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The Daily Word of Righteousness
From Adam to Christ, #9
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:23)
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is one of sowing, not of management. The Lord Jesus went about sowing the good Seed of the Kingdom and teaching about the Seed of the Kingdom.
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: (Matthew 13:31)
The Lord Jesus organized nothing. Instead He concentrated on teaching twelve men the nature of the Kingdom of God.
After the Lord was resurrected His Apostles went throughout the world sowing the Seed of the Kingdom. After the death of the original Apostles, religious people began to plan and organize the Gospel message. Very quickly institutional Christianity came into being.
The author, being presently the pastor of a congregation of believers, before that the principal of a public school, is well aware of the need for administration. The Scriptures exhorts those who rule to do so with diligence. There is no place for laziness or sloppiness in the work of the Kingdom of God.
However, the Gospel of the Kingdom is not a plan for "getting people saved." The Gospel is the Divine Seed. It is to be sown, as God directs. How it grows, where it grows, when it grows, is known only to the Holy Spirit.
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. (Mark 4:26,27)
While we should make reasonable efforts to teach children or to make and disciple converts, the actual growth of the Kingdom of God is a mystery that cannot be managed by the brain of man.
The counting of "decisions for Christ" may reflect only the personal ambition of preachers and denominations.
No one knows what takes place in the human heart when the Gospel is preached. One person makes a great show of being "saved" and a few months later is back in the ways of the world. Another walks out of the meeting and ten years later is a flaming evangelist. What, then, is the purpose of counting the "decisions for Christ" if we have no way of knowing whether the Seed will germinate, and having germinated what will come forth?
It appears we are attempting to sow and reap in the same moment! This procedure is neither scriptural nor practical.
We understand that the Scripture states how many were added to the church when Peter preached.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:41)
Do you believe that Peter wrote down in his record book that there were three thousand decisions for Christ when he preached his first sermon or that the Holy Spirit in this verse is directing us to keep records of how many decisions for Christ are made when we preach? Do the Scriptures teach us that God is impressed with numbers of people?
To be continued.