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The Daily Word of Righteousness
A Destructive Concept of Divine Grace, continued
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1,2—NIV)
To whom is Jesus speaking? He is speaking to branches in Himself. Nothing could be clearer than this.
Jesus is addressing Christians, members of the Body of Christ.
We are to bear fruit. The fruit we bear is the image of Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions, and in the thoughts, words, and actions of others. God the Father is looking for the image of His Son in us. Do you believe this?
What happens if we do not bear the image of Christ? We are cut off from Christ.
What does it mean to be cut off from Christ? Can we still be "saved" and not be part of Christ? This is the kind of question that will be posed by Evangelical people because we are so determined to go to Heaven apart from moral change. Whether or not we are a branch of Christ is not all that important just as long as we escape Hell and go to Heaven. So the current thinking goes.
How does the teaching of a sovereign grace unaffected by our behavior apply to John 15:2? Have the Epistles contravened the Word of Jesus Christ?
But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Hebrews 6:8—NIV)
Is the writer of Hebrews describing real estate or is he referring to Christians? Isn't he saying precisely what Jesus said, in John 15:2? Do you know there are people today teaching that the Book of Hebrews does not apply to Christians because it "teaches works"? We are so desperate to avoid having to live righteously that we are willing to discard parts of the New Testament to prove our point.
How abominable can we get?
How did Paul compare agriculture with the Gospel of the Kingdom?
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7,8—NIV)
Is Paul speaking of Christians? Is it true that a Christian can sow to his flesh and then in the Day of Resurrection reap eternal life, as long as he or she "stands in grace"?
Do you dare say yes or no? I wish Christians, especially pastors and teachers, would say yes or no to such direct questions. Maybe we could get off dead center if they would!
The principle of reaping what we sow is an immutable law of the Kingdom of God. It cannot be abrogated without leaving a path of destruction. Divine grace does not violate the Kingdom principle of sowing and reaping. Rather grace helps us change from sowing to the flesh to sowing to the Spirit of God so we can reap eternal life. Eternal life is the Life of God. It is a kind of life that we reap, not a legal state in which we exist forever.
Did the Lord Jesus say anything else about fruitbearing?
To be continued.