Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Walking With God

Abiding In Christ

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2018-03-27

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver expounds John 15:1-11, teaching that abiding in Christ is not a mystical experience but is defined by obedience to His commandments. He warns against pietistic, impossible standards and emphasizes that true union with Christ produces fruit, evidenced by keeping God's Word. Abiding is mandatory, not optional, and is demonstrated through active, Spirit-enabled obedience, which manifests genuine salvation.

[John Weaver] John chapter 15, and we're going to read the first 11 verses. John 15. The title of the message is Abiding in Christ. Notice if you would, a very familiar passage. He says, I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

[John Weaver] Now you're clean through the word which I've spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. And men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Here it is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit.

[John Weaver] So shall you be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." A number of years ago, I read, I don't know, three or four, five or six books on the subject of abiding in Christ. I do not really think that any of those books particularly helped me. Many of the books were pietistic, egocentric, and deeper life-related or just plain nonsense. Some of the authors posited or demanded a life that absolutely no one could live and no one could fulfill.

[John Weaver] And some even went so far as to say that unless you lived exactly the way they were saying, then obviously you were not a Christian. And of course, when one tries to do a lot of things that are impossible, then reality sets in and brings one again back to his senses. Let me give you an illustration. Many years ago, I was reading a lot of the Puritan writings, and I was struck not only with their piety, their dedication, their exposition of scripture, their prayer life. And many of those old Puritans would arise at 2 or 3 in the morning and began praying and studying and preparing themselves for the day.

[John Weaver] And I thought, well, you know, that is wonderful. That's that is something that I really need to do myself. And so I determined that that was exactly what I was going to do. So I got up. I don't remember if it was two or three. And I knelt beside my bed and I put my head in my hands on my bed and I started praying. And When I woke up about three hours later, my knees were sore. Well, I tried it again and it happened again the second day. I tried third day and I failed again. And I was berating myself and I was thinking, wow, I must be very unspiritual. I must not be up to par. Something's got to be wrong with me. They did it.

[John Weaver] And then it dawned on me. Yes, they did it. But they also went to bed at 6 p.m. No telephones, no TV, no computer, no nothing. And here I was, not only a pastor, but I was the principal of our Christian school. I taught in our Christian school. I was the counselor. I was the disciplinarian. Besides, I taught three nights a week at our Bible study group, not counting Sunday preaching and Wednesday night preaching. The Bible Institute was three hours a night. I was putting in 12 and 14 hour days, getting in bed about 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, and then trying to get up at 3 o'clock. No wonder I failed. So, the point I'm trying to make from all of this is very simple. God is very reasonable.

[John Weaver] He said in Isaiah 1 and 18, Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. And so obviously, someone who lived 200 years ago or 300 years ago is not our pattern. The Lord Jesus Christ is our pattern. And whatever He demands, we must obey. But our lives are not to be lived based upon what someone was able to do two or three hundred years in the past. Our lives must be based upon the Scripture, and we must seek Him for grace and mercy to obey Him and bring our lives into conformity with that Word. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is our example, and we must follow Him.

[John Weaver] When you look in John chapter 15, Because this subject of abiding in Christ is very personal, and I'm going to show you it is very, very important as well. But when you look in John 15, there are several truths that are very obvious that anyone could pick up on. The very first one is this. Our Lord uses a very common metaphor. He uses that of a vine and its branches.

[John Weaver] Now, if you study some of the commentators, you'll find different versions as to why our Lord used this particular metaphor. Well, some say the Passover had just ended, and of course, they had wine, and so it was obvious then that he's using, I'm the true vine, and you're the branches. Others, like Josephus, says that on the entrance of the temple, there was a golden vine, a grapevine there. And still others were just simply saying, that he was walking with the disciples to the Mount of Olives and passed a vineyard.

[John Weaver] Obviously, there were a lot of vineyards back in those days because everyone had grapes, obviously. But when you start thinking about a vineyard and or vines, that is something that has been used all throughout Scripture. In fact, some of the major portions of scripture that deals with vineyards and vines you will find, for instance, in Isaiah 5, Psalm 80, Joel chapter 1, Jeremiah chapter 2, Ezekiel chapter 19. And so these illustrations have been used all down through history.

[John Weaver] So you would have to ask yourself, like in verse 1, Jesus Christ said, I am the true vine, and my father is the husband man. So why in the world would Jesus Christ refer to himself as the true vine? Well, he calls himself the true vine to demonstrate and to show that all other vines are false vines. It's much like the illustration that he used in John chapter 10 when he said, I am the good shepherd. I'm the good shepherd giving his life for the sheep.

