What happens to real and fake Christians?
The Weeds Among the Wheat
By: Jack Guyler
Jesus tells an interesting story using a parable about wheat and weeds in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-41. He tells a story about a man who sowed good seeds in his field that would produce good wheat to fortify people. However, unknown at first to the man, his enemy came along and sowed weeds in his field. It wasn’t until awhile later as both grew up that you could see that weeds were growing in and among the valuable wheat. The workers wanted to pull the weeds out but this would have been done prematurely because the weeds and wheat often would get tangled together so the owner said to wait until the harvest and then the wheat would be pulled for use to feed people and the weeds would be pulled up and burned. Jesus went on telling another story and then when he was finished, his disciples, who couldn’t shake the story about the wheat and weeds from their minds, asked him to explain it as they went into a house to relax after being outside teaching for much of the day.
Then in Matthew 13:36, Jesus explains the meaning of the story. He tells them the field represents the world and that the sower of good seed was Himself. The good seed represented those who were truly following Jesus while the weeds were sown by the devil and the weeds represent those following the devil or those influenced by things other than the One true living God.
The real point of this story is that among true believers (wheat in the parable) in the world and in the church, there are also those who don’t believe or don’t follow Jesus, but who look like they do (weeds according to the parable). They aren’t in it for God. They aren’t in it to glorify Him and to share His love and grace with others. Rather they are in it for themselves – for self-glory!
The issue here is that both are growing together. It is hard to distinguish sometimes one from the other. They can become intertwined. This is why Jesus in the parable is making the point to not be in a hurry to pull up the weeds because we might make premature judgments. We need to be aware, we need to be watching, but we also need to be patient. This doesn’t mean we aren’t alert looking to see where the weeds are growing and where they are spreading toxins and infections throughout the Body of Christ and in the world. Jesus tells us very plainly and clearly to be watching and discerning because the devil is on the move against those who love God. Paul reminds us that we are in a war against evil and darkness and to be ready for battle at all times.
The point is this, because so many today, even in the church and those who consider themselves strong Christians know little of church history or the Word of God, but have grown up more on church traditions, cultural teachings, social media so-called truths and feel-good religion, don’t realize how many weeds or false teachings/false teachers are in the church today. They have been lulled to sleep thinking anything labeled “Christian” must be really Christian and in alignment with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So listen to Jesus’ words:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ and will deceive many.’”
The Apostle Paul warns us as well. Listen to some of the things he says:
“Be strong in the Lord…Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…carry the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
“For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group…they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach – and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”
“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
Listen to these words of warning from the book of Jude:
“For certain people whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless people who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
“In the last times, there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.”
The New Testament is full of warning signs for us to proceed with great caution! We need to really study the Word of God for ourselves, reexamine the filters that we read the NT through and how we think about church, and honestly ask questions and seek the truth. If you don’t, the vacuum will be filled by an endless supply of false teachings, false teachers, music that pretends to be Christian but isn’t and social media feeds full of human opinions under the guise of a “word or vision from the Lord.” We are in a battle for our own souls, the souls of others and our culture. If we are going to make a difference, then we need to be aware of the battleground that we are living in and get tuned into the One, true living God that is revealed in scripture, not people’s visions and experiences. Jesus warned us that the weeds are growing among the wheat. They aren’t in separate areas but all growing together. It is up to us, with the guidance of the Word and the Spirit, to distinguish between the two so we can worship, serve and share the true and living God.
