Are You Wheat or Are You Weed?

But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. (Matthew 13:25)

 So what's a tare? Since I first heard that verse I wondered what a tare was. I knew it was a weed because some bible versions come out and say weed, but a tare is a specific weed, we know it as darnel which is a weed that looks a lot like wheat. When I found that out I now see Matthew 13:25-30 in a whole new light.

But are you wheat or are you weeds? Are you a sheep or a goat? Are you saved??? The Apostle John can help, in fact he wrote a whole book on how to figure that out. 1 John 5:13 says  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. So are we saved? John, Jesus' most beloved disciple, wrote for us a 10 point plan to see if we can actually have eternal life:

but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1John 1:7)

When you're saved you just like to hang out with others that are saved, you like discussing your faith and sharing your ideas. Your fellowship with fellow Christians helps each other through the trials of this unclean world, we strengthen each other and support each other as Satan tests us. If you love to hang out with the brethren you just might be wheat.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1John 1:8)

If you realize that you are a filthy wretched sinner whose only chance at everlasting life is through the blood of Christ Jesus, you're a Christian, because that's what our faith, our beliefs, and our scripture is all about. Only through the loving grace of God can we be seen fit to be brought into His presence and nothing we can do except repentance and accepting Jesus as our savior can make that happen. If you truly believe that you've left sin behind or were blameless before receiving Christ, you just might be weeds.

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. (1John 2:3)

True, we are not saved by the law, but when we come to know Jesus and accept him as our Lord and Savior we are transformed, the law is no longer a requirement but our passion. We just want to follow His direction and guidance. Matthew 7:16 says "You will know them by their fruits..." These are our fruits, this is how others, and most importantly, this is how WE know we are saved. If the 10 commandments are the ruler by which you measure your life, you just might be wheat.

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1John 2:15)

This world is sliding into the depths of despair and wretchedness. To cling to this rock is one thing, many parts are breathtakingly beautiful, but it's not our home. However the things of this world are a serious threat. Drunkeness, drugs, sexual immorality, sacrificing our children to the perverse and uncaring 'gods' of neoliberal political correctness, violence on TV, violence in the movies, violence in the streets all defended as "self expression" by an arrogant and insolent government who's only true agenda is re-election and the coming day when they can joyfully shred the constitution and hand the reins of power over to Satan - how can you NOT be sick of this world? If you really want to stay here forever, elect pro-abortion politicians and watch Quinten Tarentino movies, you just might be weeds.

Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. (1John 2:23)

This is one of the primary founding tenants of Christianity - that Jesus Christ is God, and God is Jesus Christ, both are the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is both. Jesus Christ is not a created being he's the CREATING being. If someone says to you "I'm a Christian and I believe in God, but I believe that Jesus was just a good man..." that person needs help. Serious, theological help. They are not a Christian, and possibly they're a Jehovah's Witness. If you believe with every fiber of your being that Jesus is God, one and indivisible, you just might be wheat.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. (1John 3:2)

As Christians we love God and we can't wait to see him. We know that when we see Jesus coming in a cloud with power and great glory we know it will be time to come home. If you'd rather live a long earthly fulfilling life rather than see the glory of God as soon as possible, you just might be weeds.

the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1John 3:8)

Habitual, unrepentant sin is the work of the devil and when someone tells you "I'm saved so I can sin all I want" they're not saved. When we gave our lives over to Jesus and the Holy Spirit filled our hearts the idea of sin became distasteful to us. A transformation took place, but we were made better, we weren't made perfect. Our walk with God is a journey of direction, not perfection. We don't practice sin, and we don't want to practice sin, but we're not perfect, so when we stumble we ask God to pick us up. When we avoid the stumble the next time, we thank God and He smiles. If you realize you're a sinner and it breaks your heart knowing you break Jesus' heart with your transgressions, you just might be wheat. 

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. (1John 3:14)

The death spoken here is spiritual death. Becoming a Christian is a resurrection from death to life and a turning of hate to love. A lack of love shows that one is spiritually dead and has never experienced the cleansing of rebirth into Jesus. Yes, loving someone whose actions and opinions are intolerable to you is difficult, but if you don't strive to overcome that knowing that with effort they can be saved, you just might be weeds.

We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1John 4:6)

As Christians we are tasked to spread the Gospel to all the nations of the world, not just to our bible study class. If someone who could have been saved goes to hell, God didn't send him there, he sent himself there through his sins, but we helped him though our failure to reach out to him. True, there's going to be people we can't save, and there's going to be a lot of them, but we're not tasked with wasting our time (that whole pearls before swine thing), we're asked to give it a shot and if we're rejected we move on.  We love Jesus, and we love spreading his word, and if you enjoy using your God given talents, skills, and abilities to do what ever you can do to spread His word, you just might be wheat.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1John 4:15)

This is the doctrinal test. John emphasizes that sound doctrine expressed in God's word is the only absolute and trustworthy standard. The Holy Spirit testifies to the deity and holiness of God while Satan twists and perverts the message. If you believe that the Bible is the true and absolute word of God but parts, like the diety of Jesus Christ, are negotiable, come harvest time you should be very, very worried.

Thanks to Todd Friel for the inspiration (and most of the leg work) for this entry.