The parable of the sower describes four different ways of responding to the gospel message. I am asking about those who are rocky ground, accepting the message but unable to sustain it because they are not rooted, and those who are thorny ground, who also accept the message but lose faith when other things in their life take over.
Both of these people accept the message and become believers, for a while. Then later they are no longer believers. I am trying to understand what happens to them, spiritually.
Are these people saved? They made a commitment to God but are no longer practising their faith. Did they become saved at the moment they first believed, asked for forgiveness and offered their life to God? They and their Christian friends may well have thought that they were saved then. Or were they never really saved in the first place? Might the parable imply that salvation takes time, or that it requires more than simply accepting the gospel message?
Matthew 7:13-23 tells us that the gate of salvation is narrow, and that many who thought they were saved were not. Jesus indicates that He must now you for you to be saved. Of course, He knows of everyone who ever has or will live, but He does not have
Koinonia (fellowship, communion) with anyone outside of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So, only those who have a real relationship with Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit have eternal life.
Paul tells us in Romans 8 what the life in the Spirit is like, and at the end tells us that those who are in the Spirit cannot be separated from God by "... any other created thing". Many take this as teaching OSAS (once saved, always saved), but in context of the passage, I believe it means that those who are in the Spirit are always secure. In the larger context of the entire NT, other passages such as Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 (and many others) indicate that it is possible for someone to deliberately leave their relationship with Christ, reject the Spirit, and thus become lost again.
In the context of the parable of the sower, then, I think we see a gradation from lost and never found (the ground along the path), to lost then found to lost again (the rocky ground), to lost and found yet unfruitful (thorny ground), to lost and found and fruitful (good ground). All of it is based upon the condition of the heart, not just the mind, of the individual... so what is the condition of your heart? I think the fate of the hearts are clear: heart along the path (demonic interference, never even planted in faith), the rocky heart (accepted word, but withered under pressure, falls away), the thorny heart (accepted word, but choked out by distractions, unfruitful), and the good heart (bearing much fruit) are all clear.
As for those who once had faith and no longer practice it (perhaps you are one?), some may have fallen away permanently, some may only be backsliding and will one day return, and some may have never really been known by/known Jesus in a real way... many people have intellectual assent to certain teachings, yet they never truly give their heart and are never really in relationship with Jesus. James says the demons believe, and are afraid, but they are not saved. One of the primary signs that someone who thinks they are saved may not be really, is that they will have been trying to earn good standing before God by doing good works. Don't get me wrong, though, Christians are commanded to do good works by Jesus Himself.
Confused yet?
For the unsaved who believe in God, they think they must always strive to be good enough for God to accept them into heaven. They will always strive in vain, because only a lifetime of flawless perfection is good enough for a perfectly good, perfectly righteous, and perfectly just God. Even one failure to be perfectly righteous condemns them before a perfectly just judge. Think that's harsh? Think of it this way... try telling a judge that you have only broke the law this once, so you shouldn't be punished for it. The judge, if he/she is truly just, will take your otherwise good behavior into account in sentencing, but you will still be convicted as guilty of the crime. So it is with God (see Luke 12), some will receive a more severe punishment than others.
For the saved, our flawed and failed life is cast aside and replaced with the perfectly sinless life of Jesus Christ when we place our faith in Him. God, in His mercy and love, knowing that no fallen human could ever live a life of sinless perfection because we are born separated from His Spirit, has provided a way for man to be forgiven and made acceptable by faith in Jesus' perfect life, death in our place, and resurrection. Once someone places their complete trust (faith) in Jesus Christ for salvation, that is THE END for them trying to earn the good favor of God, because now when God looks upon them, He chooses to see the righteousness (perfect life) of Jesus instead of their failure. God is then able to look upon us with love and grace and blessing (as opposed to anger and disgust at our sin), and 1 John 3 tells us He adopts us as His own children. He places His Holy Spirit in our hearts so we can be in a true relationship with Him through Jesus. We are then given good works to do, not to earn anything from God, but we do them
out of thankfulness for the perfect righteousness God has already given us in Jesus.
So, a Christian who truly understands the gospel will NOT be trying to earn God's good will... they know they already have it.
Hope this helps, sorry so long.