The hardest Truth for church people to accept relative to the parables of Jesus is the Biblically-proclaimed fact that things are not always as they appear to be, in fact, according to Jesus Christ, they rarely are in the spiritual realm as life is played out by mankind. This is also true in the secular world. For example, what appears to be gold might not be real gold, but rather “fool’s gold.” What appears to be a diamond might be a piece of zirconium instead. Many a victim has paid big money for what appeared to be gold or diamonds that were actually worthless. In reality, it takes an expert to know the difference between the real and the fake. The key is to know the real from having experience with it.

For example, members of the FBI who work in the counterfeit currency unit are experts in spotting fake bills because they not only STUDY bills, they study ONLY REAL BILLS. This enables them to spot a counterfeit at first glance. The key to passing a counterfeit bill is to mix it in with legal bills. Mixing the fake with the true is one of Satan’s most effective weapons used against salvation seekers. In the spiritual realm, by gradually mixing fake believers in with the real, and by making the fake easier to produce, the fake becomes more popular and accepted while the real become less so. Over time fake believers come to outnumber real believers many to few, to the point that the few must go to where they are not merely the majority of believers, but the only believers. Why? Because leaven leavens the whole loaf. In the church, spiritual leaven (false teachings) has leavened the whole spiritual loaf (church).

For this reason Jesus said: “Where two or three come together in My name, there I am in the midst of you” (Mat. 18:20). Why, after having multitudes follow Him wherever He went, would He make such a statement? Because He knew that His pure, Scripture-based, mustard seed sized church would become an impure, man-based, poop-producing tree in which His true saints could not abide. However, both groups would remain within what God calls “My people who are called by my name.” Both true and false saints are called “Christians” and are considered part of “the church.” According to those who are among the majority, they are in the “A” category while God’s real saints (those people “over there”) are in the “Z” category. These are the “two or three” with whom Jesus meets on His Sabbath.

The fact that those in both groups are considered Christians and are called by God’s name is a little-recognized lesson taught by some of the parables found in Matthew chapter 13. Let us examine a few of them to learn how the devil’s system works. His premiere premise is that perception is reality, meaning that WHAT HUMAN BEINGS PERCEIVE TO BE REALITY IS, TO THE HUMAN MIND, REALITY. AND ONCE THAT “REALITY” IS SET IN MAN’S MIND, IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE IT. I could tell you stories about salvation seekers being shown a Bible Truth and responding with, “But that’s not what I’ve always been taught.” In other words, his/her reality ABOUT God’s Word is the true reality, regardless of what IS ACTUALLY WRITTEN in the Bible they claim to believe. With this oft-proved truth in mind, let us look at a few of Christ’s parables found in chapter 13, beginning with the parable of the sower.

To understand the parable of the sower (vss 3-9) we must understand that one does not sow seeds in someone else’s field. Also, the sower sows only one kind of seed–the best he has. It is not the seeds that determine what is produced, but rather the type of ground they land on. Spiritually speaking, God sows His Holy Word in His church. The hearts of the people (types of ground) in the church determine what the seed (Scriptures) produce. God’s Word is perfect, regardless of whether it is heard or read by a serious Truth seeker or by an atheist. Another seed-sower parable (vss 24-30) speaks more to the point of this series. Here we find that a landowner (God) has sown good seed (His Gospel) in his field (church). But when the seeds sprout and spring up, he finds that, while his watchmen (ministers) were sleeping, his enemy had sown tares in his field.

Let us approach these parables on the spiritual level. In the first instance the Sower (God) sows His seed (Truth) throughout his field (church). Notice that only one in four church people are receptive to His Truths. How can this be? The answer is that His ministers have been sleeping on the job and have allowed the enemy (Satan) to sow his tares (false gospel) in God’s field where they produce false Christians at a four-to-one ratio. Here is the point of the parables: THE BAD SEED (FALSE “TRUTHS”) HAVE PRODUCED FALSE WHEAT (TARES) IN GOD’S FIELD (CHURCH) WHERE THEY WILL REMAIN UNTIL THE TIME OF THE HARVEST (JUDGMENT).

