holiness
feeds the traditions by ignorance, all because people are more willing to believe a lie than take the time to know
God. The deceit is like a snowball at the top of a high mountain. Once the snowball is set in motion, it becomes
larger and more powerful until no man can stop its furry. After nearly 2000 years of snowballs rolling down
mountains, we are faced with an enormous avalanche of deceit in the world today - and I'm only speaking of deceit
within Christendom.
In Paul's second letter to Timothy he warned him of what people would become in the last days. The time of the
apostolic church, when this letter was written, was in the beginning of the last days; our time is undoubtedly the
tail end of days. In chapter three of Paul's letter, he lays out a long list of negative characteristics which
will plague mankind and the church in the last days. He said though always learning, they are never able to come
to knowledge of the truth. He warns Timothy to turn away from such people and goes on to tell him, "Now as Jannes
and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the
faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was."
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Although it's comforting to know their folly will be manifest for those who are deceived by them embarrassment and
regret will overcome them. But by then it will be too late for reconciliation. It's sad to see people so
unenthused about learning of God to the point that they allow these spiritual thugs to manipulate them. Deceived
themselves by the traditions of men, they build on a sandy foundation unable to see the approaching storm. They
preach peace on earth and call for tolerance of all faiths, thinking they will stay the hand of God. Little do
they know that the prince of this world has them by the throat feeding them with greater lies and deceits. The
devil has manifested himself as an angel of light, heaping coals on the fire of their lusts and desires. He
speaks things that cause the ignorant to fall on their faces and worship him, saying he has stayed the hand of God
because they have prayed the beads in which he has commanded them to do.
None of us knows how much time we have left in this world so why waist it? Our life, no matter how long we live,
is but a fleeting moment in the vast expanse of eternity. I pray the Savior of our souls will free many of those
who are trapped by the cunningness of the wicked. May their hearts be conformed, as was mine, into the good soil,
which is able to bring forth a crop of much Spiritual fruit.
The Good Ground
The good ground is rich, nourished, and prepared for the seed that is sown. The soil is able to soak in the water
and the roots are able to go deep. So as the sun climbs high in the sky and beats down on the plants, it doesn't
cause it to wilt, but rather nourishes it with warmth and light. Likewise if the word is rooted in our hearts,
Christ, like the sun, will nourish us with His warmth and light enabling us to grow into a mature crop.
As every serious gardener knows; before the seeds are sown the ground must be prepared. The ground is first
broken; loosened up by plowing. Then it's covered with fertilizer that nourishes the soil. It's then broken up
again before the seeds are sown. It is no different then how our hearts are prepared to receive the word of God.
Nobody finds God's truth by his or her own wisdom - yet so many try. A broken heart and a contrite spirit; this
is what God seeks. God doesn't see the external, but the heart is what He sees.
Many who come to Christ are at the end of their rope. They seek God having no self-pride. They are broken in
spirit and have nothing in which to brag about. They earnestly seek God that they might have peace, hope, and
deliverance from the manure that was cast about them. God is compassionate and hears their cries. He plants the
seed of His Word in their hearts and latter they realize; their hearts were prepared. They were stripped of
pride; depleted of self-reliance. They fell upon the Rock and they were broken!
There is another who goes to and fro throughout the earth seeking for whom he can devour. He seeks the proud, the
mighty, and those who are self-reliant. He seeks those who think they have found God by their own wisdom. He
seeks those who study history seeking to justify their beliefs by the writings of men whom they neither know nor
understand. He is Satan the destroyer of souls who leads prideful people to destruction. Upon them the Rock will
fall, crushing them to pieces!
People represented by the good ground are not fooled by the traditions of men; they're able to discern truth from
fiction. They are labeled intolerant and hateful because they speak truth. Truth is not at all what the world
wants, but rather the lie of false peace is what the world loves. Those who are Christ's know that He will bring
true peace to the world by His justice. In that day the people of God will not be appointed to wrath,
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but those
who believed the lie will suffer.
Jesus said those in the good ground receive the word and understand it. Many people say they can't understand the
Bible; it's too complicated, they say. In my article, Building on the Foundation" I talked briefly about the
wisdom of man. No one understands the word of God by his or her own wisdom. These, in the good soil, understand
the word by the wisdom from God. It's by God's grace they understand because of the preparedness of their hearts
to accept it. So it depends on where the seed lands. The seed is always the same; there is no difference between
the seeds that fall on the path and ones that fall in the good soil. What's different, of course, is the ground,
which is the heart.
There are misconceptions in the world about the true believers, which are used vehemently against us. They say it
is impossible for anyone to be assured of their salvation, when they themselves have no concept of it. The word
is preached daily throughout most of the world. The seed will land upon the hearts of the people, some on the
hard ground, some on the stony ground, some among the thorns, and other on the good ground. So who are they to
think they can perceive the hearts of men? Surly some fool themselves with false hope claiming to have salvation,
but others know, by the Spirit of Christ that is in them that bears witness of Christ, that they are saved. If
there is any question, you will know them by their fruit. They cling to what is good and abhor evil; they are
built upon the Rock and no one is able to pluck them out of God's hand.
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