Sermons from the Gospel of John

THE KEY TO FRUIT-BEARING

JOHN 15:15-16

FEBRUARY 18, 1996

There is a word, found within our text this morning, which we often use that we must consider. It is the word friend. We speak of So-and-so being our friend, which implies that the barriers of culture and society have been broken down between us and we are in right relationship to one another. We know each other, enjoy being with each other, and have appreciation for each other. We cannot be friends and enemies at the same time.

When we read in the Bible concerning Almighty God and sinful man, the word that is used to describe this relationship is enmity or even enemies. By this, the Word of God declares that due to our sinfulness and the total depravity of our natures, we are by nature in an adversarial relationship to God. We do not know Him, nor enjoy the thought of Him, nor are we in a right relationship to Him in our natural state. And the fact of the matter is that there is nothing within us that can improve this condition. Something or Someone (shall we say) must work from outside of us to bring us into a right relationship to Almighty God.

Notice what Jesus says in verse 15, "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends...." You never find a place in Scripture where man calls God his friend, that would be almost too casual. I know that we sing, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," and certainly there is a wonderful truth in this. But this friendship is never something that man initiates. Friendship starts from the pleasure of God and moves on to us as sinful creatures. It is God Himself who shows forth grace to call those who are actually His enemies His friends. These disciples were at enmity with God until Christ showed them grace. It was a divine grace that removed the enmity, broke down the barriers of relationship, and reconciled God and man into a right relationship.

That's why we must insist that the Christian life is a life of grace from start to finish. This grace is God acting in favor and love toward undeserving sinners to accomplish His merciful will in them. It is only by a definite act of God's grace that any of us come to faith in Christ. Our enmity with God is so severe, so distinct, so entrenched, that we would not dare even attempt to be right with God until God first moved upon our wicked, sinful hearts in gracious power. Study the text of John Newton's famous hymn, "Amazing Grace," and see that he expresses clearly this horrible condition he was in until God worked in him by His amazing grace. Charles Wesley conveys the same idea in one of my favorite hymns, "And Can It Be." Look at what we sing, what we speak of, and what we discuss concerning grace and you will only be convinced that the whole of the Christian life is through the grace of God!

It is only by the continuing gift of grace that any of us obey and persevere in the faith. We do not leave grace when we are saved. Oh no! We are just beginning a life of grace, living in dependence upon the Lord and His constant supply of divine provision for every demand upon our lives. That is the very essence of the message in John 15 concerning abiding in Christ. It is a life of dependence upon the constant flow of God's grace to us.

So, from start to finish, our Christian life is a life of grace. When we grasp this truth of grace, we begin to see the key to fruit-bearing. For in this we recognize that we do not begin nor continue the Christian life in our ability, power, or strength, but only in the abundant fountain of God's grace in Christ. Do you know the grace of God savingly? Do you know the grace of God continually as a believer? Let's see how this is worked out in our text.

I. The foundation for disciples is found in God's grace

How do you become a disciple of Jesus Christ? 'Well, you just pick up one day and say, "It's about time!" then you launch out and do it.' Right? Wrong! We have seen that a disciple is a synonym for a Christian. It is not a special level or degree of Christianity. It is simply a true believer. And we have also seen on many occasions, that while we have a responsibility to believe the gospel and repent of our sins, there is a prior work of God's grace before we ever get to that point of deciding to follow Christ.

1. Christ reveals

The first basic need we have is for Christ to reveal Himself to us through His Word by the work of the Holy Spirit. We have been seeing on Sunday evenings in our study on "Assurance of Salvation" that the very first ground of assurance is 'the promises of God made real or alive by the Holy Spirit'. It is only when the Word or specifically, the truth of the Gospel, becomes real to us that we even consider trusting Christ.

Notice what our Lord tells the disciples in verse 15: "for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." The disciples did not come up with this great idea of following Jesus. They followed Jesus when He revealed Himself to them and extended the call to their lives. Why must Christ reveal Himself to us before we believe?

First, we have a problem of a darkened mind, a callused/hardened heart, and an ignorance of truth (Eph. 4:17-19). It is not that we are not bright, intelligent people. Instead, it is a matter of being totally depraved people. Sin is not just our practice, it is our nature. To live in sin is to live in darkness. Sin crusts the heart and mind, so that we cannot perceive what should be obvious--the truth of the gospel. We can even have a degree in Bible yet be ignorant of truth when it comes to the saving reality of the Gospel of Christ.

Second, there is the fact of the supernatural nature of the gospel of Christ. We are not talking in the same terms as if becoming a Christian is like joining a civic club. Christianity is a supernatural religion, one that affects you for all eternity. Paul expressed this supernatural nature of our relationship to Christ so clearly in I Corinthians 2:6-10.

