Sermon - Sexagesima - Luke 8:4-15 - 2018

Last week we heard the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, and that God’s grace is undeserved. We also heard Paul tell us that we need to run the race of faith with vigor. But today Jesus tells us a parable that describes the manner by which God’s grace is received, namely, we receive God’s grace passively, as He lavishly sows the seed of His Word upon our hearts, which bears the fruit of faith.

The passive reception of God’s grace is a difficult concept to comprehend. Its difficulty exists because Jesus calls it part of “the secrets of the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” But to Jesus’ disciples and “to you it has been given to know.” The manner by which we receive God’s grace is not readily understood and comprehended by the natural mind of mankind. 

For there are just two religions in the world: the religion of the law and the religion of the Gospel. The religion of the law is what makes sense to mankind by nature. This religion shows us the way to righteousness and eternal life, which it describes as a life which lives according to a law in order to please the will of its god. This religion of the law believes that salvation is actively earned by its participants. If you follow a certain strict manner of living, then by this performance you will have earned the reward for which you were striving. 

This religion of the law is the exact same paradigm that every religion in the world, aside from Christianity, follows. Name any religion, be it Native American’s ancestral worship, Asia’s karma and nirvana, or the Middle East’s Mohamadism. All of them follow the same pattern of doing something so as to acquire salvation. All of them require active participation for the purpose of being saved. Every one of them is the religion of the law, they may use different words and they may claim to worship different gods, but ultimately they are all the same religion: the religion of the law. 

The religion of the Gospel is markedly different however. The religion of the Gospel is entirely passive, that is, we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and this faith is brought to us through the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, so that by this faith we trust in Jesus Christ who has by His gracious love for us already reconciled us to the Father, none of this is because of our works. Isaiah explains this religion of the Gospel using an example from the natural world: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.” 

Rain and snow are received passively, none of this is brought about by the plants, but it all just falls down from the clouds on them. Likewise, God’s grace is given to us not through any sort of works done by us, but it is all the work of the Holy Spirit who showers the Word down upon us, and this Word gives the growth. In this religion of the Gospel, God’s grace is given to us passively, it is all a gift to be received.

But the religion of the law is quite persistent as it keeps on plugging away at our hearts. The threat for us now is that the religion of the law wants to insert itself in the religion of the Gospel. This happens when you consider yourself a Christian, and yet you believe that by your own doings you will remain a Christian.

It’s tempting to look at the four different types of soil in the parable and presume that you are responsible for making yourself the good soil. But that isn’t true! None of us are by nature the good soil. All of us are vulnerable to the plagues that take place in the poor soils. 

“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.” These are people who have heard God’s Word, they’ve studied it, they’re baptized, they don’t persecute the Word nor are they hostile to it, but they haven’t let the Word take root in them. Instead the Word simply sat there, it went in one ear and right out the other.

When Luther explains the 3rd Commandment he says “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” This can be a terribly difficult challenge, I know, I understand. Paying attention to the reading is hard, keeping your mind from drifting during the sermon is difficult. So this is something that we have to work on, hearing and learning God’s Word.

Because it’s one thing to hear God’s word, but it’s another to actually learn it and apply it to yourself. This is what the 3rd commandment entails: hearing and learning God’s word. Because if it’s not applied to you, if it just goes in one ear and out the other, Satan is going to come along and easily take the Word away from you so that you won’t believe nor be saved. 

“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.” These are people who hear the Word, they believe it with joy and enthusiasm. They are glad to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ and they joyfully do good works. But when suffering comes, as Christ assures us it will, they don’t persevere. The hot sun shines on them and they dry up and shrivel away.

The rocks of this life are many and various. If we are only weakly rooted in the Word, if it is something that we only hear at our convenience, then when a time of testing arises we won’t have anything to hold onto. This is why it is so vital that we are firmly founded upon Christ and His Word. If our faith is based upon a few generic platitudes we will never be able to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

 “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.” These are also people who hear the word of God, but unlike the rocky soil, these are planted in deeply tilled, fertile ground. They don’t wither away when suffering comes because they never experience suffering. Instead, the Word has no value to these people, they heard it and yet they felt as if they didn’t need it. Instead all of the luxuries and pleasures, the everyday busyness and the pursuit of happiness were more important than the Word. 

This is like the vegetable garden that is over fertilized, the plants appear large and healthy, the foliage is green and thick, and yet the fruit never appears. Thusly are these Christians who have such a pleasant life with so much success and happiness that they have no need for a Savior. Afterall, in their minds, what are they going to be saved from? They don’t consider themselves poor, miserable, or sinners.

So you see none of us are immune to the soil problems in this life. All of us have temptations that seek to draw us away from the Word. None of us by our works can change what kind of soil we are. In fact, if you would try to make yourself the good soil, with an honest and good heart, you would be fooling yourself. “The intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle no one can figure out.” 

By God’s gracious love for us He still showers down His Word upon us! He isn’t selective about only sowing His Word upon the good soil, but by the power of His Word He makes the poor soils honest and good! He showers down His word upon people like us who are riddled with problems, who don’t like to hear God’s Word and learn it, who fall away as soon as persecution strikes, and who fail to have faith even when things are going along perfectly in this life! God gives us His grace and favor not when we earn it and deserve it, not because we have honest and good hearts, but in spite of all of that! The religion of the Gospel is God showering us poor, miserable, sinners with His Word until we are given an honest and good heart that bears the fruit of faith.

The religion of the law is such a despicable lie from Satan that attempts to convince us that we must perform adequately if we hope to be saved. But then we are only left to despair because we are far too weak to perform. However, God’s Word is all the more powerful the weaker we are. For if God’s Word is able to save a wretched sinner like me, then God’s Word is all the more powerful and glorious.

Like the Lord told St. Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We are weak and powerless to save, “therefore let us boast all the more gladly of our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon us.” The power of Christ is found in His Word, and by the power of His Word we are turned into rich, fertile soil. 

Don’t ever think for an instant that you or anyone you know isn’t the right kind of person to be saved, or that God’s Word can’t forgive what you have done. The Lord’s Word will not return to Him empty, but it shall accomplish that for which He purposes and shall succeed in the thing for which He sent it. God’s Word carries with it the redemptive power of Jesus Christ who washes away your sins, heals your imperfections, and creates and sustains faith. By the power of Jesus’ Word, the Lord doesn’t just drop rain and snow on you, but He showers you with the blood of the Lamb which atones for your sin. This Lamb, Jesus Christ, is the one who was trampled, stoned, and crowned with thorns in order to make you the good soil which receives the seed of His Word that makes you to sprout and grow in faith. “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace.”