Preached at Markham Baptist Church, February 11, 2001

If you could use one phrase to describe the Christian life what would it be? Some would suggest "eternal life", or "salvation", or some would say "new life". All these answers are good. Indeed, Christianity is about all these, and they are strong notes that are struck throughout Scripture.

But as we study the Word of God and begin to scratch beneath the surface we begin to see that Christianity is all about a new relationship. The central purpose of the cross of Christ is to restore the relationship that was broken between God and us. For, as you know, that relationship was broken by our sin. God who is holy cannot be where sin is - in order for Him to be with us sin must be forgiven - wiped clean - try as we might we cannot do it ourselves. So, God did it by coming to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and dying for us. Now, through faith in Christ we are forgiven and that relationship is restored.

I will always remember Grover on Sesame Street teaching about near and far. He begins close to the television screen and says, "now I am near." Then he turns and runs away, stops, turns and says, "now I am far." That is: he is distant, and removed.

Well, Scripture teaches about near and far also. Far meaning distant from God - and near being close to God in relationship with him. So the Holy Spirit writes in Ephesians 2:13, "but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."

It's all about relationship. The great news of the gospel is that we now have a new relationship with God - that which was broken is now made whole - through the forgiveness of sins. And we will be able to live with him now and forever in heaven. Christianity is all about a new relationship with God through Christ.

This is the great truth that Jesus teaches us in our text today. Jesus is impressing upon his disciples that what counts in Christianity is the relationship. Nothing matters more than your relationship with Jesus Christ, not the latest moral issue, as important as it may be, not doctrinal purity, as crucial as it is, not some ministry that God is calling you to, as good as it may be.

The foundational, all-important, matter is my/your relationship with Jesus Christ. And as we hear God's word I pray that you will be thinking about the state of your relationship. You need to be asking yourself, "is my faith based on a deep and living relationship with Jesus Christ or has my faith drifted - to focus on some issue, ministry, or some other relationship, say with work or family or even the church?" All of those are good things, but the foundation of them all must be a living, day to day, relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our text is John 15:1-17. (Page 109.)

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just 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. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my diciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have 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. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father."
(John 15:1-17) (NRSV)

So, the Christian faith is all about relationship. And the picture that Jesus uses to help us understand this relationship is the garden, in particular the vine. You will notice that Jesus mentions three individuals here: there is the vine, the vinegrower (or the gardener), and there are the branches.

There is, first, the vine. Jesus says in verse one, "I am the true vine," and again for emphasis in verse five.

You will notice in verse one that he says, "I am the TRUE vine." Does this mean that there are other vines? And the answer is yes. The disciples would have been familiar with the image of the vine - it was as familiar to them as the image of the maple leaf is to you and to me. Since childhood they would have learned how the Old Testament constantly refers to Israel as a chosen vine, taken out of Egypt and planted by God in order to bear fruit. They would have been familiar with Psalm 80, and Isaiah 5, which speak of the special relationship that exists between the Israelites and God. They would have understood that if a person were to have a real relationship with God they would have to be related in some way to the Israelite nation. They would have known the prophecies of Jeremiah and Hosea which lament the fact that Israel, the vine, has failed to bear fruit and is now withered and useless before God.

The vine was a powerful image representing the people of God. Indeed above the entrance of the temple gate, an ornate vine was carved in white marble. Perhaps Jesus is standing before the temple gate looking at this carving as he says, "I am the TRUE vine." He is saying that all the images of the vine used to this point are types, which were meant to point people to himself. Now if you want a true relationship with God it is not through the people of Israel, it is not through the rules and regulations of Israel, but through Christ that it is gained. Jesus Christ is the essential, enduring, vine before whom all other vines are but types; they are but shadows. Jesus is the substance.

"I am the TRUE vine," Jesus says. Does this mean that there are false vines? And again the answer is yes. And we know this from experience - I don't want to dwell on negative examples but suffice it to say that if there is any one thing, any one person, any one system or organization that is at the heart of your faith then you will fall away from the faith when that one thing, person or system fails you. And it will fail you. There are some people who put their faith in a church or in a pastor, but when that church suffers division, or that pastor stumbles, or that elder falls morally, these people walk away from the faith.

There is only one relationship that counts; there is only one person you should cling to, and that is Jesus Christ. Let's be frank, from the beginning of our relationship as pastor and congregation. Please, please don't let the substance of your faith rest on my actions or on me.

That is not to that you shouldn't hold me accountable. By all means hold me and the rest of the staff accountable for what we say and do. Nor is it to say that the pastoral staff here, Ron, Stephanie and myself, don't know that our calling is a great privilege and a great responsibility. The three of us seek to carry out our callings to the best of our ability.

But in the words of Paul, also understand that outside of Jesus Christ, "nothing good lives in me." We will disappoint you. Please don't let your faith rest on my preaching ability, or on Ron's outreach ability, or on Stephanie's musical ability. Let your faith rest on the one True vine who is Jesus Christ. He will never disappoint; he will never let you go. He is the true source of all strength and spiritual life. He will give you everything he can in order to present you before God, dressed in HIS robes of holiness, with HIS crown of righteousness on your head, with HIS life coursing through your veins so that God will say to you, "well done good and faithful servant."

Jesus says, "I am the true vine."

Two other individuals are mentioned here, there is the Father, who is the gardener, and there are the branches - that is you and me. Verse one speaks of the gardener, or in our text, the "vinegrower." Jesus says, "my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit."

