Seeds, Soil & Fruit
by Sandy Simpson, 9/10/04


Bad Seeds

Bad seeds from a bad tree yield bad fruit.

Matt. 13:38-39  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Matthew 7:17  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Original sin is the bad seed in everyone.  We all start with a bad seed.
Jer. 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Rom. 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom. 5:12  Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—
We need to have the bad seed destroyed and replaced with good seed.
Gal. 5:24  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Rom. 6:6  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
1 Pet. 1:23  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
The good seed is the Word, the Gospel.
Luke 8:11  "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
1 John 3:9  No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Bad seeds are from the enemy and are full of false doctrine and a false gospel.
Matt. 13:38-39  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Some seeds have been genetically altered.  Something has been added to the seed to produce a certain result.  What has been added is indoctrination, brainwashing, diaprax, false prophecy, false apostolic edicts, false anointings.  These additives produce seeds that will, in turn, grow bad trees, producing bad fruit, which in turn produce more bad seeds as the process renews itself over and over again.


Good Seeds

The good seed is the Word sown in the soil of men's hearts, the Gospel message, sound doctrine.

Luke 8:11  "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
1 Cor. 9:11  If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
1 Cor. 3:6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
Ps. 126:6  He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
There is one good type of soil, and three bad soils according to Jesus.
Matt. 13:3-9  Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop— a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

Bad Soil

Bad soils are impenetrable, rocky or choked out.

Matt. 13:18-23  "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Soil #1

Impenetrable soil is rock hard. It has never been softened by repentance.

Romans 2:5  But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
It has never been softened and broken up by digging.  We are to dig into the Word of God.
Luke 6:48  He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
2 Timothy 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)
Water cannot penetrate hard soil, the soil of an unrepentant heart.  Water, in the Bible, is a picture of the Holy Spirit, as it is in the ordinance of baptism by water.
Acts 2:38  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 22:17  The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
The sun is also too hot on the hard soil of the path.  Those who have unrepentant, hard hearts are offended by the Gospel of the Son.
1 Pet. 2:6-8  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. (KJV)
Galatians 5:11  And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
Soil #2

Rocky soil is similar to the first soil.  But is it softer and initially accepts and believes the Gospel message.  This soil responds to the emotional appeal of the message, but does not really take it to heart.

Matt. 13:18-23  "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
There are hard places in this soil that have not been dug up.  There is a fundamental lack of repentance.  There is only a surface Christianity, an easy believism, a following after false doctrines that shipwreck faith. This soil never allows the seed to grow to maturity.
Heb. 5:13-14  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Eph. 4:13-14  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
The rocks in this soil are places of unrepentance, perhaps hidden secret sins.
Psalms 90:8  You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
As with the first soil, water cannot fully take hold. If the person claims to believe yet they continue grieving the Holy Spirit by living in sin, they can end up falling away, shipwrecking their faith.
Luke 8:13  Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
1 Timothy 1:19  holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.
Hebrews 10:39  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Romans 2:5  But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
If they did not really believe but only pretend to be a Christian, there was never any Holy Spirit presence at all, no second birth.
John 3:3  In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
Titus 3:5  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
Again, the sun is also too hot on the rocky soil.  Just like the Pharisees, this soil is offended by the directness of the Word of God and truth, the Son.  This offence causes this soil to become dry and lifeless instead of using the Word, the Son, to grow.
Matthew 15:12  Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
Soil #3

This choked out soil is soft. There is repentance and study of the Word. But weeds are allowed to grow.  These weeds can be worries, a focus on things below rather than things above.

Matthew 6:25  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Matthew 6:34  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Colossians 3:1-2  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
The weeds can also be the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.
1 John 2:16  For everything in the world— the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does— comes not from the Father but from the world.
Colossians 3:5  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
The weeds can also be spending too much time with tares.  Tares are not true believers, even if they claim to be.  Weeds often grow up around soil in the form of false teachers and false prophets.  We are to get away from them or they will suck all the nourishment of the Word of God from our souls and we will end up dead.
Rom. 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them (KJV)
Eph. 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (KJV)
2 Thess. 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh DISORDERLY, and not after the tradition which ye
received of us (KJV)
Concerning the last days, he says that some will have "a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. From such turn away" for such people are "never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:5,7 KJV)
2 John 10:11 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds "  (KJV)
2 Cor. 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch no the unclean thing; and I will receive you (KJV)
2 Peter 2:1  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them— bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Peter 2:3  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Any water is used up by the thorns and weeds so none gets to the seed to help it grow.  This is false teaching and the false anointing that goes with it.  The false anointing appears to give nourishment, but in fact it is killing the plant and enriching greedy false teachers.
2 Pet. 2:10-15 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed— an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
1 John 2:19-20  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
The cares of this world strangle out the living water, and no sun can get to the plant because of the thorns and weeds.  There is no real relationship with the Son.
2 John 1:9  Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Psalms 84:11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Malachi 4:2  But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.

