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The tares represent classes that are the fruit or embodiment of error, of false principles. "The enemy that sowed them is the devil." Neither God nor His angels ever sowed a seed that would produce a tare. Satan, the enemy of God and man, always sows tares. In the East, men sometimes took revenge upon an enemy by strewing his newly sown fields with the seeds of some noxious weed that, while growing, closely resembled wheat. Springing up with the wheat, it injured the crop, and brought trouble and loss to the owner of the field. So it is from enmity to Christ that Satan scatters his evil seed among the good grain of the kingdom. The fruit of his sowing he attributes to the Son of God. By bringing into the church those who bear Christ's name while they deny His character, the wicked one causes that God shall be dishonored, the work of salvation misrepresented, and souls imperiled. Christ's servants are grieved as they see true and false believers mingled in church. They long to do something to cleanse the church. Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church; but He has not committed to us the work of judging character and motive. He knows our nature too well to entrust this work to us. Should we try to uproot from the church those whom we deem to be spurious Christians, we should be sure to make mistakes. Man judges from appearance, but God judges the heart. As the tares have their roots closely intertwined with those of the good grain, so false brethren in the church may be closely linked with true disciples. The real character of these pretend believers is not fully manifested. Ananias and Sapphira joined themselves to the disciples. Simon Magus was baptized. Demas, who forsook Paul, had been counted a believer. Judas Iscariot was numbered with the apostles. His experience with Judas is recorded to show His long patience with perverse human nature; and He bids us bear with it as He has borne. He has said the false brethren will be found in the church till the close of time. Notwithstanding Christ's warning, men have sought to uproot the tares. To punish those who were supposed to be evildoers, the church has had recourse to the civil power. Those who differed from the established doctrines have been imprisoned, put to torture and to death, at the interrogation of men who claimed to be acting under the sanction of Christ. But this is the spirit of Satan, not the Spirit of Christ that inspires such acts. God has been misrepresented through the church by this way of dealing with those supposed to be heretics. Not judgment and condemnation of others, but humility and distrust of self, is one of the teachings of Christ. The fact that men are in the church does not prove them Christians (having joined the church, but who have not joined Christ). The tares closely resemble wheat while the blades are nice and green; being permitted to grow among the wheat, to have all the advantages of sun and shower (God's blessing). While there may very well be sinners who make a pretension of piety mingle for a time with the true followers of Christ, and the semblance or outward appearance of Christianity is calculated to deceive many. Malachi 3:18 (James Moffatt Translation) - Then once more shall you see the difference between good and bad, between him who serves God and him who does not serve him. Every man will be judged by his own words and works. Profession will be nothing in the scale. It will be character that will help in deciding ones destiny. |
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