Hearers of the Word

"For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear." (Matthew 13:12-16)

There has never been a time in the history of the world when the gospel message has been so thoroughly proclaimed. Volumes of books, magazines, and tracts are published every year on various gospel themes. The airwaves are saturated with Christian broadcasts on both radio and television, and several Christian movies have found nationwide audiences recently. Gospel preachers and evangelists draw arenas full of people to their crusades. Despite all the folks who are being exposed to the Word of God, however, the percentage is very small of those who are truly hearing.

Jesus said that whoever has, shall be given more, and in increasing abundance. Whoever does not have, on the other hand, will lose even the little that he has. The question is: what commodity was Jesus referring to? The answer is: faith. True faith grows as it is exercised. Like the mustard seed that is so small and insignificant of itself, but, when planted becomes a mighty tree, so also is faith. We may think that our faith is small, but the question isn't the size of our faith, but whether or not it is growing.

In the passage from Matthew, Jesus quotes out of the book of Isaiah, sixth chapter, which tells of those who will hear and not understand, and who will see and not perceive, and, because of this, they cannot be converted, or their hearts healed. There are several different outcomes to hearing the truth. The two which have the most far-reaching and dramatic effects on the world are those who hear, believe, are transformed, and thus change the world; and those who hear, refuse to change, and substitute a hollow form of religion in place of true conversion. These last types are those of whom Jesus spoke when He said, "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." (John 16:2) They appear godly on the surface, but secretly harbor jealousy and hatred against the true believers.

In this same sixth chapter of Isaiah, we find a picture of true conversion and humility. "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." (Isaiah 6:1, 5-8) Isaiah found himself before the presence of the Lord. This revelation forced Isaiah to examine himself in the light of that presence, which humbled him deeply, and forced him to see his sinfulness and uncleanness. As a result of Isaiah's contrition and deep repentance, God was then able to purge away his iniquity with the fire of His Spirit. At this point, and only after all this was accomplished, Isaiah was in a position where God could use him and send him to be a messenger.

James says it all very well in his epistle, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:22-25) Not walking in the truth isn't just a bad idea: it is a dangerous place to be. We can find ourselves at enmity with God and not realize what we are doing and the potential harm we can cause. When Jesus was trying to explain to His disciples that He was to be crucified, Peter spoke up and tried to tell His Lord that it didn't have to happen that way. Jesus was very direct in addressing Peter's words. He said, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." It wasn't that Peter had sprouted horns and a pointy tail; it was that he was trying to dissuade the Son of God from the very purpose that He had been sent to accomplish. Peter's motivation was no doubt love for His Lord, but it was a dangerous emotion to entertain in this case. Oh, how we need to learn to walk in the Spirit as Christians - we can all too easily do the wrong things for the right reasons.

The story of Cain and Abel is an important illustration of a truth that we must understand as men and women of God. Read the account in Genesis chapter 4. Both these men brought offerings to God. Abel brought a lamb from the flocks that he kept, and Cain brought some of the "fruit of the ground" which he grew. God accepted Abel's offering, but was not pleased with Cain's. It is important to understand that God was not interested in either man's offering because it was the work of his own hands. It was faith and obedience alone that caused God to accept one man, and not the other. From the moment that Adam and Eve's eyes were open to their own sin, and they realized they were naked, God made it plain that the wages of sin was suffering and death. To cover their nakedness, an animal had to die to provide skins. Before this time, there had been no animals slain; Adam and Eve were vegetarians. After this time, it was necessary for there to be atoning blood. Man brought death on God's perfect creation through his own disobedience. This is why Abel's sacrifice was acceptable and Cain's was not. God insists that it must be done His way, but man often makes the choice to do it his way, and seeks to honor God through the works of his own hands. In the process, he drifts further and further from the ultimate purpose that God has for mankind. Beloved, we must discover how to follow the Lord instead of trying to please Him with the works of our own hands. "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." (1 Samuel 15:22, 23)

As I have said many times, this Christian walk is a process. We are saved by being saved. The more we enter into the presence of the Lord, the more He is able to reveal our imperfections to us. The more we are willing to see our own imperfections - and repent of them - the more He can purge us and make us more like Himself. His Spirit is the power behind our transformation. He is able to change us from the inside out instead of our efforts to change ourselves from the outside in. Like the metamorphosis that takes place in secret, inside the cocoon, so also is the change that God is producing inside of us. So, beloved, let's be hearers of the Word; and hearing, let us be doers.

"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:5-9)