Sermon - Sexagesima 2024 - Luke 8:4-15

Parable of the Sower, Marten van Valckenborch, 1580

Hearing the Word of God with Endurance

1. Believing the Word in rebellion against the devil

2. Holding fast to the Word even amidst trials

3. Rising above the cares, riches, and pleasures of life on the Word

I’ve noticed that many people have the idea that it’s easy to be saved, it’s easy to be a Christian. They hear the message from last week in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, which says that we’re saved by grace alone, and they think therefore that since we don’t earn our salvation that it’s easy to be saved. This notion that it’s really easy to be saved leads people to also believe that everyone will go to heaven, or at least almost everyone. But that mistaken impression is corrected in today’s parable of the different types of soil. Since out of four different types of soil or people, only one is saved. So Jesus cries out: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Today’s lesson is that those who have ears to hear should rightly use their ears to hear the Word of God. Since it’s not easy to be saved, since not everyone who has heard the Gospel is going to heaven, it’s therefore absolutely vital that we hear the Word of God like the good soil. Namely, “as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Not just patience in the sense of passively waiting for something to happen, but the word in Greek is more active, more along the lines of endurance or perseverance. Thus, we should say that the good soil bears fruit by hearing the word of God with endurance.

There are many difficulties which plague our faith and hinder our salvation. The first one Jesus mentions is the hardpan soil. “Some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it…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.” The beaten path is the hardened and callus sinner who gives into demonic temptations, who doesn’t care for the Word and perhaps even mocks it.Thus, to put it positively what we must aim for instead, is that we must believe the Word in rebellion against the devil. 

Demons are like the birds of the air and constantly coming back to pester you with temptations. Birds are one of the worst pests in the garden because of their persistence. You can scare them away, but they come right back the moment you leave. They aren’t easily tricked by scarecrows or sounds. Even if you net your crops they will keep trying to find a hole and a way in. Demons are like those birds. They’re persistently trying to find our weak spots and lead us into sin. No matter how many times you shoo them away, they come right back once you let your guard down. And a heart hardened by sin rejects God’s Word and scoffs at it as though it were a children’s fairy tale. 

But we must rebel against those demonic assaults against our souls. God’s Word here acts as a plow, which quite painfully at times, calls us to repentance. Although the demons tempt us with an abundance of pleasurable vices and passions, we must resist the devil. When Satan tries to make God look foolish, tempts us to mock the Word, to reject what God says is right and wrong, we must stand in defiance against the devil and believe God’s Word even if it makes us look foolish. When God calls us to repentance over our sins, we must repent, as painful as that is. We must name our sins out loud and no longer live in them. If God’s Word is going to be planted in our hearts and we be saved, then our hearts must be made soft through the plow of God calling us to repent, and then turn earnestly in repentance. In  that way we hear the Word with endurance.

The second difficulty which hinders our salvation is the rocky soil. “Some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture… 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.” The stony barren ground are those with a superficial faith, who appear to believe so long as things are good, but once it’s hard to believe they quit. So to put this positively, what we must aim for, is that we must hold fast to the Word even amidst trials. 

Jesus says that “temptations are sure to come,” and to “take up your cross and follow Me.” Or in Hebrews we read: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure… For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” The Christian life is not an easy one since there will be trials and tribulations, there are crosses we must bear, discipline we must endure.

But American Christianity likes to think that being a Christian is all happy happy joy joy and full of prosperity. But this mentality creates a very superficial Christian, where outwardly they have all of the trappings of Christianity, they’re baptized and confirmed, maybe they’re even a really active member of a congregation for a while, volunteering and donating. But once being faithful is difficult, they quit. Their favorite sin got called out, someone mocked their faith or beliefs, a pandemic broke out, they might lose their friends or their family or their job.

But we must hold fast to the Word even amidst trials. Again, God’s Word acts upon us and digs out the rocks so that our faith may grow deeper. A simple faith is fine for a new Christian, but in time you must grow into the Word deeper and deeper. Your faith must dig beneath the surface. This doesn’t mean you have to be some great academic, but it does mean your faith must be more than superficial, it has to become something you believe wholeheartedly and you're willing to die for. If you’re not yet willing to die for your faith, let’s work towards that goal. Start by taking it seriously and adjusting your life for the sake of your faith, prioritize it above other things, defend your faith not just with people you don’t like but especially people you do like. In that way we hear the Word with endurance.

The third difficulty to being saved is the thorny ground. “Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it… These are those who hear, but as they on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” Those in the thorny briar patch are those overcome by the pleasures of this world. But to put it positively, we are to rise above the cares, riches, and pleasures of life upon the Word of God.

The soil here is itself good soil, but foreign seeds and roots hidden beneath the invade and choke out the good plants. Worldly pleasures are just like weeds in the life of a Christian. They start out small, nothing to worry about, but in time they overtake a person’s life and choke out whatever faith was there at first. Of all the difficulties to being saved, this is one of the most pernicious and difficult. Vices and sins have been plowed out, the faith has grown deeply and can handle difficulties, but what ends up really occupying the heart is the stuff of this world, the transient, temporal life with its cares and pleasures. 

This difficulty is best handled through fasting or abstaining from the pleasures of this world. God is busy at work pulling weeds from our lives. The worldly idols we’ve formed in our hearts need to be yanked out. We Christians live in this world, but we are not to be of this world. Set limits on what you can watch and eat and participate in. If you’re finding your mind more preoccupied with worldly pursuits than heavenly pursuits, find ways to set limits. We have to opt out of worldly love in order to opt into heaven. It hurts to pull out the weeds, especially if they’ve grown quite tall, but Christianity isn’t easy; it’s not easy to be saved.

In the end remember that God is a great farmer, and just as He sows the seed generously, so does He also plow the soil, pick the rocks, and pull the weeds. He does this labor through His Word, and we have been called into His vineyard to labor alongside Him. Of course salvation is given freely by grace through faith, not a result of works. Our salvation is entirely a free gift of God as a result of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. Nevertheless, the Christian has been called to a life of labor in which God’s word is the primary tool given us to use, and this tool is only good if it’s put to use. God’s Word is like a seed, a gift of life, and its usefulness extends beyond the sanctuary and the daily prayers, and into every facet of our lives, from our homes to our work to our rest.