The Gospel of John - part 35

“I Am the True Vine”

Today’s message is perhaps the hardest and scariest one from John. It is the hardest, because we are discussing what happens when someone who claims to be Christian fails to live as Christ calls us to live. It is the scariest, because, even though the ‘perseverance of the saints’ (“once saved always saved”) is very much a correct doctrine, just as correct is Jesus’ admonition in verse 6, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” For many decades now, some would argue for a few centuries, Christianity has been attacked by this notion of ‘cheap grace’—the idea that salvation is so easy, anyone can do it regardless of their lifestyle. Salvation is the free gift of God by His grace, but perhaps, many of us have lost sight of what it means to be ‘saved’.

Let us look again to the Way, the Truth, and the Truth, Jesus Christ, who says, “I am the true vine”:

Abide in the Vine

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

John 15:1-6

Jesus is the vine, and the Father is the vinedresser. The metaphor should click for anyone who has tended a garden, or happens to own a vineyard. What do we do with gardens and vines? The gardener waters the plants, adds food, but also keeps an eye on the many branches. Some branches will flower well and bear fruit. These are left alone. Some, however, will grow but will not flower. It’s possible for some to even brown and die due to some issue with the plant or lack of some nutrient. Regardless the reason, the gardener will clip these branches and toss them away. It is better for the plant to lose useless branches so the nutrients will go toward branches that are growing and bearing fruit. The Father does the same with those in Christ.

However, before we move further, it will be helpful to dig a bit deeper in the historical context of viticulture. Gary Derickson is an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Western Bible College in Salem, who also happens to have horticulture degrees from Texas A&M. His article, “Viticulture and John 15:1-6”, was very helpful for explaining first century viticulture. Now, the short version is there are two times in the growing season a vine is pruned or cut, in the early spring and the fall, post-harvest. Derickson argues verse 2 refers to the spring time while verse 6 refers to the fall. Why does this matter? Because, ultimately the question is, “Who are those who are being cut off and thrown into the fire?”

For those who argue these are Christians who lose their salvation, then they must contend with other Scripture:

John 10:27, My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life.

Romans 8:30, Those whom he predestined he called and those whom he called he justified and those whom he justified he glorified. There are no conditions in that chain. If someone is predestined and called, they will be glorified. One may argue what it means to be ‘predestined’, but that last link still holds, if one is justified, he will be glorified.

Philippians 1:6, I am sure He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in the last day.

1 Corinthians 1:8, [He] will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ

1 John 2:19, They went from us because they were not of us. For if they had been of us they would not have gone out, but they went out that it might be plain that they were not of us.

No, Christian, you cannot lose your salvation, however that does not change the fact that Jesus’ words here are both encouragement and a warning. So listen well as we hear our Master’s words.

“Jesus is the true vine, and the Father is the vinedresser”. That much is easy enough. Next, branches which bear fruit are pruned while branches that lack fruit are ‘taken away’. If this refers to the spring pruning activities, which would make sense given the time of year Jesus is teaching, then this refers to the time when caretakers would separate vines from those with fruit and those without. Fruiting vines would get a haircut to ensure a bountiful cluster, while those without fruit would be ‘taken away’ or ‘lifted up’. The word is airō which could mean either ‘taken away’ or ‘lifted up’, but essentially ‘move it from where it is’.

Think of it this way: say there is a book lying on a shelf gathering dust. I want to pick it up to dust it off. Am I “taking it away” from the shelf? We wouldn’t normally phrase it that way in English, but yes. Am I also “lifting it up”? Again, we would not normally say it that way, but yes. The same motion can be described either way. When referencing this agricultural action, the Greek has this word, though it is used in a variety of contexts. In some contexts, ‘take away’ makes more sense in English while other times, ‘lift up’ makes more sense. Now, without having the translators available to explain their decision, I can only guess. But, my best guess is that, if they used “lifted up” or “raised up”, it might sound like the Father is promoting or exalting the unfruitful branch which is obviously not correct. Added to this, the majority of uses of the word is better translated “take away”.

