“Abide in Me”John 15:1-8
Fifth Sunday of Easter
(Rite of Confirmation)
May 3, 2015
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text, Jesus says, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Our text teaches us the relationship between two important Biblical concepts – justification and sanctification. Every year, ourconfirmands study these concepts because, if we are to be Christian, we must understand these terms aright, for the Biblical teaching of salvation – and the understanding of how daily life has to do with that salvation – depends on properly distinguishing justification and sanctification!
How many teachings that claim the name Christian (as John forewarns in his epistle)conflate these terms and – because they do – lead people into despair about their ability to ‘live the Christian life well enough’ and ultimately lead souls into danger or uncertainty about their salvation.
The term justification most narrowly refers to that Christ-accomplished act by which you are declared ‘just’ in the sight of God.Notice, justification does not “make you” just, holy, righteous (as if you are no longer a sinner); rather, justification declares you not guilty, atoned for, ransomed, redeemed,justified. It’s an official declaration God makes over you… it’s not a declaration about the character/make-up of your soul as much as a declaration about Christ’s merit and God’s view of you because of Christ. Most specifically, justification happened at the cross, when Christ declared of his atoning work for all men, “It is finished.” With that Word spoken, with his final breath taken, your atonement was complete. That samejustification was individually granted you in your baptism, that you might individually be gifted the redemptive, justifying, declaration of the cross.
The term sanctification sounds a lot likejustification… sanctification refers to the process by which you are made/kept holy. Whereas justification is a one-time declaration, sanctification is a lifetime reality(we might call it “the baptismal life lived in justification”). But we must understand the relationship between these terms properly. Some teach that sanctification (“being madeholy”) leads to justification (“being declaredholy”)… as if God is constantly grading you and won’t make the final declaration of ‘forgiven’ until you reach a certain holiness. What a horrible understanding! – andultimately a view of salvation by works and not by the merit and blood of Jesus.
Sanctification flows from justification. As God has already declared you ‘just’ because of Christ, He then in Christ works to rid you of the Old Adam that still plagues you. That ridding of the Old Adam is a lifelong process and it won’t be complete until you draw your last breath, the Old Adam dies and the New Adam is with Christ in paradise. And, if sanctification is a lifelong process, thenlifelong you depend upon Christ, His merit, and His gifts.
If this language of justification and sanctification sounds too ‘book-ish’, too ‘irrelevant’ for daily life, consider how Jesusties the same doctrinal truths to daily life in our Gospel reading:
“Every branch [in Me] that does bear fruit [the Father] prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. 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.”
Now, on the one hand, we certainly understand the image of the vine (the main trunk) and the branches that grow from that vine. When a branch is cut from the vine/tree/source of life, it’s not the vine that is harmed, but the branch. So also when one cuts himself off from Christ: Christ is not harmed – He will bring life to new branches… but the one who cut himself offfrom Christ is harmed eternally.
We understand that image. And that image helps us understand the commentary around it, in which Jesus teaches us aboutsanctification: sanctification is not about us making ourselves justified (as if sanctification leads to justification); neither is sanctification about us keeping ourselves justified (as if justification is Christ’s work, but sanctification is our work). Rather, as Jesus speaks of it, he teaches us that – just as He justified us, so also does He and His Holy Spirit sanctify us, that we might remain in him.
Jesus says it this way in verse 3:“Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” The moment you are going to talk about sanctification (daily baptismal life), you enter into a context in which the sinner has already been justified – “Already you are clean.” But, what does being clean have anything to do with the rest of Jesus’ words about branches and pruning? Well, the Greek word for “clean”() is the same word Jesus used the verse before when Jesus says, “everybranch bearing fruit, the Father (prunes / cleanses).” In the Greek, there’s a direct relationship betweenbeing ‘already cleansed’ and the ‘ongoing pruning/cleansing.’ In other words, Jesus refers to your justification – ‘you are cleansed by the Word I have spoken to you’; but then (He says)‘this vine/branches imagery reminds you thatthe baptismal life is about your need to be continually cleansed/pruned … which is why Jesus goes on by saying, “Abide in me.” Remain there, he says, for unless you arecontinually kept by Jesus’ ongoing cleansing/pruning of you, you will separate yourself from justification.