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

Third, God's way is the only way of salvation, so if we are to understand how to be saved, God must reveal His way so that we do not substitute man's way. Jesus put it like this in Matthew 11:27, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." When Peter made the great confession concerning the Messiahship of Christ, Jesus told him, "Flesh and blood did not reveal this unto you, but My Father who is in heaven."

Perhaps we have read and heard the gospel a thousand times. Why is it that on that 1001st time it grips our hearts so that we cry to God for mercy, repenting of our sins, and believing in Christ and His saving merits? Have we suddenly become intelligent? Certainly not. It is because the Spirit of God has revealed the truth of God to us that we might have grace to repent and believe.

This leads us to the next aspect of our foundation as disciples of Christ....

2. Christ chooses

With great clarity, Jesus told His disciples, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." Why did He tell them such a truth? He wanted them to understand that their relationship to Him was one that He initiated and that it was one wholly of grace. That is a truth that we need to understand ourselves.

The word for "choose," (EKLEGO) means simply to 'pick or choose for one's self'. The Greek translators of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, used it over 90 times in the OT to refer to God choosing someone or some people for His own purpose and glory. The word is not complicated. It means precisely what it says. Jesus is quite emphatic in the way the Greek text reads, literally using a double "I" to emphasize that Jesus is the one doing the choosing, not the disciples. This is the doctrine of election or divine calling or effectual calling of sinners.

The reason we need to be elected is due to the problem of our depravity. R. L. Dabney wrote,

The great necessity for the effectual calling of man is in his original sin. Were he not by nature depraved, and his disposition wholly inclined to ungodliness, the mere mention of a plan [i.e., of salvation], by which deliverance from guilt and unholiness was assured, would be enough; all would flock to embrace it. but such is man's depravity, that a redemption must not only be provided, but he must be effectually persuaded to embrace it. (Syllabus and Notes of the Course of Systematic and Polemic Theology, 1871, p.80)

The whole idea of election is somewhat repulsive to us until we begin to see what it implies. It is a Bible doctrine that is undeniably taught throughout the Old and New Testaments. Interestingly, election has been at the heart of evangelical teaching since the days of the Reformers. It began to be neglected during the 19th century due to the rise of American pragmatism and ancient Pelagianism, which elevated man and denied depravity, creeping into evangelical churches. Let me give you a few examples of how evangelical Christians of all stripes have taught election through the last several centuries.

In 1561, the churches in Flanders and the Netherlands wrote what is called "The Belgic Confession." It states election in no uncertain terms.

We believe that all the posterity of Adam, being thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of our first parents, God then did manifest himself such as he is; that is to say, MERCIFUL AND JUST; MERCIFUL, since he delivers and preserves from this perdition all whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable council, of mere goodness hath elected in Christ Jesus our Lord, without any respect to their works: JUST, in leaving others in the fall and perdition wherein they have involved themselves.

The Anglican "Lambeth Articles" which were part of "The Thirty-nine Articles" of the Church of England, stated in 1595, "God from eternity hath predestined certain men unto life; certain men he hath reprobated. The moving or efficient cause of predestination unto life is not the foresight of faith, or of perseverance, or of good works, or of any thing that is in the person predestinated, but only the good will and pleasure of God."

The Synod of Dort in 1619, wrote what became a leading evangelical confession throughout Europe for centuries, enduring to our day. It describes the whole work of salvation, expressing the fact that a person cannot claim any credit for their salvation, "but it must be wholly ascribed to God, who, as he hath chosen his own from eternity in Christ, so he [calls them effectually in time] confers upon them faith and repentance, rescues them from the power of darkness, and translates them into the kingdom of his own Son...."

The London Baptist Confession of 1689, the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of 1688, and the Westminster Confession of 1647 are very similar in stating:

God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established (Westminster Confession)....By His decree, and for the manifestation of His glory, God has predestinated (or foreordained) certain men and angels to eternal life through Jesus Christ, thus revealing His grace. Others, whom He has left to perish in their sins, show the terrors of His justice (1689 London Baptist Confession).

The 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession, which, along with the Philadelphia Confession, most of the early Baptists in our land used, including our Baptist fathers, expresses election clearly.

We believe that Election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which he graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, it comprehends all the means in connection with the end; that it is a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable; that it utterly excludes boasting, and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of his free mercy; that it encourages the use of means in the highest degree; that it may be ascertained by its effects in all who truly believe the gospel; that it is the foundation of Christian assurance; and that to ascertain it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the utmost diligence.

