Religious people are more concerned on bearing fruits than the condition of the root. Their religious minds have been blocked from seeing that the law demands bearing of fruits while grace graces the condition of the root. The famous passage from John 15 is therefore causing a lot of concern among the religious Christians and therefore had been frequently used to demand fruits from their followers.
John 15:5 ~ "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:6 ~ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
My friends, plants do not strain and struggle to produce fruit. Instead, by planting them on good soil, with adequate exposure to sunlight and water, fruits are produced effortlessly. Same thing happen to us as a born again Christian, with adequate exposure to the SON of Righteousness, with the constant irrigation of the living water from the word of Christ and planting ourselves in the soil of grace (good soil) instead on the law (soil mixes with stone), good fruits are produced naturally in our life without any effort.
Jesus is grace personified. He is the mediator of the New Covenant and He is the vine. If bearing fruits is our concern and our duty, then this branch of us is definitely not abide to the vine and is withering. We, as New Covenant believers are spiritual being and should never try to justify ourselves by law… or else we are alienating ourselves from Jesus and we have fallen from grace. Jesus is then becoming of no effect to us because we are now what John 15 verse 6 says, and no more in the vine….
Galatians 5: 4 ~ You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
My friends, Galatians 5:4 does not say when we sin we are alienated from Christ but when we try to obey the commandments. Abide in Jesus give us victory over every situation. So is His grace because He had conquered everything for us. Our victories in every situation are fruits, our success in every area of our life is fruits, our well being is fruits, our health is fruits, and family harmony is fruit…
You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace and if anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned...
Great reminder, Alan. Thanks for this post. Abiding in the Vine is also resting in Him and ceasing from my own works. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Kat.
ReplyDeleteRemember the Pandan flavor coconut juice that you all had tried while you were here? It only started to bear fruit three years ago when I stepped out of my previous environment that preached Babylonian teaching.
So whenever I read John 15, this coconut tree reminded me as a testimony that I can share with ppl.
Grace and peace to everyone at home.
Wow! No wonder it tastes so amazingly sweet, grace is amazingly sweet :) Grace and peace to you and all at home too, plus Richard ;) Miss you all...
ReplyDeleteWhat is required in order to have Jesus ABIDE in us and we in Him?
ReplyDeleteCan we do it:
1. By accepting Him as our our own personal Lord and Savior ?
No. Where does the Bible say that?
2. By the grace of GOD only? Sola Gracias?
No. Where does the Bible say that?
3. By faith in GOD alone? Sola Fides?
No. Where does the Bible say that?
It is simple common sense that since He commanded that we must do something, then doesn't it stand to reason that He would also tell us how to do it?
Jesus was very clear in what we must do in order to have Him ABIDE in us and we in Him.
Jesus left this command for us in John 6:53-57:
53 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you (the taken away branch);
54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 HE WHO EATS MY FLESH AND DRINKS MY BLOOD ABIDES IN ME, AND I IN HIM.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me."
I truly enjoyed this post, Alan! It is a great reminder of how we should stay in the simplicity of the Gospel; just enjoying God and His grace! Actually...it reminds me of Galatians 2:21, where Paul states, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
ReplyDeleteAlso, I find Michael's comment interesting! We can abide in Christ by coming to the table of communion; which is where we can also find, and be reminded of, God's grace and mercy!
All that just to say that this post really blessed me! Lol! Indeed, there is nothing I can do to earn grace (Eph. 2:8-9)! I must remain with the simplicity of the Gospel and not place the burden of works on myself.