[John Weaver] Then he talked about the hirelings. So Jesus Christ is the true shepherd in contrast to all the hirelings. who don't care for the sheep. He is a true vine in contrast to all the other false vines that entangle and ensnare. And I've got news for you. If you've ever walked in the woods with any frequency, you've tripped over a vine. Obviously. And a lot of the vines do not even produce fruit. They're just there. And so, our Lord is saying, I am the true vine, and in Me, and only in Me, are you going to be able to produce fruit. Now, there's another reason, I think, that He refers to Himself as the true vine. He does so to demonstrate to His disciples that their fruit was not in themselves, but their fruit was to be found in Him alone. Fruit did not, and does not, originate from all of the ceremonial laws or from the rituals of the Pharisees, or from any religiosity, biblical fruit only comes from our union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] And everything flows out of Christ, because He is indeed the true vine. Now, there is a second obvious truth here, that is this. If you are savingly united to Jesus Christ, you are going to produce fruit. Look what he said in verse 2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

[John Weaver] That is, he prunes it, he shapes it. But every branch in him brings forth fruit. So we can say it like this. Bearing fruit is normal and natural for a true, genuine child of God.

[John Weaver] Now when we talk about fruit, you have to understand Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23, where he refers to the fruit of the Spirit. He says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. So, every child of God is going to have, to some degree, that fruit in their person. You have to remember in Matthew chapter 13, Mark chapter 4, Luke chapter 8, where he talks about the parable of the sower, some brought forth twentyfold, some sixty, and some a hundredfold. Not everybody's going to produce fruit a hundred percent every year, but we're going to have some kind of fruit in us that's going to be noticeable. It will be made manifest, but in every child of God there is going to be some fruit. Now, it is called the fruit of the Spirit. Why is it called the fruit of the Spirit? Because it is produced by the Holy Spirit. That is why in Romans 8 and verse 9, the Word of God says it like this, Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

[John Weaver] So, if the Spirit of Christ does not abide in you, you're not going to have any fruit. If the Spirit of Christ does abide in you, then you're going to have fruit. It will be made manifest in one way or the other. The third truth that is very clear in this passage is this, that abiding in Christ is not optional, but it is mandatory. It is absolutely necessary. Look in verse 4. He said, Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can you except you abide in Me. It is impossible to live a Christian life without Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] But you know so many people try to do that. That's why you have so many church members who are actually lost. It is impossible to please God the Father apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible to produce biblical fruit apart from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It is possible to be religious and lost. It is possible to be a baptized church member, a Sunday school teacher, a deacon, and a preacher and be lost. There have been many preachers that have been saved after they were preaching. One of my dear friends preached for a number of years, lost, and then God saved him.

[John Weaver] And he gives testimony very clearly But you have to understand this, professions do not save. So many people count their profession as their salvation. Professions do not save. Years ago, when I was in the university, I had a ministry going to the jail, and I would preach every Friday night in jail. When I went to the jail that particular Friday night, the jailer, who was a Christian and a friend, told me about one man who was in the cell, who had just been charged with murdering his wife and murdering his mother-in-law. When I went back, of course, they released all the prisoners in this larger cell block, and I was able to preach to them.

[John Weaver] Now, I noticed he stood up against the wall with his foot against the wall. Everybody else was up front. So when I got through preaching, he came up to me and he said, Preacher, I'm glad you brought that message. They really need I looked at him and I said, are you implying that you didn't need it? Oh, no. He said, I'm a Christian. I said, wait a minute. Pardon me.

[John Weaver] Aren't you the man that is in here because you're charged with murdering your wife and your mother-in-law? Well, he said, yes, I am. I said, well, how is it that you claim to be a Christian? Well, you just violated God's law and you murdered your wife and your mother-in-law. Well, he said, I know I'm saved because I went forward to the Billy Graham crusade. That was his answer. And I looked at it and I said, sir, the scripture says, and you know that no murderer had the eternal life abiding in him.

[John Weaver] And I said, so either you are lying or God is lying, and I don't think it's God. So if I were you, I believe I would be seeking the Lord Jesus Christ is what I'd be doing. But professions do not save. Works do not save. Churches do not save. Soul winners do not save. Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone saves. So what the Scripture is telling us is this, if there is no biblical fruit in your life, then you are lost. It's just that simple. Because if there is fruit, that is evidence of life. If there is no fruit, there is no life. Now, watch this.

[John Weaver] It does not matter what your profession is. It does not matter what your position of the church is, or in the church. If there is no fruit in your body, you're not a Christian. It's just that simple.

[John Weaver] Now, here's another reason that demonstrates that it's absolutely mandatory to abide in Christ. Look in verse 6. He says, if a man abides not in Me, He is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. And men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. So obviously there is no life apart from Jesus Christ. And a refusal to abide in Christ places one in eternal jeopardy.

[John Weaver] Our Lord said to the goats in Matthew 25, those on the left hand, He said, and these shall go away into everlasting punishment. So according to verse 6 then, a failure to abide in Christ means that you're to be cast out, cast away, dried up, withered, and burned. Everyone in this room understands that dead limbs do not produce fruit. The only thing a dead limb is good for is firewood.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly what he's saying. Now, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, as I read the scripture originally, and as I pointed out certain verses, But I want to emphasize that there is a real, specific emphasis in this passage. That emphasis, very clearly, is abiding in Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now the word abide that occurs so many times here is from the little Greek word meno, M-E-N-O, which means to abide, to remain, to dwell, to continue, to endure, to last, and to tarry. In fact, the word abide occurs twice in verse 4. It occurs once in verse 5. It occurs once in verse 6. In verse 7, it occurs twice. In verse 9, the word continue is the same little Greek word, minno. In verse 10, It occurs twice. And then the word remain in verse 11 is still the same Greek word minnow. So when you add those up, you're going to find that the one little Greek word minnow translated to abide occurs 10 times in 11 verses.