James P. Boyce, in the Abstract of Principles, our first doctrinal confession as Southern Baptists, states, "Election is God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life--not because of foreseen merit in them, but of his mere mercy in Christ--in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified."

The Baptist Faith and Message, which our denomination approved in 1963, retains most of the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession concerning election and continues to state this long-standing belief of most Baptists:

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is a glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.

Dr. Timothy George, in an article for Christianity Today, wrote about David Benedict, who extensively toured Baptist churches throughout America during the early 19th century. Here was the summary of what Benedict recognized about Baptist theology of that era:

They hold that man in his natural condition is entirely depraved and sinful; but unless he is born again-changed by grace--or made alive unto God--he cannot be fitted for the communion of saints on earth, nor the enjoyment of God in heaven; that where God hath begun a good work, he will carry it on to the end; that there is an election of grace--an effectual calling, etc., and that the happiness of the righteous and the misery of the wicked will both be eternal.

Now, I have labored to quote all of these confessions to help all of us see that election is a Bible doctrine that has been accepted, taught, and utilized by thousands of believers who were the mainstream of evangelicalism for centuries. They did not try to explain it away, instead they found it to be a rich well of truth to help them throughout their Christian lives. Dr. Boyce wrote that "the whole opposition [to election] arises from an unwillingness on the part of man to recognize the sovereignty of God, and to ascribe salvation entirely to grace" (Abstract of Systematic Theology, p. 353). For grace to be what grace is and for God to be sovereign, there is of necessity a work of divine election. A sinful, depraved nature will not turn to God without God working graciously in affecting and renewing the sinner's nature so that he might repent and believe. John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, strikes the note when he wrote, "Nothing is a condition of election except the grace and wisdom of God" (Future Grace, p. 232).

Let me state clearly that the biblical teaching of election does not eliminate man's responsibility of repentance, faith, and obedience. It is not an either/or situation, but a both/and. The great Baptist preacher of London, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, expressed it well in one of his sermons.

Do not fancy that election excuses sin--do not dream of it--do not rock yourself in sweet complacency in the thought of your irresponsibility. You're responsible. We must give you both things. We must have Divine sovereignty, and we must have man's responsibility. We must have election, but we must ply your hearts, we must send God's truth at you; we must speak to you, and remind you of this, that while it is written, 'In me is thy help,' yet it is also written, 'O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself'. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, New Park Street Baptist Church, London, 1855)

3. Christ appoints

There are some who misunderstand the thrust of election so that they think since they are "the elect" they can just live their lives anyway they please. Yet the next part of our text shows that such an attitude is foreign to the thought of our Lord. "You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you...." The revealing, electing, justifying work of Christ leads to His appointing work as well.

Obviously, the apostles received a special work from Christ which was unlike that of other Christians in terms of scope and authority. Yet, they were representative of all believers within the context of John 15. What Christ spoke to them, He speaks to us. What does He appoint us to do?

We must recognize that obedient action and consecrated purpose follows Christ's electing grace. We see this illustrated in numerous places in God's Word. For instance, Ephesians 1:4 shows that Christ's divine work of election purposes that we should be holy and blameless. "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him."

Perhaps the clearest example of what our Lord is speaking in our text is found in II Corinthians 5:18-19. "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." Notice how a divine appointment follows the work of reconciliation to God through Christ. He has made us "ambassadors for Christ" in this world so that we might be messengers of our Lord to bear the good news of Christ to sinful man (II Cor. 5:20).

Let me simplify it by stating that Christ has appointed us to be His messengers to the world. Every Christian has this appointment! It certainly will come through varying gifts, abilities, styles, ministries, yet it is the same appointment to be an ambassador for Christ in this world. How well are you representing Jesus Christ before your friends and family members?

II. The responsibility of disciples flows from God's grace

There are always definite consequences and responsibilities that follow the experience of God's grace. Grace does not breed laziness but an obedient action for the glory of God. Those who know the power of saving grace operating in their lives, will certainly sense a new responsibility to live daily in that grace.

Jesus tells His disciples that He has appointed them, then He describes details of this appointment. Keep in mind that this is all in the context of their learning to live in dependence upon Christ as the Vine. It was a continuation of walking in the daily flow of God's grace into their lives. What does our Lord expect from the disciples and those who follow after?

1. New zeal

He tells them that they "should go," or literally, "go forth." This reminds us that being a Christian is not a private matter. I often hear people saying that their religion is private, but that is not the case for Christians. Ours is public! We are not to remain in the 'holy huddle' while a lost world perishes all around us. We are called to mission for Jesus' sake!

