More thoughts on John 15:1-8...

It is so tempting to view the fruits of our labors as a means to salvation. After all, they are tangible things that are unarguably good. We must realize that fruit is the outworking of inner spiritual transformation through the indwelling Spirit of Christ. It is the transformation in us that comes first. The fruit is merely an indicator of spiritual condition. However, it is an honest one that speaks truth even if we don't want it to. The vine metaphor definitely expands the concept of relationship with God. As our gardener, He is working on us as we abide in Him. This communion goes beyond the boundaries of human relationships. We rely on Him to rescue us, to change us, and to keep us for eternity.

Salvation, Discipleship, and Eternal Security in John 15

John 15:1-8 teaches that Jesus is the true vine, the only source of eternal salvation. The metaphor of the vine has appeared before in the Old Testament as a reference to Israel (Psalm 80). Jesus assertion that He is the true vine contrasts Himself with Israel. The Law failed to bring final cleansing from sin, the Temple was not the ultimate dwelling place of the Spirit of God, and the Feasts of Israel only looked forward to events to be completed in Jesus. John Calvin said, “we are, by nature, barren and dry, except in so far as we have been engrafted into Christ, and draw from him a power which is new, and which does not proceed from ourselves.”

In regards to discipleship, Jesus is teaching us to abide in Him. In John 14, Jesus introduces us to the “mutual indwelling” of Jesus and the believer. The vine illustrates that reality. Jesus is the vine, and His disciples are the branches. “The branches derive their life from the vine; the vine produces its fruit through the branches” (Carson 514). This passage also calls the Father the “gardener.” Jesus says He (the Father) prunes the branches to make them more fruitful. It only makes sense that as the disciple submits to leadership of Christ and begins to abide in Him, the Father begins to cut away the dead parts, or the sin in the life of the believer.

Verse two of John 15 states, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away.” This is often taken to mean that a believer can lose their salvation if they are not obedient. This misses the point of this verse, and it is not consistent with the overall teaching of Jesus. Earlier in John, Jesus taught that it was the will of the Father that He lose none of those He has been given (John 6:39). The point of this verse is, “there are no true Christians without some measure of fruit. Fruitfulness is an infallible mark of true Christianity” (Carson 515). The truth is that outworking of the salvation of a believer is fruit in the life of the believer. Abiding in Christ is evidence of inner transformation that cannot be reversed. There have always been, and will always be those who outwardly profess allegiance to Christ, but are truly never converted. Those are the branches that will be cut away.

Works Cited:

Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, Mich: Inter-Varsity Press,

1991. Print. Nov. 26, 2012.

Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentary. Christian Classics Etherial Library. Biblos.com. Web. Nov. 16, 2012.23

My Worldview

What do you find are the major differences or conflicts between a non-theistic worldview and your own?

My worldview consists of salvation by grace through faith, not of my own works, but as a gift from God. This is where all worldviews diverge from true Christianity. I believe that this life is filled with eternal purpose, and everyday brings new opportunity to win souls for Christ. The non-theistic worldview sees everything in a fatalistic sense. Non-theism holds that this life is all there is, and our existence is limited to this physical world. This worldview, when reduced to its lowest common denominator, ultimately says there is no point in life. My worldview values life over all other things or experiences, and seeks to share life eternal with as many people as possible.

How might your approach to evangelizing someone of a non-theistic religion differ from that of a theistic one?

I would approach a theistic worldview by pointing out that every religion besides Christianity requires its adherents to scale the mountain of deeds to work his way to God. The Christian believes that God lowered Himself to our level and came down the mountain to us. People of non-theistic religions must be shown there is more to life than this fleeting physical existence. God is not just an unknown force, He is the eternal being that created us in His image. We were born to be in fellowship with our Maker. Unfortunately we are a people fallen to sin, and only God Himself can deliver us. He completed our salvation through His own son, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ and in His atoning death is the only remedy to our broken relationship with Him. He is a loving and personal God who has revealed Himself to mankind, and seeks a relationship with us. He is also a God of order. Looking at His creation, we find exquisite detail and unparalleled order that can only be divinely ordained. Humankind, the crown jewel of His creation, did not come into existence arbitrarily. We are here for a purpose, to glorify God. It is that purpose which orders and defines our lives.

Balanced media consumption?

I believe Christians are falling for a trap.  We cannot know the Scriptures that our forefathers passed down to us if we do not devote ourselves to study them.  We cannot study the Scriptures if our allegiance is to the next episode of some debaucherous and hedonistic television drama or pointless reality show.  Men and women were burned at the stake so that we might have God's Word in our language, yet we take this treasure for granted.

The amount of television being consumed is staggering.  The fact that our children are taking in twice as much useless nonsense as actual schooling is unacceptable.  As Christians, our commitment should be to content and not entertainment.   Should not our lives be radically different from those of the world?   Parents desperately need to reign in this “cultural narcissism” amongst children before it consumes them.  Our allegiance should be to developing the minds of the next generation so that the torch of the gospel may be passed on.  My wife and I do not have cable, and rarely watch television at all.  However, this has not always been the case.  Before we truly committed to serving Christ, we watched a good bit of television.  We were convicted by the mindless time wasting that was stealing our opportunity to know God personally.   I can always tell when my children have been watching teenage sitcoms because their attitude changes, and their behavior jumps ahead to adolescence.  If we are truly Imago Dei, the image of God, then how can we abdicate the responsibility to think and reason to a mindless electronic beast?

Treasure in Heaven

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32.

