Not All Sin is Equal

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point

is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not

commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery

but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”

-James 2:10-11

                This verse is not saying that all sins are equal. What it is saying is that if a man keeps all of the laws of God except for one, he must be judged as guilty. There is supposed to be universal obedience and any one offense is against the whole law of God. This does not mean that all sinners are of equal grade. The meaning is that he is guilty of violating God’s law and does not have the true spirit of obedience; he will be judged and penalized according to the law. He may have obeyed all of God’s other laws but that alone will not save him from judgment because he has disrespected the authority of God. He cannot use, as reasons he should not be punished, that he obeyed all other commandments. If a man lies to one person but was honest to everyone else, he cannot offset the sin by pleading that he was honest in another case. He must answer for the specific charge against him. So how do we know that this verse is not telling us that all sin is equal? The bible tells us that not all sins are equal in 1 John.

“All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.”

-1 John 5:17

                If we commit one sin, it spreads like gangrene and we fall into more temptation. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 compares a church to a house. Every one of God’s people is used for different purposes. One can perform healing and another can speak in tongues. We are constantly taking in different things through our eyes and ears. The bible does say that what comes out of our mouth is what makes us unclean, not what goes in. But what about our eyes and ears? What we take in can affect how we think. Mark 4:24 warns us to be careful about what we listen to. There are so many secular songs that put down the existence of Jesus and God and raises humans higher. What do I do when I hear this music? I turn it off. I don’t want to pollute my temple and begin to believe what is said. I want to be a vase, not a toilet. They are both made of ceramic but it’s what goes into them that makes them what they are. It’s not what we listen to or see. It’s what we let our minds dwell on and what we do to our bodies. The Lord wants us to be cleansed and sanctified and remove anything that could tear us down. Sanctified means to be separated and set aside for God’s use. Do you want to be sanctified and used for God’s glorious works or do you just want to be an average person in God’s eyes living day by day for your own pleasure?

Saved, Not Condemned

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but

that the world through him might be saved.”

-John 3:17

                There are many Christians today who feel that they are more superior to others due to their morals, as if what they are is because of human achievement through works. The Pharisees in the New Testament were self-righteous and condemned others. When Christ ate with the sinners and tax collectors, the Pharisees questioned the disciples how Jesus could do that, as if they were better than the sinners. Luke 6:37 tells us not to condemn or we will be condemned. Jesus did not come to condemn mankind but to save them. If we are to live like Jesus did then we need to live on this same principle. We should not condemn anyone but rather help lead them to the salvation that the cross and Jesus’ blood brings.

                Some people are scared to go to a church or draw close to God because they fear condemnation and judging. They often forget that Jesus came to save sinners and it’s sinners who need him. Everyone is a sinner and we all deserve to be punished (Romans 3:10-23). However, Christ saved us from that.

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

-Luke 19:10

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus

came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.”

-1 Timothy 1:15

“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor,

but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

-Mark 2:17

                There is much false teaching today because people don’t understand the basic biblical truth. Salvation involves acknowledging one’s guilt of sin under God’s law and then trusting Jesus for forgiveness. There is much condemnation from religious people that involves putting sinners on trial and demand that they clean up their life. Others teach that if a person backslides and sins then they were never really saved and will not see the glory of Heaven. There are also those who say that once someone sins then they have lost all salvation that they had. But it is not the law that saves but faith!

                Once a person accepts Christ, then they will always have that salvation unless they condemn the Holy Spirit and deny its presence. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that we have no self-righteousness of our own to offer to God that is acceptable by Him. We need to be like Paul who admitted that he was a sinner and that Jesus saves. Everyone, no matter how much they have sinned, is entitled to the same opportunity to accept Jesus Christ and be forgiven of their sins.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new things!”

-Isaiah 43:18-19

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for

my own sake, and remember your sins no more.”

-Isaiah 43:25

                We all have the possibility of backsliding because we are in the flesh. Self-righteousness and spiritual pride are a sin (John 9:41). We cannot grow in Christ nor can we fully accept him if we feel that we are perfect or righteous due to just our obedience to the law. That would mean that we have no need of Jesus. So, if you see a sinner, don’t condemn them.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no

attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your

brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is

a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank

out of your own eyes, and then you will see

clearly to remove the speck  from your brother’s eye.”

