The Parable Of The Sower And The Seeds

Luke 8:11-15, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

This is what The Parable Of The Sower And The Seeds is about in Luke 8:11-15. Verse 11 says that the seed is the Word of God. Here are the four groups of seeds and what they represent:

1. Verse 12 mentions the seeds which feel on stony ground. Birds (symbolic of the Devil) came down and ate the seeds, so that no one was saved.
2. The second group of seeds in verse 13 fell on shallow soul. They sprouted, meaning they got saved, but due to their shallow roots they fell away when the winds of persecution blew. This group did not lose their salvation as Evangelist Ray Comfort errantly teaches, they simply did not mature to bring forth any fruit (soulwinning).
3. The third group in verse 14 are the seeds which fell upon soil with thorny weeds. As they grew (showing they are saved), they were choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this earthly life. I think this is where most believers fit in today. Likewise, they never mature to share the Gospel or bear fruit for Christ.
4. The final and fourth group of seeds in verse 15 are they that with an honest and a good heart the Bible says, bring forth fruit unto perfection. These are soulwinners who make their heavenly Father proud. This is the goal of The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, to win people to Christ, get them water baptized as a public profession of their new found faith, and then teach them to go out and do the same, winning others to Christ with the Gospel.

This parable is about maturing to win souls as a Christian, not about salvation.