The Wheat and the Tares Explained

[james1523]

There is a prevailing view in Christianity that a normal church contains both saved and unsaved, wheat and tares. This situation is tolerated, because Christ will come and weed out the tares from the church anyway. After all, we should tolerate such evil people in our churches, in the name of love and peace, church is a place and home for sinners is it not?

However a church which has both saved and unsaved is not a church in healthy condition. God's church consists only of saved, born again and regenerated people. Tares are not "taken out" of God's kingdom or the church, because they were never "in it" to begin with.

If we look at Jesus's explanation of the parable of the wheat and tares (below), we can see that the field is the world, not the church. The angels job is not to uproot evil people from our churches, we are the ones who are meant to do that:

1 Cor 5:12 It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.


Matt 13:36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

 

[B-A-C]

However a church which has both saved and unsaved is not a church in healthy condition. God's church consists only of saved, born again and regenerated people. Tares are not "taken out" of God's kingdom or the church, because they were never "in it" to begin with.

If we say the church is the body of believers, then obviously there are no unsaved people in that church.
If we say the church is a building with both believers and non-believers in it.. then maybe having them isn't so unhealthy.
There are people, I call them seekers, who are looking for an answer, they are maybe looking for Jesus, possibly looking for God...
but they haven't quite stepped over the line yet, they are on the verge of making a decision.. sometimes the decision happens quickly,
sometimes the decision takes a period of time (weeks? months? years?) but where would seekers go, if not the church?

Having said all that, there is another group of people, the wolves. Those who claim to be saved, but really aren't (they may believe they are).
Is it healthy for them to be in the church? Sometimes they can tear a church apart. Sometimes they can cause a church to come together against them
and actually strengthen the character of the church.

Matt 7:15; Acts 20:29;

 

[RJ]

I believe in the "Born Again" and "Regenerated State" of a true believer.
Any church with both saved and unsave as being unhealthy, I am not too sure about that; I would say that all churches fail on this point. Most churches I been associated with has it's own mixture of hot, cold and luke warm. Whether a church or an individual is "Luke Warm", now that is a problem.

 

[james1523]

My post was really about tolerating unsaved wolves. A church which tolerates "wolves" in the name of "love", is not a healthy place. It is like having a tumor but doing nothing about it. A body with tumors is not a healthy body. Tumors can grow and spread and damage other parts of the body.

The messages to the 7 churches in Revelation indicates that Christ is not happy with a situation in which churches tolerate evil:
Rev 2:20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

 

[NoHype]

There should always be tolerance in Christ's Church for those who seek Christ and His Salvation. If they are there for other reason, then they are to be cast out until they show sincerity of cause. Clearly today there enemies of Christ that love to creep into the Church to try and overthrow. The Church leaders are not to allow that.

Likewise with a believer who commits grave sin and refuses to repent, they are to be treated as an outcast as long as they choose to remain in that rebellious state. 1 Cor.5 is a good example by Apostle Paul.

1 Cor 5:1-8
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(KJV)

 

[NoHype]

My post was really about tolerating unsaved wolves. A church which tolerates "wolves" in the name of "love", is not a healthy place. It is like having a tumor but doing nothing about it. A body with tumors is not a healthy body. Tumors can grow and spread and damage other parts of the body.

The messages to the 7 churches in Revelation indicates that Christ is not happy with a situation in which churches tolerate evil:
Rev 2:20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

You're very correct. That's why the mega-Churches resort to entertainment, because they invite the tares to stay.