-Matthew 7:3-5

                Everyone has their own faults and many try to hide that fact and go to judge and condemn others. Jesus ate with sinners to save them. He went into unbelieving towns to do what? Save them. Wouldn’t you be offended if you backslid and someone said that you were never really saved? Open your eyes to the truth and help save others from the fire. 

Because of Man's Desire

If you don't thank God after every smile why do you blame Him after every tear?

          

              Everyone is so quick to blame God when something goes wrong. Lost a job? That person is cursing God. A loved one dies? “Why would you do that God?” But then when everything is going good for them, they seem to forget who God is and don’t thank Him for what He’s done in them. We should go to Him on all occasions and rejoice at all times.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your

gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Don not be anxious about anything,

but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

-Philippians 4:4-6

                Some people say that God is evil because He allows evil. But He only allows evil because that is what men who don’t give themselves up to the Lord have in their hearts. They block God and the Holy Spirit from entering their hearts. Therefore, not all bad comes from God, nor Satan; it comes from the hearts of men (although we can blame Satan because they allow Him to control their thoughts and actions.) God allows the bad to happen as the punishment to mankind for not accepting Him.

“He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways

are perverse will suddenly fall.”

-Proverbs 28:18

                If you look at the story of Noah and the ark, God did not cause the great flood for no reason. There was so much sin in the world and earthly desires in the hearts of men that He needed to bring the world back to order. In the story of Jonah and the big fish, Jonah did not end up in the world by God’s own decision. God had ordered Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and preach against its wickedness. But instead, he tried to run from God and boarded a ship. The sea grew rough and he knew that the only way to help save the other men was to sacrifice himself so he had them throw him into the water. God allowed the fish to swallow him so that he would not drown and perish in the ocean.

                Jerusalem and Judah turned away from God; they became traitors. In return the Lord said that He will bring disaster and oppression to them because of their own wrongdoing (Isaiah 3:4-9). He will take both supply and support from them, the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder, the captain and men of rank, the counselor, and the skilled craftsman (Isaiah 1-3). It wasn’t the Lord bringing unrighteous punishment. The Jews and the people of Judah brought it upon themselves by not allowing God’s will to be done and by not accepting Him as their god.

                God also allows bad to happen to test us. In the book of Job, God allows Satan to take everything in Job’s possession and give him sores all over his body. He does this to prove that Job was a faithful servant of the Lord. Job’s wife told him to curse God but Job replied, “Shall we accept good from God, and not troubles?”(Job 2:10) Three of Job’s friends kept putting down God but Job did not so in return, Job was made prosperous again and give him twice the blessings.

“God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will

be with you to keep you from sinning.”

-Exodus 20:20

“…to humble you and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.”

-Deuteronomy 8:16

Renewal of the Spirit and of the Heart

                 The above drawing illustrates what the topic of this post is about. Renewal of the heart and welcoming of the Holy Spirit. Eggs often represent rebirth, as well as butterflies. That is why the butterfly is on the human heart: rebirth of the heart. And candles often represent the presence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the heart welcomes the Holy Spirit.              

                 Some people misconstrue the fact that God loves everyone to mean that everyone will go to Heaven and God will not let harm come to us. They think that believing in God and Jesus, along with a bedtime prayer and reading the bible, automatically earns them a place in Heaven. But in believing this, they’ve removed many parts of the Bible like James 1:22, which says that you must not only read the Word but live it out.  John 3:3-7 clearly states that in order to be saved, you must be born again and have a renewal of your heart.

“In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom

of God unless he is born again.’ Nicodemus asked, ‘How can a man be born when

he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’

Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless

he is born of water and of the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives

birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying ‘You must be born again.”

