Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. Matthew 13:5.

The seed sown upon stony ground finds little depth of soil in which to take root. The plants spring up quickly, but the tender roots cannot penetrate into the rock and find nutriment to sustain the growing plant, and it soon perishes. A large number who make a profession of religion may be represented by the stony-ground hearers. They are a class that are easily convinced, but they have only a superficial religion….

There are those who receive the precious truth with joy; they are exceedingly zealous, and express amazement that all cannot see the things that are so plain to them. They urge others to embrace the doctrine that they find so satisfying. They hastily condemn the hesitating and those who carefully weigh the evidences of the truth, and consider it in all its bearings…. But in the time of trial, these enthusiastic persons too often falter and fail….

As the roots of a plant strike down into the soil, gathering moisture and nutriment from the ground, so Christians must abide in Christ, drawing sap and nourishment from Him, as does the branch from the vine, until they cannot be turned away from the Source of their strength by trials….

Stony-ground hearers may rejoice for a season, for they think that religion is something that will free them from test and from all difficulty. They have not counted the cost….

The class that Jesus represents as stony-ground hearers trusted in their good works, in their good impulses, and were strong in themselves, in their own righteousness. They were not “strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” They did not feel that eternal vigilance was the price of safety. They might have put on the whole armor of God, and have been able to stand against the wiles of the enemy. The rich and abundant promises of God were spoken for their benefit, and believing the Word of God, they might have been clothed with a “Thus saith the Lord” and been able to meet every wily device of the adversary; for when the enemy should come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord would have lifted up a standard against him.—The Review and Herald, June 7, 1892.

From From the Heart

A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside. Luke 8:5.

The great controversy between Christ, the prince of light, and Satan, the prince of darkness, is presented before us in the parable of the sower….

The sower is the Son of God, or the one to whom He delegates His work, for by cooperating with Christ, we are to become laborers together with God. Those who by personal ministry open to others the Scriptures are sowing the good seed, for the good seed is the Word of God….

The seed sown by the wayside represents the word of God as it falls upon the heart of those who are inattentive hearers, for those who are to bring the fruit forth must meditate much upon the word of God which has been presented to them…. As the birds of the air are ready to catch up the seed from the wayside, so Satan is represented as ready with his unseen agencies of evil to catch away the seeds of divine truth from the heart, lest it should find a lodgment there and bring forth fruit unto eternal life….

Satan and his angels are in the assembly where the gospel of the kingdom is preached. While heavenly angels also are present to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation, the enemy is ever on the alert that he may make of no effect the influence of the truth. With an earnestness that is only equaled by his malice, he seeks to thwart the operation of the Spirit of God on the heart of the hearer, for he sees that if the truth is accepted, he has lost control of his subject, and Christ has won the victory….

There are many whose hearts are as hard as the beaten pathway, and apparently it is a useless effort to present the truth to them; but while logic may fail to move, and argument be worthless to convince, let the laborer for Christ come close to such in Christlike sympathy and compassion, and it may be that the love of Christ will subdue and melt the soul into tenderness and contrition….

Through the years of probation, God is testing and proving the hearts of all, that it may be seen who will find room for Jesus. The question to be answered by every soul is, Will you accept the pardoning love of God, which is a remedy for the diseases of the soul, or will you choose the enmity of Satan, and reap the terrible doom of the lost?—The Review and Herald, May 31, 1892.

From From the Heart

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. John 16:12, 13.

The Lord Jesus had precious truth to open before His disciples, but He could not unfold it to their minds until they were in a condition to comprehend the significance of what He desired to teach….

Though He unfolded great and wonderful things to the minds of His disciples, He left many things unsaid that could not be comprehended by them. At His last meeting with them before His death, He said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” … Earthly ideas, temporal things, occupied so large a place in their minds, that they could not then understand the exalted nature, the holy character, of His kingdom, though He laid it out in clear lines before them. It was because of their former erroneous interpretation of the prophecies, because of human customs and traditions, presented and urged upon them by the priests, that their minds had become confused and were hardened to truth.

