Jesus will never cast us away

[Debp]

Another good devotional by Paul Ellis, hope it will encourage others, too.

By Paul Ellis, Escapetoreality

Branches are Not Sticks: Why God Will Never Cast You Away

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Paul Ellis // 37 Comments

“Whoever comes to me I will never cast away” (John 6:37). Jesus promised he would never cast away those who come to him, yet some people fear he might. Because Jesus is fickle and he changes his mind a lot.

Of course, that’s not true, yet some worry that it might be true, because of what he said here:

If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (John 15:6)

How do these words make you feel? Read them again, then see which of the following responses best describes your reaction:

1. “I’m in trouble. I don’t know if I’m abiding, so I’m in danger of being cast into the fire.” This is the response of the uncertain or lukewarm mind. It’s the response of someone who has not fully understood the good news of grace.

2. “These words aren’t for me because I’m a good Christian. I’m not perfect, but I’m at least better than 50% of the people reading this.” This is the response of the self-righteous. Again, it’s the response of someone who has not understood the good news of grace.

3. “I’ve got nothing to fear because God loves and he will never leave me. Since I am one with the Lord, it is impossible for him to cast me away.” This is the response of those who have been set free by the gospel and are growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

If your response was an insecure (1) or a self-righteous (2), don’t worry; you’ve come to the right place.

To the self-righteous and those of you who think you are good enough for God, I have some liberating news: you are wretched, poor, blind, and naked. God’s law says so. Okay, so that wasn’t good news, but this is: Jesus gives grace to the wretched and he clothes the naked. Put off your filthy rags and put on the spotless garments of his righteousness. No one is good enough for God, but God is more than good enough for us. His best is better than your worst. His grace is greater than your self-righteousness. Believe it.

And now some good news for the insecure and anxious. In the parable of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-8), Jesus talks about two kinds of people:

1. Those who abide in him
2. Those who don’t abide in him and are cast away

Question 1: Who abides in Jesus?

The believer. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

A believer, by definition, abides in the Lord. They are not merely branches, but “branches in me” (John 15:6). Because a believer is in union with the Lord, they bear his fruit, and if they don’t, God nurtures them and lifts them up. He doesn’t cut them off.

Question 2: Who doesn’t abide and is cast away?

The unbeliever. Reject the life that Christ offers, and you will have no life in you. You will be a dead stick rather than a living branch.

This is what happened to the religious Jews who rejected Jesus. They “were broken off for their unbelief” (Rom. 11:20). Who broke them off? Not God, but themselves. “They stumbled… theysought to establish their own righteousness … they killed the prophets” (Rom. 9:32, 10:3, 11:3).

Some think that God cuts off unfruitful branches because God allegedly cut off the Jews, but “God did not reject his people” (Rom. 11:2); the Jews rejected God. And by Jews I mean the Jews as a nation rejected Jesus, while many individual Jews accepted him.

Question 3: What’s the takeaway?

Abide in the love of God.

Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; abide in my love. (John 15:9)

We don’t abide to get into the love of God; we get to abide because he loves us. Notice the order in the verse above. There is a proclamation (unconditional love from God to you through Jesus) followed by an invitation (abide in that love; agree that Jesus is the Son of the God who loves us).

When you know how much God loves you, you’ll stop striving to earn his love. You will not fear that he may cut you off and cast you away. (He promised he wouldn’t.) You will be at home in his love.

Your heavenly Father loves you. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more, and nothing you can do to make him love you less.

“Abide in the vine” is both a statement of your union with Christ and an exhortation to live from the pleasant security of that union.

[R. Hartono]

Its people who cast Jesus away.

[Who me]

Jesus told us that it is he who holds onto us.

We are commanded to show our love by our obedience.

Unfortunately our love does grow cold, we do slip into old bad habits, we stop striving against temptation and sin.

Does that mean we are no longer Christian?

I don't think so. Just that we need to get our backsides kicked and to restart being actively obedient.

[unworthyservant]

7 hours ago, Sonshine☀️ said:

Well, after much prayer and delving into God’s Word, I believe now that salvation is a lifetime of abiding in Jesus Christ. 

I believe in eternal security, but only if you choose for it to be that way—which is by abiding on the vine (and repenting when you fall off and getting back on upon our Father’s forgiveness).  But if you decide, for some reason, to stop following Jesus and you put Him on the back burner of your life, then one of two things has happened; either you were never truly saved, or your love for Christ has grown cold and you have consciously decided to walk away and you consciously give it (salvation) up.  In verse 12 of Matthew 24, it is written that many that had love for Christ grew cold because of iniquity abounding.  …And then in verse 13, Jesus says that the one who will be saved is the one who endures until the end.

Matthew 24:12-13 King James Version (KJV)

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

 

 

In your reply you mention the idea of eternal security. I've seen churches that teach eternal security (in which I believe) to state that those who were saved in or were members of the church who have gone back to their sinful ways, they are merely "backsliden". What about this scenario, perhaps these folks were never actually "saved" or following Christ and thus have gone back to their sinful ways because they chose them over God?