This is part 3 in a three-part series, "Can People Really Change?" Read Part 1 and Part 2 to go deeper on this subject.

-----------------

We've been wrestling with this question: Can people really change? In Part One, I told you yes, people can change because the gospel makes it possible. In Part Two, I explained that yes, people can change because God works through a process. Pain forces us to change, vision inspires us to change, wisdom compels us to change, and grace enables us to change.

Today, in Part Three, we're getting to the heart of it all with this truth: Can people really change? Yes, because the proof of change is in the fruit.

The Parable That Divides Every Heart

Jesus tells a story in Luke 8:5-9 about a farmer scattering seed. Some seed falls on the path and gets trampled. Some falls on rocky ground and withers when the sun comes up. Some falls among thorns and gets choked out. But some falls on good soil and produces a crop; thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was planted.

Here's what blew my mind: even the disciples, mature, godly men,had to ask Jesus what this parable meant. If they needed an explanation, we definitely do too.

Jesus explains that the seed is the word of God, and every single person alive falls into one of four categories when they hear God's truth. You're in one of these categories right now.

Four Types of Hearts

The Hardened Path - These are hearts that have become like a well-traveled road, trampled down by so many voices, philosophies, and worldviews that God's Word can't even take root. The moment God tries to plant something, the enemy snatches it away. These people have given the devil so much access to their thinking that they're completely shut down to anything God wants to say.

The Rocky Ground - These hearts receive God's word with joy.  They might even say "Amen" the loudest in church. But there's no depth. When trouble comes, when they realize following Jesus means giving up certain behaviors or making hard choices, they get offended and fall away. The Greek word here is "scandalon," which means they become scandalized by the very gospel that once excited them.

The Thorny Ground - These hearts have good soil, but they've allowed other seeds to be planted alongside God's word. The Bible calls them "life's worries, riches and pleasures." Every time God's word tries to produce fruit, it gets choked out by all the other things competing for attention in their lives.

The Good Soil - These hearts have what the Greek calls "kalokagathia," a noble and good heart that deeply understands and receives God's truth. They hear the word, retain it, and by persevering, produce a crop.

I Want to Be the Fourth Option

Which type of heart do you have? God can break up even the hardest ground if we're willing to surrender our hearts to Him.

I want my heart to be the kind that when God plants His word anywhere in my life, I'm receptive to it. I don't care if it comes through a child speaking to me; if it's God's truth, I want it to produce fruit in my life.

The Four Characteristics of True Christian Growth

This is an uncomfortable truth:There are fake Christians.  These are not just people pretending to be Christians, but people who think they're Christians but aren't. Jesus said many will say to Him, "Lord, Lord, didn't we do great things in Your name?" And He'll respond, "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:22-23).

That's why we need to understand the four signs of true Christian growth:

1. True Christian Growth Is Internal  

Real change starts on the inside. It's not about wearing Christian t-shirts or listening to Christian radio. When your heart changes, it changes your mind, and when your mind changes, your actions follow. Don't put on a show. Let God work from the inside out.

2. True Christian Growth Is Gradual 

Just like I've never seen one of my kids suddenly grow three inches in a day, spiritual growth happens over time. It's a daily grind of getting into God's word, prayer, and cultivating what He's planted. My son Jude calls me every few days excited about his devotional life, and it fires me up because that's how gradual growth happens: day by day by day.

3. True Christian Growth Is Symmetrical 

God doesn't want you to just read the Bible for 23 hours and sleep for 30 minutes. When Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—we should be growing in all these areas, not just one or two.

Let me break these down for you:

• Love (Agape): Serving others for their good
• Joy (Chara): Delighting in God for who He is
• Peace (Irene): Resting in His sovereignty
• Patience (Makrothymia): Enduring without blowing up—getting rid of that "look what you made me do" mentality
• Kindness (Chrestotes): Vulnerable generosity
• Goodness: Integrity and truth with love
• Faithfulness: Loyalty and courage
• Gentleness: Humility—what C.S. Lewis beautifully calls "self-forgetfulness"
• Self-Control: Choosing the important over the urgent

4. True Christian Growth Is Inevitable

Here's the hard truth: if you haven't grown since you professed Christ, you're not actually a Christian. That sounds harsh, but it's biblical. Jesus said, "Whoever abides in me will bear much fruit" (John 15:5). Once God's seed is truly planted in your heart, growth is inevitable. You will change. You will become more like Christ.

The Power of Inevitable Growth

G. Campbell Morgan tells the story of an Italian atheist who was so against Christianity that he bought the most expensive marble slab he could find to place over his grave, thinking it would prevent any spiritual resurrection. But somehow an acorn got under that immovable slab, and a mighty oak tree split it completely in half.

If God can do that through natural agriculture, what can the Holy Spirit do in your life when you give Him access to the soil of your heart?

Which Soil Are You?

Soil can change. Hard ground can be plowed. Shallow soil can deepen. Crowded soil can be cleared. And good soil will bear fruit; thirty, sixty, a hundred fold.

The proof of change is in the fruit. If you're truly walking with Jesus, there will be evidence. Not perfection, but progression. Not immediate transformation, but inevitable growth.

So I'm asking you today: which soil represents your heart? What weeds do you need to pull? What thorns need to be cleared out? Where is God asking you to trust the Holy Spirit for growth?

Can people really change? Yes, because the gospel makes it possible. Yes, because God works through a process. And yes, because the proof is always in the fruit.

The question isn't whether God can change you. The question is whether you'll let Him have the soil of your heart.