Meet
Rocky
d-w-h
Luke 8:13 And those on the rock are they who, when they have
heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a
while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Showing by logical argument that the rocky ground hearer in the parable
of the sower as stated in Luke 8:13;
1. Believed. That is, he was a believer.
2. That he believed the truth.
3. That he was unregenerate. That is he was not saved.
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J; Let me be sure I understand what you're saying. You're saying you
--agree-- that the seed is the *same* in all 4 grounds, but it's the
"interaction between the soil and the seed" that's different. Is that
right George?
G; Yes.
J; OK George you just agreed that the seed is the *same* in all 4
grounds. If you hold to that then the discussion is finished and the
point is established; that the unregenerate can believe the gospel. So
let's see what we have so far;...
4 possibilities;
Rocky believed and was saved... . . . . . . . . . . . False
Rocky believed and was Not saved... . . . . . . . True
Rocky did Not believe and was saved... . . . . . False
Rocky did Not believe and was Not saved... . . . False
So out of 4 possibilities only one is True and everybody agrees to
that. Next;
What did Rocky believe?
Rocky believed the seed which was sown, which is the word of God vs 11.
Or...
1 All Seed is the word of God. [vs11]
2 That which was sown is Seed. TF ...[Therefore]
3 That which was sown is the word of God.
AAA-1. Valid
or...
1 All that which was sown is the word of God.
2 Rocky believed that which was sown. TF
3 Rocky believed the word of God.
AAA-1. Valid
Next;...
Was the word of God which Rocky believed salvific? i.e.
able to save?
Answer; Yes ! Verse 12. Those by the way side are they that hear;
then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts,
lest they should believe *and be saved*.
Observing the principle of the Universe of Discourse we now have;
1 All word of God was that which was able to save; [According to the
Universe of Discourse]
2 Rocky believed the word of God. TF
3 Rocky believed that which was able to save.
AAA-1. Valid.
That means... Rocky believed the gospel.
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THE ARGUMENT:
Having now proven... not by speculation, nor by assumption, but by
logic based on the information given in Scripture... having proven that
Rocky believed that which was sown, which is the word of God which is
able to save, we now must be able to further state the truth logically.
Rocky believed the exact same thing Goody did. Goody, [the Good-ground
hearer in verse 15] was saved; Rocky was not. Now the question is...
what was the difference between Rocky and Goody? There are only TWO
possibilities. There was a difference in the SEED or there was a
difference in the SOILS. But we have seen that the SEED was the
same in all 4 soils and George Agrees! Therefore the only other
possibility is that the difference is in the soils, or the ground. Do
we have any evidence for this ? Yes we do.
Why is it that 3 grounds were not saved and 1 was. First we answer
regarding the unsaved;
Mt 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears
are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time
they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal
them.
So the Son of God tells us plainly that the root cause of unbelief was
the "HEART". It was "waxed gross" and the result was dull hearing and
closed eyes which resulted in their not being converted.
Now what about Goody? Did Goody's heart condition have anything to do
with whether or not he believed and was saved ? Let's see...
Luke 8:15 But those on the *good ground* are the ones who, in an
**honest and good heart,** having heard the Word, keep it and
bring forth fruit with patience.
Here Christ tells us that Goody was a "good ground" hearer [hence his
name] and Christ explains to us what that means. It means that Goody
had a HEART that was DIFFERENT from the other 3 grounds. The other 3
grounds are described as "waxed-gross-hearts" whereas Goody's heart was
honest and good. The result was that he heard the word, kept it, and
brought forth fruit with patience. So ultimately it's one's HEART that
makes the difference between saving and non-saving belief, which is the
point of the whole parable.
===Objection;
Messiah's quote from Isaiah shows that the unregenerate cannot
"understand" the truth. Therefore Rocky did not understand what he
heard and therefore did not "really believe".
Answer; First of all the quotation from Isaiah is applied to Messiah's
~hearers~, those to whom He was speaking His parables, and not to those
-in- the parables. Second if Rocky did not "understand" the truth
then what was it he Believed... and even Received with Joy? Life in
outer space? And what was it that he later "fell away" from? Third, an
unregenerate heart does not preclude understanding the truth for we have
ample evidence in Scripture that unsaved men can and do understand the
truth. Two examples from Acts follow.
Act 24:22 But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerning the
Way, deferred them, saying, When Lysias the chief captain shall come
down, I will determine your matter.
Notice that Felix had a ~more exact knowledge concerning the
Way.~ The context is clear that the Way was the Gospel which Paul was
testifying to Felix and Felix certainly well understood precisely what
Paul was talking about. This is confirmed further in subsequent
verses...
Act 24:24 But after certain days, Felix came with Drusilla, his
wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the
~faith in Christ Jesus.~
Act 24:25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, and self-control,
and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, Go thy way
for this time; and when I have a convenient season, I will call thee
unto me.
