Abiding

Trillia Newbell post:  Learning to Abide in Christ

I hear the words “abide in Christ” mentioned a lot by women as a way to express rest. At least I think that’s what they mean. The truth is, I’ve never had it defined for me clearly, even though I’ve heard it shared often. In order to gain more understanding, I started digging into God’s word to see what he says about abiding in Christ.

The True Vine

Beginning in John 13, Jesus gives a series of farewell addresses that continue until chapter 17. He knows that he will soon be lifeless on a tree — the crucified King. And in the middle of it all, he graciously reminds us that to be his means to bear fruit and we bear fruit by abiding in him.

In John 15, Jesus describes himself as the true vine and his Father as the vinedresser. The true vine was a way to contrast Jesus with Old Testament Israel. The hearers would understand that he was saying that he was the Messiah and the fulfillment of the covenant because of the Old Testament references to a vineyard (Isaiah 5:1–7; 27:2–6).

Jesus explains that the branches that do not bear fruit are taken away, but the branches that bear fruit are pruned to bear more fruit. To bear fruit simply means to grow in character — to become more like Christ and reflect the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). And this is where we come to his command to abide: “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” (John 15:4).

Not Abiding

The dictionary defines abiding as to accept or act in accordance with a rule, decision, or recommendation. Synonyms include: obey, observe, follow, uphold, heed, and accept. This definition isn’t far off from what Jesus is telling us to do here in John 15. But before he gets to the meaning, he gives us a picture of what it looks like not to abide in him. “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).

I guess I am what you would call a plant killer. I purchase plants and try to care for them, but I often fail miserably. I forget to water the plant, choking it from its needed nourishment. And then one day, I turn around and there it is, withered away. This didn’t happen overnight. It happened after a series of neglect. So one by one, the branches fall off from the vine.

This, I think, is what Jesus is explaining to us in John 15:4–6. He explains that by not abiding in him we are like my pitiful plants — we will soon fall off the vine — our roots where we receive nourishment were never truly planted. The fruit of the vine is proof of our faith. Not perfection — but fruit, even if a small bud.

Abiding

It really isn’t until John 15:10 that we get a picture of what it looks like to abide in Jesus. “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.” To abide in Jesus means to keep his commandments and to keep his commandments means to love God with all our hearts and souls and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39). One way that we display our love for God is through our trust, prayer, and devotion to him. We abide through relationship. We pursue in love. We pray in love. We obey in love.

And here is the good news: We love Jesus because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). We didn’t choose him; he chose us and he chose us to walk out our faith in obedience to him (John 15:16). Apart from Christ, we cannot do anything (John 15:5). This is also good news to the weary person who thinks he must muster up strength to pursue and know Christ (and to love his neighbor — a fruit Jesus emphasizes). He provides the grace and the strength.

The fruit that Jesus speaks of is simply evidence of a relationship with him. It is a relationship that he initiates through and by his sovereign love. In the chapter, Jesus reminds us that there is no greater love than someone laying down his life for his friends. He then says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:13).

Jesus tells us that we are his friends (let that soak in for a minute) if we obey his command to love, and that command is fulfilled through abiding. As we abide in him we will bear the fruit of righteousness. This does not add to our salvation by grace alone through faith alone, yet it confirms our transformed heart. And the offer to be Jesus’s friend — the author and perfecter of our faith, the Alpha and Omega, the Beautiful One, the one who bore our sins and transgression — the offer to be his friend is irresistible for the Christian.

Abide in him, and he will abide in you. He who began a good work in you will complete it (Philippians 1:6). He who called you is faithful; he will surely do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Our Hope

Excerpt from 843 Acres:  The Fall of the Deceiver of the Whole Earth

Lord, The child that is rescued is the one who will rule the world as it never has been ruled before. He is Jesus--who debated publicly in the synagogues, but who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, not a stallion. In the end, he will establish a politics that will end all politics. In this age, therefore, give us a strong vision of him sitting on the throne so that, like Christ, we can engage in the public square with humility. For our hope is in the victory of Christ, not the kingdom of man. Amen.

All Encompassing

Trevin Wax post:  Defending the Faith is about Life, Not Just Doctrine

“Christianity isn’t just about what you believe; it’s about how you live.”

“You theological types only care about creeds and doctrines and believing the right things. But the Bible stresses Christianity as a way of life.”