What was it that Jesus withheld because they could not comprehend it? It was the more spiritual, glorious truths concerning the plan of redemption. The words of Christ, which the Comforter would recall to their minds after His ascension, led them to more careful thought and earnest prayer that they might comprehend His words and give them to the world. Only the Holy Spirit could enable them to appreciate the significance of the plan of redemption. The lessons of Christ, coming to the world through the inspired testimony of the disciples, have a significance and value far beyond that which the casual reader of the Scriptures gives them. Christ sought to make plain His lessons by means of illustrations and parables. He spoke of the truths of the Bible as a treasure hid in a field, which, when a man had found, he went and sold all that he had, and bought the field. He represents the gems of truth, not as lying directly upon the surface, but as buried deep in the ground; as hidden treasures that must be searched for. We must dig for the precious jewels of truth, as a man would dig in a mine.

In presenting the truth to others, we should follow the example of Jesus.—The Review and Herald, October 14, 1890.

From From the Heart

Having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:5. (Read Matthew 21:19-21.)

The treatment of the barren fig tree by the Savior of the world shows how all pretenders to godliness will be treated…. This tree represents the Jews, who refused to respond to the love of Christ. Despite all the privileges and opportunities granted them, they brought forth only briers and thorns—no fruit to the glory of God. This blighted tree was a parable to the house of Israel—a most impressive lesson. It is also a lesson to the professed followers of Christ in every age. Reaching through all time, it speaks in unmistakable language to all formalists and boasters of godliness who stand forth to the world with high profession but are utterly devoid of that vital piety which alone God recognizes as fruit….

Like the barren fig tree, many flaunt their foliage—covered branches before the Lord, proudly claiming to be His commandment-keeping people, while the heart-searching God finds them destitute of fruit….

We learn from the Sacred Record that this tree, upon which hung not a redeeming cluster of fruit, was clothed with green foliage. Notice the words, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” The doom of the fruitless fig tree has an application to individual professors who manifest the natural tendencies of the unrenewed heart, and contradict their faith by their daily life. They do not represent to the world the character of Christ, because they have not Christ in them.

Our Savior never turned away from the truly penitent, no matter how great their guilt. But He hates all hypocrisy and vain display….

Fruitless professors, sad indeed is your fate; for the open sinner stands in a more favorable position in the sight of God. The blight of God’s curse is upon that class who hide the deformity of their lives under a profession of godliness. John, that bold, undaunted reprover of sin, who came to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent, thus addressed the multitude that flocked to hear him: “Therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”—The Review and Herald, January 11, 1881.

From From the Heart

A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, “Son, go, work today in my vineyard.” He answered and said, “I will not,” but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, “I go, sir,” but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? Matthew 21:28-31.

In the parable the son who refused to go represented the Gentile world, and the class who said, “I go, sir” represented the Pharisees. Christ had just cleansed the temple of those who defiled it with forbidden traffic. Divinity had flashed through humanity, and the people had seen the glory and power of God manifested before them…. As He had traveled toward Jerusalem, the multitude had spread their garments in the way and had strewn His path with palm branches, and they had proclaimed His praises, singing, “Hosanna to the son of David.” Though the rejoicing ones had not dared to carry their acclamations to the very gate of the temple, fearing the priests and rulers, the children had taken up the song, and were praising God in the temple, and shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David.” …

The Gentile world would accept the truth; but those who had so great light and such wonderful privileges, to whom had been granted both temporal and spiritual blessings, refused the message of salvation. They had professed to be the people of God. They had said, “We go, sir,” but they failed of doing their Father’s will….

When the invitation of heaven has been brought to your ears, have you said, “Yes, Lord, I believe the truth,” yet by the actions of your life shown that you did not believe? Have you brought it into your heart? Has its transforming power taken hold upon your soul? Has its sanctifying grace been brought into your character? How is it with you? …

It is the privilege of everyone to say, “I will carry out my Captain’s orders to the very letter, feeling or no feeling…. I will say, ‘What are my orders? What is the line of my duty? What says the Master to me? … What is my position before God?’” Just as soon as we come into right relations to God, we shall understand our duty and do it, and we shall not think the good things we do entitle us to salvation….

The question is not, How will you stand in the day of trouble, or at some future time, but how is it with your soul today? Will you go to work today?—The Review and Herald, April 9, 1889.

From From the Heart