CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE IN CHURCH

(LUKE 8:10-15) 

By Peace Wobo

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the [a]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptations fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

Every body in Church is not in the same category. Some are probably by the way. The devil takes away their seed which is the Word of God, that is why some people in Church cannot study or quote any Bible verse. Even when they hear the Word, they find it difficult to believe so they  are never changed and they are not saved.

Some are upon a rock, these ones have no root. They hear the Word but it is not rooted in them so they are not built up. You see them confessing that God is good when all is well but one small difficulty will make them forget that God is good. These set of people easily fall into temptation because they were never rooted in the Word.

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Some are among thorns. These ones are in-between the things of God and worldly pleasures. They can forgo church service, workers meeting, Christian gathering or call for evangelism for party, outing or any worldly gathering. They come to church, hear the Word, they know and recognise sin yet they find pleasure in committing sin. They are neither good here nor there, so they can bring no fruit to perfection.

Some are on good ground, these are the committed ones, their hearts have been circumcised, they study, mediate and live the Word. They are hearers and doers of the Word. They fight the good fight of faith and work towards perfection everyday. They are the true workers in any Church.

So, do not be disheartened when you see some church members or even workers misbehave or display ungodly characters. 

Don't be too disappointed that a brother/sister did something you least expected and don't get angry at them, just ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the category they fall into so you can pray for them and keep preaching to them till they come to the good ground. Some of them might even occupy leadership positions but they are not growing on the good ground, they are not rooted and built up.