New Years Resolution - Abide... // December 31, 2005

Title: Love: God’s Commandment
Text: John 15:1-17
Proposition: The Christian loves as God has commanded him/her to do through the power that comes of God.

Introduction: All we need in this world is love. It is a basic need that man has, to be loved and to love in return. This is the fruit of the Christian! Show the love scene from “the Moulin Rouge”

There is a theological quandary in this text. Depending on your theological paradigm, you will take one side or the other. It is the question of whether or not this text describes a person losing their salvation or losing their good works to fire. This morning is not really the place to address the situation so by way of getting it out of the way lets look at the common denominators.
Both camps agree that this text refers to Christians that cease to live as Christ wants them to live. Both agree that not living this way has dire consequences – you will be cut off and burned. However you look at the passage will determine what conclusion you draw from it regarding salvation. I would point out that this is not the point of the passage. We will be looking at the point of the metaphor that Christ uses – the question that we need to be asking ourselves is: does our life bear the fruit of abiding in Christ? If it does not, you are in trouble!

Transition: In this section of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus dealt with three relationships that involve the disciples: (1) their relationship with him, (2) their relationship with one another, and (3) their relationship with the world around them. He speaks in relation ot the post-resurrection Church of which the disciples would play a very distinctive role. It is a teaching that profoundly affects how we, the church, serves God in this age. The first of these relationships is primary, for the very existence of the group depended on the union of each individual with Christ. To illustrate it, Jesus used the analogy (or parable) of the vine. Viticulture was one of the common features of Palestinian life and would have been familiar to the disciples. It is possible that if the text of this discourse was spoken as they walked from the upper room in Jerusalem down into the Kidron Valley and across to the Mount of Olives, they could have seen the great golden vine, the national emblem of Israel, on the front of the temple. This symbolism has its precedent in the OT. Psalm 80 refers to Israel as a vine: “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land” (vv.8-9). An even better example is found in Isaiah 5:1-2, 7:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit....
The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden of his delight.

