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“Words taught by the Spirit” An Email Ministry
for the Glory of God
SOWING AND REAPING
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“7. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that
he will also reap. 8. For
he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who
sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season
we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
(Gal.6:7-9)
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“Keep your heart with all diligence, for
out of it [spring] the issues of life.”
(Pr.4:23) God manifests his
love to us through this warning and exhorts us to pay attention to the
words of the Holy Spirit and not err concerning the real nature of
things. The law of
‘sowing and reaping’, though
it refers to the vegetable world, it is also of application in the
spiritual realm. Satan’s
pride and fall constitutes the proof.
It is:
“… as I have seen, those who
plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.”
(Job 4:8).
The verses under study mean that carnal indulgence and bad habits
and above all bad choices will end in ruin or perdition.
On the contrary, good and healthy spiritual seed will lead to a
good final spiritual harvest and to everlasting life.
Whatever man sows, the same will he also reap.
If we sow wheat, we cannot
harvest tomatoes!
As far as quantity is concerned, the seed we sow reproduces itself
manifold!
This law is
valid for everyone: for the
family, for the society and even for the Church.
The words of Scripture that
“He who sows iniquity will reap
sorrow…” (Pr.22:8) and those who
“…sow the wind… reap the
whirlwind…” (Hos.8:7) are constantly confirmed.
This law tells us to pay attention in order not to sow thorns and
thistles on which we will walk later all along our present life and
later throughout the whole eternity.
Life is, therefore, a season of sowing but at the same time also
as of reaping. One’s future
and the conditions after death depend exclusively on the choices of
his heart (Rom.2:4-11).
Is it possible to be
deceived by others and to be self-deceived
“Do not be
deceived…”
People believe that it is possible to be deceived or be cheated
by Satan or by evil spirits or by other people but they do not believe
that it is possible to be self-deceived…
However, the Word of God
– but also psychology and philosophy – admits that self-deception is
possible and warns us against self-deception.
A man may be deceived from
outside:
By traditions of men, by evil spirits and by men.
For example:
Who is Jesus Christ: A good man, a philosopher, the Archangel Michael,
only man or only God? How
can one be saved? God urges us to be
on our guard against Satan and
men and pay attention to the
choices of our hearts!
Satan comes as an
angel of light, leading to
error our mind and our conscience, exploiting the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1Jo.2:16). Satan also comes in
the form of some so-called great teachers, who are sometimes
false teachers, who, having
the form of godliness (2Tim.3:5), twist the Word of God and poison the
soul, the mind and the conscience with their philosophies and teachings.
They lower God’s exigencies concerning repentance, faith,
faithfulness, obedience and sanctification and introduce “will worship
and humility”, of “good works” etc….
The apostle John says,
“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices
righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” (1Jo.3:7).
Some of them even teach us that we must taste both sides of life.
I do not need to put my hand in the fire to find out that it
burns. Even the wild beasts
have that “common sense”…
However, the Word of God is categorical.
“Let no one deceive
you with empty words…”
(Eph.5:6)
“Friends”, members of our family and our
neighbors etc., can lead us astray or create in us sinful habits!
“Do not be deceived:
"Bad company ruins good morals."” (1Cor.15:33-RSV).
Among bad company are bad spectacles (TV etc.) …
A man can be deceived from
inside:
Let us just mention a very
limited number of Scriptures about spiritual
self-deception:
·
“For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he
deceives himself.”
(Gal.6:3)
·
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
(Jas.1:22)
·
“If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his
tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is
useless.”
(Jas.1:26)
·
“"Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of
nothing’ ––and do not know that you are wretched, miserable,
poor, blind, and naked––”
(Rev.3:17) Let us not forget
that our heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;
who can know it? (Jer.17:9).
How many times did we not make up our mind not to commit the same
sin or not to repeat a harmful habit and before 24 hours had gone by, we
had repeated it? The Bible
says that, “He
who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be
delivered.”
(Pr.28:26).
Self-deception is grafted upon ignorance, upon our lusts and upon
a refusal to keep a good conscience. The
Bible tells us:
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”
(Ho.4:6) and “having faith and
a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the
faith have suffered shipwreck,” (1Ti.1:19).
The solution is:
Love God with all our heart!
The importance of our
choices
is great Our present
spiritual situation reveals, very often, the sowing of the past…
The future will reveal today’s sowing.
