Calvary Road Baptist Church
“CHRIST WARNS AGAINST PRESUMPTION”
John 15.6
John 15.1-6:
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 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.
My text for this message is John 15.6. Let me begin by reviewing the chapter up to this point.
Methinks our Lord is referring in verses 1-5 to believers and about nonbelievers. He speaks to His small audience, the eleven remaining apostles, immediately after leading them from the Upper Room. Remember, they had just celebrated the Passover and the communion of the Lord’s Supper. Shortly afterward, Judas Iscariot left them to complete his betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, I am persuaded the first phrase of verse 2 refers to an unsaved person who claims to be a professor. It is best understood when the words “he taketh away” are recognized as removing the unsaved. This would be, in my opinion, a comment on the departure of Judas Iscariot and the revelation in John 13.21 only moments before,
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.”
I am also persuaded the second phrase of verse 2 refers to the genuinely converted professor. It relates to cleaning and washing from the vine’s leaves, such as mud, droppings, and anything else that would block the sunlight. The entire second verse addresses the remedial actions of the husbandman to improve the fruit-bearing of the vine. Removing the unfruitful branches and pruning the fruitful branches results in greater fruitfulness. While verse 2 is a statement of general principles, verses 3-5 focus on the eleven apostles, emphasizing the importance of their vital connection with the Lord as comparable to what exists between the fruitful branch and the vine, and the responsibility believers have to abide in Christ actively.
When we arrive at verse 6, we come to an admittedly challenging verse to interpret.[1] The verse is all the more difficult for those who have misinterpreted the first five verses to refer to chastening and casting off believers in Christ rather than recognizing the contrasting of the lost pretenders who are removed with the truly converted who are lifted up and washed in the Word.
That said, I direct your attention to John 15.6:
“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.”
Presuming I am correct in my understanding of the first five verses of the chapter, let me mention two observations worth consideration before we attempt to make the application of verse 6 to our lives.
In the chapter, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been speaking in particular to those eleven men. He made statements of fact in verses 1 and 2. In verses 3, 4, and 5, He uses the plural pronouns translated “ye” and “you” to speak directly to the eleven men as a group who accompanied Him as He led them from the Upper Room past Herod’s Temple to the Garden of Gethsemane.
However, in verse 6, our Lord changes from the second person, “you,” to the third person, “he,” “them,” and “they.” He speaks to His “little flock” about someone else, some hypothetical another person. Is He setting up a hypothetical situation that refers not to the eleven men who are accompanying Him but to others who are not believers in Christ?
Some think so, as evidenced, in part, by the fact that believers usually abide in Christ. Still, sometimes their abiding in Christ is interrupted, resulting in fruitlessness and requiring some remedial attention of the type referred to in verse 2.
Notice the verb “abide” here in verse 6. It is a present subjunctive verb, thought by some to mean that the Lord has set up a hypothetical to refer to someone who, unlike the apostles (remember, He is not using the pronouns “you” and “ye” in this verse to speak to those standing in front of Him) and unlike someone who is genuinely saved, lives a life that is not characterized by abiding in Christ.[2] Thus, some think verse 6 does not refer to believers at all.
Without being dogmatic, consider an alternative understanding of the verse. What if our Lord sets up a hypothetical situation for the apostles to consider, and for other believers down the line to consider, should they fail to abide in Christ and should they also fail to respond to the remedial help provided by the Lord that is described in verse 2?
After all, some professing Christians backslide, and there seems to be no restoring them (if they were ever saved in the first place). It is possible that this verse addresses the case of the person who is a believer, but who will not abide in Christ as he has been commanded. He refuses to fulfill his obligation and responsibility as a branch of the Vine.
Here is where cautious attention to the wording of the verse pays off. Notice that our Lord indicated about the man who will not abide in Him that
“he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
The phrase “he is cast forth as a branch” shows that our Lord has begun to voice a simile, which is a figure of speech by which different things are compared using the word as or like.[3] After all, disciples of Jesus Christ are not very much like branches in most respects, unless you use an allegory or a simile to emphasize certain things, like the living attachment the branch has to the vine or the removal of an unfruitful branch from the vine. Thus, beginning with the word “as” and continuing to the end of the statement, the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer referring to an actual person but to what is done with an actual branch that, once pruned, will wither and be gathered up by men and burned.
What I think we are given by the Lord here in verse 6 is a warning that is somewhat different than many people think. It is a warning of the consequences of refusing to abide in Christ. The consequences will be adverse, indeed.
