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“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
The premise is simple. All of the seed was good, some of the ground was not. The rest of the story is about crop yield. In the days before supermarkets, with their ability to import fresh food from around the world, local yield was a very big deal. If crops did not properly yield locally, people could starve and potentially die.
There is more to this story however. The sower parable was just the introduction and must be read along with the following parable to be fully understood.
In the sower parable Jesus focused on the entire world as one huge field in which seed has been scattered. In the next parable, often called “the parable of the weeds”, Jesus now speaks only about the "kingdom of heaven (or God) or "the good ground". This is the ground that will actually produce an increase or crop yield. On the rest of the ground that was not "good", everything died or was eaten.
In the first parable Jesus speaks of a physical territory, the world, but in the second he speaks of an invisible kingdom without natural walls or borders.
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
In the "parable of the weeds" all of the plants are growing in good soil. We know from the parable of the sower these plants are thriving to varying degrees, thirty, sixty or a hundredfold, yet, in the kingdom of God or heaven, an enemy has crept in unawares and cast weed seed into this field of good soil. This is not the path, this not the rocky place and this not the place of thorns. This is not "out there somewhere". This is the good ground, inside the kingdom of God. Weeds are growing right next to the wheat, right up until the day of harvest. The ground is good, but not all of the crop has value. The disciples, in their fervor, wanted to go pull these weeds but Jesus told them, no, just let them all grow together on that same good ground. He cautioned if they tried to uproot them, they would, for certain, uproot good seed as well.
I divert now away from this field to a pasture full of sheep and goats.
Matthew wrote:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Here is a quick test. Below are
pictures of two animals. Which one is a sheep, and which one is a goat?
The sheep we see roaming fields today (below) have been hybridized and domesticated for maximum wool production and bear little resemblance to the sheep of Jesus day.
We are, none of us, professionals, none of us Chief Shepherds. None of us "stand at the gate" to separate sheep and goats at the last day and we certainly don't have that job today. In fact, as I will show, there is one who stands guard at the gate, but not even this person is allowed to determine if an animal is a sheep or a goat. It is not our responsibility to separate sheep and goats, not now, not ever, because we too are just sheep...or perhaps a goat. A few may be present as hirelings, but there is only one true Chief Shepherd. All others portraying themselves as Chief Shepherds are fakes, thieves and robbers.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens.
We often read these words in the gospel of John, as a "salvation" message. It is often stated Jesus is the narrow door to salvation we must enter and not try to enter by another way, but read it again carefully here.
"he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens.
The sheep are already in the sheepfold. It is the Chief Shepherd who stands at the door waiting for the gatekeeper to open. This is not about sheep waiting to get in. The sheep are already there, waiting for the true shepherd and the gatekeeper will only open the door to the true shepherd. Anyone else pretending to be a Chief Shepherd will be denied entrance and if they do choose to enter, they will need to find an illegitimate way in. Undoubtedly their motive is to steal, kill and maim.
Some think exceeding their authority is a way to protect the sheep and they are doing God service. The truth is they are actually thieves, robbers, and potentially even murderers. When the scriptures reference "false Christs" in the last days, it is speaking of these false shepherds, these inward ravening wolves who put on sheep's clothing to appear righteous, then enter the sheepfold by way of deceit and subterfuge to steal, maim and kill sheep.
We are not to weed out that which we think is bad seed because we will destroy the good in the process. We are not harvesters and have no authority to bundle and burn what we think are weeds. We are not the Chief Shepherd with the authority to determine who is a sheep and who is a goat. At our very best, we can be a hireling, but a hireling merely stands watch over the sheep and waits for the return of the chief shepherd. The hireling may even run the other way, and abandon the sheep, should wolves appear. The hireling has no stake in the life of the sheep. When danger appears they may respect their own life over that of the sheep. A hireling is hired to assure the safety of the sheep. They will be held accountable for any loss.
