True and False Branches. Part 2

Intro

Last week, we took a peak in at what Jesus was talking to His disciples about as they made their way to the Garden of Gethsamane. Leaving the Upper Room, walking towards the garden, Jesus began to speak to His 11 disciples about how He is the True Vine, how His Father is the Husbandman, and that there are two types of branches that are “in Him.” We looked at the first branch last week, namely those who while they may appear to be true branches, they are in reality false ones. It was an alarming truth that Jesus spoke of, but one that we all need to face. Tonight, we’re going to look at the true branches. Last week, we looked at the alarming truth that there are false branches “in Him,” but now we’re going to look at the glorious reality of the true branches.

Let’s look now at John 15:2-6, as we discuss the branches that does bear fruit.

The True Branches

Jesus said, “Every branch in me that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Up to this point, we have already identified the three types of fruit that is produced by a true branch, but let me remind you of them; they are: 1. Conversions2. Righteousness3. Christ-like Character

True Branches Have a Relationship with Christ

They are connected to Christ. This is the first and foundational step to there being fruit in your life. Look at John 15:3, Jesus said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” The disciples embraced the message of the gospel through Christ’s teaching. This is the difference those who are “professors” and those who are actual “possessors.” The unfruitful branches were “in Christ” superficially or by association - they were professors. However, the fruitful ones are actually plugged into the life-giving source, the Vine - they are possessors. They possess all the nutrients that flow from the life-giving source and produce fruit for all to see. We want to be careful about talking about there being outward evidence in a person’s life that indicate they are saved because people can be deceiving. Someone may look at the good and moral person and think they are saved, when in reality they are not. If the Pharisees were here right now, we would probably think they were saved. They were upright people. I’ll tell you one thing, you would’ve love to have them as you neighbor. Look, when you are a child of God, it does something to you. As we’ve already discussed, at salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer. This means that the very nature of Christ is in you. It is ludicrous to think that someone can be saved yet overlook the fact that they live like they did when they were lost. When Christ comes into your life, He changes you. It is a gradual process but it is a reality. This is why Jesus pointed out…

True Branches Produce Fruit

Those who are true branches will not only win souls, or be involved in the process, but they will also be righteous. Remember, righteousness is both being and doing. There are a lot of people who can “do righteous things,” yet they are not righteous because they have never placed their trust in the only One who can make them righteous, Jesus Christ. Later on, in Romans 3:10, Paul clarifies this reality when he said “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” Paul of course is simply making reference to the word of David in the OT, found in Psalms 14:1-3 and Psalm 53:1-3, both of which express the same thing, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”You see, apart from Christ, there is not a single person who can stand righteous before God. Therefore, good and righteous works will not amount to anything. You may be a model citizen or an exemplary employee. You may love your family, give to the poor, lend a listening ear, pay your bills on time, and look after the common good of mankind. However, you have to be righteous internally, which then results in doing righteous things, which is characterized by the third type of fruit, Christ-like character. To simply do righteous things and not be internally righteous is to be a Pharisee. In Matthew 23:26, as Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees, He gives us a great illustration of what it’s like to do righteous deeds without being inwardly righteous. He said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.”

ILLUST: When you wash a cup so you can use it, you don’t simply wash the outside of the cup. You wash the inside as well. If you don’t wash the inside, even though it looks clean on the outside, inwardly it is filthy.

APPLY: The same is true when someone simply performs good works without being inwardly changed. They look good on the outside, but are wretched on the inside and hopeless in this life and for all eternity.

To do righteous things without being internally righteous and expecting that to earn your way into Heaven is to be a legalist. Again, Christ identified the Pharisees as such. They looked good outwardly, and were very strict in their lifestyle, but inwardly were filthy and Hell-bound. So it is with you, if you have not trusted in Christ. So it is with those whom you know who likewise have not the internal righteousness that only Christ can give. So, true branches have the source of life flowing in them that enables them to produce fruit and…

True Branches Produce Fruit of Varying Amounts

The true branches produce fruit and they do so of varying amounts. As we continue to look at this account, we will see that some branches produce some fruit, some produce more fruit, and then there are some who produce much fruit. But, all produce fruit. This doesn’t mean that there are some Christians that are better than others. However, it brings up an important point that is also the main point of this passage, and that is those who bear a lot of fruit are abiding in Christ. We’ll talk more about what this means later, but for now, understand that without Christ, it is impossible to produce any kind of fruit. Any fruit you have in your life right now is a direct result of your walk with the Lord. As you walk closer to Christ, you naturally produce more fruit.This now leads us to look at the destiny of those who are true, fruit-producing branches.

The Destiny of True Branches

The destiny of those who are fruit producing branches is the pruning of God. Now this may seem to be a terrifying thought, but it is not. The purpose is found at the end of verse 2, “that it may bring forth more fruit.”Pruning was an essential part of first-century viticultural practice, as it is today. The first pruning occurred in spring when vines were in flowering stage. This involved four operations:The removal of the growing tips of vigorous shoots so that they would not grow too rapidlyCutting off one or two feet from the end of growing shoots to prevent entire shoots from being snapped off by the wind.The removal of some flower or grape clusters so that those left could produce more and better quality fruit.The removal of suckers that arose from below the ground or from the trunk and main branches so that the strength of the vine was not tapped by the suckers. This tells us that Christ does not want us to remain where we are but to continuously grow in Him, and therefore to continue to produce more fruit. Know this, you are as far as you want to be spiritually. No person can ever blame anyone or anything else for not growing in their walk with Christ but themselves. We find here from the lips of our Savior Himself that God prunes those that are His so they can produce more fruit.How One is PrunedThe Word is instrumental in believers’ initial cleansing at salvation (Rom. 1:16), and it also continually purges, prunes, and cleanses them. However, it is not just the Word that God seems to use in the pruning process in a believer’s life. Sometimes, it appears He uses affliction. It is affliction coupled with the Word.

John MacArthur said the following that explains this well,

“God uses His Word as the pruning knife, because it is “living and active and sharper…(Heb. 4:12), but He uses affliction to prepare His people for the Word’s pruning. The psalmist affirmed the connection between addiction and the Word’s work in his life when he wrote,

ILLUST: Psalms 119:67, 71 states, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: But now have I kept thy word…It is good for me that I have been afflicted; That I might learn thy statutes.” ILLUST: Psalm 94:12 also makes that connection: “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, And teachest him out of thy law;”God wants you to produce more and more fruit. As you study the Word of God, you grow in your knowledge and understanding of it, which then results in your learning how to apply it to your life. This is how the Word can be actively at work on a daily basis. The more you understand, the more sensitive to sin you become. As you draw from God’s Word, you begin to insert it into the various aspects of your life.