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NASB | Romans 7:1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 7:1 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction [to rule] over a person as long as he lives? |
Subject: Parable, who in Matt 13:3-23 is saved? |
Bible Note: I spoke with my pastor about this parable yesterday. While he thought my application of this parable to the question of losing our salvation was interesting, he did not confirm nor deny what I said. Rather, he reminded me that the point of this parable is for us as we spread the gospel, and not so much about those who hear it. That is, Jesus is saying there are different responses to the gospel, so we should sow the gospel everywhere, not only in those places where we think the soil is good. Only God knows what kind of soil is present in the hearts of those we preach to. Also, he cautioned against deriving theology from parables. Rather, he encourages us to interpret parables with understanding from the "theological" discussions in the Bible, such as Romans, rather than interpreting those discussions in terms of the parables. He explained, parables point to truth for those who can understand, but at some point they break down, usually when we try to assign meaning to every little thing. For example, in Easop's fable of the fox and the grapes, we could surmise that foxes can reason and foxes like to eat grapes. Clearly, this is not the point Easop was making about our attitudes when we don't get what we want, i.e. "those grapes were sour anyway". So, to summarize, this parable is best understood from the perspective of the sower, not the soil, and any inferences we make beyond this simple truth for the sower are perhaps going beyond what Jesus intended. Yet, I submit that since this parable is from Jesus, the truth of it cannot be denied. There is a real difference in outcome for each type of soil, but this difference is not for us to determine or be concerned with. Whether this difference relates to a loss of salvation is not clear and should not influence our work of spreading the gospel. Regarding Matthew 7:14 "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it", this says only that not many accept the gospel and does not say anything about what happens to those who do find the narrow gate but then lose it, or even if they can lose it. I apologize if I have misrepresented Jesus intent with his parable and description of the narrow gate. It is clear to me that His work on the cross and offer of salvation are meaningful precisely because the alternative is real. And, it seems hard to imagine anyone accepting His free gift, then rejecting it. But, then again, people ARE fickle and I have learned not to underestimate their capacity for sin. Fortunately, I have also learned not to underestimate Christ's capacity for mercy and grace. After all, He died for us while we were but sinners (Romans 5:8). |