Having heard the word of God, I keep it. Luke 8:15
I misplaced my favorite book; 'The training of the Twelve.' I looked all over, but couldn't find it. Standing by the bookcase downstairs, looking towards the fireplace I spotted it on the floor next to the rocker where I left it one cold morning. It could be seenfrom only one perspective. I had to crane my neck from any other point of view. After I found it, it was obvious. Why didn’t I think of it?
I ran up the stairs, yelling, 'it was hidden in plain sight!'
The same is true about seeing the word of God from the biblical point of view. The Holy Ghost illuminates the perspective from which you see, read, and understand the word with a literal anointing of the spirit. It's from this perspective that I share with you the parable of the Sower and the Seed in Luke 8:5-15.
Each category in this parable was given for the benefit of members of the church.
4he spake a parable.5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. The explanation is given:12Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.'
Here is a category of folks that have read the bible, they've heard the word, but the devil comes and takes the word out of their heart at a critical time that requires soon to be Christians in the body of Christ to graduate from the old covenant to the new. Many religious people don't make this transition because they can't get hold of the correct perspective.
People fall under this category because the devil has kept them from reading the New Testament. There is a transition period from old covenant law to new covenant promise in the infancy of the early church. The Book of Acts describes this period of transition. The Book of Romans is unique because it gives instructions for making this transition. Those instructions include how to come into union with Christ. But most people have thrown out the instructions! So, the word of God is not sown in their hearts because they haven't even read the manual. As a result, they are still living old covenant theology.
You have to read the word to know the will of God. The will of God is that you come to faith in Jesus Christ as the means of justification before God. According to Paul and David and Abraham, this is done without leaning on your own works. To most religious people, justification is just one more thing to do.