Old Testament saints (6)

We are looking at salvation with particular reference to Old Testament saints. In the sixth part of this study I'd like us to look at the subject of fruit-bearing.

A solemn warning

'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 that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.' (John 15:1–6)

If you had a message to give to someone, you might begin with the most important point first and then fill in the details afterwards. That is what Jesus did in his discourse on the vine and the branches.

To understand this passage we have to realize who Jesus was speaking to. He was speaking not to the world, but to his eleven disciples at the passover meal on the eve of his crucifixion: Judas Iscariot had already left the room to betray him (John 13:30).

After comparing himself to a vine and his Father to a gardener, Jesus came straight to the point. He said that his Father will cut off every branch in him that bears no fruit. He then revealed who the branches he was referring to were: they were his disciples. 'I am the vine; you [my disciples] are the branches (v5a).'

Christians who believe that a person cannot lose their salvation try to get round this statement by claiming that the unfruitful branches are not true believers. They say they are those who have merely professed Christ but have not put their faith in him. But that is not what Jesus said. He said: '…every branch in me…'. These are people who are 'in' Christ. They are true believers; true disciples of Jesus.

Think about it. How can you be cut from a vine you've never been attached to? It's impossible. You have to be 'in' Christ before you can be cut off from Christ.

Those words were part of the final message Jesus gave to his disciples before his death. They were a solemn warning to them and to us. We must bear fruit for the Father otherwise we'll be cut off from the vine. Those who believe otherwise are deceiving themselves. Fruit-bearing is essential for salvation.

Fruit in keeping with repentance

The Greek word translated 'fruit' in John 15 is the word karpos. It is used throughout the New Testament to signify godly living.

John the Baptist told the Jews to produce fruit (karpos) in keeping with repentance. When they asked what they should do to produce the fruit, he said: 'The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same (Luke 3:11).' To the tax collectors he said: 'Don't collect any more than you are required to.' And to the soldiers: 'Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay (Luke 3:13–14).'

In Philippians 1:11 Paul prayed that the saints at Philippi would be filled with the fruit (karpos) of righteousness. Righteousness is doing what is right in the sight of God (1 John 3:7).

In Ephesians 5:8–9 he told the saints at Ephesus to live as children of light, 'for the fruit (karpos) of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth'.

But by far the fullest description of fruit is found in Galatians 5:22–23. This is the fruit (karpos) of the Spirit, which consists of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Apart from me you can do nothing

Now we know what fruit the Father wants us to produce, how do we produce it? Verse 5 of our opening text gives us the answer.

'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.'

None of us can bear fruit by ourselves, we must remain in the vine. The Greek word translated 'remains' in that verse is meno. Its basic meaning is 'to remain in one place', but it can also mean 'to abide' or 'to dwell'.

If we abide in Christ, he will abide in us by his Spirit. And it's his indwelling Spirit that will produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, together with all godly living. Jesus will live his life in us and through us, to the glory of the Father (John 15:8).

Remain in me

Jesus said that the Father will cut off every branch in him that bears no fruit. Did he mean every branch that has never borne fruit, or every branch that no longer bears fruit? We don't know, but he probably meant the latter. I would say that every true believer will bear some spiritual fruit in their lives, at least initially, because a changed life is the proof that they've been born again (1 John 3:9–10).

Jesus said that if a man remains in him he will bear much fruit. How then can those who are in Christ fail to bear fruit? The answer is that they don't remain in him.

'Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.' (v4)

Jesus said: 'Remain in me, and I will remain in you.' That is a conditional statement. Jesus remaining in us depends on us remaining in him. That truth can be seen clearly in the lives of backsliders.

Do you know any backsliders? They no longer spend time with the Lord in prayer; they no longer meet with others to worship him; their Bibles gather dust in a corner. Consequently, the flame that once burned so brightly within them, if it hasn't gone out completely, is now no more than a flicker.

Where is the love, where is the joy, where is the peace they once had? It has all but left them; God's glory has departed from their lives. Whose fault is that? Is it the Lord's? No, it's their own fault: they haven't remained in him.

Jesus said:

'If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.' (v6)

If we don't remain in Jesus i.e. if we don't continue in our relationship with him, we will shrivel up, spiritually, and die. Does the Lord want that to happen? No, certainly not! He said that we haven't chosen him, but he has chosen us and has appointed us to bear fruit for the Father (John 15:16). He wants us to do that, showing ourselves to be his disciples (John 15:8).

The key to fruit-bearing is remaining. Jesus used the word eleven times in the space of seven verses (John 15:4–10). If we continue in the relationship we had with the Lord when we were first saved—loving him, worshipping him, studying his Word—then we will bear much fruit: he's promised that. But if we don't, we won't.

It's our responsibility to remain in the vine and to draw the nourishing sap from the vine so we can produce fruit for the Father. Without him we can do nothing.

Sowing to please the Spirit

Paul wrote:

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)

Was Paul talking about unbelievers sowing to please their sinful nature? No, he was talking about Christians: his own brothers in Christ.

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13).

The freedom God has given us is the freedom not to sin. We're no longer slaves to sin, we've been set free from it (John 8:31–36). But God hasn't removed our free will from us, so what are we going to do? Are we going to live according to our sinful nature and bear fruit for death (Romans 7:5), or live according to the Spirit and bear fruit for God? The choice is ours (Joshua 24:15).

In the same chapter Paul listed some of the acts of the sinful nature and warned the believers that, if they lived like that, they would not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19–21). Then, by contrast, he listed the fruit of the Spirit and urged them to walk according to the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–25).

David's backsliding

If fruit-bearing is essential for salvation we should be able to find Old Testament saints who bore fruit for God, and we can. King David is a good example, not only of fruit-bearing, but also of backsliding.

During an uncharacteristic bout of backsliding David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then, when he learned she was pregnant, he arranged for her husband to be killed to conceal his sin (2 Samuel 11:1–17).

If we stop walking with the Lord we begin to return to our pre-saved state. We lose awareness of what is right and wrong and find we no longer have the power to resist sin. It's the start of a downward spiral which, if left unchecked, results in death (Romans 6:23).

Fortunately for David, he came to his senses, repented of his sin (Psalm 51:1–17) and the Lord forgave him. That shows the extent of our Lord's forgiveness, and that backsliders can be restored, even from the darkest of depths (James 5:19–20). He then returned to walking with the Lord.

Why has God put this into his Word? He's put it there to show us that if David, who otherwise lived a godly life, could fall into sin, then anyone of us can and we must guard ourselves against it (1 Corinthians 10:12). How do we do that? By staying close to Jesus. The power to resist sin is found in God alone. If we walk away from God we lose that power.

David's fruit-bearing

We sometimes refer to the fruit of the Spirit as the fruits of the Spirit (plural) but, according to the Bible, there is one fruit (singular) with nine separate parts. The gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7–11) are manifested instantaneously in our lives, whereas the fruit (as in the natural world) takes time to grow.

All nine parts of the fruit were produced in David's life.

Because David was born again and indwelt by the Spirit of God he bore fruit for God. Every child of God will do the same, providing they remain in him.

To be continued…

Michael Graham
March 2010

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. NIV ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

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