1. Like God, we should be in the business of making wheat out of weeds.
2. Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
2.1. Matthew 13:24 24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.
2.1.1. Matthew 13:25 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.
2.1.2. Matthew 13:27 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
2.1.3. 27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
2.1.4. Matthew 13:28 28 “ ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “ ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
2.1.5. Matthew 13:29 29 “ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’ ”
2.2. Matthew 13:36 36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”
2.2.1. Matthew 13:37 37 Jesus replied, “The Son of Man* is the farmer who plants the good seed. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom
2.2.2. Matthew 13:38 The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world,* and the harvesters are the angels.
2.2.3. Matthew 13:40 40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world.
2.2.4. Matthew 13:41 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
2.2.5. Matthew 13:42 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2.2.6. Matthew 13:43 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
3. The Bible speaks of a future, but certain, judgment, a time when God will divide those who have accepted him from those who rejected him
3.1. The former will enjoy eternal bliss in God’s presence
3.2. While the latter will suffer unending punishment
3.3. Until that day of final reckoning
3.4. God is in the business of making wheat out of weeds, saints out of sinners.
4. I. JUDGMENT DAY IS COMING.
4.1. A. Jesus teaches that there will come a day when the wheat (the church) will be gathered into God’s barn (Heaven), while the weeds (the world) will be thrown into the fire (Hell).
4.2. B. Hell exists for several reasons.
4.2.1. Justice demands it. Not all evil is punished in this life, as Psalm 73:1–20 explains.
4.2.2. God’s sovereignty demands it. If there is no ultimate separation of good from evil, no final victory of good over evil, then God really is not in control.
4.2.3. Human dignity demands it. Part of our being created “in God’s image” (Genesis 1:26, 27) is our free will, the power to make unconstrained, voluntary, and therefore responsible choices. We have the freedom to refuse God’s love.
4.2.3.1. Genesis 1:26 26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings* in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,* and the small animals that scurry along the ground
4.2.3.2. Genesis 1:27 27 So God created human beings* in his own image. In the image of God he created them;
4.3. Acts 17:31 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
4.3.1. Revelation 20:11-12 11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.
4.3.2. Revelation 20:13-15 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave* gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
5. II. THE CHURCH AGE IS FOR EVANGELISM, NOT JUDGMENT.
5.1. A. Although there will be a time for judgment, this is not it
5.1.1. The parable of the wheat and weeds says that God will permit the church and the wicked people of this world to live side by side until the Judgment Day.
5.2. Matthew 13:28 28 “ ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “ ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
5.2.1. Matthew 13:29-30 29 “ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’ ”
5.3. C. The church is called to preach and teach against sin. However, our purpose for doing that is not to judge people but to win them to Christ.
5.3.1. God has called us to witness, not to condemn. Our job is not to convict but to convert sinners, not to pass sentence but to share the gospel.
5.3.2. Besides, none of us is qualified to infallibly determine who is saved and who is not.
6. III. WE MUST BE SURE THAT WE ARE WHEAT AND NOT A WEED.
6.1. A. Jesus closed his explanation of this parable with these words
6.1.1. “He who has ears, let him hear”
6.1.2. Matthew 13:43 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
6.1.3. In addition to calling us to reach lost people with the gospel, the parable also reminds each of us to seriously face the question of whether we are wheat or a weed.
6.2. B. Too often people attempt to avoid their responsibility to obey the gospel by pointing to someone else
6.2.1. None of us is in a position to say how God will deal with someone else’s soul.
6.2.2. We can only act on the gospel ourselves as we encourage others to do the same.
7. CONCLUSION
7.1. Luke 15:10 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
7.1.1. Let us be sure that we obey the gospel, then let us extend God’s love and mercy to everyone we can while there is time
7.1.2. Let us make evangelism the centerpiece of every program and ministry of our church and the personal responsibility and passion of every member.
8. ILLUSTRATION
8.1. In 1992, a Los Angeles parking control officer happened upon a brown Cadillac El Dorado illegally parked next to the curb on street-sweeping day
8.1.1. The officer dutifully wrote out a ticket. Ignoring the man seated behind the wheel of the car, he reached in and placed the $30 ticket on the dashboard.
8.2. The man in the car made no excuses. He didn’t argue or try to stop the officer, and for good reason
8.2.1. The driver was dead. He had been shot in the head ten to twelve hours earlier but was sitting up, stiff as a board, slumped slightly forward with blood on his face.
8.3. The officer, preoccupied with ticket-writing, later said he was unaware of anything out of the ordinary
8.3.1. He simply got back in his car and drove off to the next illegally parked car.
8.4. As grisly as that story is, it points to a very important truth for us in the church
8.4.1. Many people around us are dead in their sins
8.4.2. What should catch our attention is their need, not their offense
8.4.3. What they need most is not our citations nor our judgments
8.4.4. What they need most is our Savior.