Question: DO YOU ABIDE IN CHRIST OR VISIT OCCASIONALLY?
Suggestion: Memorize John chapter 15, verses 4 and 5. These two verses will revolutionize your life if you will take them seriously. I am not exaggerating. If these words spoken by your Teacher, the Lord Jesus, find residence in your heart you will be a very successful christian. Guaranteed. Repeat, guaranteed. You will be “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever [you do] shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3) The upcoming “judgement seat of Christ” will not be an embarrassment; it will be a time of great rejoicing.
John 15:4: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 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.”
This is Jesus speaking, your teacher, your shepherd, your Lord. Jesus promises that if you abide in (dwell in) Him you will bear “MUCH fruit”. You are now bearing fruit, but are you bearing MUCH fruit? John 15:8: “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear MUCH fruit.” The Father, apparently, is not glorified (is not pleased) with LITTLE fruit. Ask yourself, “Am I bearing MUCH fruit or am I bearing LITTLE fruit?”
Notice Jesus didn’t say that the one abiding in Him PRODUCES fruit. Branches have no ability to produce anything. Branches can only BEAR fruit.
Question: How does a branch bear fruit? The answer is so simple: A branch bears fruit by being connected to the vine. How does you the branch (Jesus: “you are the branches”) bear fruit? You the branch bear fruit by being connected to Jesus the vine. (Jesus: “I am the vine.”) The more firmly you are connected to Jesus the greater will be the flow of His grace and therefore the more fruit you will bear.
Is it obvious to you that Jesus is speaking of RELATIONSHIP. (“Abide in Me, and I in you.”) To better understand relationship, inspect the next fruit-bearing tree you come across. A tree trunk and the connected branches are a superb example of relationship. The life of one flows into the other. They are vitally connected. Without that connection there are no leaves and no fruit. The branch needs the tree trunk and the trunk needs the branches. That is how the apple-tree branch bears apples and the peach-tree branch bears peaches. Just as no branch of any tree can bear fruit unless it is attached to the trunk of the tree, no christian can bear fruit unless he (she) is attached to Christ. You need Jesus, and Jesus likewise needs you!
In John 15:1 Jesus calls Himself “the true vine”. Doesn’t that tell us there are vines that are NOT true? There are many untrue vines but only one true vine. (Jesus: “I am the true vine.”) Good fruit comes from “the true vine” and bad fruit comes from untrue vines. (Jesus: “A tree [a vine] is known by its fruit.”) Sadly, most christians are attached to more than one vine, perhaps several. That is why most christians bear LITTLE fruit instead of MUCH fruit. Since Jesus is the true vine, all other vines can be identified as false vines. Make sense?
Love of money is a false vine that has ensnared many. Religion (human authority, “commandments of men”) is a false vine. Business, hobbies, friendships, family and many etceteras can be identified as false vines if one is trying to extract satisfaction and fulfillment and honor from them instead of from Jesus.
Jesus: “Without Me you can do nothing.” What does nothing mean? Nothing means nothing good – no good work, no worthy accomplishment, no “treasures in heaven”. The good fruit you are now bearing results from abiding in Christ; the worthless and bad fruit you are now bearing results from your attachment to false vines, something or someone other than Christ.
There is good fruit (“gold, silver, precious stones”) and there is bad fruit (“wood, hay, straw”). What is good fruit? Good fruit is, for example, “the fruit of the Spirit” as listed in Galatians 5:22,23: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Good fruit is freedom. (2Cor.3:17: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”) Good fruit is souls. (Jesus: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”) Good fruit is boldness. (Heb.10:19: “having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.”) Good fruit is every good thing including truth, understanding, wisdom, and “treasures in heaven”.
Religionists stir people to PRODUCE fruit. They preach, “We can do more together” and gather people into bunches. Actually they should say, “We can WASTE more together.” These congregations require a Little Moses (a licensed and expensive pastor) and comfortable quarters for all those who “can do more together”. And how do they “do more together”? Through organization. Organization was used to build the institutionalized church you are now attending. That evangelicalism has proven itself to be a poor investment matters little to those in charge; being in control of a malfunction is better than no control whatsoever.
You have been drawn into one of evangelicalism’s many bunches that bears little fruit, not “much fruit”. You are being regularly fleeced. Religionists have not only captured your generosity but also your devotion. You pay Little Moses to muzzle you. (If Paul were to suddenly appear he would say to you as he said to Timothy: “Preach the word!”)
So…. how do you live out your christianity? Your prime task is to pursue Christ and capture more of Him. More Jesus equals more of every good thing. Paul was arguably more devoted to Jesus Christ than all other apostles, and yet he diligently pursued Him. (“That I might know Him.”) And….
And always be available to do whatever Jesus tells you to do. Nothing more and nothing less. Jesus gives little and big assignments. A little assignment could be meeting a neighbour’s need. A big assignment could be public ministry. My first public commission didn’t come for five years. (Holy Spirit: “Write a book.”) I live from assignment to assignment. That’s how we are all supposed to live. Your business is what Jesus makes your business; all else is none of your business.
So…. do you want more fruit? Jesus gives you the secret to bearing fruit – intimacy (friendship, fellowship). He PROMISES “much fruit” to those who choose Him over others. You don’t need a Little Moses. You don’t need church membership. You don’t need human oversight. You don’t need to tithe. You don’t need money. You simply need to abide, more fully, in Christ!!!
So my question to you is: WILL YOU ABIDE IN CHRIST OR VISIT OCCASIONALLY?
NOTE: The theme of my life is “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” and my writings reflect it. I invite you to visit my library of books, articles and videos at www.larryjones.ca