RPG Adults
THE WHEAT AND THE TARES
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
Matthew 13:24-30
Memory Verse: Matthew 13:28
“…while men slept, his enemy
came and sowed tares…”
THE WHEAT AND THE TARES
This is the second and last parable taught by Christ which has an explanation. The Parable of the Sower, with the four different types of grounds, reveals how hearers receive the Word of God. The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares shows the present state of the local churches. The ecclesiastical (i.e. church) ministry has not begun yet. But the Lord wanted to teach the disciples that when it does, they must know what the spiritual constituents of the local church witness will be like. In the case of the national witness, it was a witness of millions of the people of God, with believers and unbelievers living together in the Land of Promise. The disciples knew that already based upon Israel’s checkered history from the time they came out of Egypt until the present day, with many professing Jewish teachers of God’s Word rejecting Christ and His perfect teaching.
Will the church ministry, comprising a much smaller number of the people of God, be different? The Parable of the Wheat and Tares reveal that it will not be, other than the smaller congregations and the global spread of the church witness. The battle for truth and a holy witness rages on. The church will not be perfect like the nation of Israel, which is far from perfect. Christians must not expect perfection inside any local church, but holiness. The existence of believers and unbelievers coexisting in every local church means that problems and sins will occur. Hypocrites and sincere believers will live, serve and worship side by side throughout the existence of the church witness until Christ’s return.
Until then, believers must not be devastated when they join a church and experience problems in their church life. They need to be mentally and spiritually prepared for such eventualities. To recede into a shell and stop serving because of wrongful disappointment or leave the church because of wrongful expectations is to sin against self and God when they are supposed to forgive and seek forgiveness when they transgress. Such experiences, and their reaction to them, help determine the reality of their salvation in Christ.
THOUGHT: Have right biblical expectations in a local church.
PRAYER: O Heavenly Father, grant me the grace to have the right attitude when I serve and worship Thee with God’s people in church.