In the Parable Of The Sower the Lord Jesus mentioned besides others, a type of person who hears the word of God, but does NOT bring forth spiritual fruit. When that person hears the Word of God, the effect is likened unto seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. (Mat 13:7) The meaning is clearly revealed a few verses later:
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. (Mat 13:22)
Jesus taught the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out the fruitfulness of God’s word in some people. In the paralleling passages from Mark and Luke, we read:
But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. (Luke 8:14)
Hence, the spiritual thorns (worries of this life, deceitfulness of wealth, desires for other things and life’s pleasures) are all potentially disastrous to fruit bearing. They don’t have to be, but they certainly are in one out of four types of people who hear the Word of God. Other people are tested by God with those same thorns yet bring forth fruit anyway. Why? How can this be with some, but not all? Here’s how. The Christian life is a walk of faith. We must remain mindful of the big picture, which includes eternity beyond the grave. If we do that, the multiple problems and troubles of this life will become very small in contrast. Furthermore, there are many wasted hours spent doing things that don’t have to be done to such perfection. Examples are mowing the yard every week or washing the car as soon as a little dirt or dust gets on it. Even worse is wasting many hours each in front of the godless TV set, while getting spiritually polluted by that bad company (1 Cor 15:33). None of those things are conducive to fruit bearing.
Getting into debt to have a big house, new car, furniture and going on vacations you can’t afford are also major thorns for fruit bearing. Some people waste the fruit bearing potential of their wealth on themselves. They spend large amounts of money for things they don’t really need to have. Our free time and money are major areas through which we will be tested. They can be used to bring forth fruit, but often don’t because of the worries of this life, etc. All of this has salvation importance, especially when one realizes it is fruit or fire. The Heavenly Father will cut you off from the Vine (Christ) and you will be thrown into the fire, if you are fruitless (John 15:1-6). Watch out for spiritual distractions and keep focused. The Christian life is a life of self denial (Lk. 9:23), not self indulgence and you must bear good fruit to stay saved and retain eternal life! There is NO eternal security.