-John 3:3-7

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

-2 Peter 3:9

                You must be baptized in the water (…,having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22) and baptized in the Spirit. I’m going to sidetrack for a moment so that I can discuss what baptism of the Spirit is with you. Many Christians have debated over what exactly baptism of the Spirit is. We need to know first that all Christians receive the Spirit upon their conversion and in this sense all Christians have been baptized in the Holy Spirit.  This means that they are saved and that they have all they need at that time to be able to live godly and holy lives.  1 Corinthians 12:13 says, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” Some churches believe that the baptism of the Spirit is an experience different than initial salvation. They see it as a second experience that gives a person much greater spiritual power and boldness, and the ability to live a more victorious Christian life. We can conclude that when a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit he has power bestowed upon him.  This power is for the purpose of the preaching of the gospel (Acts 4:31), living a purer life, and having a deeper devotion to God.  Some groups teach that the baptism is accompanied by such signs as speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongue, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.).

                The Bible does not actually use the term "baptism of the Spirit" very often. John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would come and baptize with the Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). In Acts 1:5, Jesus recalled John's words, and told His followers that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from then. While these passages make it clear that the believers in Acts 2 experienced a baptism of the Spirit, we do not find a clear explanation of what that baptism means. The clearest explanation of the baptism appears in I Corinthians 12:13. Paul is dealing with a situation where the Corinthian church was splitting into factions over the issue of spiritual gifts. Overemphasis on certain spectacular gifts had led to the attitude that some people had the most desirable gifts, while others were deficient. In response, Paul exclaims, "We're all one! Don't divide up into cliques!" And to prove his point, he explains, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit" (I Corinthians 12:13).

                We must have a renewal of our heart where we give up all unrighteous things of our past (Ezekiel 18:21-2, Romans 6:11-14, Hebrews 10:22-29). Ezekiel 18:21-24 says that if a wicked man turns from all his sinful ways he will surely be saved but if a righteous man commits sin he will die.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to

put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires,

to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to

put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

-Ephesians 4:22-24

“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the

Sovereign Lord, Rather am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?”

-Ezekiel 18:23

“Wash  your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

-James 4:8

                   If we turn back to God and give ourselves to His will and become His workers we will be blessed greatly and He will protect us. In this next verse He is talking about Israel but it can still be applied to our own lives, just like every other verse in the Scripture.

"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and

pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will 

hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

-2 Chronicles 7:14

  

Letting Go of Your Pride

                First, I’d like to take a moment and talk about spiritual pride. Many who claim a faith in Jesus and God walk around like they don’t make mistakes or sin. That’s false and we can’t walk around like we’re Jesus back on Earth. We’re not; we are born as sinners. Christ was the only one to be born into the world free of sin. Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

“Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

-Psalm 51:5

                The bible says that to refrain from being spiritually proud we must confess our sins- confess them to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to God.

“He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever

confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

-Proverbs 28:13

                Now, I’m going to discuss pride in general. As humans, we often get caught up in the things that we do and pat ourselves on the back. We look to others constantly for praise. I know this is not all of us, but it is many of us. Sometimes we might not even realize it or we don’t realize it until after we’ve done it. But the Lord says that we should not be proud. Through pride we often forget where our source of accomplishment comes from: God. We often say, “Look what I did,” but instead we should say, “Look at what God helped me do.” You know what, we shouldn’t even have to say that. Instead, we should wait for others to see what we are doing or have done and if they give us praise we should say, “I thank God for giving me the ability to do this.”

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands

have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord

your God, for it is he who gives you the

ability to produce wealth.”

-Deuteronomy 8:17-18

                We must also do the works of the Lord without looking for praise from others. For example, in Matthew 6:1-4 it discusses the topic of giving to the needy. Normal people go running around and bragging about what they have done so that they could be praised and exalted. However, they gain no reward from God. We are supposed to bring glory and honor to His name alone.

“Then your Father, who has seen what is done

in secret, will reward you.”

-Matthew 6:4

                In Deuteronomy 8:10-14  it warns us that if we don’t remember God then when we have wealth and riches our “hearts will become proud” and we will forget the Lord our God. God does not like it when we are proud. If it weren’t for Him then we would not have the gifts and talents he ordained us with. Pride can destroy us; it can bring us to a true low point in our lives.

“This is why the Scripture says:

‘God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.”

-James 4:6

“A man’s pride brings him low, but a man

of lowly spirit gains honor.”

