12 AUGUST 2008
Understanding Wheat and Tares
“But when the grain had
sprouted and produced a crop,
then the tares also
appeared.”
Many professing Christians
misinterpret the Scripture about wheat and tares. The
truth is that there is a difference in wheat and tares
being in the same world, and wheat and tares being in
the Church. Many professing Christians, including some
ministers, do not know the difference. Those ministers
are not equipping the saints properly! The parable is
about wheat and tares growing side by side in the
world; it is not about wheat and tares growing side by
side in the Church.
The Parable of the Wheat and the
Tares
Matthew 13:24-30: Another parable He put forth to
them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a
man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men
slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat
and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and
produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the
servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir,
did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does
it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy
has done this.’ The servants said to him,
‘Do you want us then to go and gather them
up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you
gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with
them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at
the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
“First gather together the tares and bind them in
bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my
barn.”’”
The Parable Explained
Matthew 13:36-43: Then Jesus sent the multitude away
and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him,
saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares
of the field.”
He answered and said to them:
“He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom,
but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy
who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of
the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as
the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it
will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will
send out His angels, and they will gather out of His
kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice
lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of
fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then
the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let
him hear! [emphasis added]
There is a major difference in
disciples living alongside the wicked in the world and
living alongside the wicked in the Church. The Word
teaches us to know those who labor among us. It warns
us of the devil sending his false representatives into
the Church. Those who say that the field is the Church
open the door for carnal and fleshly lifestyles within
the Church by giving people an excuse not to live holy
or righteously. They also close off spiritual
discernment and Church discipline. It all helps keep
the Church immature and carnal. It prevents Ephesians 4:
11-16 from being a reality.
There are professing Christians
(does not mean they are real) that do not even believe
in the devil. There are immature and carnal Christians
who do not know the difference in a minister sent by
God and a minister sent by the devil. In actuality,
throughout the body of Christ, there are false
ministers, carnal ministers, and immature ministers who
prevent local churches from having their senses trained
to know both good and evil.
Many of the people who apply the
parable of wheat and tares to the Church are advocates
of cheap grace and cheap love and/or unwittingly open
the door for cheap grace and cheap love. They also open
the door for the Church to be worldly and carnal.
Grace is costly! It was purchased
with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Love cannot be
separated from obedience. If we love the Lord, we will
desire to be obedient. If we love Him, we will seek to
be holy as He is holy in all of our conduct. If we love
Him, we will deny self, forsake all, take up our cross
and follow Him. Grace can not be separated from holy
living and disciplined discipleship no matter how much
they yell LEGALISM.
Our desire is to bring restoration
to the Church so that, among other things, people will
know that there is an enemy and will not be deceived by
his tactics. They will be able to discern the wheat
from the tares and will, like the Church at Ephesus,
identify the false apostles and know that they are
liars. They will not make the mistake of the Church at
Ephesus of being so involved in good works that they
left their first love.
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Pastor R. Wayne Wilson
New Covenant Church of Jesus
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