Jesus gives us an example of living by grace in John 15. He says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. …As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Fathers commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:1-10 We are the branches and He is the vine. A branch does nothing for the vine and it cannot bear fruit apart from the vine. It has to be attached and then the vine empowers and uses the branches to bear fruit. As long as we remain in Christ, submitted to Him with no un-confessed sin in our heart, and walk with Him in a lifestyle yielded to the Holy Spirit, then He can flow out through us and produce fruit. We Christians are that branch that can do nothing “for” the vine other than abide or live in it and allow ourselves to be used. This is how we can live the life of “Christ in me” and “not I but Christ who lives in me” (Colossians 1:27) “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” That fruit we bear when we are abiding in Christ is found in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” So this is what grace produces – the freedom to obey God because you are free from the penalty of sin; the desire to obey God because you recognize how evil and unable you are to do any good on your own which leads you to obedience from gratitude and in joy. Jesus wants us to live in joy and with that inner peace that comes from totally trusting Him that He has made it all, is in control of it all and will one day bring it all back to perfection. Performance and results are not our responsibility, but His. Our work is to obey out of an exuberant thankfulness for our forgiveness and gratefulness for the extreme Grace given to us. We really DO NOT deserve God’s Grace and nothing we can do or not do will ever effect that love and Grace that He has given to those of us who trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If we live by grace through faith, we won’t have to be asked to share our faith or be involved in a local church because we will be listening to God, obeying Him and serving others His way and in His strength and power.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 11:45:00 +0000
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