How can we tell the difference between a true and a false convert? In the parable of the 4 Soils Jesus helps us to learn this important lesson.
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True and False Converts
Luke 8:4-15
There is probably no parable of Jesus more familiar to us than this one – the parable of the sower and the four soils. It is not difficult to understand the basic meaning of the parable. There are only three primary elements to this parable. There is a sower, some seed, and four different soils. Jesus tells us in verse 11 that the seed is the word of God. This is just a nickname for the gospel. We know that because verse 12 says, “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.” Whatever this word is, it is able to save the one who believes. Obviously, Jesus is talking about the gospel message. Therefore, the person who sows that seed must be the person who spreads God’s word, whether he is a preacher, evangelist, Sunday School teacher, or just a private witness. We also know what the soil represents. Look at verse 12, “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart.” Now in the parable the seed was snatched away from the soil. Jesus interprets this as the word being snatched from the heart. Therefore, the soil in this parable represents a person’s heart.
Now, notice that although the seed brings about a different result in all four situations, that there is really no difference in the seed that is being sown. It is the same seed that is sown on the hard soil, the rocky soil, the thorny soil, and the good soil. All of that seed has the potential to germinate into a living plant. It’s all the same. The thing that is different in this parable is the condition of the soil into which that seed is cast. What Jesus is communicating to us in this parable, is that God’s Word is going to be heard by people with different kinds of hearts. Some will hear with a hard heart, others with a shallow heart, still others with a divided heart, and some will hear with a good heart. The kind of heart that hears the Word makes all the difference in what that Word will produce in their life.
I want you to notice also the emphasis on “hearing” in this parable. In verse 12 Jesus says, “Those beside the road are those who have heard.” In verse 13 He says, “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy.” In verse 14 He says, “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard.” Then in verse 15 He says, “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart.”
Furthermore in verse 8 Jesus calls out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Evidently, not everyone has ears to hear. Now, of course, Jesus is not talking about simply hearing sounds with the physical ear. Jesus is talking about those who have the ability to hear spiritually, to hear with the ears of their heart. Then, notice what Jesus says in verse 10, “but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they ma not see, and hearing they may not understand.” He is saying that the reason He is speaking in parables is to that those who have physical eyes will not see the spiritual truth, and those with physical ears will not hear the spiritual truth. In verse 8 Jesus was speaking about those who had the ability to hear and understand and love spiritual truth. In verse 10 he is speaking about those who only have the ability to hear mere sounds, but don’t love the truth they are hearing.
So the big question this morning is, “With what kind of heart are you hearing the Word of God?” Are you listening this morning with a hard heart, a shallow heart, a divided heart, or a good heart? The answer to that question will make all the difference in the world.
Now, why is this important? Look at verse 12, “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.” Your salvation is at stake in how you hear the word. Your immortal soul and your eternal well-being is on the line. That’s how important this is!
This morning let’s look at the four types of soil, or to put it another way, the four different kinds of hearts that hear God’s Word. As we study them, ask yourself which one is you.
1. The Hard Heart
Luke 8:5, “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.” On the side of every road in ancient Israel was a footpath, that was beaten down and made as hard as concrete by travelers continually walking on it. The farmer would hoist a big bag of seed on his shoulders and cast the seed on the soil, but some of that seed would accidentally fall on this footpath, or the wind would blow some of the seed over on the path. Well, what would happen to it? The birds of the air would eat it up. As soon as the farmer had moved on a little bit, the birds would swoop down and get a free meal.
Now, Jesus explains the parable in verse 12, “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.” Those with the hard hearts, hear the word, but it doesn’t do them any good. The word never even penetrates their heart. It bounces right off, and the devil comes and steals away the gospel as quick as he can so that they are not converted.
Now, who are these people? These are the people who hear the gospel preached, but it makes no serious impressions upon them at all. They are not interested in the message of salvation. They don’t care about their souls. They have no time for you or your gospel. They have much more important things to do than talk about their soul and where they will spend eternity. Perhaps they are infatuated with the New Age Movement, or Buddha, or Allah, or Joseph Smith, or the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, but when it comes to the gospel it is ho-hum, BORING! And because their heart is hard, the gospel just bounces off, and the devil snatches it away.
Ezekiel 36 speaks about a true conversion where God takes out the heart of stone, and replaces it with a heart of flesh. Well, these folks have a heart of stone concerning the way of salvation. They see more glory in a one dollar bill than in the face of Jesus Christ. They may be completely absorbed in making money, or their hobbies, or pleasures, but have no use and no time for the preaching of the Word of God.
