Sowing

Mark Dunagan
04/17/11 - Sunday Morning

 

Sowing

In the Galatian letter Paul wrote, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). Over and over we see this truth, not only in nature, but from one end of our Bibles to the other:

• "He who sows iniquity will reap vanity" (Proverbs 22:8).
• "He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6).

"Do not be Deceived":

In reading commentaries from other times, one can see that people in the First Century were in just as much danger of thinking what we in the 21st century often think about our choices and consequences: "That's true, except for me. I've got what it takes to avoid the consequences of my own bad choices." "It will not catch up to me" and "I will be the exception to this rule." John Stott wrote, "Many people are deceived concerning this inexorable law of seedtime and harvest. They sow their seeds thoughtlessly, nonchalantly, and blind themselves to the fact that the seeds they sow will inevitably produce a corresponding harvest. Or they sow seed of one kind and expect to reap a harvest of another. They imagine that somehow they can get away with it" (Galatians, p. 166).

"God is not Mocked":

• No matter how hard you try, you cannot get around the rules that govern this universe.
• You cannot outwit God. To try to do so is beyond ridiculous.
• You will never prove that God is wrong about something. God is always right.
• You cannot ignore God and successfully escape the consequences of any given decision.

Applications:

• When God says that wine will make a fool out of you (Proverbs 20:1), don't think that somehow you can handle this substance.
• When God says that evil friends have a corrupting influence upon your morals (1 Corinthians 15:33), you are only fooling yourself if you think you can remain a pure person while holding on to such friendships.
• When the Bible says to "flee immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18), how ignorant to believe you can choose to remain around it and succeed in glorifying God.

"For whatever a man sows":

This principle applies across the board and in every area in which God has spoken. It applies to morals, to money, to love, to relationships, to work, to everything. It applies to what some might call the big and little things of life. It applies in every realm, and is not just limited to certain sins.

"This he will also reap":

"This" and not something else. What was planted is exactly what will be harvested. There will not be a disconnect. "This" and nothing else, "this" and not something different. "This is vitally important and much neglected principle of holiness. We are not the helpless victims of our nature, temperament and environment. On the contrary, what we have become depends largely on how we behave; our character is shaped by our conduct" (Stott, p. 169).

Applications

"Nothing happened?" It will be is easier to do it the next time. "Nothing happened?" So we even start thinking that the Bible is just trying to scare us, and that what it says isn't really true. Yet what is "deceptive" is that we often do not immediately reap what we have sown. So when we do something foolish it may initially appear that there wasn't a negative consequence. And if we allow him, Satan will use this to reinforce the bad habit of sowing irresponsibly. Don't allow him. "Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences." Norman Cousins

• The entire principle of sowing and reaping, the very symbol itself, should tell the thinking man that there is often a period of time between the sowing of behavior and the reaping of consequences. What farmer ever expects to reap what he sowed just yesterday or last week. It takes months, sometimes years to grow a fruitful harvest!

"Deceptive Wages":

"The wicked earn deceptive wages , but he who sows righteousness gets a true reward" (Proverbs 11:18).

What I have seen in my fifty plus years of living is that people may be making bad choices and continue to make bad choices (choices that I may or may not even know about) and for a while nothing bad seems to be happening. It may even look like they have it together. They may look together financially, their marriage may seem good or their family life happy, and they may even appear to be strong spiritually. They may even look like that they are happier or more in love than the faithful Christians that you know. I have even seen Christians depart from the truth, and things don't seem to fall apart. Their life appears to continue on a path that is stable, productive and filled with many blessings. What Paul is saying in Galatians 6 is "be not deceived". Whatever they appear to be "earning" is deceptive. Do not be shocked when you see in five, ten or twenty years, the whole thing begin to fall apart. Sow today in your gaining of wisdom, into your marriage and children the things that will bring a harvest of love and peace in your future.

The "Whatever" Adds Up:

I have seen people who did not study the Bible as they should. Did not take advantage of prayer as they should. Were skimping morally, cutting the moral corners, dabbing in a little sin here and there, and were equally neglecting God's expectations for them in marriage - and it all caught up to them. "And be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).

Do not be Fooled:

• There is only one way to have a good marriage - you must work at it.
• There is only way to remain happily married for life - both of you must be strong, faithful and diligent Christians.
• There is only one way to grow spiritually, you must continually put forth the effort.
• There is only one way you can grow strong in your faith, you must continually listen to God's word, pray to Him, and trust that His way is right.
• There is only one way to be financially stable, you cannot spend more than you make and you must work hard.
• There is only one way you will know truth from error, you must read your Bible diligently.
• There is only one way you will bring people to Christ, you must set a good example and you must talk to them.
• There is only one way to happiness - you must become unselfish.

What I have Seen and Learned

You cannot afford to skimp, be careless or lazy in any area that God addresses. Any skimping will come back in the future and impact your life. You will pay for it dearly. I have seen that when Jesus said to do something "diligently", that He was not exaggerating (Luke 13:24). He has already told us as clear as He can what is necessary, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).

"For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption":

This certainly includes the danger of contracting various diseases and physical problems that are caused by sinful behavior (Romans 1:27). Yet, I think it includes more. What I have seen in my life it that people who refuse to give up or continue to dabble in certain sins reach a point in their life when that fleshly desire is impacted by the consequences. For example, I have seen the person who loves material possessions lose all of them. I have seen the person who was sexually immoral, end up single for the rest of their life. The warning here is that if one is determined to live for the flesh, then the flesh will no longer be able to gratify. You will be stifled in this area.

"But the one who sows to the Spirit, shall from the Spirit reap eternal life":

The devil not only tries to convince us that we will avoid the negative consequences of bad choices or sinful habits, he equally tries to convince us that sowing to the Spirit is a waste of time, that Bible study won't result in anything productive, neither will attending worship faithfully or diligent prayer. He points out people who fall away and says, "See, they were doing everything you are doing and it did not help them". The truth is: They were not doing what they were supposed to be doing. I have never met a Christian that fell away that was actually thinking and doing what they were supposed to be thinking and doing. I have always found a history of carelessness, sin, spiritual neglect and all sorts of other things. Remember how Jesus pictured this situation. Thorns were allowed to grow! (Luke 8:14)

God's Promises for the Faithful: I Have Seen It

• "Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting" (Psalm 126:5).
• "Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness" (Hosea 10;12).
• "He... will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness" (2 Corinthians 9:10).
• "The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace"
• Know that "your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Weed sins from your garden today so that your harvest will be satisfying. Water the good things you've already planted. Lift your eyes to your future. Think forward. 

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net