Article

Wheat and Tares
An article by David Hoffman
Posted by Joey Kelly

Speaking of Jesus, John the Baptist says in Matthew 3:12, Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

In this verse Jesus is portrayed as someone who will separate the wheat from the chaff by gathering the wheat into His barn and burning up the chaff in a conflagration. This is the first time the idea of separation is mentioned in the New Testament. Though the full meaning of this verse has eschatological significance, it could be argued that this verse is applicable at all times and places. God is always, in varying degrees, separating the wheat from the chaff in His Church and in the individual lives of his people as well.

Whenever I browse throughout Christian news sources, there seems to be an underlying theme at work within the American Church: separation and sanctification. Christians are being faced with many choices. For example, will they serve Christ or seek the riches of this world? Will they faithfully hold on to the truth of God's word or will they compromise with the culture? Will they live in holiness or will they give way to the decadence around them? Will they look to the world for their hope or will they look to Christ?

These questions are indicative of the dilemma many American Christians are being faced with today. As they are answered, what is occurring is a great separation within the body of Christ. One could even state that it is as though Christ is separating the wheat from the chaff within the church.

For many decades the wheat and the chaff have been able to remain together, the differences between the two not being pronounced enough to create any major divisions between them. In recent years, however, the divide between the wheat and the chaff is becoming ever more distinct and obvious. Those who are committed to Christ, committed to living righteously and committed to seeing an actual pure and undefiled move of the Holy Spirit are being gathered by Christ and set apart unto His current-day work. Those who are okay with compromise, willing to follow the latest and greatest fads and trends, who seek what the world is offering, and those within the church who use the tools and strategies of the world in an attempt to advance the Kingdom of God, are likewise being gathered, but gathered unto judgment.

Now, more than ever before, the lines of separation are being drawn. God is working to purify His church. He is revealing the motivation that is in people's hearts. As He does this, a separation similar to what is described in Matthew 3:12 is occurring right before our eyes. God is not finished working in our nation, but He will not use a compromised church. God does not use the worldly, sinful, or egotistical to display His power or conduct a move of His spirit. There are those in the church that are compromised and yet achieve great success. However, these successes and accomplishments can only be called success if they are judged by the world's standards. True success occurs when the Spirit of God is at work… not merely when a church's numbers grow or their buildings become bigger, for example.

Because the Holy Spirit seeks to move through His church here in this country, a separating of wheat from chaff must first take place.

The interesting thing about separation is that it is another word for sanctification. What better analogy is there to describe sanctification in the life of the believer than the image of Christ removing the chaff, i.e. the garbage, the useless, the worthless that is in the life of the believer?

As God is bringing sanctification and holiness into the church as a whole, He also seeks to separate the wheat from the chaff in believers' lives. Many us of have lived with things inside of us that that God would deem as chaff. As believers we must submit to God's process of purification. As God sanctifies the believer, He removes things in the heart that are not pleasing to Him. The process of sanctification is a necessary one if we as believers are to be of good use in His kingdom.

To sum up, though Matthew 3:12 can be argued to have eschatological meaning, it is clear that it is applicable to the current state of the church in America and to the Bible's oft-stated goal of sanctifying God's people, not only corporately but also individually.