Good Soil

Good soil is softened by repentance and digging, the study of the Word; by water, the teaching of the Holy Spirit allowed to have free reign; and by the sun, walking with the Son daily in prayer.

Acts 3:19  Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Luke 6:48  He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
John 14:26  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
James 4:7  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jude 1:20  But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:17  pray continually;

Bad Fruit

(1) Fruit can look good outside and yet the inside is rotten.

Luke 11:39  Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’"
Matthew 7:17  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A person can look good but be sinful, harboring secret sins.
Psalms 90:8  You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
He can be deceitful, a hypocrite, a liar.
Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Ps. 26:2-5  Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.
Perhaps he is simply not truly born again while claiming to be a Christian.
John 3:3  In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
(2) Fruit can look good but not be ripe and be unfit for consumption.  In the same way a Christian can look good but they lack maturity.
Hebrews 5:14  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
James 1:4  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
They may not refresh others or be helpful in edifying the body of Christ.
Romans 14:19  Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Those who never move to maturity will remain unripe and unfit for service to the Lord. Like the unripe fruit they are no good to eat and will end up rotten and thrown away.
Ephesians 4:14  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
Matthew 3:10  The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
(3) Fruit can look good and taste good but may be loaded with invisible pesticides.  Similarly, a Christian can look good and sound good but in private they are a gossip. They slander people behind their backs.
Proverbs 16:28  A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.
1 Peter 2:1  Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
Ephesians 4:31  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Perhaps it is greed that causes the poisoning of a Christian.
Colossians 3:5  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Ephesians 5:5  For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person— such a man is an idolater— has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Acceptance and promotion of false teaching can be one of the most toxic pesticides in a Christian's life today.
2 Peter 2:1  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them— bringing swift destruction on themselves.
(4) Fruit can look good and taste good and yet the seed has been genetically altered.  This alteration of the seed is supposed to have a beneficial effect, but later on sickness and death may ultimately result. A person who accepts false doctrines and false prophecy, who follows heretics, is allowing the good seed to be corrupted and altered.  If enough exposure to heresy occurs, the seed itself becomes so modified that it not longer produces healthy fruit but instead produced a corrupted belief system.
Titus 1:15  To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.
1 Timothy 6:5  and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
The most important thing about you is that what you believe about Jesus Christ and salvation is actually the facts.  When the core doctrines and the Gospel get perverted, you can believe in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:2  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
(5) A good fruit produces good seeds.  A bad fruit also produces bad seeds after its kind.
Matthew 7:18  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
A Christian who has the problems mentioned above ends up dragging others down with them. Their children turn away from God, society and individuals are not impacted by their Christian life and witness, but rather they are ill effected.  We are to b e salt and light to the world, not an evil witness.
Matt. 5:13-16  "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Finally, a Christian who runs after myths and false teachers ends up propagating those same false doctrines.
2 Tim. 4:3-4  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Proverbs 14:5  A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.
Proverbs 14:25  A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.

Good Fruit

(1) Good fruit is good inside and out.  A Christian who is born again and living in obedience to Christ is clean, is salt and light, is a pleasing fragrance to God and man, edifies the body of Christ, and produces good fruit after its kind.

Ps. 24:4-5  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.
Matt. 5:13-16  "You are the salt of the earth. ... "You are the light of the world.
2 Corinthians 2:14  But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
Romans 14:19  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. (KJV)
1 Thessalonians 5:11  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. (KJV)
Luke 6:43  "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
James 3:17  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
(2) Good fruit looks good and is clean.  A Christian who is living for Christ is undefiled by the world.
James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (KJV)
(3) Good fruit tastes good.  Christians are to be salt in a world what has lost the flavor of abundant life. They are also to be light, reflecting the light of The Light.  They are to be people of integrity.
Proverbs 13:6  Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
Titus 2:7-8  In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
(4) Good fruit smells good. Christians are to be a pleasing fragrance to God and man.
Ephesians 5:2  and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
2 Corinthians 2:14  But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
(5) Good fruit is good nutritionally. A Christian helps body of Christ by planting the seed and watering it, but God makes it grow. A true believer edifies the body, nurtures the body.
Ephesians 4:15  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:7  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
Ephesians 4:12  to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
(6) Good fruit produces good seeds after its kind. Christians are to evidence the fruit of the Spirit and do the work of evangelism and discipleship.
Mark 16:15  He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Matthew 28:19  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
God plants the good seed, the Word of God.  Ultimately He is the one who produces the fruit.  But we must submit to His gardening, pruning, and feed on His Word.
John 15:2  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
John 6:50  But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
John 6:35  Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.