“It doesn’t matter if you believe the Bible if you don’t do what it says.”

These are a sampling of complaints and critiques lobbed at gospel-centered believers and “theology” folks who take doctrine seriously. Sometimes, the critiques are on target. The best preachers and teachers would agree that Christianity involves both belief and obedience, faith and practice.

Ironically, when some of these critics are challenged for their advocacy of lifestyles and behavior outside the mainstream of historic Christianity, they rush to the creeds as a defense. They go from saying, “Christianity is more about what you do than what you believe” to saying “How dare you challenge what I’m saying about a way of life! I believe the right doctrines!”

You can’t have it both ways.

What’s needed today is a robust understanding of the Christian faith that recognizes the multi-faceted meaning of orthodoxy.

What Jude Means When He Tells Us to Contend for the Faith

“Bible-believing” Christians love to trot out Jude’s exhortation to “contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all” as a challenge to shore up doctrinal fidelity and avoid theological slippage. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard this verse applied in a way that emphasizes the need to maintain the doctrinal core of Christian truth claims.

Of course, there’s no disputing the legitimacy of applying Jude’s words this way. Surely “the faith” we are to contend for includes the truths at the heart of our faith (the lordship of Christ, the substitutionary atonement, the resurrection from the dead, the authority of Scripture).

But doctrinal drift was not the primary thing on Jude’s mind when he gave this exhortation. If you read on, he makes clear why he is telling us to “contend for the faith.” It’s because “some men… have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord” (v. 4).

Two things to notice here. First, Jude wants believers to contend for the faith against other professing Christians. The foes here are those who are “inside” the church, not outside – ungodly people claiming to belong to Christ.

Second, the error that prompts Jude to exhort us is not the denial of foundational tenets of the gospel, but a twisted view of grace that excuses or celebrates sexual immorality. In other words, “contending for the faith” in the context of Jude 1 is less about doctrinal fidelity and more about Christian morality and praxis. The denial of Jesus Christ in this case isn’t creedal (as in 1 John 4, where the apostle warns against those who deny Christ’s humanity); it’s moral. By their advocacy and engagement in illicit sexual activity, they are functionally denying Jesus.

John’s 3 Tests of Orthodoxy

Recently, I’ve been doing my devotional readings in 1-3 John, struck again and again by the challenge to love God, His people, and those around me. I’ve also been struck by John’s multi-faceted approach to orthodoxy.

John Stott’s commentary on 1-3 John presents three tests of true Christianity:

• Obedience (The Moral Test)
• Love (The Social Test)
• Belief (The Doctrinal Test)

John’s epistles don’t let us isolate one test of orthodoxy from the others. As I study the apostle’s words, I find myself pressed and challenged from all sides, convicted for my tendency to see orthodoxy as either checking off a list of doctrines to believe, or a few actions to perform, or a moral code to live by.

Instead, I need to recognize that orthodoxy, orthopathy, and orthopraxy are all wrapped up in Jesus’ claim to lordship of the cosmos.

The Challenge

The challenge is that conservatives and liberals love to focus on the test that best vindicates their own outlook.

Conservatives are more likely to see the doctrinal and moral tests as essential and give less attention to hands-on demonstrations of love for neighbor. Case in point: we lift up Christians in the past of impeccable morals and doctrinal credentials who failed miserably at the social test (i.e., the early Southern Baptists who capitulated to Southern culture on slavery).

Those who call themselves progressives today are likely to see the social test as fundamental, with doctrines held more loosely and historic Christian morality, in some cases, jettisoned. Case in point: some claim doctrinal fidelity (doctrinal test) and genuinely seek to love their neighbors (social test), while they accommodate themselves to the West’s radical individualism and revision of the purpose for human sexuality.

Conclusion

The apostles’ view of orthodoxy is all-encompassing. It steps on all our toes. It doesn’t let any group get their “aha” moment, because it convicts and challenges us to expand our vision of orthodoxy, not look for a minimalistic substitute.

It’s time we listen to the Scriptures afresh and allow the Spirit to convict us regarding our failures in the three tests of orthodoxy. Only then will we think more carefully and more deeply about what it means to “contend for the faith.”