In verses 36-43 Jesus explains to the disciples that God allows the “children of the wicked one” (Satan’s false Christians) to remain in His field (church) until harvest time (end of the age). Because the church masses do not know, or do not believe, or have totally rejected God’s Word and have embraced Satan’s lies, they believe that they are God’s people. In reality they are the product of Satan’s tares (false Gospel). Ignorance of God’s Truth causes them to “know” that they are “saved, born again, etc.” God calls all who are in His field “My people who are called by My name” even though most of them are His people IN NAME ONLY. He allows the real and the fake to remain together in His church (field) even though the vast majority either do not know His Truth or choose to disobey it because it is much easier to obey Satan’s truth. And because the payoff is supposedly the same (salvation), why not take the easy way? These two “ways” are the “gates” Jesus refers to in Matthew 7:13,14). One gate is “strait” (strict) and its “way” is dictated. The other gate is “wide” (easy) and its way is “broad” (self-determined).

Why, one may ask, does God allow fake believers to remain in His church with true believers? The best answer I can give is found in the parable of the PRODIGAL SON (Lk. 15). Notice that though the son rejected his father’s dictated rules, etc. and went off to do his own thing, the father continued to love him. Though the father did not know where the son was or what he was doing, the father-son relationship did not end. When the son returned, the father embraced him (vs 20), forgave him and welcomed him home. If the son had never returned, the father would have still loved him as his son. Even though the son had rejected him, and was, in the father’s eyes, spiritually “dead” and “lost,” his love for him never changed (vs 32). Notice that the father could have found him and brought him home, but he did not.

Another parable which speaks to the theme of this series concerns fish (vss 47-50). Here we find that within a school of fish there are both good fish and bad fish. These fish remain together as a unit until they are caught by the fisherman’s net. After examining them, the fisherman (God) separates the good fish (true saints) from the bad fish (false saints). He throws the bad fish away and saves the good fish. Notice that that good and bad fish remain together, like wheat and tares, until the end. It is only at the end of this life that they are separated and sent to their respective rewards.

Note in verses 49 and 50 of Matthew 13 that it is at the end of this life, at the time of judgment, that the angels will separate the true Christians from the false Christians. God will welcome His true saints to the Kingdom of God, but, as verse 50 reveals, He will cast the false saints into the furnace of fire where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But until that time they are called “the church.” Bear in mind that those cast into the fire will have spent their lives believing that they were true saints (good wheat, good fish). In verse 30 Jesus notes that the tares will be “burned” (the lake of fire) and wheat will be taken into God’s “barn” (His kingdom). The key is to remember that THEY ALL–GOOD AND BAD–REMAINED TOGETHER IN THE CHURCH UNTIL THE DAY OF JUDGMENT AND THAT THEY ALL “KNEW” THAT THEY WERE HEADED FOR HEAVEN. Note verse 49 where it is written that the angels will “sever (separate) the wicked FROM AMONG THE JUST.” Until then, the WICKED will believe that they are saved. Just as the five foolish virgins arrived at the marriage feast “knowing” that they would be welcomed inside and that they would marry the Lord Jesus. Instead, they were told: “I DO NOT KNOW YOU” (Mat. 25).

In finishing this series let us return to Matthew 13:13 where the disciples have asked Jesus why, given such a perfect opportunity to influence so many people, did He speak to them in parables? Let us note His words carefully: He said that He spoke plainly to them (the disciples) because they wanted to know the Truth about the things of God which was His message. However, the “great multitudes” that followed Him wherever He went were not interested in His message. As He said in verses 13 and 14, they would hear His words but would neither embrace them nor obey them. In verse 15 He noted that THEY HAD STOPPED UP THEIR SPIRITUAL EARS AND HAD CLOSED THEIR SPIRITUAL EYES TO WHAT HE SAID. THEREFORE, IN THAT CONDITION, THEY COULD NOT BE SAVED. HE HAS THE SAME ATTITUDE TOWARD CHURCH PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED ONLY IN SALVATION, NOT IN OBEYING HIS WORDS.

Final thought: If Jesus had formed a church after speaking to the “great multitudes,” EVERY ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE JOINED IT AND WOULD HAVE SPENT THE REST OF THEIR LIVES “KNOWING” THAT THEY WERE SAVED, BORN AGAIN, ETC. EVEN WHILE REFUSING TO OBEY HIS WORDS. Nothing has changed.

I learned last night that you can now get saved on the internet by visiting the website named heaven or not. net I did not bother to check it out. I suspect that this “minister” is in the same category as the: “If you want to get saved, just repeat after me” hucksters. If you are thinking about the “salvation” of the thief on the cross, read the series that addresses that situation. Key word: Thief. L.J.