How Do I Walk with Christ
Notes
Transcript
We live in a day where it seems that Christian discipleship, though faddish to talk about, is in short supply. With our quick fix society and our technology, we’ve traded smartphones and apps for life on life discipleship.
I think one of the reasons the church seems to be growing cold is because of this reason.
But Christ calls us to walk with him.
“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.
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.
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.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Abide in Christ (v. 4)
Abide in Christ (v. 4)
The first key to being a disciple who walks in Christ is that we abide in him.
Meno is the Greek word for Abide. In John's gospel it was used several times, and of the 44 uses of Meno, John used it 41 times in his gospel and letters. In this passage, Jesus used it 11 times. Means to remain in place, or to tarry.
2 Timothy 3:14 Paul encourages Timothy to endure (to remain in) what he was taught.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
Thus we are called to remain in, to abide in, to continue in Christ.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24:13, Jesus tells his disciples that the one who remains to the end (who abides) will be saved.
And James proclaims in James 1:12 that the one who perseveres to the end will be Blessed.
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
So in one sense meno has the ide of persevering, of remaining steadfast. As Christians we are called to be dogged in our remaining in Christ.
So how do we remain in Christ?
But the stakes are high. Perseverance in Christ, through Christ is essential to our salvation. Christ states clearly that the one who remains in Christ will be saved.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Thus remaining in his word is essential to our remaining in him.
The Gospel of John, Volume 2 The Vine and the Branches (John 15:1–10 Contd)
F. W. Robertson of Trinity Chapel, Brighton, was one of the great preachers. There was a tradesman who had a little shop; in the back room he kept a photograph of Robertson, for he was his hero and his inspiration. Whenever he was tempted to carry out a bit of sharp practice, he would rush into the back room and look at the photograph, and the temptation was defeated. When the writer Charles Kingsley was asked the secret of his life, referring to the theologian and Christian Socialist F. D. Maurice he said: ‘I had a friend.’ The contact with loveliness made him lovely.
In the same way, we must return again and again to the person of Christ in his word, seeking him and his ways, learning for him, loving him. We must stay connected if we are going to grow in Christ.
Bear Fruit (v. 5)
Bear Fruit (v. 5)
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.
Second, Jesus calls us to bear good fruit. Fruit is a common allusion in scripture. We are called over and over to bear good fruit. But what is meant by this?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Paul tells the Galatians that they must
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
and instead produce the fruit of the spirt as opposed to the fruit of the world.
He notes in v. 18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Jesus commands us to
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
The fruit we are to produce include godly living, godly attitudes, godly actions, godly thoughts. These cannot be produced by us. They can only be produced by the Spirit of God living in us.
Doing good things do not save us but a lack of good works is evidence of a heart not surrendered to him.
Endure Pruning (v. 2, 6)
Endure Pruning (v. 2, 6)
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.
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.
A third part of walking in Christ is the enduring of pruning.
God prunes those he loves. Like a gardener tending his garden, God, the great gardener will always tend to the lives of his children for their greater fruitfulness and joy.
He prunes the lives of his children and churches.
He prunes our lives through the hardships of life. Our struggles prepare us for greater usefulness.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
He also prunes churches by removing those who aren't truly believers through the trials of life.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
I am not saying that everyone who leaves the church because of pain is lost, but I am saying that many are. If you are listening today, and you have fled church because of “church hurt”, would you examine your heart to see if your running from the church is because of the believers who hurt you or because of your refusal to be corrected by the gracious suffering God allows to enter our lives.
Continue in Prayer (v. 7)
Continue in Prayer (v. 7)
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Abiding in Christ means reliance on Christ. If we abide in Christ and his words then we quickly realize our own need for him. That's the thing about following Christ, the more I know him the more I realize I need him.
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
Paul understood that in the midst of his suffering he needed one thing: Christ!
Persist in Love (v. 9, 12)
Persist in Love (v. 9, 12)
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Finally, we are called to persist in love.
There is no greater evidence of our lostness than our willingness to love God’s people.