Some leaders in the ABC, and similar churches, believe they have the power to separate sheep and goats present day. They believe they have the power to remove weeds from the wheat before the harvest in the present day. They believe they have the power to pass "eternal judgments" on anyone they choose at any time. We have been warned against this.
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”
We are not to pass a judgment, and especially not an eternal judgement, on anyone. Peter wrote to those who were hirelings to tell them the best we can accomplish is to shepherd the sheep by example and never by lording over the sheep. One could add here, we should not be beating sheep with the rod or the staff. David got it right in the twenty-third Psalm. "...thy rod and staff comfort me." The rod and the staff are for comfort, not punishment. If we wish to be fervent in a belief, we should have fervent charity...for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. If we are going to provoke one another we should provoke one another to love and good works.
In the universal sense, we are all simply nobodies. All of us. None is elevated above another. Salvation is without effort. If we seek a reward, that comes from our labors but, if we do not labor, salvation is assured but with no reward. More on that later.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
The person making this accusation
had previously given a teaching, not once, but many times, that God's forgiveness, the blood of Christ, was of no effect
unless a "brother" first acted as intermediary to pray and request God to give us forgiveness for a sin. This would be equivalent to shoving aside our mediator, Jesus, and would make his death and
resurrection of no value. In effect, this was a "trampling" of
the blood of Christ, a disavowing of the propitiation available to us by our
High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. It was an untruth that tore at the very heart of Jesus purpose on earth.
I went to this person privately, in an attempt to show him the error of his words, but was angrily shut down. The response I got back fell just short of being called a fool. I was told I could not possibly know and understand so, I just let it go and waited.
Weeks later, this same person was confronted in a meeting by a number of people when trying to teach this same doctrine again. This time it was
more than one voice speaking and he was willing to repent of his wrong position. No one
ever once accused this man of blasphemy, or called him to an ambush to accuse. No one made phone calls to separate him from his friends. No one condemned his soul for all of eternity. Even though, in essence, this was a
"trampling" of the blood of Christ and was indeed "blasphemy" if one wants to attach a label to it.
After the ambush I sent a letter to this person to remind him of the grace he had once been given when he had essentially nullified the propitiation of Christ with this piece of false doctrine. (Part of my letter is shown below.) I felt it my duty to remind him of how effective the grace of God can be since grace, meekness, mercy and truth had obviously escaped him.
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We know, from later in the letter to the Hebrews, this could be a serious offense.
Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
It was stated at the ambush, I had, by one single sentence, almost blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Even though, when truly evaluating my statement in context, it was fully true. It is those who deny Christ came in the flesh who are of the spirit of the antichrist, not those who state he needed to learn obedience as a child, just like any other child.
So, if one were to get literal, and very technical, this man's teaching could be considered to be a trampling of the Son of God underfoot, counting the blood of the covenant to be common and the propitiation and priesthood of Jesus to be of no effect. This entire teaching could have been considered blasphemy. But this man was not treated in the same manner as me because in the Pharisaical system his "ministry" exists in a double standard. This man had an elevated and favored position by the apostle, Gilbert Larson, so he was not ever challenged. The Corinthians found themselves in a similar state where they had become divided into the "approved" and the "disapproved".
What happens to this man's soul is not my decision to make. I am not the one who judges this man's soul for the eternal. I cannot bundle this person up as refuse then cast him into the fire. I am not a Chief Shepherd that can decide if this man is a sheep or a goat. I am a nobody and, in that, I find a great deal of peace.“The Lord will judge His people.”
I do however warn people to stay away from this, and any other, system that allows men such power and privilege that they can kill, maim, destroy and establish a double standard through abusive Pharisaical behavior. This double standard exists in many church organizations and movements throughout the world.
The ABC has developed it's virtual sheepfold. They have no brick and mortar, but they demand membership inside their virtual walls. They stand along the way calling the unwary in, giving the sense salvation can only be found through them alone. Once captured they will then bind many burdens on that person and not allow those who have entered to leave and find green pastures. The writer of Acts spoke of this very thing.
“And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
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"For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."
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Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
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