Wheat and Tares

Wheat and Tares

Are you a hypocrite wearing a pretty mask, or are you a true-born child of the living God? In these days of easy profession, many are likely tares among wheat. Think about it. According to Barna Research, there are over 200 million Americans who claim church membership. If they are all saved, why is crime, abortion, drug use, drunkenness, sexual immorality, and hellish living as rampant in society as it is? If they are all saved, why is premarital sex amongst Christians happening at the same rate as the world? Truth of the matter is, people often think they are wheat when in fact they are tares. 

In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus talks about tares, or weeds, that grow in the same fields as wheat.  Because they have all the external appearances of being the real deal, they are almost impossible to distinguish. They practically look like, talk like, act like, and walk like, but at the end of the day, they lack an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit isn’t resident in their heart or their life. Wheat, which is the born-again person, trusts solely in Jesus Christ for salvation. Tares, on the other hand, have never truly repented of sin and, in fact, have fabricated a god of their own liking for their salvation. It might be their bank account, their careers, their reputation, um, or simply self-righteousness.   

Beloved, at the end of your life, if you lived as a tare, you will find yourself cast into the fires of hell, eternally separated from the presence of the Lord. The genuine believer, on the other hand, looks forward to going into the presence of the Lord, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). The question is, which will it be for you? Examine yourself! If your faith is anywhere but in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are a tare, and you need to be saved!  Don't let a seat in the choir, a job at the church, knowledge of the Bible, or anything good you have done send you into Hell! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and YOU will be saved! 

This is Laine Wilder for Carry the Light Ministries, bringing you Insights From an Elder.

by Laine Wilder

author of “Insights From an Elder” for

Carry the Light Ministries