I. We exist in the power of God.
a. Jesus is the Vine. God is the Vinedresser.
i. Features of the Vine: Jesus is the true stock. Every vine must come of good stock. Any wine maker in California, France or Italy knows this. The vines are carefully tended. All that is in the vine affects the flavor and consistency of the wine. The grape must come of good stock. It is a basic tenet of horticulture that the vine must be right in order to produce the quality of fruit needed. Unless the believer is vitally connected with him, the quality of his fruitfulness will be unacceptable. There may be many branches, but if they are to bear the right kind of fruit, they must be a part of the real vine.
ii. The second quality of the Vine is that God is the Gardner. Literally the word is farmer. I grew up in farm country. Both in Minnesota, on dairy farms and then in Michigan. Farmers are great people. They love their land. They rise early in the morning, go to bed late, give up vacation time, worry, tend, protect – they care deeply for their farms. God the “Farmer” tends to all aspects of the garden that is our lives. I love this image because of the dedication that it takes for a farmer to work his farm – all to develop the crop so that it process fruit.
II. We bear fruit in the power of God.
a. Bearing Fruit is what the branch does. It is the sole job of the branch to bear fruit. The pruning process exists to produce a better and stronger fruit. Look at the text in relation to fruit bearing:
i. vs. 2 – we must bear fruit, if we do not bear fruit – we will be taken away. Two images are noted here: 1. the removal of dead wood so that it does not hurt the branch – dead wood is worse than fruitlessness because it can harbor disease and decay and 2. the trimming of alive, existing wood so that it bears more fruit. Not just any fruit mind you, but a high quality fruit that reflects the health of the vine.
ii. vs 4 – we are to abide in Christ.
1. A word about abiding: Abide: word is: Meno – Lit. “To stand in a place. Figuratively – the remain in a sphere. “To stand in opposition to” “to hold out” “to stand fast,” “to stay still,” “to remain,” “to stay in force.” The image that this word conjures to me is that of the infantryman who stays at his post till he is relieved. This is that person that will not shake. The word is very forceful, it is a deliberate and enduring action. In John’s books he uses it often. IN the OT God is spoken of as “abiding” It speaks to the permanence of God as opposed to the mutability (subject to change, alteration) of humans. The OT speaks of God’s Word as abiding, His counsel, His Covenant – all this abides. Paul uses a different term which means – “to take up residence” it comes from the basic root which means “tent.” The idea presented by Christ in the use of the word “abide” is that the branch (church member) has made the deliberate choice to take up residence in either the world or Christ. This abiding is not some “falling off the wagon” or “tripping up” this is a deliberate act of someone to live somewhere. Here we draw some parallels: you cannot serve two masters, you are either abiding in Christ or you are abiding in the world. You live in, you take sustenance from: either the world and its charms, or in the knowledge of God. Its your choice where to abide, bottom line, you will abide somewhere and where you choose to abide, your fruit will demonstrate that abiding. Where you pitch your tent will determine the fruit you bear.
2. If we do not live in Christ, if we do not set our tents up in Christ, we cannot bear any fruit!! Our lives will not bear fruit at all! By yourself, you do not possess the nutrients nor the root system necessary to bear fruit. Continued production depends on constant union with the source of fruitfulness. Branches that are severed from the parent stock may produce leaves temporarily, but inevitably they will wither because there is no source of life to sustain them; and they will never bear fruit. The effectiveness of the believer depends on his receiving the constant flow of life from Christ.
3. Vs.8 – our fruit glorifies the Father. In the Bible paraphrase, “The Message” the author interprets the text this way, “This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” In other words, we demonstrate God when we bear fruit. When the world says, “God does not exist!” The most powerful example that He does is a Christian that lives the way God would have him to live. It is a Christian that is not afraid to produce fruit and let that fruit show in his/her life!! As we mature in the body of Christ, we show that God is an active, personal God that works in people’s lives producing fruit. Our spirituality is not just some set of religious dogmas that we adhere to, it is the source for all we are – every decision that we make, every way of life that we adhere to!
b. Lets look at the idea of “fruit”
i. What is the fruit? In the Bible we have the “fruit of righteousness” found in Amos, Hebrews and James. This fruit is cultivated by chastening and in an atmosphere of peace. We’ll come back to that.
ii. The fruit that is demonstrative of a Christian is what we all know as the “fruit of the Spirit.” They are as Gal. 5:22 tells us “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.” These are the attributes of a Christian. Now, anyone can go into a Military Clothing Sales store and pick up a ranger tab right? However, if you see it on the uniform, you automatically start looking for some key elements in that soldier’s bearing – right? What do you look for? If you see someone with a uniform on and they have longer hair than the average soldier, what do you start looking for – the Special Forces Tab. if they don’t have it, they are just slovenly soldiers are they not? There is fruit in the lives of Christians, there is fruit demonstrative of soldiers, there is fruit demonstrative of anything that a person puts their energies into. The fruit demonstrates who they are living in.
iii. In Gal 5 – note how Paul ends the passage – if we live in the Spirit (i.e. if we abide in the Spirit – if we use the resources that the Spiritual offers) let us also walk in the Spirit. Paul points out that the fruit bearing Christian is an active Christian. He is a man/woman of God that is moving forward in their spiritual walk. You see, Christ is not expecting perfection, He is expecting growth, production. You might be at the place where all you can do is produce some leaves, your fruit might be small and just starting but it is there nonetheless – that growth pleases God. Now, continue to grow, continue to walk in the Spirit.
c. What happens when the fruit is not there?
i. Two ideas are presented in the Vine metaphor:
1. The Christian is pruned in order to produce a better product.
a. It’s a concept that is not talked about a lot cause in this individual world we want to see the loving God that just looks down on us and gives us a million and one chances to get on the right path. God does do that – however as the loving parent punishes, guides, “chastises” their child to walk in the right path – so God chastises his children – He “prunes” them so that they will produce better fruit. Note verse 2.
b. The verb translated “cut off” (aireo ) means literally “to lift up” or “to take away”; the second, “trims clean” (kathaireo ), a compound of the first, means “to cleanse” or “to purify.” Here the translation “cut off” and “trim” is accurate, though it represents a special application of a more general term. Pruning is necessary for any vine. Dead wood is worse than fruitlessness, for dead wood can harbor disease and decay. An untrimmed vine will develop long rambling branches that produce little fruit because most of the strength of the vine is given to growing wood. The vine-grower is concerned that the vine be healthy and productive. The caring process is a picture of the divine dealing with human life. God removes the dead wood from his church and disciplines the life of the believer so that it is directed into fruitful activity.
c. God does chastise his children – note Heb 12:5-9 Here in this text God is working in the lives of His children in order to produce the excellent fruit. Why?
i. Part of the educational process by which the believer is fitted to share God’s holiness.
ii. It is proof of His genuine love relationship between the heavenly father and his children.
iii. It trains them to be obedient.
iv. It produces the fruit of righteousness in their lives. (Ryrie)
d. How does God chasten His children? By letting them live in a fallen world. Things are going to happen to you, often we beg God to “get us out” of the garbage that is going on around us. He does not. He lets us live in the pain, anguish and fear of this world. As we depend on Him, so our faith grows, our lives produce fruit, He is glorified/demonstrated, and we shine as lights in this world. That is the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation – BUT be of good cheer – I have overcome the world!!” Peaceable fruit.
III. We love in the power of God.
a. Finally, note the chief characteristic of the live that abides on Christ. Love.
i. As we bear fruit – we will demonstrate love. You might be sitting there thinking – this is too much! I can’t be a part of this! God expects so much out of me! Realize – all the fruit comes from your loving relationship with Christ. As you abide, live in, pitch your tent in, Christ – He will give you the power to love. Jesus love for us is an extension of the Father’s love to Him – we respond in that love. Our obedience is not something that we have to manufacture, it is an automatic response to the love shown us! God molds us, He makes us into what he wants us to look like – we respond to this grace by loving.
ii. Jesus said earlier – if you love me – keep my commandments. What is His command? “Love one another as I have loved you.” What does that love look like? It is the love that lays down your own life for your friend. In theory, we all would say – “certainly, I would lay down my life for my friend!!” Question, would you be willing to lay down your pride for your friend? Would you be willing to lay down your emotions for your friend? Would you be willing to lay down your own foolish desire to be right all the time for your friend? Would you be willing to lay down your desires for your friend? Would you be willing to lay down your TIME for your friend? Would you be willing to put your friend first? Would you be willing to bear their burden? Would you be willing to LOVE your friend? All of these are less than your life but we continually show not the fruit of God but the fruit of the world latent in our own lives when we live this way!! This not love! Jesus said to love and sometimes love is very difficult – as you respond to the people that God brings into your life, you show the fruit that is within you.
iii. Remember this: we are not servants who do not know what God is up to – we are friends, co-laborers with Christ. We know that He is in the process of redeeming a sinful fallen World. Our part is simple – demonstrate Christ!! Our part is simply to love!! As we do this, God’s work gets done! This is the fruit that remains. This in the fruit that God honors. As we abide in Christ, what we want changes, what we ask of God changes to reflect the power that is within us – God honors those requests. This is what God leaves to His children – the command to love.