September 14, 2010: Questions On Perseverance

I received the following response to last week's post:

Your post mentioned the parable of the sower and the seed that was sown on rocky soil and the seed on good soil. Can you address the seed that fell among the thorns which choked the plant? Are they saints clothed with Christ's righteousness? Have they persevered in their trust in Christ though they live in sin and perhaps have no outward evidence of fruit? Are they repentant, are they trying? Your analogy of marriage seemed to me to indicate that we should not expect Christ to remain married to us if we are unfaithful to him, and yet aren't we often unfaithful to him when other things become more important to us than God?

My answers to each question:

Can you address the seed that fell among thorns which choked the plant?

Jesus said, "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature" (Luke 8:14). I believe this picture represents people who ultimately love sin more than they love Christ. In contrast with the seed that fell on rocky soil, they do not fall away from the faith because of external pressure - the heat of persecution - but because of internal pressure - the lure of corruption. Like Demas, who deserted Paul "because he loved this world" (2 Timothy 4:10), they choose to conform to the world and to their own desires rather than to Christ.


Are they saints clothed with Christ's righteousness?

No. They don't want to be clothed with his righteousness. They find it an ill-fitting garment and cast it off.

In the parable of the seeds Jesus is contrasting those who stay with him and those who don't. The sheep who hear his voice follow him and abide (remain, stay) with him. Those who don't remain with him are of several types. Some don't even get started in the first place - the seed on the path that fails to germinate and is eaten by birds. Others leave because of persecution. Others leave to follow a life of sin.

Jesus never said, "Whoever would come after me may revert to his sinful lifestyle." Instead, he demanded a self-denial so strong that he compared it to carrying a cross to your own execution (Luke 9:23). When he showed mercy to the woman caught in adultery he did not say, "You may now go back to your whoring," but "Leave your life of sin" (John 8:11). When he healed the lame man at Bethesda he did not say, "Even if you keep sinning, you'll still be ok," but rather "Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you" (John 5:14). When a rich man wanted to follow Jesus while hanging on to his greed, Jesus turned him away (Matthew 19:22).

Have they persevered in their trust in Christ though they live in sin and perhaps have no outward evidence of fruit?

No outward evidence of fruit? When Jesus came across a fruitless tree, he cursed it! (Matthew 21:19). That was supposed to be a warning.

When a person lives in sin and gives no outward evidence of fruit, he has in effect denied the faith. Paul confirms this in Titus 1:15-16 when he speaks of those who "claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him." I believe it is very common to deny God with one's actions. Paul gives an example of such behavior in 1 Timothy 5:8: a man who refuses to provide for his family "has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever." Such a man does not actually say "I reject Jesus Christ." He doesn't have to - his behavior does that for him. Words can lie; actions can't. That is why Jesus said, "By their fruit (not by their words) you shall know them" (Matthew 7:16).

Anyone who says "I know God, I've accepted Jesus," while his behavior proves he is "detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good" (Titus 1:16) is simply lying about his faith. Jesus insisted that those who merely call him "Lord" but don't do the will of God will not get into the kingdom of heaven: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

James concurs regarding the fate of those who "have no outward evidence of fruit." James 2:14: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" No. The answer to that rhetorical question is no. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17), and dead faith cannot save.

Are they repentant, are they trying?

Well, if they are repentant and trying, I believe that God will certainly show them grace. "A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17). No man is so good that he does not need to be in a constant state of bemoaning his sin and repenting of it. The good news is that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

I think it is important though to distinguish between those who are "repentant and trying" and those who are "unrepentant and not trying at all." In my own pastoral ministry, for example, I have been happy to extend words of grace to those who have fallen into sexual sin and who seek the Lord's pardon and restoration. But those who refuse God's transforming grace will not receive it. I have written to two unrepentant (and formerly Christian) adulterers who were both dumping faithful wives in order to pursue sin, "It is important for you to understand that you are going to hell. If you died tonight, you would hear from Jesus the awful words, 'Depart from me. I never knew you.'" (See Matthew 7:23). To this day these men remain impenitent, and I fear their time is running out. I do not say (and would never say) that they are without hope. I do say, however, that they are not now in a state of grace.

Your analogy of marriage seemed to me to indicate that we should not expect Christ to remain married to us if we are unfaithful to him, and yet aren't we often unfaithful to him when other things become more important to us than God?

It all depends on what you mean by "unfaithful." That is a big enough topic to require a separate Pastor's Page, and Lord willing I'll deal with that next week.