-Proverbs 29:23

Repentance and Humilty

           

                There is no such thing as a perfect person or a blemish free Christian. Many people outside of the Christian faith believe that Christians are not allowed to make mistakes. This is very far from the truth. We are not to seek sin or continue to live as we did before we knew God.  God understands that as humans we may stumble and fall. That’s why he sent his one and only son to die for us; so that we may be forgiven and have a way to the Father.

“The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where

sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as

sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign though

righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

-Romans 5:20-21

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through

the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to

God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,

so that we may serve the living God.”

-Hebrews 9:14

                Just because we have accepted the Lord into our lives does not mean that we are automatically accepted into the kingdom of our Father in Heaven.

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’

will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does

the will of my Father who is in Heaven.”

Matthew 7:21

                The difference between a believer of Christ and someone who has not yet received Him as their savior is that we know the difference between right and wrong, sin and righteousness. We recognize this and the Holy Spirit convicts us when we do something wrong. Without our spirit committed to God, we cannot receive the Holy Spirit to grasp us when we start to slip away. When Jesus died for us, sin could no longer come after us but we could still seek sin. After we are saved by the grace of God and our faith in Jesus Christ, we are less likely to fall into sin but it still happens.

“Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his

sight by observing the law; rather, through the law

we become conscience of sin.”

-Romans 3:20

                But it doesn’t just take believing in Jesus to be saved from our sins. We must also have repentance and humility. When we ask for forgiveness of our sins, and mean it from our hearts, he will forget our sins.

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,

and remembers your sins no more.”

-Isaiah 43:25

                In Luke 18:9-14, a Pharisee and a tax collector went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed about himself and was not humble; he did not admit to any sin but rather raised himself up higher than everyone else. The tax collector however confessed that he was a sinner and begged for mercy. The tax collector was justified with God for he humbled himself. This is how we are to be. We should not exalt ourselves before God or before men.

“If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now

that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

-John 9:41

                   This is a difficult passage to understand but let’s look at it logically, bearing in mind that Jesus was talking about spiritual blindness. Jesus is not saying that people who are physically blind are innocent of sin, as if God overlooks their sin because of their disability. The Bible teaches that everyone will be held accountable for their sin (Romans 3:9-19). Jesus was not speaking about sin in general but about the sin of spiritual pride. Those who were spiritually blind and did not claim to understand spiritual truth were not guilty of the sin of spiritual pride, but those who were spiritually blind and yet claimed to be spiritual leaders were guilty, and Jesus said that their guilt would remain.

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor,

but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous,

but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 5:31-32

                There are three Greek words used in the New Testament to denote repentance. The verb metamelomai is used of a change of mind, such as to produce regret or even remorse on account of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart. This word is used with reference to the repentance of Judas (Matt. 27:3). Metanoeo means to change one's mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge. This verb, with the cognate noun metanoia, is used of true repentance, a change of mind and heart and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised. Evangelical repentance consists of a true sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness; an apprehension of God's mercy in Christ; an actual hatred of sin (Psalm 119:128; Job 42:5, 6; 2 Corinthians 7:10) and turning from it to God; and a persistent endeavor of a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments. The true penitent is conscious of guilt , of pollution, and of helplessness. Therefore, he apprehends himself to be just what God has always seen him to be and declares him to be. But repentance comprehends not only such a sense of sin, but also an apprehension of mercy, without which there can be no true repentance (Psalm 51:1; 130:4). We must have a change of heart to have true repentance!

                As I said earlier, through Jesus’ blood we are saved; he was the sacrifice to the Lord and with him our sins were buried. We have been forgiven.

“If we have been united with him like this in his

death, we will certainly also be united with him in his

resurrection. For we know that our old self was

crucified with him so that the body of sin

might be done away with, that we should no longer

be slaves to sin-…”

-Romans 6:5-6

                However, not all men are forgiven just because of Jesus’ death for us sinners. You can pray and ask for forgiveness but do you have true repentance? Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Christ and your savior and changed your heart and life accordingly? If not, I urge you to do so today so that you can receive the full grace of God and have the joy of knowing that you will have everlasting life not full of gnashing teeth and fire but rather of the light of God in Heaven. Say a prayer like this and mean it from the bottom of your heart:

Father God in Heaven,

I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to you that I am

a sinner and I’m sorry for the life I’ve lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only Son Jesus Christ shed his precious blood on

the cross and died for my sins so I may have everlasting life in your

kingdom. Right now I confess Jesus as my Lord and savior. I believe

with my heart that you raised Jesus from the dead. From this moment

on I live for you. Transform me so I may bring glory and honor to you

alone and not myself. Use me as you see fit. Thank you for your

unlimited grace that saved me from my sins. Amen.

