Do Not Tamper With The Word of God – The Parable of The Soils
Pastor Leslie Chua
“And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
Toward the end of His second year of public ministry, Jesus spoke exclusively in parables when teaching in public (Matthew 13:34; Mark 4:33-34). Jesus changed His communication style in response to the continual attack from the Pharisees and the masses’ tepid response to His message.
Quoting Isaiah, Jesus said, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13).
Many people mistakenly think that Jesus spoke in parables so that the ordinary people in Jesus’ time could understand His message. On the contrary, the intent is to obscure the gospel truth from those who were not true seekers. Most people followed Him out of curiosity and excitement.
Continuing with Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus said, “Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive” (Matthew 13:14).
Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy by speaking in parables.
Four Different Soils & Four Different Heart Conditions
Hearing and understanding God’s words are vital. People with different spiritual heart conditions hear, understand, and respond to the Word of God in different ways, yielding different results.
Jesus told the first of His Kingdom parables to highlight four different heart conditions with different degrees of receptivity to His words. This parable is commonly known as the Parable of the Sower.
These four different heart conditions are exemplified by four different types of soils – the hard soil of the pathway, the rocky soil, the thorn or weed-infested soil, and the good soil.
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Hearing and understanding God’s words are vital. People with different spiritual heart conditions hear, understand, and respond to the Word of God in different ways, yielding different results.
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I prefer to call this parable the Parable of the Soils instead of the Parable of the Sower for an obvious reason. This parable is about the soils – the four different types of soil. It is not about the Sower. Neither is it about the seeds.
The four different types of soil produced different yields of harvest. They correspond to the four different heart conditions, which respond to the Word of God differently.
The hardened heart is incapable of responding to God’s word, and hence, it cannot produce any spiritual fruit. Neither can the heart condition that is represented by the rocky soil. The heart that is weighed down by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches will produce a limited amount of fruit of low quality. Only the heart represented by the good soil will produce much fruit, yielding thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and even one hundredfold.
Nothing is Said about the Quality of the Seeds
It is obvious from the parable that the seeds represent the gospel message or the Word of God. The seeds that were sown on the four different types of soil are a picture of how people with different heart conditions respond to God’s Word.
If you read the Parable of the Soils, you will notice that nothing is said about the quality of the seeds.
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The quality of the seeds had no bearing whatsoever on the harvest. It was dependent on the type of soil.
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We can assume that all the seeds are of the same quality. The farmer took the seeds from his bag and scattered them over a wide area. The seeds that landed on the footpath, the rocky ground, and weed-infested soil were the same as the seeds that landed on the good soil.
The quality of the seeds had no bearing whatsoever on the harvest. It was dependent on the type of soil.
In the same way, a person’s heart condition determines his response to God’s Word and not the Word itself. The Word of God is always and consistently efficacious. It touches different people with different heart conditions with the same power and potency.
Nothing is Said about the Sower
The sower is anyone who proclaims the Word of God. It can be done through the medium of preaching, teaching, witnessing, or sharing a personal testimony.
Notice also that nothing is said about the sower. No detail of the sower is given. Absolutely none.
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Like the quality of the seeds, the sower’s skill and method of sowing had no bearing on the outcome of the harvest. The yield depended exclusively on the soil conditions.
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Why? The reason is the identity of the sower is not important.
Like the quality of the seeds, the sower’s skill and method of sowing had no bearing on the outcome of the harvest. The yield depended exclusively on the soil conditions.
The point of the parable is the receptivity of the gospel message or the Word of God depends solely on the heart condition of the hearers. It is not dependent on the communication skill of the messenger.
Are you surprised?
Tampering with the Word of God
Herein lies an important lesson for us, especially for pastors and Christian leaders. Do not tamper with the Word of God.
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Do not tamper with the Word of God.
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The seeds are perfect. Any attempt to modify the seeds to improve the harvest is misguided and counterproductive. The pure and unadulterated Word of God is the only legitimate seed to be used.
Nowadays, many preachers are tempted to dilute the Word of God to make it less offensive and more palatable in their attempt to draw people to their churches. So, they either tone down or avoid the hard and unpopular truths in Scripture altogether, opting only to focus on the encouraging and attractive portions.
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We cannot preach Christ without the cross, the cross without surrender, and salvation without discipleship.
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Some go so far as preaching a different gospel, mixing gospel truths with motivational messages. The shallow, feel-good, and therapeutic kind of gospel is not uncommon nowadays. It sounds like the gospel, but it is not the true gospel.
We cannot preach Christ without the cross, the cross without surrender, and salvation without discipleship. The German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, labelled such kind of gospel as the preaching of “cheap grace.”
For some, depending on the preaching of the Word alone is too old-fashion. Just sowing the seeds of the gospel is not going to be effective. The Word of God must be given a helping hand. Put up a good show with flashing lights and loud music. Add good programmes into the mix. Dress up fashionably. That is how you grow a church and advance the Kingdom of God.
These preachers mistakenly believe that by doing all these things, they can attract and reach out to those people who would otherwise be uninterested in God and the gospel.
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Jesus is not interested in numbers. He is never impressed with crowds. He is not interested in uncommitted believers who are unwilling to count the cost of discipleship and pay the price of following Him.
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Let me say categorically that these people do not understand the heart of Christ and the gospel.
Jesus is not interested in numbers. He is never impressed with crowds. He is not interested in uncommitted believers who are unwilling to count the cost of discipleship and pay the price of following Him.
To those who wanted to follow Him, Jesus questioned their motivation – “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Essentially, Jesus was saying that following Him was not going to be easy. There would be inconvenience and even painful sacrifices to make. So, consider carefully.
Sometimes, Jesus threw curved balls at the masses to filter out those who followed Him for the wrong reasons.
Consider the occasion after He had fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes. The crowd frantically searched and followed Him across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus said to them pointedly, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:54-56).
Many of these people, including His disciples, could not stomach this “hard saying.” They were offended by Jesus’ repulsive and seemingly ridiculous remarks. “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66).
This is the reason Jesus spoke in parables. It is to obscure the gospel truth “lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15).
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There is no need to tamper with the Word of God to reach unbelievers and placate believers. It is foolish to do that. Instead, pray for their hearts to be changed and softened to receive God’s Word of truth.
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Given that, there is no need to tamper with the Word of God to reach unbelievers and placate believers. It is foolish to do that.
Instead, pray for their hearts to be changed and softened to receive God’s Word of truth. The battle for souls is won in the arena of prayer and not through human ingenuity and modifying the Word of God.