Cheap Imitations
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way."
—Matthew 13:24–25
Christians should be aware that the Devil is an imitator. When he cannot stop a work of God, he will offer his cheap imitation. That way he minimizes the power and glory of God.
God has His genuine; the Devil has his imitations. God has love; the Devil has lust. God has true faith in Christ; the Devil has false religion. He offers just enough to keep people from the real truth. Those who buy into this will say, "I don't really need to hear about Jesus. I am a religious person" or "I am a spiritual person." They are satisfied with a cheap imitation instead of going after the real thing.
Jesus told a parable about a farmer who sowed wheat in a field, but at night, his enemy came in and sowed tares among the wheat. A tare, also known as the darnel seed, looks a lot like wheat initially. But as it grows, it actually will uproot the wheat.
That is how the Devil works. He will put his plants in the church. They will talk like Christians. They will use phraseology that Christians use. And when they do something wicked, people will say, "I can't believe that a Christian would do such a thing!" Here's an idea. Maybe they actually were tares among the wheat. I am not saying that Christians are incapable of sinning. But I do think some people who attend church are tares among the wheat. They are imitations.
Case in point: Judas was a tare among the wheat as one of Jesus' disciples. In fact, when Jesus said one of the Twelve would betray Him, no one knew He was referring to Judas. But Judas was an imitator. The Devil puts his fake versions out there, flooding the market with cheap substitutes.
God has His genuine; the Devil has his imitations. God has love; the Devil has lust. God has true faith in Christ; the Devil has false religion. He offers just enough to keep people from the real truth. Those who buy into this will say, "I don't really need to hear about Jesus. I am a religious person" or "I am a spiritual person." They are satisfied with a cheap imitation instead of going after the real thing.
Jesus told a parable about a farmer who sowed wheat in a field, but at night, his enemy came in and sowed tares among the wheat. A tare, also known as the darnel seed, looks a lot like wheat initially. But as it grows, it actually will uproot the wheat.
That is how the Devil works. He will put his plants in the church. They will talk like Christians. They will use phraseology that Christians use. And when they do something wicked, people will say, "I can't believe that a Christian would do such a thing!" Here's an idea. Maybe they actually were tares among the wheat. I am not saying that Christians are incapable of sinning. But I do think some people who attend church are tares among the wheat. They are imitations.
Case in point: Judas was a tare among the wheat as one of Jesus' disciples. In fact, when Jesus said one of the Twelve would betray Him, no one knew He was referring to Judas. But Judas was an imitator. The Devil puts his fake versions out there, flooding the market with cheap substitutes.
~Greg Laurie~
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