Sow Faithfully

When we think about multiplication in the life of the church, we often think first about outcomes. We think about growth, conversions, discipleship, leaders being raised up, and the gospel spreading from one person to another. Those are good things to think about. But before Jesus teaches us to think about results, He teaches us to think about faithfulness.

In Matthew 13, Jesus begins this section of kingdom parables with the Parable of the Sower. That is significant. Before He speaks about the outward growth of the kingdom, He speaks about the seed of the kingdom. Before He speaks about harvest, He speaks about sowing. And before He teaches us to measure fruit, He teaches us to understand the ministry of the Word.

The parable is familiar. A sower goes out to sow. Some seed falls along the path, and the birds devour it. Some falls on rocky ground, where it springs up quickly but has no root, and when tribulation or persecution comes, it falls away. Some falls among thorns, and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke it. But some falls on good soil and bears fruit, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23).

The central lesson is not that the seed changes. It does not. Nor is it that the sower changes his message depending on the audience. He does not. The seed is the same, and the act of sowing is the same. What differs is the soil. Jesus tells us plainly that the seed is the word of the kingdom, and the different soils represent different responses to that word (Matthew 13:19-23). The power, then, is not in human technique. The power is in God’s Word, and the fruit comes according to God’s work in the heart.

That matters deeply for how we think about multiplication. Too often, we are tempted to believe that gospel fruit ultimately depends on presentation, personality, novelty, or strategic brilliance. We can begin to think that if we just become more polished, more persuasive, or more culturally appealing, then the kingdom will multiply. But Jesus will not let us put our confidence there. The issue is not whether the seed is strong enough. The issue is whether the heart has been prepared to receive it.

That is why Scripture is so clear about the sufficiency and power of the Word of God. Isaiah 55:10-11 tells us that just as the rain and snow come down from heaven and make the earth bring forth and sprout, so shall God’s Word be. It does not return to Him empty, but accomplishes what He purposes. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. James 1:18 says that God brought us forth by the word of truth. First Peter 1:23 says that believers have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.

If that is true, then the church does not need to improve upon the Word. The church needs to proclaim it. Faithful multiplication begins when the people of God are convinced that Scripture is enough. The gospel does not need embellishment. It does not need dilution. It does not need apology. It needs to be sown.

This is especially important in the work of evangelism and discipleship. In the parable, the sower is not told to stop sowing because some seed falls on the path. He is not told to become discouraged because some seed lands on shallow soil. He is not told to alter the seed because some hearers are choked by the thorns of this world. He simply keeps sowing. That is a needed word for us. We are called to preach the gospel to all kinds of people, in all kinds of places, and under all kinds of conditions. Some will reject it immediately. Some will seem to respond for a time and then fall away. Some will be crowded out by the love of this world. But some, by the grace of God, will receive it and bear real fruit.

Paul understood this well. In 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, he writes, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” Then he adds, “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” That is one of the clearest statements in all of Scripture on kingdom multiplication. God uses means. He uses sowers. He uses planters. He uses preachers, teachers, parents, pastors, friends, disciplers, and faithful church members. But the growth itself belongs to Him.

That should both humble us and encourage us. It should humble us because we are not the source of life. We cannot convert anyone. We cannot manufacture spiritual fruit. We cannot raise the deadness of the human heart by force of argument or force of will. Salvation belongs to the Lord (Jonah 2:9). Unless the Lord opens the heart, the Word will not be received savingly. Acts 16:14 says of Lydia that “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” That is always the decisive factor.

But this should also encourage us, because it means the burden of ultimate effectiveness does not rest on us. We are not called to produce life. We are called to be faithful with the seed. In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul tells Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” He does not tell him to chase relevance. He tells him to herald the truth. Why? Because God works through His Word.

This also helps us understand the nature of true fruit. In Matthew 13, the good soil bears fruit in differing measures, but all true believers bear fruit. Some bear thirtyfold, some sixty, some a hundred. The amount varies, but the presence of fruit does not. That is important. True conversion produces something. It produces perseverance. It produces obedience. It produces holiness. It produces worship. It produces witness. It produces the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23. A life touched by the gospel is a life that changes.

This is why multiplication in the church must never be reduced to attendance, activity, or excitement. Multiplication in the biblical sense is not merely getting more people in a room. It is seeing the Word of God take root in hearts and bear fruit in lives. It is watching disciples become disciple-makers. It is seeing saints equipped for the work of ministry. It is seeing people move from hearing the Word to receiving it, obeying it, and proclaiming it to others.

And yet even here we must remember that this fruit is not self-generated. Jesus says in John 15:4-5, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you.” Then He says plainly, “apart from me you can do nothing.” Kingdom multiplication is always the fruit of abiding in Christ. It is never the achievement of spiritual self-sufficiency.

So what does this mean for us?

It means we must be committed to the plain, patient, faithful sowing of the Word. We teach Scripture in our homes. We speak the gospel to our neighbors. We disciple younger believers. We exhort one another in the body of Christ. We open the Bible with our children. We encourage one another with truth. We refuse the temptation to think the answer is found in cleverness or compromise.

It also means we do not lose heart when the responses are mixed. Jesus Himself taught that the same Word would be met with very different responses. That should sober us, but it should not discourage us. Our task is not to guarantee a harvest. Our task is to sow faithfully and leave the results to God.

And finally, it means we give all glory to God when fruit does come. If someone repents, God did that. If someone grows in holiness, God did that. If a believer begins to bear fruit, God did that. If the church is multiplied through evangelism and discipleship, God did that. As Psalm 115:1 says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.”

So let us sow faithfully. Let us trust the Word. Let us labor in hope. Let us remember that multiplication in the kingdom begins not with our ingenuity, but with God’s truth, God’s power, and God’s grace.

This blog was adapted from a sermon preached by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church on March 12, 2023.