|
VIETNAMESE ARTICLES
16 May 2008
God’s Word and Human
Hearts (Part 5)
In the parable of the sower, the seed
is the Word of God (Luke 8:11), the fowls of the air refer to Satan (the
Devil) coming to take away God’s Word that was sown in human hearts
(Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12), and four kinds of soil refer to four kinds of
human hearts. The wayside refers to a hardened heart, the stony ground -
a shallow or superficial heart, the thorny ground - a worldly heart, and
the good ground - a good heart. Today we shall think about the seed on
the good ground, indicating that God’s Word is fruitful in a good heart.
Many are very good to their
loved ones, friends and even mankind in the eyes of men, but are neither
godly nor submissive to the Lord and His Word. In God’s sight, they do
not have a good heart toward God and His Word. The Scriptures tells us
that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9), and “There is none
righteous, there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom 3:10,
12).
Therefore, when the Lord
Jesus says about the good soil, refering to those who hear God’s Word
and “understand it” (Matt 13:23), “receive it” (Mark
4:20), and “in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep
it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15), we must
understand that it is the Lord who has opened and enlightened their
hearts to understand His Word, granted them faith to believe in His
Word, convicted them of their sins unto repentance, and constraint them
to love Him and submit to Him and to His Word. All is by God’s grace
alone, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of
works, lest any man should boast”
(Eph 2:8-9). To illustrate, let us see Lydia, “whose heart the
Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of
Paul,” and then she believed and was baptised while others did not
(Acts 16:14-15).
Do you and I have a good
heart toward God and His Word? Please read our next article.
Back
|