Do believers in Jesus Christ stand to suffer adverse consequences for disobedience? Yes, we do. Make no mistake about that. Real Christians who refuse to live for Christ pay a high price for their disobedience. Keep Hebrews 12.4-11 in mind:
4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Then there is Paul’s comment in First Corinthians 9.27:
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
As well, this same Apostle John wrote in Second John 8,
“Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
Now let us seek to precisely understand what the Savior meant in John 15.6 when He said,
“Men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Observe, first, the plural pronouns. It is not “men gather him and cast him into the fire, and he is burned,” as it would most certainly have been had an unbeliever, a mere professor, been in view. The change of number here is very striking, and evidences, once more, the minute accuracy of Scripture:
“Unless any one abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and men gather them and cast into the fire and they are burned.”
The “them” and the “they” are what issues from the one who has been cast forth “as a branch.” And what is it that issues from such a one - what but dead works? “Wood, hay, stubble” as Paul describes what is to become of his “dead works” in First Corinthians 3.15, where we read,
“If any man’s work shall be burned (the very word used in John 15.6), he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
Abraham’s nephew Lot is a pertinent example: He was out of fellowship with the LORD, he ceased to bear fruit to His glory, and his dead works were all burned up in Sodom, yet he himself was saved! And he certainly suffered the consequences of his misconduct after leaving Sodom. But consequences are never considered by those who do not abide in Christ, are they?
One other detail should be noticed. In the original, it is not “men gather them,” but “they gather them.” Light is thrown on this by Matthew 13.41-42, which speaks of the unsaved:
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Note the two specific items here: Item #1. It will be the angels who will gather those who are unsaved, “all things that offend,” and “them which do iniquity.” Item #2. John 15.6, on the other hand, and in contrast, seems to correspond to Paul’s comments concerning believers in First Corinthians. These actions will be fulfilled at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Second Corinthians 5.10), with Matthew 13.41-42 addressing that which will occur when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth at His Second Coming.
Here, then, is a most solemn warning and heart-searching prospect for every Christian. Either your life and my life is outwardly observed to be one of continuous fellowship with Christ, bringing forth fruit to the glory of the Father, fruit which will remain; or, because of neglecting communion with Him caused by what is a backslidden condition, one is in immense danger of being set aside as His witness on earth, to be shelved by God as useless, or to be painfully chastised. May the Holy Spirit apply the words of the Lord Jesus to each conscience and heart.
So, what is to be said about that Christian who stubbornly refuses to abide in Christ even when he or she is chastised, even when he or she is sorely rebuked by our heavenly Father so that he or she is determined never to abide in Christ? First John 5.16 sheds light:
“If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”
Not all sins are of such seriousness that the child of God’s life will be shortened for continuing in them. However, there is a sin of a type that refusing to repent of will result in the death of the believer. We should never ask God to move in such a way against a brother in Christ, but sometimes God does prematurely take a sinning Christian’s life.
The brief warning stated the Lord Jesus Christ returns to speaking to the eleven about the eleven, using second person plural pronouns in verse 7.
At this point, I want to summarize your options that are implied in verse 6:
First, IF YOU ARE LOST AND MAKE NO PRETENSE OF BEING A BELIEVER
This means, of course, that John 3.36 applies to you:
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
What does it mean to have the wrath of God abiding on you? The Apostle Paul writes a great deal about the wrath of God in Romans 1.18–32. Not having the time to read the entire passage, I read the beginning, verse 18, and the apostle’s conclusion, verse 32:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
The wrath of God for an unbeliever concludes with the judgment of God.
If you are lost, the wrath of God abides on you. If you remain lost, if you pass from this life to the next life without turning to Christ, you face the judgment of God. And what is the judgment of God, but Hellfire immediately and the Lake of Fire eventually:
Revelation 20.11-15:
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Next, IF YOU ARE LOST WHILE SINCERELY THINKING YOU ARE A BELIEVER
The Lord Jesus Christ was abundantly clear with respect to this matter of false hopes, Matthew 7.16-27:
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Clearly, it is possible to be sincerely mistaken about your relationship with Christ. Self-deception is an obvious possibility, James 1.22:
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
In our culture, sincerity has become an item of great value. Sincerity seems to trump almost everything. However, sincerity is rightly understood to be little more than feelings and sentiment. God places little value on sentiment, on feelings, and lays great stock in fact. Far more important than you feeling like you are a Christian than you thinking your sins have been forgiven, is whether or not in fact, you have trusted Christ.