Accepted in the Beloved and Approved of God

From 843 Acres:  The People of God Then and Now

John, Revelation 7:9-10

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

John Newton, The Letters of John Newton

[The church of Christ is] all who by faith are united to him as their foundation and root, of all to whom he is the head of vital influence, who have fellowship with him in his death, and are partakers of the power of his resurrection. These are infallibly known only to himself. They are scattered far and wide, separated from each other by seas and mountains; they are a people of many nations and languages. But, wherever their lot is cast, they hear his voice, are under his gracious eye, and the life which they live in the flesh, is by faith in his name. They have not all equal degrees of light, or measures of grace, nor are they all favored with equal advantages for knowing or enjoying the full extent of the liberty of the Gospel; but they are accepted in the Beloved, and approved of God. They are all spiritual worshipers, joint partakers of grace, and will hereafter appear together at their Savior's right hand in glory.

At present they are in an imperfect state. Though they are new creations--they are not freed from the "principle of indwelling sin". Their knowledge is clouded by much remaining ignorance; and their zeal, though right in its aim, is often warped and misguided by the corrupt influence of SELF. For they still have many corruptions. They live in a world which furnishes frequent occasions of enticing them. And Satan, their subtle and powerful enemy, is always upon his watch to mislead and ensnare them!

Hope

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35:10

Obedience and Trust

Don Carson post:  Deut. 7; Psalm 90; Isaiah 35; Revelation 5 is a post from: For the Love of God

SEVERAL COMPLEX THEMES intertwine in Deuteronomy 7. Here I want to reflect on two of them.

The first is the emphasis on election. “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6). Why so? Was it on the ground of some intrinsic superiority, some greater intelligence, some moral superiority, or some military prowess that the Lord made his choice? Not so. “The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deut. 7:7-8).

Two observations: (1) In the Bible, God’s utter sovereignty does not diminish human responsibility; conversely, human beings are moral agents who choose, believe, obey, disbelieve, and disobey, and this fact does not make God’s sovereignty finally contingent. That is clear from the way God’s sovereignty manifests itself in this chapter, that is, in election, even while the chapter bristles with the responsibilities laid on the people. People who do not believe both truths — that God is sovereign and human beings are responsible — sooner or later introduce some intolerable wobbles into the structure of their faith. (2) Here God’s love is selective. God chooses Israel because he sets his affection on them, and not for anything in themselves. The thought recurs elsewhere (e.g., Mal. 1:2-3). But this is not the only way that the Bible speaks of the love of God (e.g., John 3:16).

The second theme is the encouragement God gives his people not to fear the people they will have to fight as they take over the Promised Land (Deut. 7:17-22). The reason is the Exodus. Any God that could produce the plagues, divide the Red Sea, and free his people from a regional superpower like Egypt is not the kind of God who is going to have trouble with a few pagan and immoral Canaanites. Fear is the opposite of faith. The Israelites are encouraged not to be afraid, not because they are stronger or better, but because they are the people of God, and God is unbeatable.

These two themes — and several others — intertwine in this chapter. The God who chooses people is strong enough to accomplish all his purposes in them; the people chosen by God ought to respond not only with grateful obedience, but with unshakable trust.

Open Our Eyes to Reality

843 Acres post:  Living an Alternate Reality

Reality: What if there was an alternate reality that put our reality into perspective? Things that seem powerful and significant in ours may be meaningless in the other; things that seem small and insignificant to us may be magnificent in the other. What if we could catch a glimpse of that alternate reality? Would it change how we live?

Heaven: The apostle John was given a vision of heaven, and a throne was at the center. The living creatures danced around it, singing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And the people of God—from ancient days to modern times—fell down before it, casting their crowns and saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” [1]

Treasure: What seemed powerful and significant in John’s reality—crowns, monarchies, allegiances—was cast down in the alternate reality. This was not, however, merely an emotional response; it was a rational one, too. When we find something of infinite worth and preeminence, we sell all that we have to obtain it. As Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” [2] This was joy rooted in truth.

Prayer: Lord, May we see you as you are—preeminent, lovely, sovereign, glorious, enthroned—and then live in response to that. It is not mere emotion to love and cherish you; it is driven by logic and reason, too. Therefore, open the eyes of our heart and mind so that you become the most important priority to us in how relate to our money, our voice, our relationships, our work, and our opinions. Let the value and worth of Jesus fill our hearts so that we respond with a wholehearted reorientation of our lives—seeing what he is worth and giving what he is worth. May we relinquish that which does not matter and turn in confidence to that which does. Amen.