What does the parable mean? It is teaching two things. The Lord Jesus is going to do a negative thing, and he is going to do a positive thing. He is going to clear the roots and prune and clear away some of the rubbish that may be impeding the tree and give it air, and then he is going to bring in nourishment and encouragement to the tree to grow. That is exactly what he does to us in his mercy. We are just useless to God. God should really pluck us up instantly. But what does he do? He prunes us; he cuts away the roots. When God is working in us, appealing to us through the preaching of the word, first of all there is a negative work to be done. We have to be shown our deadness and our rottenness. It is as though the knife of Scripture has to cut into us. We have to be made to feel ashamed. We have to feel our sin. When the great crowd of people were converted on the Day of Pentecost, the Scripture says they were cut to the heart. So the Lord Jesus says, ‘Let him alone this other year. I will cut about him. I will try and bring him, prune him, bring him to see his sinfulness and his need. And then I will dung it. That is to say, I will bring in the fertilizer, which encourages the growth.
When we preach the gospel, this is what we do. We are trying to get you to see what will stop you getting to heaven. We are trying to bring you to see the rottenness of your fallen heart. We are trying to bring you to see that you need a Saviour. And then we encourage you. We say, ‘You need to be saved. You have got to repent of your sin. You have got to be born again, or there is no hope for you, and you can never know God, and you must go to hell at the end of this life's journey. You must repent; you must cast yourself upon the mercy of God. And then we bring in the fertilizer. We try to encourage you. We tell you what it's like to live as a Christian, that once you have confessed your sin and you have sought the Lord, God comes down and he opens your heart and he gives you an experience of conversion. You understand the meaning of life and the gospel. Spiritual blessings are heaped upon you; all things become new: new motives, new desires; new friendships among the Lord's people, a purpose in life. God hears and answers all your prayers. God plans for you, trains you, purifies you. He leading you through life's journey to an altogether grander life. That is what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing. He is warning you and he is appealing to you. He is spreading his arms of love, and telling you that he died for sinners. He is appealing to you to seek him and to be saved, and he is promising you all the blessings of the Christian walk.
When God looks for fruit in you after this year, what will he see? Still no turning, still no seeking, still nothing? There is a solemn warning implicit here. We do not say that if you spurn the Lord, he will terminate your life at the end of this year, but he may well end your day of opportunity. It happens to many that they have spurned the Lord. God may never send you another messenger. God may never speak to your heart again. Are you still presuming on the patience of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why is it there are some people who will hear the gospel, and be completely indifferent to the fact that they are in imminent danger of God’s judgment? How can we be such utter fools as to think this life is so marvellous that we can afford to spurn the Lord? Or is it that we are cowards; we are afraid of becoming the Lord's; we are afraid of being laughed at as Christians? Repent and be safe, but if not, the voice of the judge is, ‘Cut it down.’