Why do we cling so tightly to possessions? What are we so afraid of? The creator of heaven and earth and all things allows us to call Him Father. Not only that, but He is giving His kingdom to us, His flock, as an inheritance. This passage puts all our anxiety about stuff into perspective. Jesus is telling His disciples this right on the heels of a parable about a rich fool who stored up things for himself, but was not rich toward God. He is trying to get them to understand that the treasure we must labor for is not of this world, it is of the next. Our efforts, our attention, and our focus must be on things eternal; things that really matter. So what if you don't have all the latest and greatest stuff, it's only temporary anyway. Hold loosely to the things of this world, and remember, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Spiritual Warfare

In the secularized world we live in today, there is no doubt that a spiritual war is being waged for the hearts and minds of men and women across the globe. In post-Christian America, people of faith struggle to influence our culture with the things of God. It seems we have lost our edge. Perhaps we have discounted the most effective and powerful weapon at our disposal: prayer. The adversary has convinced us that our busy schedules should reign supreme in the battle for our time. Our enemy is subtle and clever in his twisting of the truth. It seems harmless to adhere to a fast paced schedule, but it skews our priorities. If we are not careful, every waking moment of our day will be consumed with the non-eternal worries of everyday life. We must carve out dedicated time for persistent, desperate prayer. How else can we be attuned to the Holy Spirit's leading? How else can we be equipped to repel the accusations and condemnation of the enemy? In my own personal evangelism, many times I have failed to step up to the Spirit's lead because I heard that ancient accusation: “You aren't good enough to share your faith”, or “God won't use you”. I know I serve a victorious savior, and I fight a war with a predestined outcome. I know the truths of Scripture. If I do not pray, I am not being obedient, and I am not prepared. To be effective in this war, we must find a way to unplug from all of our distractions and get on our knees. The fight is fierce, and time is short, but we have assurance. It is Yahweh that fights for us, and He is a “more formidable foe than can be imagined”.

My Testimony

My name is Mathew Speakman. I grew up in Pleasant Grove, AL, a suburb of Birmingham, AL. I have been exposed to Christianity and the Gospel since I was young. Like many children that grow up in the “Bible Belt”, I have had Bible stories read and recited to me as long as I can remember. My family attended church some, but we did not stay at any one church for a long period of time. I accepted Christ and was baptized when I was eight years old. I had no idea what that meant or what the ramifications for such a decision were. I believe I just did what I thought was the “right thing” to do. This lack of transformation is evidenced by my teenage and young adult years that were full of rebellion and sin. I began drinking and using drugs when I was in high school. By twenty I was addicted to prescription drugs and anything else that would provide a momentary high. I lived in total opposition to God's Word. The teaching I received in my youth must have stuck with me, for by His grace God revealed to me my folly. I knew if I turned to Him, He would deliver me just as His Word promises.

 

When I was twenty, God set my feet on a crossroads. It took failing college, totaling several vehicles, and nearly dying of an overdose to bring me to rock bottom. I was at the end of my rope with my addictions and my relationships when I fell in love with a beautiful young lady named Marilyn. In spite of everyone's advice and anything resembling common sense, she agreed to allow me to court her. I still clung to my sinful lifestyle, but God began to pursue me. For the first time I felt guilty, convicted even, of my sin. I saw in her the regenerated heart and a transformed spirit that I had not seen in myself. She encouraged me to attend church, to read the Word, and look to the living God for deliverance. My choices were clear, continue on in sin and perish, or choose life.

 After several months of dating, Marilyn convinced me to go to church with her. We went on a Sunday night to a place called the Vineyard. I don't even remember what the sermon was about that night, or if it was even any good. I only remember that during the whole procession I felt an irresistible pull to go down front and request prayer for deliverance. When I went down, the pastors and deacons laid their hands on me and prayed for some time. I was cut to the heart. I laid all my sin, all my addictions, all my past at the feet of the cross. I trusted Christ for my deliverance and eternal hope. The door was open for me to be free from the rebellion that plagued my early years. Now all those stories I heard as a child made sense. Hallelujah, I was finally free from my sin!

 Since that day, I have been miraculously drug free. By God's powerful provision, I have grown tremendously in my walk with God, but it was not without struggles. The first years of my married life I was still focused on myself and my own agenda. In typical American fashion I called myself a Christian, but my life was about me. It was indistinguishable from every other casual, complacent church member. I have been a church member since 2004, but it was not until three years ago that it all began to come together for me. I was asked by our pastor to teach adult Sunday School. At first I resisted, but the pastor was persistent and I caved. It was a struggle at first to conquer my nerves and my inadequate knowledge of the Word. I am not a man of great oratory skill, so teaching in a group setting was difficult. Nevertheless, something strange and unexpected began to happen. The more I dove in to the Word, the more I desired to delve deeper and learn more. I started listening to and following what I was teaching. The words my pastor so passionately preached began to make sense. I broke down in repentance for my life of lukewarm, worldly, Christianity. I committed my life, and the life of my family as a blank check for God's Glory. Now I hunger and thirst for His Word like I never could have imagined.  God has reordered all of my life's goals, plans and dreams. My relationships have been renewed. I am currently a deacon, Sunday School teacher, I am involved in a drug ministry, and I am working towards a religion degree.  I believe God will use my testimony to reach those who find themselves in the darkness of addiction; a place that only Yahweh can deliver a person from.

Intro

I created this blog to post some of my schoolwork.  I recently decided to make my second attempt at college.  Although it has been challenging, I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  To my surprise, my interests have changed over the thirteen years I have been out of school and hard at work.  I have taken a liking to writing, and developed a disdain for math.  Who would have guessed?  I am studying for a b.s. in religion, so say a little prayer for me, and my sanity.  I hope you enjoy my interpretation of life!