The rocks adjacent to my driveway will often have grass and chick weed growing in various places because over time, the barrier under the rocks accumulates enough dirt to support plant growth. Chick weed, which has shallow roots, grows fine as long as it gets plenty of water but the plant quickly shrivels when the rain stops. The plastic barrier won’t hold moisture required to sustain the plants, so they shrivel and die.

This is the metaphor of the rocky soil in the parable.

I go out on the streets sharing the gospel from time to time. I have seen various responses as I speak with people about Christ. Sometimes, people respond with joy and may even pray to receive Christ. I can never know anyone’s heart and if there was a saving faith or not. All I can do in sharing the gospel is assess the initial response. If someone believes – receives the message with joy – then I am responsible for providing some follow up by inviting the person to church or a bible study. The goal is to make a disciple, not just preach the gospel. Ultimately, this will determine if a person is really saved or not…whether or not the seed of God’s word has fallen in fertile soil (a later post).

Receiving the Word with joy is a recognition of the Word as truth. Perhaps there will be the beginning of Christian experience which continues while things go well. But what happens when challenges come according to this part of the parable? The one with a shallow, superficial faith falls away. The Greek word translated “fall away” is pretty strong. It can mean revolt, withdraw, or desert. Many people today are deserting the faith because it’s becoming hard to stand in biblical faith, a faith that is against the tide of darkness and deception growing in the culture.

The Lord, in his explanation of the parable, identifies several things that test the veracity and maturity of our faith:

• Affliction – anguish, trouble, distress
• Persecution – to cause to suffer because of belief (Merriam-Webster)
• Temptation – the trial of person’s fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy; enticement to sin

Lets take a look at each one.

Affliction

Human experience is full of affliction and suffering. The sudden loss of a son or daughter. Loss of a job. A diagnosis of a terminal disease. Chronic pain. A debilitating accident. Often affliction is because of the sinfulness of people but sometimes, its happenstance – things just happen. There are many examples given in scripture of affliction. So regardless of what we believe, it’s clear life comes with affliction and suffering.

When we personally experience suffering, we often wonder why God allows it. That is one of the key questions people have about the existence of God: if God exists, why does He allow these things to happen?

I can understand why people who don’t understand the scriptures, who don’t know Messiah, have this question. But it honestly annoys me when I hear someone who should know better such as a pastor or others who should have a maturity in biblical understanding say that suffering and affliction “happen for a reason” or “it is God’s will”. The reality is sometimes things just happen. There is no sense or reason, they just happen and its never God’s will. With the exception of judgement, God is not the author of affliction. God’s judgement is outside the context of this post and another discussion for another time.

It does say in the scriptures that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called to His purposes. So while God does not bring affliction, He will use it in the life of a believer to bring good. But except for judgement, suffering is never His will.

Isn’t it interesting how quick people are to blame God for suffering? What’s more interesting is that even people who say they don’t believe in God get mad at Him for suffering when it’s not from him at all.

What then are the sources of affliction? I think there are 4 top-level sources of suffering and affliction: the demonic, accidents, some diseases and the sinfulness of people.

Its very clear in the gospels that affliction is often of demonic origin. Why then do we not place the blame where it belongs? The devil is real and is out to destroy all of us, as painfully as possible.

For people with a shallow faith – the rocky soil – often the question is: “Why didn’t God intervene and stop it”? Could He? Yes. He could do that every single time for all people. No more loss, no more pain and suffering, no more death. Oh wait…that’s the Kingdom of God! The day is coming in which there will be no more crying or pain or death. But that day is not today. Today, we have affliction and we see it in the world everywhere.

The person with shallow faith finds reasons to blame God when bad things happen. Why didn’t He intervene! He should have!. He didn’t! I quit!

This is rocky soil – shallow, superficial, withering, doubting, and walking away.

Persecution

No one signs up for persecution when they trust in Christ, but He said it would come because of His Name, because of the gospel. When we are faithful to the message – the Word of God, for the sake of the Name, then expect persecution. It may be as small as ridicule from unbelievers, or as serious as facing imprisonment, torture, or execution because you stand firm in your confession of biblical faith. Persecution of biblical Christians all over the world abounds. It’s not widely reported and most in the west are unaware. But persecution is coming to western Christianity soon. It’s already started in small ways but it will accelerate. So the choice for all biblical Christians is what will you do when it comes to you? Is your faith rooted in Rock soil? Will you seek the approval of men or the approval of God?

What segments of society are winning approval today? Its not biblical Christians. Biblical Christians are being set up. Every social problem is being blamed on Christians so persecution in the west is coming. But true, biblical Christians cannot choose the approval of people when it conflicts with the teachings of scripture, even if it brings persecution.

Believers in many countries around the world endure imprisonment, torture, discrimination, even death for the sake of the Name and the gospel. The person with shallow roots, a superficial faith, will retreat and recant the faith when criticized or ridiculed because of their faith.

Temptation

A shallow faith often results when a confession of faith is not enabled by true repentance. Its easy to accept the offer of eternal life in Christ but its hard to repent.

The Gospel of Luke says that falling away happens in a time of temptation. The deceptive attraction of sin doesn’t go away when a person comes to faith in Christ. It’s powerful. In a shallow, unrepentant faith, the enticement of sin is just too strong because there likely was no saving faith in the first place. The old life of sin returns and the Rocky soil Christian departs the faith.

Feel like your faith is superficial?…like your Christian experience is on rocky soil? Ask the Lord to transplant you from rocky soil to good soil. This requires trusting Him in ALL circumstances regardless of how painful they may be. Christians won’t stay in rocky soil. They’ll either be transplanted to good soil or their faith will wither. If this is you, act quickly. The parable says the effects of Rocky soil are immediate.