Matthew 13:47 -50 The Drag Net

47  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;  48 when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.  49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous,  50 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.  Matt. 13:47 -50

The Kingdom of heaven is like a fish net full of all kinds of fish. Both the good and the bad.  This is not some future kingdom of perfection. It is what we see right now, our congregations are full of good teachers and good believers as will as evil false teachers and false believers. The question is the same as in the soil or the wheat and weeds. What kind of soil, plant or fish are we?

At this point we have discussed over and over how the kingdom is full of unsaved, unrighteous people. They look like us, they talk like us, but they are not of us. They are false. They will be sorted out at the close of the age. But till them we have them in our midst.

This is not how the present day evangelist tell it. They claim that all one has to do is ask Jesus into your hearts, and everything will be OK. There is no longer an emphasis on repenting. The idea of turning and going the other way has been lost. The definition of what is evil has been lost. The Ten Commandments are no longer the measure of evil. Every last one of the Commandments are ignored by our society and more importantly by the clergy. The only one that is remembered is, “Thou shalt no kill”. Which is taken to mean that capital punishment is wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Hebrew means murder. Killing for capital crimes is condoned and declared through out the Bible as the responsibility of the courts.

Starting with the great revivals of the 19th century, salvation became an over simplified doctrine.  Some of this was done simply as a way of explaining deeply spiritual things to children, or simple minded adults. In the 1970’s The Four Spiritual Laws came out with many many similar tracts following, with the same over simplified and unbiblical laws. Church people were encouraged to use these simplified tracts. These tracts are so simplified that they’re on the verge of being misleading. Unfortunately no one ever got around to teaching the whole truth of salvation to these new converts. The great foundational teachings are being lost. They have been replaced with platitudes and catch phrases. Are you saved? Are you washed in the blood? God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Really? How wonderful was that plan for the saints of the INQUISITION? Or the Soviet Union? Or present day China? Yes, it is an honor to die for the faith, but that is hardly a wonderful plan.

When the Blue Laws and prayer in school were done away with, our society lost its foundation.  Instead of rising up to defend the truth, the church went along, and as a consequence lost its authority to comment on righteousness in the society at large. We should have doubled down in our efforts to teach God’s word. Instead we all began to parrot the false doctrine that the law has passed away. Misquoting Romans 3:31.

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. Rom. 3:31

Now even the Ten Commandments are being removed for the public square. It is past time for the spiritual leaders to step up and instead of decrying this removal, begin teaching every congregation to recite these Ten simple rules. We don’t need them in the public square if they’re in our hearts.

I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psa. 119:11

Even the doctrine of original sin has gone the way of the dodo. The church has moved on. There is no need of the teaching that everyone is a dirty rotten sinner. It has been replaced by the psychology of excuses. Parents, culture, teachers, coaches, alcohol, drugs, etc. are the ones responsible. Sin has been rebranded as irresponsibility. Rebellion is now, excessive childhood exuberance. The idea that sin came into the world through the act of one man and one woman, in a garden, while talking to the serpent, is treated as myth, if it is acknowledged at all. If there is no original sin then there is no need of a redeemer.

If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Rom. 5:17

So the unsaved unbelievers can easily move among us. Sometimes these false brothers are even in leadership. There are those who live a good life for all to see, but inside there is no belief, no faith, no love of God. We may think we can fool others, we can even fool ourselves, but we cannot fool God.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; John 10:27 

Salvation is a processes and a struggle, as we discipline our sinful natures to conform to God’s commands.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 2 Cor. 13:5 

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; Phil. 2:12 

and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, Heb. 5:9

We must never give up on learning more of how to follow our King. One can live a good life all your life and make a error at the end and end up cast out. Ezekiel 18 makes it quite clear that one can choose at any time in our lives to go the wrong way.

Our eternal security is only a sure as our obedience. Once what we believe, do, or think is shown to be in error it must be removed. One can not continue in disobedience.

1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,  2 with instruction about ablutions, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  3 And this we will do if God permits.  4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,  5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,  6 if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.  7 For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.  8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned.  Heb 6: 1-8

We must continue to walk away from sin. When we fail we must confess our sin and repent as soon as it comes to mind that what we have done or are doing is wrong.

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Rom. 7:15

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9