The Seed Of Salvation

Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Luke 8:8 (NLT)

We are all sinners, (Romans 5:12). We're born in sin, (Psalm 51:5), and we are, by our very nature, "children of wrath," (Ephesians 2:2-3). Through the fall of Adam and Eve, sin entered into this world and corrupted it (Romans 5:12–21). But, by the grace of God, we are not left without hope. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can find forgiveness and mercy and have all our sins washed away by His cleansing blood on the cross (Isaiah 1:18). All we have to do is confess our sins, (1 John 1:9), repent of them, (Acts 3:19), and place our faith and trust in Christ, (Ephesians 2:8). Jesus bore our sins on the cross, (1 Peter 2:24), so that we will die to sin and live to righteousness. We become a new creation, (2 Corinthians 5:17), justified by faith (Romans 5:1). The Holy Spirit indwells us (Romans 8:11) and continues to work in us to bring about sanctification (Romans 15:16).

In Luke 8, Jesus tells us a parable of a farmer scattering seed. The seed is the Gospel being preached and the different types of soil represents the hearer. Out of those who hear the message preached, only one of the four soils will produce a crop, while the rest, due to one reason or another, will walk away.

So how do we know what type of soil we are?

Out of the four types of soil, three of them represent the false convert while the fourth represents the soundly saved.

➢ The first seed in verse 5 is the easiest to spot. This person will hear the Gospel and walk away unchanged.

➢ The second seed in verse 6 represents someone who hears the Gospel and initially receives it with joy. But as soon as temptation strikes they become disinterested and walk away.

➢ The third seed in verse 7 receives the Gospel but after a time they turn back to the pursuits and passions of the world and walk away.

As you can see, the first three seeds have the same thing in common. The false convert will eventually walk away if death doesn't take them first. It doesn't matter how long you've been "in the faith" either. If you walk away, you show yourself to be a false convert.

➣ However, once the seed is planted in good soil, it will continue to grow and mature because the soundly saved have the perfect gardener, the Holy Spirit, tending it. This is the true test of salvation. If you are continuing to grow in your relationship with God, continuing to repent of your sins, becoming more sensitive to your sins, growing in your knowledge of God and His Word, then you can have assurance in your salvation. Philippians 1:6 says, "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."NLT

The problem is in not caring if you sin. When you are saved, the Holy Spirit brings conviction, John 16:8, so if you're not being convicted of your iniquity, then you need to worry, seek God, and repent. Only those who were not saved to begin with will walk away, 1 John 2:19, while the soundly saved will never walk away from Christ, John 10:28.

So which soil are you?

Repent and believe before it's too late

Photo source: One and Two

Father, Son, or Holy Spirit; Who do you pray to?

Recently, my wife and I were having breakfast with friends and the question was asked, "Should we pray to the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit?" It's a good question and one that many of us seem to wonder about at some point.

The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are God. They are a trinity of persons and are equally deserving of prayer, praise, and worship. So to say you can not pray to one of them is wrong. But...

Throughout Scripture, there is an underlying subordination to the Trinity. The pattern we see in the New Testament shows us that we pray to the Father(Matthew 6:9), in the name of the Son(Ephesians 2:18), by the power of the Holy Spirit(Ephesians 6:18). The Spirit brings glory to the Son(John 16) and the Son brings glory to the Father(John 17:4).

So the primary method, or pattern, shown is praying to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. But to pray, "Maranatha; come Lord Jesus," is not wrong. To ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, or to seek wisdom and a fresh baptism in His Spirit is not wrong either. Showing the personhood, and your love, for each member of the Trinity is good and should be done. However if you begin to pray to either Jesus or the Holy Spirit almost exclusively, you would be out of pattern with the New Testament. We should always look to the Bible for guidance in how we pray. To be out of sync with the Bible is to be out of sync with God.

A word of caution before I go...

Praying to any member of the Trinity isn't wrong but we have to make sure we know who it is we are praying to. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Spirit. Just like you would not like to be called by another name, neither does God. I've heard it prayed, and seen it on other blogs, thanking the Father for dying on the cross. The Father did not die on the cross. So when praying, make sure you give glory and praise in the right order.

