1. The Three Conditions of Man

2. Parable of the Sower
We are going to spend some time studying the Parable of the Sower.
In it we will see the four types of soil that represent the hearts of men
Wayside, Stony, Thorny, Good
But also in this Parable we will see the 3 conditions that man can find himself in.

3. Parable of the Sower
Mt 13:3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
5 "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

4. Parable of the Sower
Mt 13:7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"

5. Parable of the Sower
Even His disciples had problems understanding the meaning of this parable so Jesus explains it to them beginning in vs 18
Matthew 13:18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:
19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

6. Parable of the Sower
20 "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

7. Parable of the Sower
23 "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.“
In this parable we see the three conditions that all men have found themselves in since the establishment of the Church

8. Three Conditions of Man
All men who have lived since the establishment of the Church can be found in one of these three groups
Alien Sinner
Christian
Those who have Fallen from Grace

9. Alien Sinner
The “alien” sinner is one who is not and never has been a part of the Body of Christ.
He has no hope of salvation in this condition.
The alien sinner is represented by the soil described as the wayside.

10. Alien Sinner
Mt 13:4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
Mt 13:19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

11. Alien Sinner
These hear the word of God and reject it immediately, never acting on what they hear.
The group of Alien Sinners also includes those who have never heard the word of God.
2Th 1:8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

12. Alien Sinner
9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
The fate of those who don’t know God is plainly taught.
Being ignorant of God and His word will not be an excuse on the day of Judgment
The “Alien Sinner” could then be defined as those who because of ignorance or rejection have not submitted to the will of God.

13. Christian The next group we will discuss is the Christian.
The Christian is represented in the parable of the Sower by the Good Soil.
He is the one who hears the Gospel, believes it and the conforms his life to those things taught in it.

14. Christian
Mt 13:8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Mt 13:23 "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

15. Christian The Christian accepts God’s conditions for salvation.
They have heard the Word
Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
They Believed the Word
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

16. Christian They Repented of their Sins
Lu 13:3 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
They Confessed Christ before men
Mt 10:32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

17. Christian
Ac 8:37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.“
They have also been Baptized in water for the remission of their sins.
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

18. Christian
It is only after completing the step of Baptism in water for the forgiveness of sins that one becomes a Christian
It is thru the act of Baptism that our sins are forgiven
Ac 22:16 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.‘
It is also thru the act of Baptism that we become a member of the Body of Christ

19. Christian
1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
Ga 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is no other way into Christ except thru Baptism

20. Fallen From Grace
One who has fallen from grace is a Christian who has turned back into the world
He was once a Christian, a Member of the Lord’s Church, a Believer, a Saint, a Child of God but he has turned his back on these things and gone back into the world.
Ga 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

21. Fallen From Grace Many teach that it is impossible to fall from grace.
That once we are saved we are always saved
There is nothing we can do to loose our salvation.
I read a little bit of an article online discussing whether a person can fall from grace and the writer explained that the warning given in Gal 5:4 is to the non-Christian not to one who had truly received the grace of God because he can’t fall.

22. Fallen From Grace I thought to myself, what a ridiculous statement.
To say that a person who has not received the grace of God needs to be careful about falling from it
And those who have received the Grace of God don’t need to worry because their salvation is secure
If I can’t fall from it once I get it what is the point of the warning!

23. Fallen From Grace
The fact of the matter is these are the ones that are described in the parable of the Sower as being the stony and thorny ground.
Mt 13:20 "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

24. Fallen From Grace
This one obeys the Gospel with joy. He becomes a Christian but his life as a Christian is short because he is not willing to suffer for Christ. So he goes back into the World
The story of the thorny soil is similar.
Mt 13:22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful

25. Fallen From Grace
These also seem to have obeyed the Gospel initially and may have even continued for a while but eventually they are led away by their love of this world.
Demas was this type of person
He was for a period of time a companion of the Apostle Paul and he is mentioned in his letters to the Colossian Christians and to Philemon

26. Fallen From Grace Both of these letters were written around 57 ad.
Col 4:14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.
Phm 1:24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.
Both of these letters were written around 57 ad.
Paul once again mentions Demas in his 2nd letter to Timothy about 9 or 10 years after he wrote Colossians and Philemon.

27. Fallen From Grace
2Ti 4:10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica--Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.
Demas had forsaken Paul but worst of all he had forsaken God because he loved this world more than he loved God.
The possibility of “Falling from Grace” is taught over and over again in the scriptures.

28. Fallen From Grace
Even the Apostle Paul realized that he did not yet have eternal life.
Php 3:11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

29. Fallen From Grace
Php 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
He realized that the things he had done in the past were not going to get him into heaven if he did not continue to work towards the goal.

30. Fallen From Grace He also knew he could still lose his own soul.
1Co 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
The word “disqualified” in the NKJV comes from the Greek word “Adokimos” meaning: unapproved, rejected, castaway or reprobate
Paul knew if he did not control himself he could get into this condition.

31. Fallen From Grace
Paul also taught the Corinthian Christians their salvation was dependant upon them holding fast to the Gospel.
1Co 15:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.

32. Fallen From Grace These Corinthians were Christians.
They had heard, received and were standing in the Gospel.
If it is impossible to loose our salvation, why would Paul tell them it depends upon the holding fast to the Words he preached to them????
The only reason Paul would have given this admonition to Christians is because they could “Fall from Grace”!!

33. Fallen From Grace
Even the Apostle Peter addresses the problem of Falling from Grace.
2Pe 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

34. Fallen From Grace
21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.“

35. Fallen From Grace
Peter makes it plain that those who have been Christians and then turned their back on it are in worse condition than those who have never heard.
The one who has “Fallen from Grace”, has heard the Word, tried it for a while and then rejected it
What else can you tell them that they have not already rejected?

36. Fallen From Grace
I don’t believe Peter is saying to give up on them but they must have a change of attitude concerning the scriptures.
They must “come to themselves” like the prodigal son did in Luke 15
And when they do they must Repent and Pray to God for forgiveness of their sins in order to be made right with God again.

37. Fallen From Grace This is what Peter told Simon the sorcerer to do.
Ac 8:21 "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.
22 "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.
23 "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.“

38. Conclusion Now we have seen the 3 conditions of man. Alien Sinner
Christian
Fallen From Grace
We must determine which of these categories we are in.
We need to know because only the Christian will make it into heaven!
In my current condition, where will I spend eternity?