However, to be sure I am not advocating a ‘special case’ just for the sake of defending a Baptist doctrine, consider its use in Revelation (consequently also penned by John). In Revelation 10:5 and 18:21, there are two instances of an angel ‘taking up’ or ‘raising up’ something (same word as John 15:2). In the first, the angel raises his hand to heaven. Now, it would be rather odd, and not in keeping with the narrative, for the angel to be ‘cutting off hand to heaven’. He is simply raising his hands, much like what I am advocating in John 15. The second instance also demonstrates the ambiguity of the word out of context when the angel “took up a stone” and “threw it into the sea”. Now, one could argue the angel ‘cut the stone from the earth’ in order to press ‘take away’ to mean ‘cut off’, but again, that is not in keeping with the narrative. The simple interpretation is that the angel ‘picked up’ a giant stone. When coupled with the next verbal phrase, ‘threw it into the sea’, it makes perfect sense. There is no need for ‘cutting off’ to be implied. The prophetic symbol is Babylon will be violently thrown down and disappear like the stone into the sea. Being ‘cut’ from the land is unnecessary and not implied (other than the simple, ‘it was on the ground, and then not’).

Remember, this branch is a part of the vine—this person is in Christ Jesus. Jesus is talking about two kinds of Christians, fruitful ones and unfruitful ones. For the fruitful branch, they are pruned of things that inhibit fruit bearing. For the unfruitful branch, they are moved from where they are. In the early spring, some vines would not have the buds needed for grapes. Those vines would be lifted from the ground, put on trellises in order to air them out. They would be allowed to stay on the vine in hopes to bear fruit the next year.

Some of you may feel tied down in life. You are not spreading your wings and soaring in faith. That’s because you aren’t bearing fruit. God has you tied up and moved out of the way for those branches that are bearing fruit. Fruitless branches get in the way of fruit on other branches. It’s very simple, if you aren’t going to bear fruit, God is going to move you out of the way for someone who will.

Verse 2 is about usefulness in the Kingdom.

The fruitful Christian is made more fruitful.

The fruitless Christian is shoved out of the way for another time.

Some may think that sounds a bit mean, well, hang on till we get to verse 6.

Jesus continues stating the disciples are already clean. But, they must abide in Jesus in order to bear fruit. Christian, the reason you may not be bearing fruit is because you are not abiding in Christ. ‘Abide’ means to be in that place. We must be where Jesus is. Where do we encounter the living Savior? In His Word, in the prayer closet, and away from the things of this world distracting us. To abide is what Paul meant by “fix your eyes on Jesus”, “place your mind on heavenly things”. Do you know why vinedressers lift grapes from the ground? If they grow along the ground, they have a greater chance for molding and growing shoots into the ground which will bring more disease. Some of you are feeling bound to the earth and the effects of sinful molding, because you are too close to the ground. You gotta lift your eyes and mind toward heaven. Be lifted up off this ground so that you can bear fruit.

Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches, apart from Him we can accomplish nothing!

Then, we come to verse 6. If we are to believe that the branches in 6 refer to same ones in 2, then we’d have to conclude that unfruitful Christians will eventually go to hell. The branches are cut off from the vine (the Christian is removed from Christ), and then sent into the fire (hell). However, we have already established that Scripture holds that once a person is saved, they are eternally saved. Again, to better understand what is being said, it is helpful to take a trip back in time to the vineyard. At the spring harvest, the vine cultivated to aid growth. At the fall harvest, the vine is stripped away of all excess in order to induce the dormant stage until next year. This is the time when dead branches, leaves, and all that is not the vine is removed and thrown into the fire.

Consider again the passage. Verse 2 says, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit” while verse 6, “If anyone does not abide in me”. The branches in 6 are not connected to the vine while the ones in 2 are. So it appears we have three categories of branches, not just two. So, again, there are those Christians bearing fruit, those who are not, and

Branches (people) who are not connected to the vine (Christ) will be sent into the fire.

Now that we have spent considerable time on the theology and literary, let’s take a step and consider some practicalities before we move on. Because one of the dangers of discussing eternal salvation is someone will sit in the service (usually the back), and say to themselves, “Well, see, I can go to heaven without lifting a finger.” That, my friend, is a very dangerous attitude. Consider again what is going on with these vines and the lives of believers.

The Christian who is not bearing fruit is given special attention, through discipline, removal of circumstances, and whatever other means God sees fit to cultivate fruit in the believer. Remember, the unfruitful Christian is not left alone, they are given special discipline to be fruitful in another season. The fruit bearing Christian is also not left alone, but rather has those things in their life that inhibit fruit bearing removed. The true Christian is always guided toward fruit-bearing.

The only person left on their own is the lost soul not connected to Christ. These are left until the harvest time only to be gathered and burned. If you are thinking to yourself, “Oh, I’ve been hanging out for years, and no one has bothered me a bit to grow as a Christian,” then there is a good chance you are not a Christian.