We sinners easily convince ourselves that
“because I am justified / ‘already cleansed’, I don’t need to be cleansed/pruned anymore.” (We see God’s pruning as an unpleasant experience that prevents us from worldly fun, rather than a cutting back that prevents us from growing wild!) So then,(we think) I can go on living a life outside ofbaptism, and – in the end – I’ll still beattached to the vine (justified). All other forgiveness is ‘superfluous.’ ”
Against such reasoning, Christ says, “Remain in me, and the Father will continually prune/cleanse you.” Similarly, the apostle writes of an ongoing pruning when he says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses (present tense) us from all unrighteousness” (and that ongoing cleansing implies ongoing confession of sins, absolution, resulting forgiveness of others, faith in God, love of neighbor).
But we like to see it differently – that somehow Jesus cleansed once, then it is up to us to cleanse ourselves over and over again. And so, separating ourselves from the sanctification Christ promises, we think we canre-graft ourselves to the vine by our own deeds(as if a branch – having fallen to the ground – can climb back up the tree itself!). And so, people reason, “I need not Christ to sanctify me. I will keep myself holy (sanctify) by my good works. If only I do good to others, if only I love others, if only I forgive others, then I will keep myself justified.”
But, what does Christ say to all of this? “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” If you think you can keep yourself justified without depending completely on Christ’s grace, Christ says, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” – not even keep yourself in Him! If you say toyourself, “if only I love others, then I will make certain that I am justified,” Christ answers by saying, “Apart from me, you can’t love others.” If you think that your forgiveness of others is what keeps you justified, Christ says, “Apart from me, you cannot forgive.” Friends, your bearing of good fruit does not keep you in Christ; rather, because you are Christ’s, you bear good fruit. The one who wants to appeal to his own efforts to either justify himself or keep himself justified is living by the Law and cuts himself off from the very life-giving gospel of the vine.
It is Christ, the Vine alone, that enables you to do good works, love others, forgive others, stand in your justification. How many souls think they are doing good works apart from Christ?… but those works are not good, but futile, for their good intentions still end in death and eternal damnation. How many the world over think that those outside of Christ can remain faithful to a spouse, when their faithfulness and their understanding of a good marriage is only according to a legal contract or human emotions and not according to marriage which is defined by Christ’s love for His Church (“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. Wives submit to your husbands as the Church rejoices in submitting to her trustworthy husband!”)?
Or, how many think that apart from Christ they can forgive others, when true forgiveness is only that which God Himself can work, so that only the one who is in Christ can actually forgive according to Christ’s definition of forgiveness (namely, the Law appeased by His blood), rather than merely an earthlyforgiveness that simply chooses to ignore the Law’s call for blood?
Sanctification has much Law to it – andapart from Christ, you can do nothing. No good works, no love, no forgiveness, no faith in God. But, sanctification’s life is in the gospel: “Remain in Me (cling to Christ), and I will remain in you. Remain in Me, and you will bear much fruit. Abide in me, and my words abide in you, and you will ask whatever you wish (because your wish will be in accord with His words abiding in you), and it will be granted.”
Friends, your ongoing baptismal life – that constant cleansing / pruning that keeps you steadfast in your already completed justification – it completely depends on Christ. This is why we rejoice each year young members are welcomed to the Lord’s Table… not because they have done such a wonderful job of showing their faith so that God mustwelcome them to the Table, but because the Vine (Christ himself) is strengthening thebranch’s attachment to Himself. In preparing you for the Holy Supper, Christ teaches you not to trust in yourself for keeping yourself holy, but to learn that you depend not only on the work of the cross once in history, but alsodepend upon the benefits of the cross regularly delivered to you, as the vine delivers water from the roots to the furthest branches. This is what each Christian ought be taught lifelong –that they depend upon sanctification as taught in the third article of the Creed:
“I believe in (depend upon) the Holy Spirit,
(depend on) The Holy Christian Church
(depend on) The communion of saints
(depend on) The forgiveness of sins
(depend on) The resurrection of the body
(my only eternal hope is) The life everlasting.”
