The Wheat And The Tares

Matthew 13:24-30, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Interestingly, the parable of The Wheat And The Tares is only mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew. This is an important Bible truth to understand. In any size church there are going to be tares. What is meant by a “tare” in the Bible? A tare is an unsaved person. The wheat is a saved person (i.e., a born-again believer). ...

The Bible Says The Wheat And The Tares Grow Together

The Bible teaches that the wheat and the tares grow alongside each other. We can make several logical conclusions based upon this Bible truth:

1. In every church there will be lost people among the saved (Galatians 1:6-9).
2. We cannot discern the lost from the saved by mere observation (Matthew 5:20).
3. The lost go through all the same outward religious motions as the saved (Matthew 7:21-23).
4. Satan is the enemy who blinds the tares from being saved (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4).
5. God allows the lost and saved to grow together until death (Luke 16:19-31).
6. The tares are dangerous because they hinder others from being saved with their false plan of salvation (Luke 11:52, Galatians 4:16-17).

I have started a new hobby. I now randomly ask members of churches that I visit if they know they're going to Heaven. You'd be surprised (as I have been) to hear some of the responses that I get from churchgoers. One man who has been a deacon in a local Baptist church for 6 years, told me that you must be water baptized to get into Heaven. I knew immediately that he is not a true born-again Christian. That is so sad. His pastor is to blame, for not properly feeding his congregation.

I am thinking of another woman in a local Baptist church, who became emotionally disturbed when she heard her senior pastor teach that you're not saved if you're living in deep sin. That pastor lied to her. In fact, you don't have to forsake your past sinful ways to be saved. No won't find anything in the inspired King James Bible about giving up your sinning to be saved. Jesus came into the world to pay for everyone's sins, not demand that we forsake them as a prerequisite to saving faith. Satan is a beautiful liar!!!

We read some frightening words in Matthew 7:13-15, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Jesus said that only a few people will ever make it to Heaven, and that most people are traveling the highway to Hell. The dear Savior gives us the reason why in Matthew 7:15. It is because of false prophets who lie to people, preaching a counterfeit plan of salvation. That is why there are so many tares in the churches today.

For example: Pastor Joel Osteen falsely teaches that to be saved you must:

1. Joel says you must “receive Jesus as Lord” to be saved.
2. Joel says you must “repent of your sins” to be saved.
3. Joel says you must “pray” to be saved.
4. Joel says you must “follow Christ” to be saved.

I heard Joel Osteen on TV the other day require those four unbiblical things to be saved. Joel didn't even mention Jesus' death, burial or resurrection in his suggested sinner's prayer. Dear reader, you don't need to do anything of those things Joel requires.

You can simply BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 16:30-31). You don't have to pray. God is already offering you eternal life as a gift, if you will simply BELIEVE. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Nowhere in the Bible are we taught to “repent of your sin” to be saved. Wicked men added that. Repentance is simply realizing that you are a guilty sinner in need of redemption, a change of mind toward God (Acts 20:21), that is part of BELIEVING on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. The man who believes has repented, and the man who repents has believed. They are not two separate acts, but just one. Acts 16:30b-31, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Friend, you must choose whether to believe Joel Osteen (who adds at least four additional requirements), or you must believe what the Bible says we must do to be saved. It cannot be both! Something is wrong with Joel Osteen's plan of salvation. It does not agree with God's plan of salvation in the Bible. You only need to receive Jesus as your Savior to be saved, not your Lord. Jesus is Lord, you don't make Him Lord. It is heresy that you must make Jesus your Master, and commit to follow Him, to get to Heaven. If those things were true, then eternal life could not be a free gift, because YOU would have to pay for it.

All of the false Christian cults teach these same heresies that Joel Osteen does concerning how to be saved. All of the cults teach that to be saved you must “repent of your sins.” They teach that you cannot receive God's free gift of eternal life unless you first commit to forsake your lifestyle of sin. This heresy has crept into nearly all Baptist churches today, corrupting the Word of God and perverting the Gospel, casting stumbling blocks before the people. You come as a guilty sinner to the Savior to be saved, you don't need to commit to stop your sinning to be saved.

It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that works repentance in a man unto salvation, and not YOU. 2nd Timothy 2:25 speaks of repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, not turning away from your sinning. Repentance is a matter of the truth that you are a guilty sinner. You need to know what you're being saved from. Galatians 3:24-26 teaches this. The LAW of God shows us our sins and brings us to CHRIST to be saved by God's grace. Joel Osteen fails to understand this biblical truth. CHRIST Himself is sufficient Oh sinner to be saved!

Therefore, you don't need to follow Christ as “Lord” to be saved. It sounds so good and noble, so religious and reasonable, that a person must make Christ their “Lord” (Boss) to get to Heaven. But this teaching goes 100% contrary to the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). CHRIST is the end of the LAW to him that believes, not our behavior changes, commitment to do better, desire to turn away from sins, religious devotion or willingness to follow Christ. Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

Oh how simple are the Scriptures! Do you see that dear friend. CHRIST Himself is the END of God's Law to all who believe. How beautiful!!! All that is required to be saved is to simply BELIEVE. Do you know what this means? It means that Joel Osteen is not saved. It means that Joel Osteen is woefully ignorant of God's simple plan of salvation. It means that Joel is a damnable false teacher who is leading the masses into Hell. By embellishing the true Gospel with a bunch of garbage theology that is not required, NOR ALLOWED BY GOD, Pastor Osteen has successfully obscured (hidden) the Gospel from the lost (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).

Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without being born again. You can follow Christ as “Lord, Lord” like Joel Osteen teaches, and you'll one day hear Christ's horrifying Words: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23b).

Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without being born again. You can “repent of your sins” like Judas did in Matthew 27:3, and as Joel Osteen foolishly teaches, and you'll one day hear Christ's horrifying Words: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23b).

Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without being born again. You can pray as did an unsaved religious man named Cornelius in Acts 10:2, and as did the unsaved people in Matthew 6:7, and as heretic Joel Osteen teaches, but you'll one day hear Christ's horrifying Words: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23b).

Dear reader, the Bible plainly tells us what we must do to be saved in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” The only way to God the Father is through faith in God the Son. John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

In the Gospel of John we are taught to simply BELIEVE on Jesus to be saved. You need to know Who Jesus is, He is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). You need to know what Jesus did for you, He died for your sins on the cross (John 19-20). You need to know why Christ died for you, because we are guilty sinners (John 1:29). Nothing more is required nor allowed to be saved, except to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). Pastor Joel Osteen gets it woefully wrong!

I dare say that 98% of church members nowadays are tares. Many religions are full of tares (i.e., lost people). There is no salvation in a damnable false religion; such as: Mormonism, United Methodist Church Of Christ, Church of England (Anglicanism), Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholicism, Church of Church, Lutherans, Charismatics, Pentecostals, Bahai Faith, Moonies, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, et cetera. None of these religions preach a free grace Gospel, they all embellished and add to God's simple plan of salvation, which is through faith alone in the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). Jesus warned everyone to BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS!!!

If you are not sure that you are going to Heaven, or are struggling to find the assurance of God's free gift of eternal life, then I encourage you to listen over and over to the Gospel of John, until you see the simplicity of God's wonderful plan of salvation.