Clearly Paul was preaching the Gospel. Obviously Felix, who was a
wicked unregenerate man, understood very well what Paul was talking
about for he was ~Terrified~. And he was not alone. In Acts 26 Paul once again preaches the
Gospel to both Festus and Agrippa. There we find....
Act 26:24 And as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a
loud voice, Paul, you art mad; your much learning is turning you mad.
Act 26:25 But Paul said, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness.
Again the context is clear that Paul was preaching them the Gospel! So we read further....
Act 26:26 For the king [Agrippa] knows of these things, unto whom
also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things is
hidden from him; for this has not been done in a corner.
Act 26:27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.
vs 27 is clear that Agrippa, who was unregenerate, both knew and
believed the truth. Therefore there's no question that he well
understood the truth. And so Luke goes on to tell us....
Act 26:28 And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion you would fain make me a Christian.
There can be no question that these unregenerate men knew perfectly
well what Paul was talking about and they Understood it. So the
question of whether or not unsaved, unregenerate people can
-Understand- the truth of the Gospel is a moot point that is not
necessarily an element of men's natural depravity. Unsaved men
certainly can understand the Gospel.
Finally, the fact that Rocky Understood and thereby Believed the
Truth is confirmed by Messiah Himself in verse 19 where He attributes
the lack of understanding to just one soil, the wayside hearer.
===
But we're not done. The burden is to state the truth in logical
argument form and see if it accords with the Word of God. So, the next
question is...
How does a wicked human being, who is born with a heart that is
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked [Jer 17:9].. and
whose every imagination of his heart is -only evil-... and that
continually [Gen 6:5].. how does such a creature come into the
possession of "an honest and good heart" ? Does he go into his
theological mad-scientist laboratory and construct one of his own
making and then put it into his inmost being? Nonsense. There is only
one way a man can have his wicked heart changed into a good one. And
that way is nothing less than....
THE POWER OF GOD IN REGENERATION !
Ez 36: 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within
you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you an heart of flesh.
Notice in vs 26 a most astounding statement. One of the elements
of the promise of the Gospel is that God is going to perform spiritual
surgery on His people. He is going to do a spiritual "heart
transplant" and He says that He will remove, or take out the old, stony
heart, which is wicked through and through and will give them a
new heart which is honest and good. This is the doctrine of
Regeneration and is what God does TO or IN His people when He saves
them.
So... how did Goody get his honest and good heart ? Answer;
Regeneration. And what was the result? Answer; he heard the word, kept
it and brought forth fruit with patience. IOW Goody was saved. So now
we have all the Biblical information we need to answer the question;
What was the difference between Goody and Rocky [as well as the other
2]? Both were believers. The answer, in one word... REGENERATION;
Goody was Regenerate and Rocky was not. Goody was saved and Rocky was
not. Therefore we can now say, based on the information given us in
Scripture...
1 All Regenerate Believers are saved. A(ab)
2 No Rocky is saved. E(cb) TF
3 No Rocky is a Regenerate believer. E(ca)
AEE-4 form. Valid
That means there -is- such a thing as an Unregenerate Believer. And if
a person is Unregenerate that means he is still lost. Therefore...
1 All Unregenerate Believers are Lost A(ab)
2 All Rocky is an Unregenerate Believer A(ca) TF
3 All Rocky is Lost A(cb)
AAA-1 form. Valid.
Conversely...
1 All Regenerate Believers are saved A(ab)
2 No Rocky is saved E(ca)
3 No Rocky is a Regenerate Believer E(cb)
AEE-4 form. Valid
The fact that Rocky believed the exact same thing as Goody makes no
difference. The difference is Rocky still had a heart that was 'waxed
gross' and because of that he was still lost even though he "Believed
for a while". Therefore, Rocky was an Unregenerate Believer and Logic
confirms this.
And so we see that according to the teaching of the Son of God it is
not only possible but actual, that a person can believe the truth and
still be lost.
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--
postscript;
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God to salvation to everyone believing, both to Jew first, and
to Greek;
Within the context of the universe of discourse in the parable of
the sower it must now be understood that this and other similar verses
[Jn 3:16 etc..] mean every -Regenerate- believing [one]
Remember;
"The universality of a term is many times restrained by the
particular
time, place, circumstances etc.. or the design of the speaker; as if we
are in the city of London and say, 'all the weavers went to present
their
petitions', we mean only all the weavers who dwell in the city. [Even
tho the term 'city of London' is omitted from the prop. jk] So when it
is said in the gospel "all men did marvel" Mark 5:20 it reaches only to
all those men who heard of the miracles of our Saviour.
Here also it should be observed, that a moral universality is restrained
by time, place and other circumstances, as well as a natural; so that by
these means the word "all" sometimes does not extend to a tenth part of
those who at first might seem to be included in that word."
Logic; The Right use of Reason in the Inquiry After Truth. Isaac Watts.
p146
So ladies & gentlemen, when the Scripture says;
Ac 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his
name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Ac 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all
things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
It must be understood that this is speaking of REGENERATE people who
believe.
To God's Glory;
James Kirby