Take Care How You Hear

No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away (Luke 8:16-18).[1]

In Jesus’ Sower – perhaps better named Parable of the Soils – the seed of the Word of God is scattered indiscriminately across four types of soil, ranging from worst to best, resulting in fruit grown only from the fourth type. It’s a parable, in essence, about why when the Word of God is given, some come to saving faith while others do not. We know this because Jesus explained the parable to his disciples in private, along with this revealing statement: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand’” (Luke 8:10). It’s a counterintuitive perspective and contrary to the popular interpretation of Jesus’ parables as more akin to folklore, but the conclusion of his Parable of the Sower is that the “seed” of the Word of God does not root, grow, and yield except in the right soil.

Whose heart is the “right soil” is among the secret things of God. What is not a secret is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which as a simple message is freely shared with all. The basic facts of the gospel are, as the apostle Paul summarizes them, “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). But while these are the facts, they do not tell us what the gospel does; namely, through the gospel given, God reveals his truth that we may hear and believe and in believing be saved.

The Gospel Given

“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed,” Jesus said, “but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light” (8:16). The purpose of a lamp (contrary to my wife’s opinion) is not decoration but to provide light that we may see. When we enter a dark room, we turn on a light that we may see. Such is the case with the gospel. The gospel’s purpose is that we may see Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection, who he is, what he has done, and what it means for us. If it doesn’t point us to Christ, it’s not the gospel.

Like a lamp on a stand, the gospel allows us to see what we could not see in sin’s darkness. Life apart from the gospel is, as Jesus described it, walking “in darkness” (John 8:12; 12:35). The unbeliever, who walks daily in “this present darkness” (Eph. 6:12) not only doesn’t know Christ he doesn’t know that he needs to know him. Such is the darkness that pervades the majority of humanity.

It should not surprise us then that Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The gospel serves as a light, as it were, revealing the true and eternal light, who is Christ. Calvin says, “God’s word is like the sun: it sheds its light on all to whom it is proclaimed, but it has no effect upon the blind. Now in this respect we are all naturally blind, which is why it can only enter our minds if the Spirit of God, who is the inner teacher, allows it entry through his illumination.”[2] To Calvin’s point, the gospel shines the light and the Holy Spirit working through the gospel opens eyes. The result is the sinner is saved through faith in Jesus Christ, whom he sees clearly by God’s grace.

This is also why it is imperative that we shine the light of the gospel into the darkness of the world. We do not know where and when the Holy Spirit works. “The wind blows where it wishes,” Jesus said, “and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). And so, we proclaim the gospel near and far, because it shines light into the darkness, and there the Holy Spirit does his miraculous work, turning sons and daughters of Adam into “children of light” (1 Thess. 5:5).

The Truth Revealed

When the light of the gospel shines, the truth of God’s purpose in Christ is revealed. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection, “nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17). Those whom God chose “before the foundation of the world,” those whom he predestined “for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:4-5) are revealed through faith in Christ. As the gospel advances through time and space more of his kingdom is made manifest, more and more comes to light. So extraordinary is this revelation that the apostle Peter says, “angels long to look” into it (1 Pet. 1:12). It’s that good, cosmically good!

But it is a counterintuitive truth, to be sure. The good news is not that we are good, but God is. The good news is not that we are working to be righteous but that we are declared righteous while we are still unrighteous. Take note, Michael Horton says, “the verdict comes first! First, God declares us righteous, on the basis of Christ’s obedience, death, and resurrection, and then he begins to conform us to Christ’s image. This is what we find so counterintuitive. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? A judge declares someone to be righteous after he or she has been found innocent. In this case, however, God finds us innocent—and more than innocent, perfectly righteous—because someone else’s record has been credited to us.”[3] We too, like the angels, should long to look into the breadth and length and height and depth of this: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Jesus said, “for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered,    proclaim on the housetops” (Matt. 10:26-28). The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news worth shouting from rooftops, because it is the revealed truth of God. Beware then of counterfeit gospels, that have the appearance of godliness but deny its power.[4] If it is based on who you are, how you feel, or what you choose, it’s not the gospel. If it is based on your determination, your efforts, your best, it’s not the gospel. The gospel is only good news because it is something that you and I could never do, something only God can do, through the perfect, finished work of Christ for us, “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16), from start to finish.