The true Christian has a desire to please the Father and bear fruit. The remainder of our passage explains what this fruit looks like.

The Vine bears Love and Joy

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:7-11

We again see this phrase, ‘whatever we ask will be done’. This is how the Father is glorified, through the fruit that we bear. Again, we are connected to the Father through the Son, so that our prayers do not go unanswered. They are answered so that God receives all glory and we bear much fruit.

Now, some of you might be asking, “What does this fruit look like?” Here, we have two aspects.

The first fruit is that we share the love of God.

Look again at verse 9. Jesus tells us to abide in Him so that we experience the love of God, just as the Father loves the Son, so does the Son love us. That is the perfect, unconditional love of God. It is only as we draw near to Jesus that we experience that love. If we are wallowing in the dirt of sin, we cannot experience that love fully. Abide in Christ and you will share in the love of God.

The second fruit is joy.

Jesus gave these teachings because it brings Him joy to see His Creation made new and bear the fruit they are supposed to bear. And, likewise, we share in that joy, because it is only when we are living as God designed us to live that we can be joyful.

If you happen to be skeptical about this whole Christianity thing, consider this for a moment: We are the only creatures on this earth that do self-harm...except maybe lemmings, but they are a different thing altogether. They’re weird little creatures. Deer are not sitting beside the highway thinking, “Ok, man, one more car passes by and that’s it. I’m doing it.” Why do humans hurt themselves? Why do we engage in behavior we know does us harm or will kill us? It is because we are not living as we are supposed to. We are broken physically, mentally, and spiritually by sin. It is only when we repent of that sin, turn our eyes to Jesus and receive His love and His joy that we are made whole and experience life as it was designed to be.

Love One Another

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

John 15:12-17

This last section is a teaching bracketed by the same command, ‘Love one another’. Notice the repetition in 12 and 17. So, here, we see how the love of God works in us to love other people.

The extent of true love is self-sacrifice.

Jesus says the greatest love is to lay down your life for a friend. This, of course, is completely counter to Whitney Houston’s hit The Greatest Love of All, which consequently is a cover of Shirley Bassie who first sang it. They conclude the greatest love is to learn to love yourself. That, Christian, is the world’s idea of love. Take care of yourself. And yet, Jesus, who was the very essence of God, chose to empty Himself and take on flesh so that He could lay down His life for us. True love, no greater love, is this: to lay down your life for a friend.

True love is a personal love.

Notice Jesus says we are no longer servants, but friends of His. Now, Paul routinely called himself a servant of Christ, because he did not feel worthy to be a Christian in the first place. There is something very healthy about remembering that we do serve the Risen Savior. We are not doing him any favors, He has done everything for us, so we are indebted to Him. However, whenever we experience the love of God, we begin to understand that we are more than servants. He loves us as a friend. There is a tension there that mature Christians can keep in balance. It is the tension between we serve the God who can remove us from existence with a thought, and we serve the God willing to send His Son so that we may live with Him for eternity.

True love calls us to action.

Jesus reminds us that we did not go looking for Him, He came down to us. He chose us and appoints His disciples to bear fruit. That fruit will continue so that the Father will give them what they ask, so that the Father is glorified. We are here, gathered in this sanctuary, because for 2000 years Christ has continued to develop fruit in His people so that more fruit is cultivated from this vine we call the Church, the Body of Christ.

Summary

As we close today, let us consider again the progression we’ve seen. First, there are three branches in Christ’s metaphor: the fruit-bearing, the non fruit-bearing, and the disconnected. Those connected to Christ, whether they are currently bearing fruit or not, are cultivated to increase fruit production. The disconnected branches are those who are not in Christ who will be thrown into the fire at the end of the harvest. The way to know whether you are in Christ is by how much fruit you are bearing. If you have not born fruit, then now would be a good time ask, am I being disciplined toward fruit or am I simply not a part of Christ? The answer makes an eternal difference for you.

If we are bearing fruit, we see that fruit will be love and joy. Love of the Father and Son who guide us to love others through self-sacrifice, personal relationships, and acting in that love. And in that love, we find true joy. Again, I must give this warning: if you have not experienced the true love and joy that only comes from Jesus, then no matter how many times you have sat in that pew, you must consider the possibility you have not been truly saved. True faith leads to true love which leads to true joy.