If his branches don’t bear fruit …
July 16, 2011
John 15:1-6 says Jesus is the “true grapevine” and promises that if you, like a branch of the vine, will remain/abide in Christ, then he will remain/abide in you and you “will produce much fruit.” Praise God! What a great promise from the one who is faithful and true, the one who is able to keep every promise he makes!
However … “if” implies “if not.” So the passage also notes that branches “severed from the vine” cannot produce fruit. It says the Father is a gardener who “cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit.” It warns: “Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.”
This is not about people who were never saved in the first place. Jesus says these are his branches. They were connected to the vine at one point but did not produce fruit. Because they were useless branches, the gardener severed them from the vine. They were cut off and thrown away. They withered. They will wind up being gathered into a pile and burned.
The crucial difference between a Christian and a branch on a grapevine is that a Christian chooses to abide in Christ and be fruitful — or not.
“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” (Rev. 2:7,11,17,29,3:6,13,22 )
