I Am the Vine; You Are the Branches

John 15:1-8 If we were asked to describe the religious mindset of most Americans today we might use the word “pluralism”—the idea that there are many ways to God. 

We might use the word “relativism”—the idea that morality is not fixed by God’s law but flexible according to our own personal ideas and the pressures of a changing culture. 

We might use the word “universalism”—the idea that, in the end, all religions and all lifestyles serve and please God and so everyone will be saved.

            Pluralism.  Relativism.  Universalism.  This is the operating theology of most Americans today. But in God’s Holy Word, we hear Jesus say something very different.  He says:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

            In contrast to the religious pluralism of our American culture that says that there are many ways to God, Jesus says, I am the true vine.  In other words, there ARE NOT many religious roads all leading to the same divine destination—there is only one—and that is Jesus.

In contrast to the moral relativism of our American culture that says that there are many different ways to live a life that is pleasing to God and many different kinds of morality, Jesus says that we must bear the fruit of good works and produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

And in contrast to the universalism of our American culture that says that no matter what we believe and no matter how we live we will all be saved, Jesus says that those who are not connected to him—those who do not produce the fruits of faith, God himself will take away and burn.  And so then…

The message to us today from God’s Word is that to be connected to God, we must be connected to Jesus- and stay connected to Jesus- and when we are connected to Jesus- God will be at work in our lives helping us to produce the fruits of a true and living faith.  Again Jesus says: 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

            When we plant tomatoes in our garden we are not planting them for their lovely foliage.  When we plant blackberries we are not planting them for the thorns.  When we plant peach trees we are not planting them for their tall, majestic canopies.  We are planting them for the fruit. What we want are tomatoes and berries and peaches.

So it is with our heavenly Father.  He is a results-oriented gardener.  He has connected us to the true vine of Jesus Christ-- and is at work in us --so that he might gather the fruit of good works from our lives. 

And so like a gardener, he works in our lives, cleaning us and pruning us to that holy end—that we would be living, fruitful branches connected to Jesus Christ.  But how does he do that?  What tool does he use to clean and prune?  He does it through his word.  Let me explain.

Do you see that word “prune” in verse two and “clean” in verse three?  They have exactly the same root word.  One is the action and one is the result—to clean and be clean, to prune and be pruned.  Both action and result are accomplished in our lives by his word.

His word of law has convicted us of our sin and convinced us of our need of a Savior.  It has shown us how lifeless we are apart from God, how fruitless are our efforts to do good and please God on our own.  In the same powerful way…

His word of Gospel has shown us God’s salvation in Jesus Christ and declared us “not guilty” through faith and caused us to be connected us to Jesus so that now his life flows through us. 

God continues that pruning, cleaning work throughout our lives in exactly the same way—through his word of Law and Gospel—so long as we are connected to Jesus.  He says:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

            That word “abide” means to stay with, to continue with, to persevere constant and unchanged, and to be in close and settled union with. 

Here is a lesson that we must learn again and again:  the fruitful life that God wants from us can only happen when we “stay with, continue with, are united with, and abide with” Jesus through the same powerful, life-giving Word that brought us to faith and sustains our faith.

That is how God works in our life to make us the fruitful branches he wants us to be—through the words of Holy Scripture.  There in the Bible…

God says:  this is how I want you to live.  This is how I want you to view the world.  This is how I want you to serve those around you.  These are the good works that I want from you.  And then he empowers our life by the Gospel to accomplish it. 

            And so then: to turn our backs on the preaching of God’s Word—to let our bedside Bible grow dusty from lack of use—to refuse the presence of Jesus and the gifts he gives in Holy Communion-- is to sever our connection to Christ.  When that happens, there is only God’s judgment.  Jesus says:   

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

            Jesus promises that if we abide in him we WILL bear fruit.  It cannot help but be that, when we live in Christ and Christ lives in us, that relationship will bear fruit. 

But if we do not abide in him, our life will not and cannot bear the fruit of faith.  And so then, Jesus is very clear:  branches are only fit for two things—to bear fruit or be burned.

Far, far from the universalism of modern American religious thinking (where everyone is saved in the end) the Bible teaches no such thing.  Those who will not abide in Jesus; those who sever their connection to him through laziness or worldliness, will be removed by the heavenly Vinedresser, gathered together on the last day; and cast into the fires of hell forever.

That is what Jesus says and there is no one in the Bible who teaches with more clarity about hell than does Jesus.  He understands just how real hell is which is why he came into the world to save us from hell by his dying and rising.

Jesus does not give us this warning about judgment and hell to scare us into bearing fruit.  Fruit does not come from fear but by faith--from a living connection to him. 

Instead, he gives us this warning about fruit-less-ness so that we would understand the danger of losing that living connection to him through our neglect of God’s Word.  And because he wants us to have that living connection and that fruitful life, he promises to help us.  Jesus says:

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

            This promise to hear and answer our prayers is not a heavenly pre-paid credit card that our heavenly Father gives us so that we can go shopping for everything on our earthly wish list.

Instead, it is a promise that God will help us become fruitful branches of the True Vine Jesus Christ.

When we are living branches connected to the living vine, the word and will of Jesus become our own and we can ask for what we need to become fruitful branches and be confident that we will receive it because it is in accord with God’s will. 

And so then, when we pray and ask God to keep us steadfast in our faith and connected to Jesus—when we ask him to make us more fruitful in good works and holy living—when we pray that he would keep us in faith until the end of our life on earth--we can be absolutely sure that God will hear and answer those prayers because they are in accord with his will that we become fruitful Christians.

Jesus says:  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

            Those who are connected to the true vine Jesus Christ will live fruitful lives—filled with good works and the fruit of the Spirit.  We do that, not to earn our salvation or make our own place with God, but we live that kind of life so that God would be glorified and the world would come to know Jesus through us. 

Jesus says:  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Peter says:  Keep your conduct honorable so the world may see your good deeds and glorify God.  Paul says that our lives should be:  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory…of God.  

This is our mission in the world as Christians:  to serve our neighbor and bring to glory to God and bear witness to Jesus.  All of that is graciously accomplished in us by God as we draw our life from the True Vine and produce the fruits of a true and living faith in Jesus.

May God grant this living, fruitful, abundant life in Christ would be ours more and more in the days to come!  Amen.