Each Christian ought be taught how totally he depends on the word of Christ – in baptism, in confession, in the Holy Supper – so that you withstand temptation to part from Christ and you rejoice in remaining with and inChrist, who in the Holy Supper, extends to youthe nourishment and sustenance that keeps the branch from withering and cutting itself off from the vine.
Friends, the Christian will bear much fruit. If a branch is attached to the vine of the vineyard, grapes will necessarily show up.Such is not the cause of your salvation, but theevidence of your salvation. Rejoice that the evidence confesses and speaks, but do not rejoice in the evidence as if your reason for hope. Rather, remain in Christ, for apart from Him you can do nothing. In Him, as the apostle says, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” Why? “For it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me.” It’s not the branch that brings life, but the Vine whose life flows through the branch.
Thanks be to God, (confirmands), for through His precious means of grace, your Savior faithfully and diligently keeps His Word abiding in you, that you might abide in Him… even unto life everlasting.
In the Name of the Father
And of the Son
And of the Holy Spirit.
+ AMEN +
Rev. Mark C. Bestul
Calvary Lutheran Church
May 3, 2015
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Prayers:
Abide in us, O Lord, that we may abide in You and bring forth the fruits of Your love, that we who have known Your gracious favor may show forth Your love to one another. Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer.
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“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer ... “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. AMEN.”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Lord, You give us every reason to say, “Amen. Amen. It shall be so!” To you belongs all power and glory, forever and ever. Therefore, hear the praise that is given through an appeal to your mercy, and lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:
* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, You show your power and glory through mercy toward sinners. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, including Richard June, Don Hahn, Edna Citizen, Geraldine and Richard, and Susan Ail and also for Ron Versluys, Edith Ross, Robert (father of Janet Kolzow), and Pastor Ross's wife, as they prepare for and recover from surgery; remind them of Your compassion and, according to Your will, heal Richard, Don, Edna, Geraldine, Richard, Susan, Ron, Edith, Robert, and Pastor Ross's wife of all affliction. In all circumstances, strengthen their faith, that they might clearly confess, “AMEN.”
* For the anxious, lonely: O God, Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Yet, we sinners so often grow anxious about the temporal trials that face us. Hear my prayer on behalf of our shut-ins Florence Mitchell, Myrtle Stade, Betty Wear, Bruce Morecraft, and also the widows and widowers of Calvary; remind them that there is none other besides You who deserves all glory, and thus none other that need weaken our “AMEN.” Bring Florence, Myrtle, Betty, Bruce and our widows and widowers confidence in the hour of trial, that they may take heart in Your promises, “Yes, yes. It shall be so!”
* For the mourning: O Lord, because You have all power and glory and dominion over life and death, we may rejoice in the Christian’s death, even as we mourn our earthly loss. Hear my prayer on behalf of Dale Block and this congregation, at the death of our dear sister in Christ, Connie, this past week. Comfort us all with the promise that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life – “whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Cheer Dale and his family with such life-giving words, that they might not weep as they who have no hope, but confidently confess, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN – It shall be so!”
* For the rejoicing: O Lord, as a God of glory, You are also a God who delights in showering us with blessings. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of Bob Lindemann at his 80th birthday. Grant him a thankful heart, ever fixed on your grace through Christ Crucified, and therefore joins the eternal refrain – “AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.”
* And For the millions of victims of the major earthquake in Nepal last weekend.
Lord, please bless those in my family and in my church who have fallen away from hearing Your Word. Please let Your Holy Spirit fill them and stir them to avail themselves of Your means of grace.
Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, whose sacrificial death gives us the freedom to say, “AMEN – God’s promises shall be so!”, so that we may with all boldness pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”