God tests us every moment and in every thing! (Job
Little or temporary things
may have terrible consequences
The Bible
says that “...for every idle
word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment”
(Mat.12:36) and that even
the lust of the eyes is considered as sin (1Jo.2:16;
Mt.18:9 et Mark 9:47).
We should not, therefore, despise the day of little things
because they might have great and terrible lifelong and eternal
consequences!
Little foxes destroy vineyards
(So.2.15) and a little folly
dishonors a man respected for wisdom and honor (Ec.10:1) says the
Word of God. Such “little”
sins devour our spiritual life…
A small breach or hole in a ship can make it sink … even while it
is within the harbor… The repetition of
small sins, which seem unimportant, may become a real bondage to our
soul and to our body. Wrap
up your two legs together with a thread.
You can break it at any time.
Wrap them up many-many times and you will see if you can break
them and loose your legs…
Every word, act or thought has eternal repercussions and it comes back
the way it was sown… Even
our discussions are registered and we will hear them again replayed when
we stand before God! (Mal.3:16).
The phrase “sowing to the
flesh”
refers to the
gratification of our lusts
This is absolutely true when they absorb our heart and our life as it
happens when it has to do with excessive attachment to our job, our
studies, our money, our glory etc.
What are we going to reap?
Corruption!
Sowing in the flesh is not
only the doing and the abiding in gross, flagrant or vulgar sins. And
let us pay attention to the warning:
“For if you live according to
the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds
of the body, you will live.” (Rom.8:13).
Many are those who sow in the flesh while they appear doing what
is good because, in reality, they have after-thoughts and hypocritical
dispositions or because their lives consist of a feverish human activism
for which they have never asked God…
In two words: Who sows in
the flesh? He who
lives and works for himself and not for God!
Man reaps more than he has
sown,
exactly as in the vegetable world!
David,
a man after God’s heart, paid his sin fourfold!
A glass of wine or beer etc., more than what is permitted or the
non-respect of a traffic light may cause our death and the death of
other people. A lie may
destroy a man’s whole career; a sexual sin of youth may destroy all the
years of his or her life and all that we have been building for years
and years on end!
Yea, a bad action of a moment
may make you pay it back during all your life. What I have just said
holds true also for good choices!
A godly choice may
surely bring countless blessings in our life!
(1Sam.16:7).
The ignorance of the
quality of our acts does not make us innocent! If I think that I
sow good quality and healthy seed and the seed is bad and/or unhealthy,
is my ignorance going to change the result?
The Bible says that
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of
death.” (Pr.14:12).
My
ignorance about the sin I commit does not discharge me from the guilt
and does not deliver me from the consequences of my sin and of my
foolishness!
This can be clearly seen in
Lev.5:17-19; Num.15:24-30
and
Ec.5:6.
·
What kind of
seed do we sow?
What is our
behavior? Selfish, harsh, mean, bitter, nagging, authoritarian,
irritating and leading our women and our children to mean acts and to
discouragement? (Col.3:21).
How do we do our work and that of other people’s work, diligently or
negligently?
“Cursed is he who does the work
of the LORD deceitfully (or
negligently)”?
(Jer.48:10). Do we do
whatever we do in order to be seen, acting in a spirit of
eye service, as men-pleasers or in sincerity of heart, fearing God and
as bondservants of Christ? (Eph.6:6; Col.3:22).
How do we
spend our leisure time?
Telling jokes and using foolish or filthy talking that pollute our mind
and the mind of other people?
What do we read? Are
our Yes, yes and our No, no?
Is our speech salted with grace or with lies and/or
exaggerations? Do we think
one thing, say another thing and do another thing?
Do we keep our promises and respect faithfully our small or great
commitments? (Mt.25:23). Do
we use the Bible the way that suits us?
To direct questions, which corner us, do we reply as Christians
fearing God or as diplomats being afraid of a confrontation, inventing
excuses and taking refuge in the expression:
“You do not know my heart”?
Of course – only God knows our heart – but our neighbors see our
fruit!
How do we judge and
measure others? Where is
our treasure and where are our thoughts focused all day long?
(Mt.6:21). Do we speak the
truth in our heart before God and men? (Ps.15:2).
Do we say: “Yes Lord, you
are right and I am wrong”?
I deserved to go to Hell but you
saved me!”
