Part 4—Soils That Cannot Be Saved

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.…And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, an it becomes unfruitful.” Mark 4:3-7, 15-19 (NKJV) emphasis added.

Let us now look at the third soil that cannot be saved. This soil is not hard, but soft. The Word can penetrate this soil. This soil is not shallow. The Word can take root. But this soil’s condition is still a problem.

With each soil Jesus shows to us, there seems to be an increasing ability to take in the Word, but there seems to be an increasingly more sinister and deeper problem that lies beneath. The first soil or heart is proud and stubborn and will not be broken under the influence of the Word. The second is more receptive, but isn’t committed when it becomes difficult to be a follower of Christ. Now we have an even greater problem lying beneath the surface.

This soil is soft and deep, but what lies beneath is as deadly to the Word as bedrock of limestone or as being hardened on top. This soil is the crowded soil. Here there are thorns beneath the surface. There’s too much that's crowding out the seed. The weeds may not be visible at first. They may have been chopped down, but under the surface there remains a strong weed root system.

This heart has heard the full disclosure of the Word, but they are distracted by everything else. They think they have Christ in one hand and the the things of this world in the other, but this is an impossible combination. These have one foot in the Word and one foot in the world. These are the half-hearted followers. There is no room for the good seed to bring new life. There is no fruit of repentance. There is no fruit of saving faith. There is no fruit of obedience. They are so full of the system of the world that the seed of the Word gets choked out. They are charmed by the world, and they are unconverted.

John wrote to the church in Ephesus in his letter of 1 John in chapter 2:15-17 (ESV),

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

This soil succumbs to the world. This soil will try to have its hand in the world and hold onto heaven. There is no evidence of grace here. This heart is not totally given to Christ, but sees the life of Christ as merely a part of their life. They can be easily distracted from the things of God, and will be in and out the congregation depending on if there are other things that are going on. The root system of this world chokes out any hope of the life-changing Word of God. This is the crowded soil, and this culture is full of this soil. This soil is lost but thinks it is saved. This soil sees no fruit but doesn’t expect any anyway.

This person professes Christ, but the pursuit of their life is filled with everything but the pursuit of holiness. They will pursue happiness, and Christ will be an additive to make their life better. This person is lost but thinks they are saved.

This soil cannot be saved for the Word is unable to produce fruit in it. Is the Word of God being strangled out in your life? Are the cares of this world consuming you? Have you fallen for the idea that wealth solve bring lasting fulfillment? Do you continually desire for more things? What is it that you truly live for?

If God is not producing His fruit in your life, you are not saved by Him. Only He can free you from that which entangles you. Only He can free you from the weeds of this world that entangles you. Only He can remove the thorns and weeds of this world. Run to Him.