As our Lord ascended back to heaven, He left the disciples with a clear mandate: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." He gave them responsibilities in concentric fashion. They were to labor in proclaiming the gospel at home, in the neighborhood, in those areas beyond their kind of people, all the way to the ends of the earth. That is the mandate for all of us. That is why there should never be a question as to whether we are a missionary church! That missionary work of carrying the gospel begins at home and continues throughout our nation and unto the world!

I think it is interesting that the word our Lord used for "should go," is the same word used in John 11:44 when Jesus spoke after raising Lazarus from the dead, "Unbind him and let him go." That speaks volumes about the idea our Lord conveyed in our text! As those who have been delivered from the power of sin, death, Satan, and hell, we have been unbound. Now let's go forth from our burial shroud of sin and spiritual deadness, and walk as those alive from the dead with the Gospel of Christ!

We are to live daily with a sense of mission: we're on business for our King. In all that we say, live, our attitudes, our activities, we are carrying a message concerning the reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Are you doing it with zeal? Are you doing it with clarity? Or have you muddied the gospel message by the deadness of your life? My friend, it is time to go forth for Christ!

2. Fruitful labor

We don't just go to be going. We go to bear fruit for the sake of Christ's kingdom. In this verse it seems that the type of fruit we are to bear is "others" for the kingdom of God. I remind you that we are to bear fruit not make fruit. We cannot manipulate true disciples of Christ. But we can go forth bearing the seeds of the gospel message, cultivating what we plant, and expecting God to bring forth the harvest. This is really a call for all of us...yes, all of us, to develop a lifestyle of seeking to bring others into the Kingdom.

We all have different gifts, backgrounds, personalities, and sets of relationships which Christ can use for His sake in bearing the gospel to a lost world. Let's just keep our priorities the same in this work, which is outlined in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Ernie Reisinger simplifies our priority in biblical evangelism by pointing out what we are to do.

1. Make disciples--seeking to bring them into a right relationship to the Son of God.

2. Baptize them (a church ordinance)--seeking to bring them into a right relationship to the church of God.

3. Teach them--seeking to bring them into a right relationship to the Word of God (Today's Evangelism, p.12).

3. Lasting fruit

"And that your fruit should remain," our Lord tells us concerning our fruit bearing. We are not to be out for "spiritual scalps" so that we can brag on how many people we have "won to Christ" or "how many baptisms" we have had. We are to seek to be biblical in our evangelizing as those who are living in dependence upon the grace of God and not our own power.

I remind you that lasting fruit comes only when Jesus Christ does a work in a person's life. We can talk people into praying a prayer or saying they are a Christian or making a profession of faith, but only Christ can save. This brings us back to the foundation for disciples being found in God's grace. We are to preach, teach, witness, testify, present the gospel in whatever ways we can, but to do so in dependence upon our Lord to reveal the truth of the gospel to a sin-darkened heart. We cannot talk a lost sinner into anything of eternal value! But we can present the clear precepts of the Gospel of Christ to a lost person and trust that the Holy Spirit will drive that truth home to that sinner's heart so that the truth comes alive in him, bringing him to repentance.

4. Prayerful work

This is why our work must be a prayerful work. We are living in dependence upon the grace of God, both for our salvation and our continuing walk. When it comes to our mission in this world of proclaiming the gospel, we cannot suddenly take over. We must continue depending upon the rich flow of grace from our Lord. I believe this is why verse 16 closes with these words, "That whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you."

The work we are doing in missions and evangelism is so important, so eternal, so essential, that we dare not try to do it without God's power, nor without His hand at work in those to whom we are ministering.

Maybe we can put it like this: the work of one who has been chosen and redeemed by Christ is both a public and private work. It is public in that the believer has a continuing witness concerning the gospel of Christ to unbelievers. But it is also private in that the believer seeks the Lord, appealing at the throne of mercy on behalf of lost sinners. How can we really labor for Christ properly without much prayer?

Conclusion

This text really gives a sweeping look at the whole of the Christian life. We become true believers only through the grace of God manifest to us in Christ and His gospel. We dare not think that we can come to God apart from His gracious intervention on our behalf! My friend, if you have not known God's saving grace in your life, then I appeal to you to cry out to God for His mercy. Seek Him as your only God and Savior. Turn away from your vain idols and trust in His Son who bore your sins in his own body on the cross.

But we also see that we are to live in daily dependence of God's grace flowing to us freely and fully through Christ, our Vine. We have been appointed as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Imagine that! You and me, as poor and inadequate as we may be, appointed as Christ's ambassadors for the gospel's sake! Will you carry out this glorious labor in dependence upon Christ and His grace? Will you give yourself to go with the gospel, while also quietly withdrawing to the throne of grace that God might empower your labors?

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