I know the Trinity doctrine is a difficult one to comprehend. Here are a couple of sites that may help you better understand it.

C.A.R.M.

What is the Doctrine of the Trinity? by Matt Perman

Photo: Trinity Shield

Repent and believe before it's too late

 

Jesus Is Our Only Mediator

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Timothy 2:5 (NASB)

First, lets define exactly what a mediator is so we can have a clear picture of what that means to us and how it effects us.

"A mediator is one who mediates, who acts as an intermediary, or go-between to work with opposing sides in order to bring about a settlement. A mediator attempts to influence a disagreement between two parties with the goal of resolving a dispute." Taken from GotQuestions

A great example of a mediator is a defense lawyer, and just like a defense lawyer, Jesus mediates between us and the Father. He's our representative before the Judge. But this begs the question, why do we need a mediator? The answer is simple.

"Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God." 1 John 3:4 (NLT)



All who sin, that's everybody (Romans 3:23), are law breakers and the penalty for breaking God's law is death (Romans 6:23), and not just an earthly death. It also refers to the second death in Revelation 20:11-15, the eternal lake of fire.

God's dispute with us is over sin and without a mediator we are only destined to be judged and if we stand before the throne on our own merits, our own works, we will be condemned to the lake of fire. (Hebrews 9:27, Isaiah 64:6, Revelation 20:15)

But glory to God, we do not have to come before Him on our own merits! Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead and defeated death's sting. (1Corinthians 15:54-57)

If you have placed your trust in Christ and have repented of your sins, then you can find great comfort in the fact that Jesus mediates on your behalf, just like a lawyer does, and says, "My client is innocent of all charges against them." However, unlike the defense attorney, Jesus adds, "I've paid the penalty Myself."

"For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Hebrews 9:15 (NASB)

Now we can come before the Throne of Grace boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Satan, the accuser, wants nothing more than to hinder the saints in their prayers but Jesus provided the way to the throne so we can come, in His name, without fear.

This should give us joy in our heart, praise on our lips, and a skip to our step. May we sing with joy like King David did in Psalms 32:1-5;

"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, ”and you forgave the iniquity of my sin." (ESV)

 

Jesus The Son Of God

Walking down the street, you could ask 97% of Americans if they believe in God and they will say yes. Most likely, anyone reading this blog will say yes to believing in God. That does not mean that we believe in the same God though, it simply means that we believe in God.

But let's narrow it a bit and just go with those of us who profess to be Christian. To be a Christian and not believe in God makes no sense, so let's step it up a notch. Most people in churches, depending on the church, will agree with me when I say Jesus is God. In fact, in many evangelistic circles it's a test of not only the sincerity in a person's salvation prayer, but a litmus test to an understanding of God. But the question must be asked, by believing that Jesus is God, does that automatically mean that we are in agreement with each other? To say that Jesus is God doesn't necessarily mean the triune God. The misconception that we are automatically speaking about the same Jesus just because we both believe He is God is detrimental to our understanding of who God is and ultimately to our prayer life.

For example, do we believe in the same God as the Jews?

If you say yes, as many do, and just simply chalk it up to us having a different view of Jesus... than you need to ask yourself if you believe God is Jesus. If you believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is Jesus, then we do not believe in the same God as the Jews. The Hebrews have an incomplete view of God, as do those who lower Jesus' standing in the Godhead whenever they try to justify the differing views of Jesus.

As I said in starting this series, having a correct view of God is paramount to prayer, and our understanding of Jesus as God is just as crucial.

So how do you answer the above question? Do you believe God is Jesus? How does just asking the question make you feel?

"Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?" John 14:8-9 (NASB)

There are many passages that show the oneness of the Father and Jesus as God. Like the one above, John 10:30 is easily the most revealing of the Trinity doctrine. “I and the Father are one.” (NASB)

The religious leaders were so enraged that they picked up rocks to stone Him because He was claiming to be God. There is no doubt that Scripture reveals Jesus to be God. I want to leave you with that thought in mind. In the next post we will take a look at Jesus again but through the eyes of prayer.