Therefore, what is the difference in eternity between that person who has knowingly rejected the Gospel and refused to trust Christ and that person who has deceived himself into thinking he was a believer in and truster of the Savior, without actually having turned from sins to place his faith in Christ? There is no difference whatsoever. The person with no hope and the person with a false hope will both suffer the torment of eternal damnation.
Finally, IF YOU ARE A BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST, WHO DOES NOT ABIDE IN CHRIST
Having already ready read Hebrews 12.4-11, I will not reread it. Instead, I will summarize by reminding you that God is a perfect and loving Father, who demonstrates His love for His disobedient children by chastising them when we sin.
And what forms of chastisement have we noted that God turns to? There are varying degrees of chastisement that God resorts to, depending on the severity of the disobedience and the measure of grace bestowed upon the Christian whose rebellion is being dealt with.
The great fear of the Apostle Paul, expressed in First Corinthians 9.27, was to be set aside as a castaway, to be relegated to uselessness by God as an unreliable and unfaithful servant of God. This might be the worst consequence of rebellion for the wonderfully endowed Christian with vast potential to serve God who has frittered away his opportunities. In such a case, the remainder of one’s life lived with the great regret of uselessness would be terrible chastisement.
At the other extreme would be the sudden premature loss of life. God kills some Christians and promotes them to glory prematurely. It is rather like a child who refuses to confine his activities to the front yard but repeatedly goes out into the street. At some point, the parent protects the child from great harm by taking him into the house. There are some believers God does this to, removing them from this earth and promoting them to glory to keep them from further trouble and greater sin and harm to others.
Then there is all manner of chastisement between the extremes of being placed on a shelf of uselessness on the one hand and being taken by premature death on the other hand. God’s chastisement for sin can be the humiliating loss of a job or a ministry, the tragic destruction of a marriage and ruin of a household, the wicked rebellion of children, or public shame for one reason or the other. Do not think that what happened to David’s children, his first child born to Bathsheba, his daughter Tamar, and his older sons Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah was not, in part, God’s chastisement of him for his terrible sins.
It must be kept in mind that failure to abide in Christ is wrong. It is a sin. The Lord Jesus Christ hates going to the great sacrifice of suffering and dying and shedding His blood for sins, only to be disregarded by the ungrateful and disrespectful Christian whose focus is personal convenience. This is expressed in His letter to the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans, in Revelation 3.14-16:
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Three kinds of individuals are prone to presumption, and I think the verse before us is a warning against presumption. Do not believe there are no consequences for failing to abide in Christ, which is a terrible sin.
If you do not know Christ as your Savior, and you don’t pretend to know Christ as your Savior, you will someday die, and you will go to Hell. In Hell, you will suffer conscious and constant torment. Then come the Great White Throne judgment and the Lake of Fire, which you will suffer throughout eternity.
If you do not know Christ as your Savior, but you pretend that you do know Christ as your Savior because you had an experience of some kind that you took to be a conversion that was not a conversion, you will still someday die, and you will still go to Hell. Self-deception, no matter how sincere, counts for nothing. In Hell, you, too, will suffer conscious and constant torment. Then, as well, comes the Great White Throne judgment and the Lake of Fire, which you will suffer throughout eternity.
Some, however, know Christ and are for one reason or another stubborn or foolish in their refusal to abide in Christ even though they know Christ as their Savior. They shun the life of joy and peace of mind and heart for some reason. To be sure, since they know Christ, they will someday rejoice in hope of the glory of God realized.
But littered alongside their pathway of life are the consequences of grace betrayed and potential unrealized. Opportunities to glorify God missed the privilege to exalt Christ passed by, and disappointed family members, children, neighbors, and colleagues. Why? Were they offended by someone? Was a grudge selfishly clung to? Was vengeance sought? Or was the low road preferred to the high road? Whatever the reason for their failure to thrive, it will be others, as well as those who pay the price for their presumption.
And what about the Christian who abides in Christ? No worries, my friend. Will you experience pain and heartache? Will suffering and persecution be your lot? Of course! To be sure! But it is all part of God’s plan for your life’s preparation for eternal bliss.
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[1] D. A. Carson, page 517.
[2] Ibid., page 519.
[3] Webster’s, page 1691.
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Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church