Would any of you fall into that category? Maybe you are hear this morning only because you felt obligated to come, or you thought it was the respectable thing to do. But you have no real interest in what is going on here, or in the preaching of the gospel. When the gospel is preached, it makes no deep impression on you. All the time you are hearing the gospel, it is going in one ear and out the other, because you are doing your best to think of something else (what you are going to have for lunch, that new toy you’re going to buy, how you are going to make more money). Oh, what a sad condition to be in. Unless the Lord awakens you to your sin and need of a Savior, you will slip right into the jaws of hell.
2. The Shallow Heart
Luke 8:6, “Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.” Both Matthew and Mark tell us that this soil had no depth. It was shallow. There was a little bit of topsoil on top of a rock hidden underneath the ground. So, the seed germinated quickly, and sent its shoots down, but because the soil was so shallow, there was not enough moisture to sustain it when the scorching sun came up, and it withered away.
Jesus explains the rocky soil in verse 13, “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.” You have probably known people just like this. I know I have! They hear the gospel, and have a wonderful emotional experience. They are filled with joy at the thought of all their sins being forgiven. However, their experience is very shallow. As soon as some fiery trial or enticing temptation comes along, they fall away and forget about their commitment to Jesus Christ.
When this kind of person hears the gospel, it makes very quick but only temporary impressions on them. This person’s religion is all a flash in the pan. Like briars in a fire, there is a lot of crackle and pop and noise, but very soon they are gone. They come on real strong. They are very enthusiastic. They might even be moved to tears. However, they lack one very important thing. They have no firm root. The root of the matter is not in them. There has been no deep, real work of the Holy Spirit regenerating them. It is all a quick emotional experience that soon fades away.
There was a young woman that came to The Bridge a while back. She had experienced the death of a loved one and somehow found us on the Internet. She had no real faith to speak of, but wanted to find out the truth. Well, she came, and we studied the Word with her for many weeks, and spent time one on one discipling her. At one point we were very excited because it appeared that she had been saved. However, when time of temptation came, she fell away and chose her boyfriend over Jesus. She believed for a while. Her faith in Christ was temporary. I can’t even tell you how many people I have known like that.
Folks, just because you have an emotional experience, that doesn’t mean anything! What matters is where you are at 15, 20, 30 years down the road. Are you still trusting Jesus, loving Jesus, and serving Jesus? That’s what really counts.
3. The Divided Heart
Luke 13:7, “Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.” As the sower went about casting his seed, some of that seed would inevitably be cast where there were already thorny plants that were dominating the soil and the water supply. Those little seeds would germinate, but would never do well, or bring forth fruit, because there just wasn’t enough water and nutrients in the soil to go around for all the plants. There was fierce competition for the available nutrients.
Jesus again explains this kind of soil in verse 14, “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” The thorns in this parable represent all the things that divert our attention from Jesus Christ, so that we don’t bear fruit for God.
Again, in this person’s life the message of the gospel penetrates their heart. They receive the Word, and it makes some impressions on them. However, there is a problem. There are all kinds of other things in their life competing for their time and attention – TV, video games, making more money, fishing trips, gambling, you name it. This person’s heart is divided. He professes to love Jesus, but he loves the world as well. 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him.” James 4:4 says, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
Friends, if we will ever establish a true, strong, growing, fruit-bearing relationship with Jesus Christ, we must have a single heart. Christ must be our true and supreme love. Everything else in our life must be subservient to our allegiance and love to Him. I was recently reading Psalm 86, and in verse 11 the Psalmist says, “Unite my hear to fear Your name.” Oh, how true that is. We need to constantly cry to God to keep our hearts from fixing on any lesser thing than our glorious God and Savior.
4. The Good Heart
Luke 13:8 says, “Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” Jesus explains this in verse 15 by saying, “But 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.”
Although the first three soils turn out to be disappointing, there is a fourth type of soil that is pure gold. It is called the “good soil.” There is no rock right underneath preventing the plant from developing a firm root. There are no other thorns in the soil hogging all the water and nutrients. This is just plain good soil, and the seed thrives in it.
Jesus is telling us here that when the gospel is preached, it will fall on some ears where God has prepared the heart. He has dug deep and removed the rocks. He has weeded out all the thorns. God has gone before and prepared this heart to receive the gospel and go on to be a fruitful, vibrant Christian.
Instead of being a hard or shallow or divided heart, this is a person with an honest and good heart. Instead of just believing for a while, this person holds fast the word. Instead of bringing no fruit to maturity, this person bears fruit with perseverance. This person is the real deal, the genuine convert, the one the Holy Spirit has regenerated and breathed His life into. This is the kind of person all of us want to be, rather must be, if we are to be saved.
Now, what does the Holy Spirit wants us to learn from this parable of Jesus Christ?
Spiritual Application
Learn to Distinguish between True and False Converts. I remember reading this parable as a young Christian and thinking that the only kind of person that would be lost was the first kind, the hard soil hearer. This person never receives the word of the gospel at all. But in the other three kinds of soil, the seed germinated and came to life. I reasoned, “surely that must mean that they were all saved. They all had new life in Christ.” However, the more I have studied this parable, the less inclined I am to believe that any more.