“Yes, my brother, my sister, my wife etc., you are right and
I am wrong”. Do we ask God to forgive our sins?
Have we put our trust in God’s loving and righteous character?
In two words:
Do we repent sincerely and have
we put all our trust in Jesus Christ?
The expression “he who sows
in the Spirit”
This expression means: minding and savoring the things of the Spirit and
walking in the Spirit. If a
person believes God’s words, repents
mourning for his
sins, confesses and rejects them and surrenders his being to Christ and
keeps diligently a good
conscience, spiritual blessings will come upon him.
This is the meaning of verse 9, which says, “And
let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap
if we do not lose heart.”
Sowing in the Spirit means
self-denial on behalf of the ONE who saved us and to WHOM we belong.
Only those who are governed by the Spirit of God are His children
(Rom.8:14), if we look unto Jesus, the Author, the Leader and Finisher
of our faith and if we live by faith, relying absolutely on the precious
blood of Christ.
Who is the man that can sow
in the Spirit?
Only the man
who has been born of God, he
who has surrendered himself
to God, he who has kept nothing
for himself and who has a pure heart and keeps a
good conscience.
Only he who relies on God’s grace and not on his efforts, who
resists sin to bloodshed, striving against sin (Heb.12:4) and Satan.
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin,
for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born
of God.”
(1Jo.3:9)
Only to that man, good works can be of any value!
Only from the
hands of a pure man can God accept with pleasure his ‘sacrifices’.
If men do not keep a good conscience, then their religious
activities are in vain. They grieve or quench the Spirit
(Eph.4:30-31 and 1Th.5:19‑20) and harden their neck resisting to
true reproofs (Ac.7:51). Woe unto him who tries to find an alibi in
order to cover up his guilt or find an excuse such as
“I did not know”,
“it is your fault”,
“you do not know my heart”,
etc.
One cannot expect anything from
a man who is capable of inventing excuses!
Quantitative and
qualitative proportionality between sowing and reaping Is it ever possible?
1.
Someone
who opens the Word of God
once a week,
just for a couple of minutes or in a haphazard way or when he is only in
church, to become a believer mighty in words and acts?
(Col.3:16);
2.
Someone
who has not put his or her
life in order to become able to teach and admonish other people?
(Col.3:16; Mt.5:19);
3.
To see
someone
being blessed,
when he spends
hours and hours
on end in front of the TV, who finds time for his occupations and his
leisure but does find the time to study his Bible and to pray neither
for himself nor for other people?
(Mt.26:41);
4.
To see a
man greedy for money who
does not give money to the poor but who wastes his money for things that
have to do only with his
house, his family, his vacation and pleasures,
prosper spiritually?
5.
Someone who
makes compromises with sin and
the world and interprets the Bible as it suits him or her best or who
does not ever give his testimony?
6.
To see
someone who offers money, praise and worship to the Lord and who sits at
the Lord’s Table without having
been first reconciled with his brother or sister while he is
aware that they have
something against him, to
enjoy God’s peace and joy? (Mt.5:24);
7.
To see a
believer being transformed
by the renewing of his mind, without having previously presented himself
as a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God? (Ro.12:1-2)
8.
To see a
believer who does not endure to
the end
to
be saved?
(Mt.24:13);
9.
To see a
man who has not the fruit of the Spirit and be at the same time truly
filled with the Holy Spirit?
That is forgery; that is imposture!
God gives the Holy Spirit
only to those who obey Him! (Act.5:32);
10.
To see a
man sowing pride and arrogance,
resist God’s will and reap
at the same time
God’s grace?
(Jas.4:6);
11.
To live
with an impenitent heart that
resists God’s reproofs and, at the same time, have God’s life and
the mind of Christ?
(Pr.1:23);
12.
For
someone to live with an
impatient and unfaithful heart and,
at the same, time expect to see
God’s promises being
accomplished in his life? (Heb.10:36). We conclude,
therefore, that “…He who sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will
also reap bountifully.” (2Cor.9:6).
Also,
“Those who
sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping,
bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.”
(Ps. 126:5-6).
The main characteristic of all
great men of God was that they had
surrendered their lives
completely to Christ and were faithful, remaining steady and
diligent in the execution of God’s will and that they did not let
anything or anybody divert
them from their purposes.
