(A different version of this article was published under the name “Starving the Wolves” for use in the prayer group ‘Friday Morning Prayer’ in 2020, I hope that it will be an encouragement to you today)
“The army worm, or a worm so designated, conspired with the wet weather in injuring the crop… In Logan they severed the oat from the stem, till in some places the ground was almost covered in oats. Fields that promised an abundant crop will not be harvested. In Hancock, they destroyed fully 60 percent of the crop.”
The Monthly Report of the Department of Agriculture -1875
If you go into my grandparents back garden, they have a large bin for garden waste, which over time turns into compost which they can use to help the garden thrive. The waste doesn’t simply become compost of its own accord though, rather the waste is helped along by worms that eat through it over time. This compost, plus sunlight, and rain keep the garden going and growing to produce beautiful flowers year in, year out. In Logan in 1875, as at many times throughout history, these very allies who were relied upon to provide for the crops became enemies.
Hebrews 12:15–17 ESV
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that
no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and
by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually
immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a
single meal. For you know that afterward, when he
desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he
found no chance to repent, though he sought it with
tears.
Grace
This week we’re gonna look at two major brackets of false teaching found in the bible as well as the world around us and the historical record. They’ve taken many forms and names, but today we’ll call them: The worm and the rain. We’re not looking today at large scale false teachers, but rather at those who enter the church under the radar.
The Worm
Acts 15:4–5 ESV
When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by
the church and the apostles and the elders, and they
declared all that God had done with them. But some
believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose
up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to
order them to keep the law of Moses.”
In the early days of the church, there was a group called the ‘circumcision party’ which is the only place you’ll ever see those two words in the same line. This was the first major internal dispute within the Church and it wasn’t going away quickly either.
Whether it sprang up from one place specifically and spread or a few smaller groups came to the same conclusion we don’t know, but what we do know is that it had to be debated and spoken out against on various occasions. To be a member of the people of God was synonymous with being circumcised in those days. It had been commanded in the old testament and it’s still strictly adhered to this day amongst the Jewish community. Paul makes reference to it himself in order to prove himself to be a Jew (Phil 3:5) and Timothy, Paul’s disciple, is even circumcised purely in order to be accepted among the Jews he was preaching the gospel to (Acts 16:3). Like the Jewish people who came to faith early in those days, people in our churches will come in with pre-loaded opinions and stances which, if we aren’t careful, won’t be brought to the cross and repented of, but instead will sit simmering below the surface. Our culture says loudly that we are everything, that everything that matters is “within us”, that we should “believe in the power of me” and that we deserve to have all of our needs satisfied. In contrast, the Bible sobers us to the reality that we need God more than anything else, that without him we are nothing. Though alone that would be terrifying, in his grace we find ourselves able to receive him as a gift, through no work of our own. Some people get stuck though before getting past that first point and through into God’s grace, remaining in the gateway unwilling to receive their gift. They accept in its place the worm. In an attempt to obtain the gift they so desperately need though in order to ascend above their current state, they clothe themselves in the garb of the law, giving freely, helping others, remaining strict in their routine and doing all they can to outwardly display the good works with which they hope one day will win God’s favour. Seemingly having given up the world to follow God, instead, they have simply traded the attention of those in the world for the attention of believers. And some of them do it, really, really well in the eyes of those around them. However.
Acts 15:10–11 ESV
Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by
placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither
our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we
believe that we will be saved through the grace of the
Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
Rather than putting down such people, I truly feel for them. Having put such a burden upon their own shoulders which none of us can bear, they have foregone the true medicine for their worldly condition.
What they don’t recognise is that the Lord already sees them and has offered another way, the true way, the only way.
Matthew 11:28–30 ESV
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.”
As Peter says, in Acts 15 we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, we must remain diligent against the worm, not only in the lives of others but in our own hearts. We all fall prey to the worm at times and there’s only one salve.
Grace.
The Rain
Hebrews 12:15–17 ESV
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that
no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and
by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually
immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a
single meal. For you know that afterward, when he
desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he
found no chance to repent, though he sought it with
tears.