Notice the second kind of soil – the rocky soil. Verse 13 says that the seed among the rocky soil are those who believe for a while and then fall away. Now, does that describe a true believer? Or to put it another way, can saving faith be temporary? Jesus said in Mt. 10:22 says, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” In Revelation 2:10 Jesus tells the church in Smyrna, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” In Hebrews 10:35-39 the writer says, “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
Notice in that last text, that it is only those who endure that receive what is promised. Also, if we shrink back, we receive destruction. The Word of God holds out no hope of everlasting life to those who fall away, and do not endure to the end. So, my conclusion is that though the stony ground hearer looks great, he falls away because he was never truly converted by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
Look also at the thorny soil. This person also looks great from the outside. They profess to love Christ, they attend church, they carry a Bible, they have all the right Christian lingo. However, they don’t produce fruit. You don’t see the fruit of the Spirit in their life like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You also don’t see any new converts as a result of their ministry. The fruit is just not there.
Now is a person who doesn’t produce fruit a true Christian? Many would say yes. There are many Bible teachers and preachers today who would label the stony ground and thorny ground hearers as saved people. They would say they are just “carnal Christians.” Is that true? Let’s see what Jesus has to say about a person who does not bear fruit in John 15:5-6, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” Wow, what a sobering statement. The one who abides in Jesus bears much fruit. Therefore if you aren’t producing fruit, it must mean you are not abiding in Jesus. Now, what does Jesus tell us happens to the person who doesn’t abide in Jesus? He is thrown away, dries up, and cast into the fire and burned. Friends, that statement is referring to Hell. The person who is not in Christ ends up in the fire of God’s wrath.
So, let me ask you again, “Is a person who does not bring forth fruit a true Christian?” I believe the Biblical answer is “No.” He may look like one, but God knows the heart. If the Holy Spirit truly indwells a person, it is going to show in his life. The Spirit inside of Him is going to manifest His presence through spiritual fruit.
Now, what is different between the first three types of soil, and the last one? How can you know if you have been genuinely converted?
First, you have an honest and good heart. But, wait a minute! Does that mean that there are some people out there before they are saved, who are different from all the rest? They have honest and good hearts while everyone else has evil and wicked hearts? What does the Bible teach about a lost person’s heart? Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it.” Jesus says this person has an honest heart, but the Bible says the lost person has a deceitful heart. How in the world did his deceitful heart become an honest heart? Further, Genesis 6:5 says that “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now, how in the world does that line up with Jesus saying some people have “good” hearts? I believe that the ones who have honest and good hearts, have them only by grace. God has already been working in this person’s life, awakening them, and quickening them, so that when they hear the gospel, they drink it in like a drowning man finding a life preserver, or a starving man finding food. The reason why some people truly receive the gospel and find life, is because God prepares their hearts to receive it.
How do I know that? Well, notice verse 10, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” Jesus makes a sharp distinction between two different groups here – His chosen disciples, and all others. Jesus disciples receive as a gift from God the ability to know and understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The rest are blinded to its saving truth and benefits. Do you see the wonderful grace of God poured out on Christ’s chosen ones?! The reason some people turn out to be true, persevering disciples of Christ is not because their hearts were different or better or softer than others. It was because God took the initiative to grant them special grace.
Secondly, you hold fast the word and bear fruit with perseverance. In contrast to the stony ground and thorny ground hearers, you hold fast the word until the end, and bear fruit. Is your faith superficial, shallow, and emotional? Is it here today, but gone tomorrow? Are you a fair weather believer, believing as long as it is fun and popular, but not when you have to pick up your cross, deny yourself and follow Jesus? Or have you held fast to the word, even when it was difficult and costly and painful? Have you seen the Lord’s work in your life enabling you to persevere in the midst of fiery trials? Oh, that is such a comforting sign. Have you seen real spiritual fruit in your life? Has your faith in Christ purified your life, and conformed you, at least in part, to the likeness of Christ? Do you see His character coming out of your life? That is also a wonderful sign of true conversion.
Oh, my friends, go on to prove the reality of your faith in Christ by enduring to the end. Prove it by manifesting the character of Christ. Don’t be suckered into thinking that you or anyone else has been saved, just because they say so. If a person’s faith doesn’t endure and/or doesn’t produce fruit, they are not saved – period. This parable teaches us that the majority of people who profess to be Christians are deceived. The majority are still in their sins and under the wrath of God. Only one out of 3 professing Christians in this parable was the real deal.
One final exhortation. Let the word of God dwell in you richly so that it does its work of producing fruit. Do you want to be a fruit-bearer? The only way is for the Word to work itself out of your life. Let it dwell in you richly! Read it, meditate on it, memorize it, pray about it. God will use it in your life to make you like your Lord!
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