Sermon Audio

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field...”

The Sower is at work again. As we heard last week, He casts His seed lavishly everywhere He can, seeking His harvest from everywhere. His seed is good; it is His Word, and it accomplishes the task for which it is cast, in some 100-fold, in others 60-, and in others 30-; in today’s parable, the seed is the sons of the kingdom—the Church.

But, the Sower is not the only one at work. The evil one is always at work, too. He comes along as a bird to snatch away the seed from those who do no understand—who refuse to hear and understand it. The evil one is at work also with the world and our own sinful flesh to stir up doubt and despair that God does not care for us, in order that we might fall away from the Sower and not produce the fruit for which the seed of His Word was cast to us.

But this evil one is crafty in his means. For, he also comes as one who sows “tares among the wheat” and goes away. “[W]hen the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.” These tares look like the wheat to the untrained eye; the Sower and His servants are able to discern the difference.

Concerned for the crop, the servants ask if they should go to gather the tares. It’s certainly a good thought: remove the tares so that they do not hinder the wheat. But the Sower objects, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest...” The servants may be able to discern the difference, but in the process of picking the tares, they may bring out some of the wheat, too. That’s too great a risk for the Sower. Wait until the harvest, the Sower tells them, “[A]nd 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 evil one is crafty in that He creates a false church and sows it together with the true Church on earth. Those in the church are usually unable to see a difference, though the false church can be discernible to the well-trained eye—to the well-catechized eye—at least to a point. However, the Sower and His servants and reapers certainly know the difference.

The Sower stays his servants’ hands. Do not uproot the false church from the true Church; wait until the harvest. He does this for two reasons. The first, as He mentions in today’s parable, is that doing so could cause harm to the true Church. For one reason or another, if the false church is plucked from the true Church, members of the false church would somehow take members of the true Church with them, bringing them to their end apart from the true Church. The second is that the Lord is patient. So long as members of the false church are intermingled within the true Church, the seed of God’s Word is cast to them; some of these, over time, will convert and become part of the true Church.

And so it will be until the end of time, as Jesus explained the parable to His disciples. Until the end of the age, the false church of the evil one will be sowed among the true Church of the kingdom of heaven. We like to use the terms visible and invisible church, and while these terms describe today’s parable in part, it does not go all the way.

In many ways, you can go into any church building and will not be able to tell who is part of the true Church and who is part of the false church. You cannot tell simply by looking at someone where they stand. They are certainly a part of the visible church, as could be recognized by their being in the church building for it’s regular use and participating in the activities there, but whether they are included in the invisible church is indiscernible to the naked eye.

As I mentioned, though, the well-catechized eye can be able to discern the difference between the false church and the true Church. As we were exhorted last week, this should also be encouragement to be in constant study of God’s Word—to read it, learn it, and inwardly digest it—to take up a personal study of the Scriptures and have them read and explained to you in the Church. Then, by the grace of God, you can be able to discern the difference between the false church and true Church, not only as it pertains to others, but also to yourself.

For the false church is most simply this: it claims Jesus’ name, prays in His name, claims to be His followers, but glories in sin. These are those “who call evil good, and good evil; [w]ho put darkness for light, and light for darkness; [w]ho put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20) These claim to be Christian, but do not follow Christ and His Word. These will hold up false doctrines as Biblical—such as the ordination of women, blessing homosexuality, and admitting to the Lord’s Table any and all who walk through the doors, among others. These will do many churchly things, look very much like true Church, hold up their Bibles as the Word of God, but teach it errantly, call it relevant for a day and age past, or blatantly say that the Scriptures are incomplete and in need of supplemental authority, and the like.

Those who abide in the Word of God (cf. John 8:31) will be able to know those doctrines as false. Yet, there are people who claim to be Christian who hold to them as salutary; there are those who wholeheartedly believe they are Christian while holding to false doctrines because their church teaches them, and they do and believe what their church teaches, believing that their church teaches what Christ has taught (or what Christ would teach in this day and age).