The Word Heard

Mixing metaphors, Jesus moves from what is seen to what is heard, with this caution: “Take care then how you hear” (8:18a). We might expect him to say, take care what you hear or even what you say, but how you hear? What does that mean? What we hear is, of course, implied: the light of God’s revelation in the gospel. But Jesus’ admonition is how we hear the gospel.

Some hear the free offer of the gospel as not free at all but at the cost of their sin. Some hear the gospel as an unnecessary impertinence: Who needs forgiveness when sin is merely a social construct? Some hear the gospel as an enjoyable story but not reality, finding it easier to imagine Aslan’s resurrection in The Chronicles of Narnia than Jesus’ resurrection on the third day. Some hear the gospel as historical fact but not saving faith, appreciating the life of Jesus and the tenets of the Christian faith but never truly believing. But some hear and believe and are so brought from death to life. As Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8), but not everyone does and so does not.                 

To hear rightly is to believe the gospel, for “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Such faith is not merely intellectual assent but a new birth, produced not by our will but by the Holy Spirit. Calvin describes it as “a firm and certain knowledge of God’s goodwill to us which, being founded on the free promise given in Jesus Christ ... [revealed] to our minds and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”[5] It is not a speculative hypothesis but a “firm and certain knowledge,” not the fruit of our will but “God’s goodwill to us,” not rooted in our merit but “the free promise given in Jesus Christ,” not the result of our ingenuity but “revealed to our minds and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”

The result is spiritual abundance, beginning with God’s forgiveness of our sin and reconciliation to him. But Jesus says, “to the one who has, more will be given,” and indeed there is more, such as our adoption into the family of God and the promise of an eternal inheritance, guaranteed by the indwelling presence of his Spirit. The abundance that flows through saving faith to us is such that the Holy Spirit must strengthen us, as the apostle Paul puts it, “to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19). When Jesus said, “more will be given,” he meant it.

But he also meant, “from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (8:18b). Life is a gift indeed but living it without Christ is presumptive. How do you know if today is your last day? You do not. When cruel death takes away what you once possessed, what will be left? Apart from saving faith in Christ, even what you think you have will be taken away. All you will have left is “eternal punishment” (Matt. 25:46), as Jesus described it, or as the apostle John saw it, torment “day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). “Take care then how you hear,” because to hear the gospel and not believe it, leads to a countdown to what is left of this life and the eternal abandonment of what is next.

But taking care how we hear is not only the faith of Christian conversion but also our sanctification. Paul confessed, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Note the present tense: “Christ who lives in me ... the life I now live ... I live by faith...” And part of this living by faith is taking care how we hear.

We need to hear the gospel, consistently, repeatedly, because the world, the flesh, and the devil have much to say and want us to hear it. And if we listen, we can be sure that we will become weighed down by worldly cares and concerns. The allure of riches will drown out the hope of our eternal inheritance. The enticement of pleasing ourself will shout so loudly we will not hear the summons of the Spirit to crucify self.

Take care then how you hear, Christian, because this world “is passing away along with its desires” (1 John 2:17a). Let the life, death, and resurrection of your sinless Savior speak to your heart. Let your ears daily hear the truth of his Word, that it may dwell in you richly,[6] training you to confess your sin to your faithful and justice Father,[7] to walk in his righteousness, as the Spirit conforms you to Christ.[8] “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).

[2] John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2014), 199.

[3] Michael Horton, The Gospel-driven Life (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 78.

[4] 2 Tim. 3:5

[5] John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2014), 187.

[6] Col 3:16

[7] 1 John 1:9

[8] Rom. 8