RPG Adults
A NET CAST INTO THE SEA: ITS SIGNIFICANCE
MONDAY, APRIL 20
Matthew 13:47-50
Memory verse: Matthew 13:50
“…and gathered the good into vessels,
but cast the bad away.”
A NET CAST INTO THE SEA: ITS SIGNIFICANCE
After the Lord began with the Parable of the Sower (emphasising the right way to receive God’s Word), He continued with a series of parables beginning with “the kingdom of heaven.” These include: the Wheat and Tares (the devil will sow tares whereas Christ will sow wheat in God’s kingdom on earth), Mustard Seed (that Christianity will grow from small to global), Leaven in the Dough (that the Gospel will impact all aspects of the person’s life at salvation), Hidden Treasure (that God will seek out and save those who do not seek Him), and the Merchant Seeking the Pearl of Great Price (that sinners will seek the Gospel and find salvation in Christ). The last parable in Matthew 13 is the Parable of the Net where Christ teaches us that the Gospel net will bring in good and bad fish, i.e. there will be true and false believers co-existing within the local church witness.
The local church must not be equated with heaven (where only genuine believers are found) because in the local church, there will be professing believers who need salvation. The Gospel must continue to be preached within the local church. No one must take their salvation for granted. Each must work out his own salvation with great fear and trembling. False believers in the church may think that they are believers because they live outwardly among genuine believers. And they may be made leaders in local churches to the detriment of the spiritual wellbeing of believers. All spiritual leaders must be carefully evaluated according to the biblical criteria for the safety of God’s people and God’s work within the church.
Outward signs of Christian faith, such as service, study, memorisation, and even the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, do not make a sinner a believer. This truth must be constantly declared in these last days of great deception. The angels will reveal the separation of the good and bad fish at the end of the world.
We cannot wait for the day for it will be too late to repent when the separation begins! We need to know now if we are a good fish!
THOUGHT: Do I bear the evidence of a genuine believer in my life?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to know if I am truly born again or not, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.