Parable of the Net: Believers & the Kingdom

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers but threw out the worthless ones. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:47-50)

Christ taught many parables to His followers and the crowds to which He preached. Many of them He did not explain because the people did not have ears to hear and listen. But in this instance of Scripture, He rather explicitly explains His parable to the disciples.

The net cast by the Lord will gather many people. But not all will be worthy. Many who call themselves Christian, or who believe in their own self-righteousness, will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. The wicked, the rebellious, will be thrown into hell alongside the devil and his angels. It’s heartbreaking, but it’s the only outcome for the wrath of a just and holy God.

But who are these debauchers? Who is it that is unworthy of the kingdom of God? Why? What can a person do to be saved and not thrown into the fires of the furnace?

“So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’ Then they spoke the message of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household.” (Acts 16:31-34)

This jailer asked Paul and Silas a simple, yet profound question. So they instructed him and subsequently he was delivered to the Lord God as a new follower, a new creation. But what was it the separated him from his wickedness into the Lord’s favor? Was it baptism? No, it was not. The man and his family were baptized, yes, but it’s clear that the baptism itself did not save him. Rather, it marked he and his family as converts. So what saved him? Belief.

Belief is the difference between heaven and hell. Belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the difference between everlasting joy and eternal punishment. Knowing your need for Christ as your one and only Redeemer is fundamental to the Christian faith. You and me and the whole world over are sinners in need of His grace.

Without Him, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Donate to charity if you want. Give a homeless man a lift. Feed the hungry if you will. These are all good, commendable things, but they do not save you. You can do every good work imaginable and not enter the kingdom of heaven.

But, some will protest, doesn’t every Christian believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? The answer, sadly, is no, many are not true believers. How can they be among the lost and damned? If belief is mere intellectual assent (I believe Jesus exists and that He is the Son of God), then that’s a great step, but it’s not the belief He requires of us. Even the demons tremble and believe that there is one God (James 2:19)!

Let’s look at Acts 16:31 again. It says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” I’ve emphasized the second word for a reason. It’s not enough to simply believe in Jesus’s existence. You might as well believe in Santa Clause for all the good believing in a being’s real presence will do. No, as Paul says, we must believe on the Lord Jesus.

So what does that look like? It means knowing that you are a hapless sinner. It means recognizing the truth that God is holy, that He is just, and that He cannot abide evil. Because of this, if we are to be saved, we must believe that our only hope is in Christ Jesus, His Only Begotten Son. We do not merit or earn our salvation through human means, even admirable ones. Our salvation can only come entirely through His grace, which he bestows for assurance upon all the elect that they may be saved.

“In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace. Now if by grace, then it is not by works: otherwise grace ceases to be grace.” (Romans 11:5-6)

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of the world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!” (Ephesians 2:1-5)

Some will say this is unfair. How can He be just and loving if not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven? Why are even the “good” punished if they do not believe? But I tell you, Scripture says that none are good and all have fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23). We are corrupted beings and we cannot do good except by His grace. Even the works we do before salvation come only by the loving and patient hand of our Sovereign God.

He does not wish any to perish, but that all should come to Him in repentance of their sins (2 Peter 3:9). Truly, when I look at the things I have done in my life, I can only ever be grateful for His enduring love. I have, in my youth and nature, committed all manner of iniquity. To think that someone like me can indeed be saved and have a seat in the kingdom of heaven is beyond kindhearted of Him.

But that’s God. He is more than we can put into words. I daresay even these oft-quoted Scriptures below cannot adequately describe the vast depths of His love for me and all His children, but it is nevertheless the cornerstone of our belief:

“He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, he gave them to the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13)

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17)

Rather than write us all off and cast us into hell, He chose to sacrifice His own Son in our stead, so that many of us, the true believers, could be saved from the fires of hell and proclaim His glory. What we must do is believe on the One whom He sent and we will be saved. For if we do not:

“…anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.” (John 3:18)

So then what choice do we have but to believe? Why refuse the call of the Lord? Can the Christian who truly believes even do such a thing to his Lord? Truthfully, I think he cannot, for I believe that whosoever is born again is predestined to inherit the kingdom of God. Indeed, Scripture says:

“Jesus answered [Nicodemus’s query], ‘I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.’” (John 3:5)

“Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Rejoice that if you have believed on Him, you will be saved. Be glad, knowing that He has made you into a new creation fit for the kingdom of heaven. Take heart that He is merciful, loving, and kind, not prone to anger, but ever holy and full of grace.

Know that when He cast the net, He always knew He’d catch you. Thanks and praise be to Him, our Lord Jesus Christ, our Father in Heaven, and the Holy Spirit. May He prepare us to do the works of His kingdom in good faith, demonstrating to the world that He is ever the Sovereign Creator of all things and the Most High Almighty God.

Thank you for reading, God bless, and have a good week.