Questions arising from John 15

Q1. Does the fact that Jesus cuts off branches that bear no fruit mean that a joyless Christian can lose their salvation?

A1. There is no such thing as losing one’s salvation.
If God draws you to himself, he will not turn you away.

John 14:18
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

1 Corinthians 1:9
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Hebrews 13:5
God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

(We will talk more about this, this week.)

Jesus intention in John 15 is to encourage and reinforce participation in, commitment to, and a longing for… growth in godly character – specifically the joy of glorifying God, in his "true disciples: (Jn 15:8)

False disciples or “bread followers” (see the parable of the soils) abound and are often self-assured and self-deceived.

It is important that believers are occasionally called to examine their lives and endure the stress of that exam to ensure that we are indeed “true disciples”

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you— unless, of course, you fail the test?

A good objective test is provided in 1John chapters 4-5
The result of coming through such an exam with a passing grade is confidence in prayer and confidence on judgment day.

1 John 4:17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Getting a high grade on any exam gives one confidence and joy and removes the self-doubt that is felt by many Christians who do not objectively examine themselves.

Q2 What is pruning in the life of the believer?
A2 Pruning is the painful loss of something we value (good or bad) at the sovereign hand of God who intends to show to us a deeper, more meaningful joy than we could have otherwise enjoyed.

Jesus physical presence was removed from the disciples.
This made them sad.

They received a resurrected Christ.
This made them happy.

The resurrected Christ ascended.
This made them bewildered.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.
This filled them with joy unstoppable

It is this same Spirit given to believers today that often we take for granted and de-prioritize in our own search for joy and satisfaction and pleasure and confidence and comfort and strength and courage and hope.

He has been given to produce in us a peace that passes understanding, a supernatural persevering joy, - giving evidence of the unseen - that we do not grieve like unbelievers (1Th 4:13) - displaying the character of God -all to the glory of God and our mutual joy.

Q3 Is every day sweeter than the day before?
A3 No. Some times it hurts… It just hurts, but…

Psalms 30:5 Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.