What is the difference between a Christian and a Non-Christian? A believer and an unbeliever? The saved and the unsaved? Is there a difference? Can one distinguish? If so, then it is a matter of life and death to know. If not, then all is hopeless and meaningless. There is no good news. Now or ever.
But Christ did not speak as though His followers could not be known or distinguished. His followers agreed with him, and expressed the same conviction of distinguishing Christians from Non-Christians. They believed the saved and unsaved could be known, in life and in death.
“What about Jesus’ parable of the wheat and tares,” some ask. This is the parable they are talking about:
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
Here is the explanation Jesus gives of this parable:
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
- The first significant thing is this: the “field” in the parable is the world, not the church. Many apply these words to the church, and there may be some application, but Jesus said the field was the world, not the church.
- Second, it is clear that there is a distinction in origin and identification between these two groups:
Wheat= “sons of the kingdom,” whose origin is “The Son of Man,” or Christ.
Tares= “sons of the evil one,” whose origin is “The devil.”
Again, there is a distinction in origin and identification. This distinction is difficult to see IN THE BEGINNING OF GROWTH. Literal wheat and tares are hard to distinguish when they FIRST grow. When they are FULLY grown, they are very distinct. The primary point Jesus made was the coexistence of the children of God and Satan in this present world: Literal coexistence, and the coexistence of the carnal and spiritual. But as the unbeliever grows in unrighteousness, and the believer grows in righteousness, they will be very distinct. Yet the main point in this parable isn’t their growth, but that on judgment day the Kingdom of God on earth will be rid of evil and all who cause evil.
So does this parable mean there is no difference between the saved and unsaved on earth, and that they will only be distinct in the very last day? Does this mean that because of immaturity in the church, many members of the church will be so “worldly” or “carnal” that they will look and act exactly like unbelievers? Does this therefore mean that neither life nor death beds are places where there can be any certainty of anyone’s eternity? That only the one on the death bed, and God, know what is in his or her “heart?”
This may seem so to some, if they considered no other scriptures.
The scriptures below suggest that believers can most surely be distinguished from unbelievers. They suggest that believing observers can see certain behaviors and KNOW if they are dealing with a child of God or of the devil. (They even suggest that nonbelievers can know the difference!)
Consider:
· Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 1 John 2:9
· This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. I John 3:10
· Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 1 John 3:15
These verses agree with the words of the Lord Jesus Himself:
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35
The saved and unsaved can be known. Therefore, the inhabitants of heaven and hell can be known as well… (Click here for the conclusion.)
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