Parable of the Soils, Eternal Security, and Fruit

Recently I preached on the Parable of the Soils in Matthew 13. Of the four soils, only one is good, and it produces fruit. The other three produce nothing. In explaining the parable, Jesus said: But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times [what was sown].” Matthew 13:23 (HCSB)

A couple of thoughts came to mind as I prepared for this sermon. First, a Christian is going to bear fruit. Jesus teaches that truth even stronger in John 15:8: My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples. Not only will a Christian bear fruit, but he or she will bear "much" fruit. The parable points out, however, the yield for every Christian is different.

This has application to the doctrine of eternal security of the believer. There is a warning for those who say they are members of churches but have no regard for the things of God. These are people who are on the rolls of churches, who walked down an aisle, shook a preacher's hand, signed a membership card, perhaps were even baptized, but were never really saved. The parable is clear that many do not allow the seed of God's Word to take root in their lives. Satan, problems/persecution, and greed keep people from truly accepting the Lord, even though they may be a member of a church. These folks can say, "I'm a member of Fairview Baptist Church," (or any other church) but that does not mean they are going to heaven. The Parable of the Soils teaches that fruit proves one's committment to Christ, not profession. One can say he is a Christian but only fruit proves it.

Second, the parable also warns believers who set themselves up as "fruit inspectors." Jesus taught that Christians do produce fruit, but the harvest will be different in each person's life. Some people produce fruit later than others. Others produce fruit that might be undected by us but not by the Lord.

Jesus said believers produce fruit. Ultimately only He knows what the quality of the fruit is in someone's life. Christ did not call any believer to be a fruit inspector. We are not judges of others (See Romans 2:1). We must leave that up to One who knows each heart perfectly.

Thus the parable, like so many other of Jesus' teachings, has a warning to both believers and unbelievers. Believers are not fruit inspectors--only God is. Unbelievers better not rely on being on a church membership roll. The only membership roll God recognizes is the Lamb's Book of Life.