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“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:47-50

We all sort things. Every day. At the grocery store, we sort through the tomato bin, choosing the good tomatoes from the squishy and bruised ones. For us beach people, we sort through the myriad shells in the sand, seeking those treasures beautiful to our eyes. And most of us, every single day, sort through tens (or hundreds) of emails, pressing “delete” on many, moving some into folders for a later read, or pausing whatever we’re doing to take in those that need to take precedence.

But, friend, did you know that there will come a day when we will be the ones being sorted? The Bible—in fact, Jesus Himself—not only talks about the separation of those who reject God from those who accept Him, but also about a sorting that will take place among the Church.

Not all who are churchgoers or claim to be Christians are. That’s a harsh thing to say out loud (well, to write out loud). For example, the “dragnet” in Matthew 13 is the Church—the sea is the world. Within the Church, there are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15-23)…and, today, there are an awful lot of wolves in wolf’s clothing being accepted in churches around the world. Sadly, these false teachers (heretics and apostates) are misleading the masses, often pulling them away from the Truth of God’s Word.

This was true in the first century Church, when the Apostle Paul consistently warned believers of heretics and errorists, pushing worldly philosophies, legalism, mysticism, and asceticism (see Colossians 2). And these false teachings are alive and well in Christian churches today. So, how do we ensure we’ll be sorted into the “good fish containers”?

Regardless of what church denomination you attend (and as believers we are called to not give up meeting together—Hebrews 10:25), you must stand firm on God’s Truth. Followers of Jesus Christ must stay rooted in the Bible, being nourished only by the vine (Jesus). We must surrender ourselves to Him and be filled (controlled by) the Holy Spirit. We are complete in Christ (Col 2:10). It’s not “Jesus and” or “Jesus but”—it’s just Jesus.

A sorting is coming. Don’t get caught up with the smelly, rotten fish.

“Lord, may I stay rooted in You and You alone, not being deceived by the wolves in the world—and in the Church.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life