The reaping will be: either
corruption or eternal life In v.8 the Bible
speaks about
corruption and everlasting life.
When the Bible refers to “corruption”,
it means basically perdition and eternal condemnation.
As regards
“corruption”, Paul, addressing
himself to the Corinthian believers declared:
“lest, when I come again, my God
will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have
sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and
lewdness which they have practiced.”
There are, nevertheless, other
forms of corruption such as
sadness, agitation and confusion, depression, sickness, discouragement,
worries which devour the soul and remove every bit of freshness and
create insomnia, psychological diseases due to unbridled desires, fear,
frustration, etc., during or after the act of sin.
God blows away whatever we do, though it may appear good, but
which has selfish and egocentric motives (Isa.17:10-11 and Hag.1:5‑9).
These forms of corruption can result in the final destruction.
God
makes us reap not based on the toil of our hands but based on the
choices of our hearts.
Anyway, God would bring us to the full of our harvest on
the Day of Judgment and of reward.
And
now, let us examine the expression “everlasting
life”: The Bible
says: “Say to the righteous that
it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their
doings.” (Isa.3:10).
Man’s fruit is manifested by the
formation of his character and his usefulness to other people.
In addition, and what is most important, is that the righteous
will not reap in the age to come
the fruit of his sins because Christ has reaped them on the cross for
the account of the believer.
If the
imperfect fellowship now with God and with other believers is a source
of joy, how much more the blessedness and prosperity of the age to come
during which he will be co-heir with Christ and will become like Him!
Unbelievable but true!
God will reward our honesty and faithfulness with the currency of
the Heavenly Country. That
is why the Word of God tells us:
“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according
to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay
here in fear;”
(1Pet.1:17; also, 1Cor.15:58 and Heb.10:35-39).
The way of reaping The best way to reap
is by “bowing or bending
oneself”.
1.
When we reap the sin we have
sown, we must
bend ourselves in humility,
self-examination and repentance.
We must accept it without murmuring (Lam.3:39-44 and
Lev.26:40-41) or rebellion or discouragement or despising the chastening
of the Lord (Isa.1:5; Rev.16:11; Heb.12:5; Jer.5:3).
If not, we will be caught in an
ever-increasing vicious circle...
We must take care to
discern why God has lifted up his rod! (1Cor.11:31-32).
Let us not forget the word
“As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Therefore, be
zealous and repent.” (Rev.3:19).
The lost ground cannot be recovered but slowly and/or partially,
unless God intervenes and does a miracle.
God forgives our sins but in certain cases He lets certain
consequences of our sins remain on us!
In this way, we are chastened or instructed and protected from
falling again to sin! We
are reminded in this way of our shortcomings and are taught to depend
always on Him and remain humble.
The nails nailed on a piece of wood can be removed but the holes
remain!
Attention!
What I say does not mean that we are in need of sinning to stay
humble but we need God’s grace that we both discern ourselves and stay
humble!
2.
When we reap God’s blessings,
we must bend ourselves in humility and profound gratitude.
God’s blessings are not the result of our own capacity or piety
(De.8:17 and 9:4-5). Even our capacity to understand God’s truth is not
from us but it is from God! (2Cor.3:5).
We must, therefore, give the glory to God who blesses us and
gives us glory... We must
not, therefore, transform these blessings into idols but we must attach
ourselves to God the Giver!
He gives us the possibility to reap, very often, things which we have
not even sown and that are due to God’s grace.
HE offers us things that we do not deserve…
Conclusion
Let us not miss eternity for
rubbish Let us be careful
not to miss eternity for rubbish and sell out our spiritual “birthright”
for one morsel of food. (Php.3:8; Heb.12:16)
If we, therefore, call on
the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work,
let us conduct ourselves throughout the time of our stay here in fear
(1Pe.1:17).
God is not only severe but
He is also merciful
Every
one of us will give account and will reap what he has sown.
That is why we should take refuge in due course to Christ and ask
Him for mercy and for His grace!
HE will forgive all our sins and He will throw them into the deep
seas not to remember them anymore.
Let us repent, therefore, if we have not yet repented, let us
continue repenting, and let us go to Christ because it is
He who has reaped on the cross
and through His death on the cross the fruit of all our sinful sowing.
God will revive and restore to us, in His sovereignty, the years
that have been eaten up by the enemy (Joel
John BALTATZIS
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