I grew up as a Christian with having a wrong understanding of God. Churches around the world teaches that God forgives all and saves all. It is a false teaching. God does not forgive all. Christ brought good news to His elect people regardless of their backgrounds. But He brought bad news to the rest. From the beginning, He exactly knew for whom He was going to die. True prophets of God are few. And they are persecuted for telling the truth. Churches made their own image of a god who saves everyone. They made the image of a god who begs for love from us, who cries day and night for our repentance, who is helpless in controlling the world and the creatures, who is weak against the satan, etc. Once I talked to an elder of a mega church. He was sad that people are moving away from justification by faith. He said, “God is crying because of our treachery!” But I was disturbed by his idea of God. God does not cry because of our wrongdoings as if He is helpless. God is angry. Even though He has been sending His prophets, people do not want to hear God’s messages. They hate God. And God hates them. Even though God knows how false believers treat His prophets, He keeps sending them so that those who refuse to listen will not escape from the coming wrath. At first, prophets speak to people thinking they may repent. But they soon realize people hate God and His prophets. Prophets announce judgements of God on them.

Then they said, “Come and let’s devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor advice by the wise, nor the divine word by the prophet! Come, and let’s strike at him with our tongue, and let’s pay no attention to any of his words.” Give Your attention to me, LORD, and listen to what my opponents are saying! Should good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good in their behalf, so as to turn Your wrath away from them. Therefore, give their children over to famine and turn them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless and widowed. Let their men also be slaughtered to death, their young men struck and killed by the sword in battle. May a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders upon them; for they have dug a pit to capture me and hidden snares for my feet. But You, LORD, know all their deadly schemes against me; Do not forgive their wrongdoing or wipe out their sin from Your sight. But may they be overthrown before You; Deal with them in the time of Your anger! (Jeremiah 18:18-23)

This chapter (Matthew 13) continues Christ’s teachings on the Kingdom. Among all the parables that Christ used, the parable of weeds among wheat was explained in detail. With the understanding of this parable, other parables regarding the Kingdom can be explained.

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. And when the wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” (v.24-30)

Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear. (v. 36-43)

Christ sows the good seed, but the devil sows the weeds. Christ does not remove the weeds but waits till the harvest time. The weeds generally provide richness to the soil. Persecutions and sufferings are beneficial to saints because they make us rely on God alone. Among the weeds, prophets speak truths of God and are persecuted. But God gives strength. Our faith gets strengthened and knowledge grows as we go through persecutions and trials. God wants us to be refined as silver is refined.

And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’ (Zechariah 13:9)

Christians think they are being refined as silver when hardship comes. Every human goes through challenges and sufferings in the world but not all are refined as silver is refined. Evil people think they are being refined while they are punished for their sins. While silver is refined to become precious, other metals are wasted.

Now the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the LORD’S house which faced eastward. And behold, there were twenty-five men at the entrance of the gate, and among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wrongdoing and give evil advice in this city, who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the pot and we are the meat.’ Therefore, prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man!” Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘This is what the LORD says: “This is how you think, house of Israel, for I know your thoughts. You have multiplied your slain in this city, and filled its streets with them.” Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of the city are the meat and this city is the pot; but I will bring you out of it. You have feared a sword; so I will bring a sword upon you,” the Lord GOD declares. “And I will bring you out of the midst of the city, and hand you over to strangers, and execute judgments against you. You will fall by the sword. I will judge you to the border of Israel; so you shall know that I am the LORD. This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be meat in the midst of it; I will judge you to the border of Israel. So you will know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes, nor have you executed My ordinances, but you have acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you.” (Ezekiel 11:1-12)

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, the house of Israel has become waste metal to Me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the smelting furnace; they are the waste metal of silver. Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because all of you have become waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you. And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath on you.’” (Ezekiel 22:17-22)

In the end, those who are united with Christ are saved because the words of God do not pass away.

The words of the LORD are pure words; Like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times (Psalm 12:6)

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (Luke 21:33)

It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. (1 Corinthians 3:13)

The work of God is being united with Christ through His words and His Spirit. The work of God is believing in God. By the work, we will be rewarded.

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29)

Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves (Revelation 22:12)

If you think you can invent ways to please God beyond His expectations, think again. God looks at the heart of each one. If we put our works before God, God will test them through the fire. If any of the works are to please men for praising myself before men, they will burn like dross. We praise God as we remain in humble and helpless circumstances.

… My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)