Nominal Christianity or Christ

The Challenge of the Parable of the Sower

If you think the parable of the sower is merely a bland earthly story with heavenly meaning, you should reconsider. Jesus does nothing bland! Understood in the context of the kingdom of heaven, this famous parable of our Lord offers a pleasant tonic for faithful preachers and hearers of God's Word, while also countering the intrusion of celebrity culture into the Church with its promotion of false Christianity.

The challenge of the sower, then, constitutes a treatise for our times. It calls preachers of the Word to abandon their coldness and pursue biblical rigor in making disciples, and hearers of the Word to consider Christ anew. The sovereign claim he makes on our lives does not align with the intemperance of authentic Christianity, nor with the cultural Christianity of the professing Christian, nor with the selective interest of the non-Christian in Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord.

With the eternal destiny of people and the testimony of the Church at stake, Jesus' parable deserves personal and group study, as well as fervent prayer for revival in our individual lives, in our pews, and in our pulpits.

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