Here we learn that there are false Christians as well as true ones. There are some Christians, or branches, that appear to be joined to the parent stem but they do not produce fruit. There are men and women who appear to be members of Christ, and yet will prove finally to have no vital relationship with him. Every church has them; men and women whose faith is only outward and ritual. They may even be baptized, and be loud talkers about religion, but they lack the one thing that is needed. They have no living relationship with Christ, and so there is no grace in their hearts, no faith, no inward work of the Holy Spirit. They appear to be alive, but inwardly they are dead.

Please do not judge another, but do look to yourself; examine your own self. Is your faith rooted firmly and squarely on the person of Jesus Christ? Do not rest in your Christian activity, no matter how good it may be. Do not even rest in your Christian profession. Let your faith focus and center only on the person of Jesus Christ. For in the end it is only him who you will be able to claim when you meet God face to face.

The heavenly father, our text continues, also prunes every branch that bears fruit, so that it can bear more fruit. This is a wonderful picture taken from the garden to describe God's love and care for us. For it is the caring gardener who goes to the rose bush and prunes off the rose hip. It is the caring gardener who bends down to pick off the dead blooms of the marigold and the petunia. It is the caring gardener who wants the best fruit from the vine, and so goes to the fruit-bearing branch of the apple tree and prunes off the small sucker branches so that the energy of the tree can go to producing greater and better apples.

So our Heavenly Father cares enough about our spiritual life that he prunes us. He cuts away that ungodly character trait; he convicts us and calls to us leave that unholy habit behind. By his Holy Spirit he is constantly seeking to make us into the image of his Son.

Do not be deceived my friends; when you became a Christian, when you repented of your sin and accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, you did not arrive. Acceptance of Christ is not the final destination in the Christian life - it is but the beginning. We are now on our way to being transformed into Christ's image - this is what we read in 2 Corinthians 3:18

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit."

So God is seeking to transform us. I was trying to picture what this pruning looks like practically. For me, God works through three means. One is my conscience. I have a strong conscience and I believe God uses it to speak to me, to prune away those attitudes and actions which are not Christ-like. Another way that God works is through other Christian people, through mentors and friends. It is as we submit ourselves to the encouragement and admonishment of others that our character is shaped and we are being transformed into his likeness. So we read in Proverbs 27:17, "as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another."

Another means is difficulties and trials. It is through troubles and trials that God drives me to prayer, to the reading of His word, and shows me my own heart and makes me humbly dependent on him.

Verse three of our text tells that the primary tool for pruning is the word of God. Indeed it is as the word of God is read that my conscience is stirred; it is as the word of God is proclaimed by my mentors that I am encouraged and admonished. So it may be with you.

The great truth here is that God loves us so much that he is willing to prune away all that keeps us from becoming more like Jesus.

There is another individual mentioned here, and that is the branch. That is you and me. Jesus makes it plain in verse five, saying, "I am the vine and you are the branches." That is to say that Christianity is all about relationship.

Our relationship should be that of the branch to the vine. Just like a branch depends on the vine to sustain it, we are to depend on Jesus to sustain us. And just as the branch depends on the vine to reproduce its fruit on the branch, so we are to depend on Jesus to reproduce his fruit in us. What is that fruit? It is the fruit of the Spirit, described in Galatians 5; it is the Christ-like character.

Logically it follows that if a branch gets lopped off the vine it can do nothing - it cannot will to produce fruit; it cannot drink in the nutrients of the soil; it can do nothing.

So Jesus says in our text, "just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me." (verse four) And then to repeat, he says in that last part of verse five, "apart from me you can do nothing."

If you don't believe that, you will strive to produce fruit; you will give all you can, but in the end you will not have anything to show for it. The Christian life is an impossibility to you and to me. It is only possible as we recognize that apart from Christ we can do nothing. It is not until we recognize our own inherent poverty and bankruptcy, in order that we might live in utter and complete dependency upon Jesus Christ, that every day life becomes supernatural - where the only explanation for the way you live is that Christ is in you, that Christ is at work in you.

Did you know that Christians were never called followers of Jesus after Pentecost? After Pentecost they are constantly referred to as being "In Christ". Christ is in them. When you became a Christian it is not about trying to keep certain rules. It is not about standing up for the truth and performing certain rituals - all of them are good and often help in our spiritual development - BUT these aren't what the Christian life is all about. It is that when you become a Christian the very life of Jesus takes up residence in you. He becomes incarnate in your body. And this new life of Christ sets you free from sin and death, and allows you to do mighty works for the Kingdom.

You see I can preach - I can put together a sermon that is witty, and engaging. I can imitate Grover monster and hold your attention for a little while - maybe make you laugh, encourage a few, inspire some to do something for the Kingdom. But without Christ in me, without his Spirit doing His work through me, my preaching is nothing. There is no-one cut to the heart; there is no conviction; there is no healing; there are no changed lives. Satan and all his principalities suffer no losses. It's just a talk. And so it is with all the work that we do in this church. Without Christ we can do nothing.

But with Christ - do you know that verse - Philippians 4:13?

Can you imagine Paul dictating that to his scribe? You can imagine Paul dictating the letter to the Philippians and he says, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Then he says the beginning of 4:13, "I can do all things."

And the scribe interrupts, saying, "excuse me Paul, do you want to repeat that line? I'm not sure I got it."

"I can do all things."

"That's what I thought you said. I don't think you want me to write that."

"What?"

"I don't think you want me to write that, because I know that you cannot do all things."

"Write it down," says Paul.

"But Paul, I know you can't do all things. In fact I'm willing to give you five denarii if you can prove that you can do all things. Five denarii, Paul, says that you can't do all things."

And Paul continues, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

"Ah," says the scribe. "The deal's off; now there are two of you."

Jesus is the vine; we are the branches. Apart from him we can do nothing. The Christian life is all about our relationship with Christ. How is yours today?

"NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK OR IMAGINE, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS, FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN.