Amen and the case is not closed. Not all belief is the same. Even though this shallow ground hearer in Luke 8:13 is said to have "believed," yet he is never said to have been "saved."
Hi, Dan. There are three views of OSAS:
1. Antinomianism (Gnosticism), saved SPIRIT but walking-in-sin FLESH. Thankfully few profess this, though many of the other two views say "backslidden-but-saved". No, that would be Antinomianism, ruined by verses like 1Cor6:9-11, Eph5:5-6, Gal5:19-21, all of 1Jn especially chapter 3...
2. Eternal Security -- unlimited atonement, anyone/everyone CAN be saved but once "in" either too changed to fall, or God dynamically interferes to prevent apostasy (zero Scripture for this). And if God ends someone's life so that his spirit lives, what sin is bad enough for a person to die, but "dying in that sin" will be overlooked by God? What sins are
okay with God?
3. Sovereign-Predestined-Salvation (Calvinism, Reformed Theology, etcetera). Atonement is limited, God creates most people to BE sinful and to perish, He only created a few favorites to be saved at some point (all His decision, we have no say).
How do we know that the shallow ground hearer was never actually "saved"? I will explain why.
First, his heart condition is contrasted with that of the "good ground" hearer in the 4th soil, who's heart was "good" and "honest." Thus, his heart was not "good," being like the soil to which it corresponds, being "shallow" or "rocky," lacking sufficient depth. Such soil represents a sinner not properly prepared in heart. People who "believe" and "rejoice" at the preaching of the gospel without a prepared heart, and without a good and honest heart, and without having "root" in themselves, do not experience real salvation.
Actually, the
illustration of "plants-on-soils" (withering or flourishing), is applied AFTER a person perseveres or fall. Please make a list of verses that say "hold fast and save yourselves" -- like 1Tim4:16. See Rev3:11 -- "hold fast to what you have, so that no one will steal your crown" -- exactly what crown do you think they will steal? What do you think of 1Tim4:1?
You see, all views of "OSAS" apply a "catch-22",
"if a person is unsaved NOW, then they were never TRULY saved in the FIRST place."
IN CONTRAST TO - Mark 4:8 - But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. Luke 8:15 says, But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. So the rocky soil represents a person not properly prepared in heart so the seed planted ends up with a lack of "root" (lack of being firmly planted, or established) and good soil represents a person properly prepared in heart who having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keeps it and bears fruit with patience.
No, it actually is an admonishment to "take care HOW YOU LISTEN" (Luke8:18). We are admonished to hold fast and persevere to be LIKE seed growing on good soil, don't be like seed growing on shallow/rocky/thorny (or bird-ravaged) soil.
*Unlike saving belief, temporary, shallow belief is not rooted in a regenerate heart. How can no depth of earth, no root, no moisture, no fruit, represent saving belief? Also the same Greek word for believe "pisteuo" is used in James 2:19, in which we read that the demons believe "mental assent" that "there is one God," but they are not saved.
It's all cause and effect. What do you think passages like Col2:8 and Jude20-21 mean? Why would he say, "Keep YOURSELVES in the love of God" (building yourselves in holy faith)?
John has portrayed people who "believe" (at least to some extent) but are clearly not saved. There is a stage in the progress of belief in Jesus that "falls short of firmly rooted and established belief resulting in salvation." As we see in John 2:23-25, in which their belief was superficial in nature and Jesus would not entrust/commit Himself to them.
Also, in John 8:31-59, where the Jews who were said to have "believed him" turn out to be slaves to sin, indifferent to the words of Jesus’, children of the devil, liars, accused Jesus of having a demon and were guilty of setting out to stone and kill the one they have professed to believe in. We can see at best, these Jews believed in Him (based on their own misconceptions and expectations) of Jesus, yet upon gaining further knowledge about Jesus through His words, we see they did not truly "believe unto salvation" and become children of God (John 1:12) but were instead children of the devil.
Ask a Calvinist, "Can you know that you are TRULY ELECTED, like those in Lk8:15 who will persevere, and not just CRUELLY REJECTED, like those who THOUGHT they were saved but never were in Lk8:13?"
How do we know if we're a Thirteener (Cruelly Rejected) and not a Fifteener? Step here into the time machine; we'll set the controls for the first part of Luke8:13 -- the machine whirs, there is a flash, and we step out
seeing those who are JOYFULLY BELIEVING. We ask them, "Are you saved?" What do they say?
"YES! We KNOW we are saved, we are JOYFUL!"
And so do those in Luke8:15, "joyfully know they are saved". Only perseverance until DEATH exposes who were "truly elected", and those who were falsely believing but God didn't really want them, they were "cruelly rejected".
So a Calvinist/RT cannot know for certain if he's truly saved or not, until his very last breath on Earth!