Then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
Luke 8:12
A.H.Stewart, who later became an evangelist, was troubled about his salvation for a very long time. He had been told to believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as his Saviour. But he considered such a way to be too cheap and simplistic. He pursued his own ideas, joined a church, sang in the choir, participated in Christian activities and hoped that in this way he might obtain inner peace with God. But it proved to be in vain.
He did, however, do one useful thing: he read the Bible regularly. So he came upon the parable of the sower that the Lord Jesus Christ told His listeners. From the text he discovered that some of the seed sown fell by the wayside, where it was partly trodden down and partly eaten by birds. Further on in this figurative account Jesus explained that the seed was the Word of God that could lead people to life.
But what did the birds who ate the good seed represent? “Then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” He became pensive and stopped reading. “You see?” he said to himself, “even the devil knows that someone is saved only if he believes!” That day he made his decision. He turned to Jesus Christ with the guilt of his life and trusted Him completely as his Saviour and Redeemer.
God does indeed save those who believe. He saves sinners, no matter what previous history they have, if they will only believe in His Son and His atoning death.