Jesus was trying to take advantage of the last few days and hours that he had with his disciples before his crucifixion. A key interest is the chapters of fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen recorded by John. In that area of Scripture, he speaks almost exclusively with only a few questions asked of his disciples.
Turn your attention to 15:2, 6 that says, “every branch in me that bears not fruit he taketh away… If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” What did Jesus mean? These verses are often taken out of context to mean that you could lose your salvation. The purpose of this blog is to confirm that the believer does not lose his salvation but is likely to experience negative consequences by not bearing fruit to the glory of God. God takes note of our daily living.
Notice the following that confirms the person who is taken away and burned: the disobedient branch never stops being a branch in the same way that a believer never stops being a child of God. There is every possibility that at one time the believer did produce fruit. Yet for some reason he no longer did. However, this could occur even shortly after a person experiences salvation. That person enjoys the benefit and promise of eternal life. Still, that person is selfish and neglects to share the good news to other people. This means that such a person may be saved but has not crucified self to his own betterment to that of God’s glory.
At any point such a branch has an opportunity to begin producing fruit which means their salvation experience becomes more valuable and appreciated when they share the gospel. This is not a Reformation. Instead, it is more that the person allows himself to be effectively influenced by the Holy Spirit. An unbeliever cannot be nurtured and guided and comforted by the Holy Spirit.
When the Scripture speaks of the branch being burned, it is a reminder that God said he disciplines the believer for their own good. In the case of being burned, we look to the extreme of what could happen to this rebellious disciple. It could take on drastic measures of consequences that God allows to happen in that person’s life. It could range anywhere from financial ruin to health issues to relationship problems to legal areas or even to death. In the case of the thought of death, it is God’s last extreme effort to prevent the uncooperative believer from falling into greater depths of sin and rebellion. It is better for such a person to die and go to heaven than it is for God to allow him to backslide further and further.
The obvious application of this Scripture is for us to behave as Jesus would have us by bearing fruit. The devout Christian will be involved on a regular basis in group worship, private Bible reading, praying routinely, and avoiding anything that would not bring glory to God. Now it is time for us to examine ourselves whether we are a fruitful branch or an unfruitful branch.
Christian Writer 