That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:1–9)

We have recorded for us in the Synoptic Gospels a parable of the soil. I do believe it is significant the Master uses the concept of soil since the Hebrew words for man אדם (Adam) and soil אדמה (Adamah) are derived from the same word אדם (adam). 

With the above in mind it is not a far stretch to realize that the condition of the soil is likened to the condition of the life of a human being. How the seed (the Word of G-d) is received and transformed into productivity for the Kingdom is determined by the condition of our hearts and minds.

Do we want to be productive for the Kingdom's sake? How would we classify ourselves? What kind of ground would we most likely represent?

When we speak of the Gospel, we need to know what we are talking about. We need to know what the Bible calls the Gospel, rather than what our doctrines and traditions have called the Gospel. Let’s begin by looking at the Gospel message of John the Immerser.