4:16,17
The word that falls in the rocky places is like those who initially receive the word of God with joy, but the word is only skin deep, and so does not last. Encountering trouble causes them to give up, they last only a short time. Trouble or persecution causes them to fall away. There are a number of important lessons. First impressions do not always give a reliable indicator of how faithful someone will be. We should be cautious of getting “new Christians” to give testimonies. Now, at the same time we should also note that there are counterexamples to this, for example the woman at the well. We should be particularly careful how we treat “celebrity” converts. A new convert is a babe in Christ. They need to be carefully nurtured. Note that encountering trouble and/or persecution is an expected and normal part of Christian life.
4:18,19
The seed sown among the thorns is like the person who again initially receives the word, but this time it is crowded out by “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things”. Worry and anxiety can be a major problem, and we need to know how to deal with it. We also need to know how to avoid being deceived by wealth or other distractions.
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