Luke 8:4-15
4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Luke 8:11-15
8:11-12 Jesus reveals that the seed symbolizes "the word of God." He then explains the significance of what happens to the first seed, the one that falls "by the wayside." This represents "the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." This highlights the power of God's Word to save people. It also brings the devil back into the narrative, who ironically after futilely trying to use God's Word to defeat the Messiah (cf. Luke 4:1-13), endeavors to nullify its power to save. Finally, it specifies belief as the sole condition for salvation (cf. Luke 7:50) and points out that this first group represents unsaved people - the only one of the four kinds of soils designated as such.
8:13 In contrast to the first group, these "receive the word with joy" and then "believe for a while." (This seed sprang up, according to v 6.) The text does not signify a qualitatively different kind of belief, but rather a chronologically shorter one. Neither does it imply that continuance in belief achieves salvation since the one who believes receives salvation as the immediate consequence of believing (cf. v 12) and can go in peace (cf. Luke 7:50). But the parable as a whole deals with more than belief; it also focuses on endurance and fruit-bearing, as the final seed in the series demonstrates (cf. Luke 8:8). The believer can experience the initial joy of salvation and then proceed to develop further and endure "in time of temptation" or testing. The fact that these "fall away" indicates previous participation in the discipleship and growth process. God guarantees a believer's eternal salvation as a gift by faith alone, but the process of discipleship, although rooted in God's grace, demands faith and works - effort and cooperation in obedience to Him.
8:14 This seed grows together with the thorns (cf. sprang up with it, v 7) so that negative factors encumber its growth. Here again we see growth but also frustrated fruit-bearing. The disciple then must take care not to allow factors that preoccupy those of this present age to crowd out the deeper concerns of the kingdom of God. These lack the focus and purpose that facilitate seeing the discipleship process to its desired and mature end or purpose - bringing "fruit to maturity."
8:15 The final seed provides the formula for discipleship success. As v 8 states, this seed "yielded a crop a hundredfold." Thus, obedience to "the word" and perseverance (especially during times of testing; cf. v 13) as well as single-hearted progress that eschews worldly concerns (without neglecting one's responsibilities in the world), will enable the disciple to see the process through to significant fruit-bearing. Jesus does not specify "salvation" as the end result of keeping the Word of God and persevering, but rather fruit-bearing. Eternal salvation comes when one believes. Fruit bearing for those already saved comes as the end result of keeping the Word of God and persevering in the faith.
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Parable of the Soils, Luke 8:4-8, 11-15 (cf. Matt. 13:1-9, Mark 4:2-20)
(Salvation) Interpretation: The parable teaches that there are some who profess Christ but are not truly saved, or they are saved but lose their salvation because they do not go on to bear fruit.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: The parable teaches that there are some who believe and do not go on to produce fruit and some who do.
This is the first of Christ's parables, and it is intended to explain the purpose of all parables and show how people respond to God's truth. Jesus uses parables to enlighten those who are receptive to the truth and to obscure it from those who are not receptive to it. Christ explains this purpose before He interprets the parable for his disciples (Matt. 13:10-17; Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10). In the larger context of the preceding chapters 11-12, the leaders of Israel have rejected Christ's teaching, and He has condemned them. He now speaks truth they will not comprehend, but His followers will. If Jesus is compared to the sower, the seed sown is truth about His claims as Israel's Messiah, which is the issue in the context.
There is no disagreement that the first soil, which has its seed snatched away by the birds representing the devil, represents those who were never saved. Luke helps us in this interpretation by adding that these are people from whom the devil keeps the truth "lest they should believe and be saved" (Luke 8:12). Neither is there much disagreement about the fourth soil that represents those who accept the truth and continue in it to bear fruit (though some would say we cannot know if they are saved unless they produce fruit until the end of their lives).
Speaking of the first soil, Jesus demonstrates that salvation is based on believing. It is only in this first soil that no germination occurs because there is no belief. It is the second and third soils where interpretations diverge, because these two soils bear life implying there was belief. The second soil produces life, but it quickly withers because the soil is mostly rock with no moisture. The third soil also produces life, but thorns that represent the cares and pleasures of this life choke it. It is "unfruitful" according to Matthew and Mark (Matt. 13:22; Mark 4:19), but Luke is more ambiguous saying those represented "bring no fruit to maturity" (Luke 8:14). It is possible they have fruit, but it never matures. Do the second and third soils represent people who simply profess Christ as Savior, or were they truly saved?
We observe several things that help our interpretation. First, both soils demonstrate the presence of life, as opposed to the first soil that never demonstrates life because the devil does not allow the truth to reach their hearts. This would argue that the truth reaches the hearts of the second and third groups and divine life is brought forth. Luke clearly says that the second group "receive the word with joy... who believe for a while" (Luke 8:13). The issue is not the sincerity of their faith, but its duration. The third group also shows life, but it is choked out - not out of existence, but out of fruitfulness.
The (Discipleship) interpretation makes more sense because the issue the parable illustrates is not perseverance unto salvation, but perseverance unto fruitfulness. Some people who believe in Christ do not go on to be very fruitful. The reason is the nature of their hearts. Those who go on to fruitfulness have hearts that remain responsive to God's truth, so responsive that challenges and distractions to their faith do not prevent growth to fruitful maturity.
The parable reveals important truth to believers: Everyone has the opportunity to respond to God's truth, and He desires everyone who responds to His truth to persevere in faith for a fruitful life. The reality is, many are distracted by trials that challenge their faith, or distractions of worldly pleasures that choke out strong growth. It is a lesson for us to stay in the truth of God's Word and to monitor our own hearts so that we are always responsive to what God says.