No my friend but I believe He will continue to give us the ability to keep from failing because He has sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a “remote control” brother. He is our teacher, guiding to the right path and helping us in our walk with God. This is why we will still sin after receiving the Holy Spirit.
I quoted John 15:1-6 because it is Calvin’s kryptonite so to speak. The only way Calvinism cannot contradict John 15 is if you do not take what Jesus said literally. It is a very powerful message with many implications that are also backed by several other scriptures. Before I explain I would like to first express the manner and demeanor in which I wish to convey this message. It is not my intention to rebuke or be disrespectful towards my fellow Calvinist brothers & sisters in Christ. I simply wish to politely explain John 15 in a light that they may not have considered so that they may see another perspective. I just wanted to clarify that before I get started because this can sometimes turn into a long discussion and sometimes I forget to add phrases that express my demeanor and often in text, opposing debates can at times appear to be impolite, arrogant, or condescending and I want to assure you that is not my intention brother.
John 15 refutes both eternal salvation and Calvinism along with the misunderstood concept of faith alone or faith without works. Don’t get me wrong here we are absolutely not saved by works but we will see here in John 15 that works are absolutely necessary to abide in Christ. I don’t want to go into too much detail and get derailed on faith alone in this particular message so as to not make it too long. We can discuss that in another post if you like. I like to try to keep my posts short as to not get into too many points of discussion at one time which can cause confusion. Before we examine the message it’s important that we understand that Jesus is giving this message right after the Last Supper. Judas has already gone to betray Him and Jesus and His 11 faithful apostles are walking to Gethsemane late at night. So Jesus is speaking only to His 11 faithful apostles. So let’s look at this passage and examine it.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.”
John 15:1-8
Notice in verse 2 Jesus says “Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He (The Father) taketh away.
So this is referring to branches that are currently in Christ which means they are currently attached to the vine. If they don’t bear fruit they are taken away. Some translations use the term “cut off” which according to the Greek definition is actually more accurate. So let’s look at the Greek word translated to “taketh away” which is aírō (G142).
Definition
1) to raise up, elevate, lift up a) to raise from the ground, take up: stones b) to raise upwards, elevate, lift up: the hand c) to draw up: a fish
2) to take upon one's self and carry what has been raised up, to bear
3) to bear away what has been raised, carry off a) to move from its place b) to take off or away what is attached to anything c) to remove d) to carry off, carry away with one e) to appropriate what is taken f) to take away from another what is his or what is committed to him, to take by force g) to take and apply to any use h) to take from among the living, either by a natural death, or by violence i) cause to cease
Notice the bold letters in the definition. To take off or away what is attached to anything. The branch is attached to the vine. When the Greek word aírō is used in reference to something that is attached to something the correct definition is removed or detached. The term taken away is also used which still implies the same thing. If someone is taken away from the vine (Jesus) they become detached or removed from Christ which cannot result in salvation unless they repent and are grafted back into the vine. Let’s continue
“Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.”
John 15:3-5
Here we see Jesus saying to His 11 faithful apostles “abide (remain) in Me and I will abide in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself so neither can you unless you abide in Me”. Then He goes on to say “for apart from me you can do nothing”. The implication here is that even His faithful 11 apostles were capable of not abiding otherwise Jesus is warning them of doing something that is impossible and His message is pointless. Let’s move on to verse 6.
“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
John 15:6
Notice He begins by saying “if a man” which is another way of saying “if anyone” abide not in Me he is cast forth.
So let’s look at the Greek definition of the word bállō (G906) which is translated to cast forth or thrown away which means
1) to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls a) to scatter, to throw, cast into b) to give over to one's care uncertain about the result c) of fluids
1) to pour, pour into of rivers
2) to pour out
2) to put into, insert
Grammar:
a primary verb; to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense):--arise, cast (out), X dung, lay, lie, pour, put (up), send, strike, throw (down), thrust. Compare ῥίπτω.
Basically it means to carelessly throw down or thrust in a violent or intense manner without regard.
This would imply a certain level of anger or resentment from The Father due to the manner of which the branch is being “cast forth” due to its disobedience.
Next let’s look at the word wither which is translated from the Greek word xēraínō (G3583)
1) to make dry, dry up, wither
2) to become dry, to be dry, be withered a) of plants b) of the ripening of crops c) of fluids d) of the members of the body
3) to waste away, pine away, i.e. a withered hand
To dry up or waste away.
Lastly let’s look at the definition of the word burned translated from the Greek word kaíō (G2545) which means
1) to set on fire, light, burning
2) to burn, consume with fire
Pretty basic definition as you would expect.
So let’s review and put it all into perspective. So we have Jesus warning His 11 faithful apostles to abide in Him even explaining the consequences of failing to abide while the doctrine of eternal security suggests it is impossible for the faithful 11 not to abide, at least not unto the point of loss of salvation. But look at the consequences Jesus described in the proper translation. They would be cut off or removed from the vine (Jesus). That in itself cannot result in salvation without repentance. Then cast or thrown away (carelessly violently intensely without regard) to wither (dry up and waste away) then thrown (again carelessly violently intensely without regard) into the fire to be burned (set on fire or consumed by fire). Nothing about the consequences of not abiding can result in salvation without repentance. So why would Jesus warn His faithful 11 apostles about the consequences of doing something they are incapable of doing? Even if it were merely to relay the message to others it would still be a useless message because according to those who advocate eternal security God’s elect cannot receive the consequences Jesus mentioned and to those who are not His elect they can only receive those consequences regardless of what they do. So if eternal security is true this entire message is meaningless. Yet Jesus appears to believe it is of value. This can only be of value if someone who is saved can in fact fall from grace and lose their salvation. What are your thoughts?