Now, it is not my place or the place of any of you to condemn one such as these. Speak the truth in love and point out the error of your brother in Christ, sure, but leave the condemnation to the one who will judge the whole world at the last day. As God counsels through the pen of St. Paul, “[J]udge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5) For, as St. Paul had also written, “He who judges me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:4b)

Why? For as it was said in today’s parable, by uprooting the tares, some of the wheat may be uprooted, too. Remember that the false church is intermingled with the true Church. At first glance, members of each are indistinguishable, and even for a well-catechized eye it can be difficult to tell the difference. Furthermore, the false church is not merely confined to one organization, and the true Church to another. You will find members of the false church in congregations that teach sound, orthodox doctrine; likewise, you will find members of the true Church in congregations that teach heresy. There will always be unbelievers in congregations that abide in God’s Word, and even in congregations where the Word is still present and proclaimed from time-to-time, but that hold to heterodox teachings, there will be believers.

Furthermore, as also mentioned, God is immeasurably and unspeakably patient and merciful. In time, those who are members of the false church, as the seed of God’s Word is continually cast at them, may convert. As they hear sound preaching, steadfastly study God’s Word, and are lovingly shown the errors of their ways, they, too, can come to a knowledge of the truth, and be counted among the kingdom of heaven.

No, it is not our place to condemn members of the false church. Though we can say with certainty that at the last day, things will not go well for those who remain part of the false church or died a part of it. For it is as Jesus said,

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.

Until that day, however, the false church will remain, and will be found scattered with and among the true Church. In fact, as time progresses toward the last day, things will get worse; in other of Jesus’ teachings about the end times, we learn that the false church will steadily grow, while the true Church on earth will be but a remnant.

While that sounds discouraging, and to an extent it certainly is, there is still comfort in it. And it is this: the true Church will remain. The Lord will have his harvest. It is as we will most likely sing as the Lord’s body and blood are distributed:

For the Lord, our God, shall come / And shall take His harvest home; / From His field shall in that day / All offenses purge away; / Give His angels charge at last / In the fire the tares to cast, / But the fruitful ears to store / In His garner evermore.

While the tares are sown together with the wheat, even as we heard in today’s parable, the harvest will come, and the wheat—the fruitful ears—will be gathered in His garner. Or, as Jesus explained to His disciples, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” And so, until that day, the true Church’s prayer is always, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus,” even as we will most likely sing in that same hymn:

Even so, Lord, quickly come / To Thy final Harvest-home; / Gather Thou Thy people in, / Free from sorrow, free from sin, / There, forever purified, / In Thy garner to abide. / Come with all Thine angels, come, / Raise the glorious Harvest-home.

So, we can take comfort, for the harvest is coming. It may not be this moment, this year, or even in our lifetimes, but we have this sure and certain promise from the Christ: it is coming. Until then, He comes to His Church—He is proclaimed to the world, true Church and false church alike, as the Savior of the world. He is proclaimed as the God who sacrificed Himself, shedding His blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Furthermore, He continues to come and give of Himself to the true Church for Her preservation. He is Her Head, and She His Bride; therefore, it is only fitting that He who gave Himself to make Her His would continue to give of Himself to keep Her His—He would not forsake His Bride. And so, He comes to you dear hearers—He who gave His body and shed His blood for you on the cross to make you a part of His Bride, to make you His brother and fellow heir of glory in eternity—and He gives you His body and blood hidden in bread and wine to keep you as a part of His Bride—that you may remain His brother and fellow heir of glory in eternity.

Fear not, O little flock, for while a remnant will remain, the Lord will have His harvest, and He desires that you be in it. He makes you a part of it through the waters of Holy Baptism. He keeps you a part of it in the Words of Holy Absolution, in the forgiveness given to you as the Word is proclaimed to you, and as you eat His body and drink His blood. Yes, dear fellow Christians, you are a part of His harvest, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.