Just as there are those who fall prey to the worm, not getting past their need and finding the way to grace, a second group refrains from accepting their need. for God instead, seeking only the wonders which come as a result of faith. They relish the freedom, the joy, the miracles! All good things, but not the good thing. This presents in too many ways to count, but they all stem from this core principle:
God’s gifts > God
Prosperity, Miracles, Sex, Marriage, Children, Possessions, Business, Community, Church. God has given us these things to bless us, gifts that we can enjoy but unfortunately, we can enjoy them in disordered ways when we place them on pedestals above God. In our modern, western world we often think of idolatry as something from a distant, foreign past, the truth is that it’s just morphed into new forms. Whether it’s doing everything we can to get the latest smartphone or choosing a Church based on childcare, we’re looking for what will serve us best and not what we might do in order the better serve the Lord. The example given to us in this passage is Esau, who “sold his birthright” for a bowl of red stew. Now, I make a pretty decent Red Red and I practically lived off of Red lentil soup for about six months at one point, but there is no soup or stew on the planet that could have compared with what he was being offered. For those who might not know, Esau was the brother of Jacob and the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham, to whom had been promised a lineage which was the bless the whole earth. Though his birthright was like an inheritance in the conventional sense, what Esau was saying in giving up this birthright was that a lineage like that, a closeness to God was nothing to him compared to what he could gain right then at that moment.
Stew.
We read in the book of Acts about a man named Simon who was a magician who, having noticed the Christians and what they were able to do, gets baptised and:
Acts 8:18–19 ESV
…when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through
the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them
money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone
on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Simon seeks the power and not God. Seeing the true power and what it could do, he misses God completely.
Acts 8:20–22 ESV
But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you,
because you thought you could obtain the gift of God
with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter,
for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore,
of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if
possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
I would compare this thinking to standing in the rain and seeing it trickle down into the ground. You, a farmer, know that this rain will feed your crops and land. It will give your animals water to drink and cool you off after a hard day’s labour. As you look around you see all the rain is doing and turning back to go home you say: “Rain, there is nothing better than you, you truly provide for me.” The process which God created to bring that rain is of no consequence to you, you simply thank the end result.
The Sower
Matthew 13:3-9 ESV
A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds
fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured
them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did
not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up,
since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose
they were scorched. And since they had no root, they
withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on
good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some
sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Jesus told a parable about these very things in Mark and Matthew’s gospels. As God sows seeds through us, the church, evangelism, some of those seeds fall on good soil and “indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matt 13:23)
Jesus also says the following however in his explanation of the parable of the sower:
Matthew 13:19–22 ESV
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does
not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown
along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground,
this is the one who hears the word and immediately
receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but
endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution
arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who
hears the word, but the cares of the world and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves
unfruitful.
Those who fall to the rocky ground, or the worm, will not endure the persecution or the trial and those who bend to the riches of the world, or the rain, will ultimately draw people fully away from the word should it be allowed to grow.
There is good news though!
“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God!”
Augustine of Hippo: Sermon on the Mount – Sermon XXIII
“turn up with the plough the hard ground, cast the
stones out of the field, pluck up the thorns out of it”
The writer of Hebrews knew of the difficulties which would come against the mission of the church, the struggles of the heart of man and the truth of the parable Jesus gave us to learn from, but as Augustine, a great man of God from the early church, said above, we are to turn up the stones we find in the fields! Cast them out, find the thorns, the roots, the wormwood, the wolves and drive them out. How? By the Grace of God!
We starve the wolves, the weeds, the rocks by feeding the sheep, feeding ourselves with the grace of God and nourishing ourselves with the truth of his Word. The law is not bad, but we could not satisfy its requirements (Rom 8:3) and so the Lord did this on our behalf through the Son. The Lord also wants to give us good gifts! (Luke
11:13) but he does this out of his goodness and to point us towards himself. He is not a cosmic Santa who turns up to provide for us and disappear to continue watching from afar but gives us gifts, reminding us all the while that he is ever-present (Psalm 46:1).
Reflection + Questions
The truth is that these things, more or less, continue to be temptations for us throughout our lives as Christians. Though a seed found purchase in the ground, the ground we were planted is continually subject to the whims and weather of the world. Thorns and stones occasionally, or maybe more than occasionally fall down around us, encircling us and threatening to be the death of us. If we are in Christ though, we should see this as a trial and a discipline, a way which God has ordained for our growth, encouragement, and joy.
Here are some questions which may help you act upon convictions or encouragements you may felt while reading this article:
Which of these tendencies, or which other tendencies, have sprung up in you particularly of late? If you’re having a particularly hard time with them right now, who in your Church could you talk to and pray together about them?
How could you show Grace today to those around you?
Do you have a story about how someone displayed the grace of God to you, lead you to Christ or planted that seed for the first time? Who could you share that with today as an encouragement to them? We must always be reminded of these core truths which brought us over the line of faith, so please share and help others to be encouraged anew.