Is Homosexuality Really Wrong?

                There are those who like to say that there is no place in the bible that says homosexuality is wrong. They say people are born as homosexuals and it's not their choice. But it is. In their own sin, without the Holy Spirit to convict them, they cannot see what is really wrong.The world often likes to change God’s words and meanings, and even remove parts of the bible, to conform to their own worldly desires to sin. However, the bible clearly states in multiple verses that homosexuality is a sin.

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”

-Leviticus 18:22

“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman,

both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death;

their blood will be on their own heads.”

-Leviticus 20:13

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the

kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor

idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers

nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

-1 Corinthians 6:9-10

"For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the  woman and burned in their desire toward one another, 
men with men committing indecent acts and

receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a

depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."

-Romans 1:26-28

                Homosexuality is clearly wrong and goes against the creation of God. But then again, God is so far out of our country. He created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve or Alexis and Eve. There is no other way that we would have been able to reproduce and be the world that we are today. Homosexuality has a severe judgment administered by God Himself. This judgment is simple:  they are given over to their passions.  That means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins (Romans 1:24).  As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing, and then they go and promote it and condemn others who don't participate in their sin.  So, without an awareness of their sinfulness, there will be no repentance and trusting in Jesus.  Without Jesus, they will have no forgiveness.  Without forgiveness, there is no salvation. Without salvation, there is only damnation in eternal hell.

                We are not supposed to judge or condemn these men and women who give in to their temptations. No sin is greater than another. Lying is no better than homosexuality. All sin leads to death. Therefore, we are not to condemn or hate the person, we can only hate the sin that they are committing.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

-Luke 6:37

                We were all born sinners so we cannot condemn a homosexual any more than we would have been condemned, even if we were just a liar or a thief. They have the same chance at being saved as we did. God did not say he was sending Jesus to die for everyone but homosexuals or murderers. No, he sent Him for all to be redeemed.

“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed,

you were sanctified, you were justified

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the

Spirit of God.”

-1 Corinthians 6:11

                Homosexuality is a sin, and like any other sin it needs to be dealt with in the only way possible.  It needs to be laid at the cross and repented of. They need to be prayed for and they need to accept the conviction from the Holy Spirit. And, like all sinners, the person needs to be forgiven.  That can be found in Jesus.  He is the Lord, the Savior, and the risen King. If you want to love another man, love Jesus -- not in a homosexual attitudinal sense, but in one of respect and trust.  After all, Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14) and he died to save sinners.  We are all sinners and we are called to be the brides of Jesus.

                We should pray for the salvation of the homosexual, the same as we would for any other person in sin.  It is not an issue of arrogance or judgment.  It is a loving thing to do.  We don't want anyone to be lost due to their sin. Jesus came to save all people and we should not hide him from anyone.  The homosexual is still made in the image of God -- even though he is in grave sin.  Therefore, we should show homosexuals the same dignity, humility, and grace as anyone else with whom we come in contact. Show God’s love and his mercy so that he or she may be driven to accept Christ as their savior and give up their sin.  Don't injure them.  Don't hate them. You’ll only cause them to not want to be a follower of Christ. Plant a seed for them! However, this does not mean that you are to approve of their sin.  Don't compromise your witness for a socially acceptable opinion that is void of godliness and biblical truth.  Instead, stand firm in the word that God has revealed and patiently love him/her biblically, and pray for their salvation.

                After that, it is their choice. It is like the parable of the sower (Matthew 13: 1-23). When anyone hears the message about the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown. That’s the seed that was planted on the path. The seed that was planted on the rocks is the one who receives the message with joy. However, he lasts only a short while until persecution or suffering comes. The seed that fell among the thorns is the one who hears the word but the worries of life and wealth make it unfruitful. The seed that fell on the good soil is the one who receives the word and understands it and continues to live his life by the word.