[John Weaver] So obviously, there is an emphasis here upon abiding. And here's two questions that I want to answer. And I want you to think about this. First of all, what does it mean to abide in Christ? And secondly, how do I know whether or not I'm abiding in Christ? How do I know whether or not Gary is abiding in Christ? How do I know whether or if he's abiding in Christ? If the emphasis is upon abiding, Obviously, we need to know what abiding is, and we need to know how we can tell whether or not we are genuinely abiding in Christ. Now, if abiding in Christ is some type of esoteric experience, if it's some type of mystical feeling somewhere, how in the world would you know it?

[John Weaver] And if you had it, how would you continue in it? And if you lost them, how would you get it back? I mean, very obviously, there has to be some biblical answers to these questions. And thankfully, there are answers to those questions. So if you look in verse 7 and then verse 10, I want to just emphasize this before I show you a number of other passages. So look in verse 7.

[John Weaver] Our Lord says, if you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you." Then if you'll skip down to verse 10. He says, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. Now go back to verse 7. He says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. I want you to Notice the word, words, plural. If you abide in me and my words abide in you. The little Greek word there is the word rhema, which refers to that which has been uttered or spoken by the living word. So actually what he is saying is the reference here is to his doctrine or to his commandments. His words are to remain continue, indwell, and abide in us as a living principle to regulate our affections and our lives. In other words, we are to derive our life, our sustenance, and our nourishment from His words.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. When you read verses 1-6, everything is about abiding in Christ. When you look at verses 7-10, it's still about abiding in Christ, but there is a transition. The transition is from Christ to His words. That's why I said in verse 7, if you abide in Me and My words abide in you. Now skip down to verse 10. If you keep My commandments. You shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." Now, I want you to see that there is a transition from Christ to His words, but in reality they are one and the same.

[John Weaver] I've probably told you this many times, but I'm going to tell it to you again in light of what I'm preaching and teaching. Jesus Christ is the living Word. The Bible is the written Word. You remember that passage in John 1, 1-3? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with Him.

[John Weaver] All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And then you skip down to verse 14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus Christ is the Living Word. When you get to 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for proof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work, or every good work. Now, since Jesus Christ is the Living Word, the Bible is the written Word, he puts the two of them together in John 12 and verse 48. Here he says this, he that rejected me, that is the living word, and receiveth not my words, that is the written word, hath the one that judgeth him in the last day. The word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day. So you cannot have one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward his word because they are one and the same.

[John Weaver] He is the living word and the Bible is the written word. So when you look at verse 10, he says, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.

[John Weaver] Now, ask yourself this question. How did Jesus Christ abide in his father's love? And the answer is, according to verse 10, by actively keeping and obeying his father's commandments. So that brings me to the second question. How do we abide in Jesus Christ? And the answer is the same. By actively keeping and obeying His commandments. So Christ's pattern then is to be emulated and imitated by us.

[John Weaver] Now let me say this another way. It is impossible to retain a sense of God's pardoning love without continuing in the obedience of faith. It was the obedience of Jesus Christ that marked out and manifested His love to the Father. And likewise, it is our obedience to Jesus Christ and His commandments that marks out and manifests our love to Jesus Christ. So let me say this another way still. Our obedience does not save us. It does not help save us.

[John Weaver] We're saved by the sovereign grace and mercy of God alone. However, our obedience does indeed manifest whether or not we are saved. And clearly, in this passage, there has to be a reference to the government of the Lord Jesus Christ. He not only is God, He also governs. Let me explain what I mean by that. You remember the question that our Lord asked in Luke 6 and verse 46? He asked, Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say unto you?

[John Weaver] Now, the word Lord is the Greek word Kyrios, which literally means boss, owner, master, sovereign. So Jesus Christ is saying, why are you calling me boss? Why are you calling me master? Why are you calling me sovereign if you're not going to obey me? Obviously, Those who recognize Him as boss, owner, master, and sovereign do obey Him. Those who do not recognize Him as that refuse to obey Him. So clearly then, there is a most weighty meaning for those that belong to Jesus Christ in these words. Because if we acknowledge Him as our boss and our owner and our master and our sovereign, we will obey Him.

[John Weaver] Now, it is impossible to produce fruit for the Father impossible to keep up the enjoyment of Christ's love being manifest in our lives without obedience. If you would, look in verse 11. Here's what he said. After having given us the truth in verses 1-10, he says, these things have I spoken to you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. In other words, if you want my joy in you and you want full joy, then you obey what I'm telling you. So, obedience then is not optional. It is mandatory. It is an expression of our love to Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you how He prepares us for John 15. So look in your Bibles at John 14 and verse 15. Our Lord makes it very clear, John 14, verse 15, He says this, If you love Me, Keep My commandments. That's pretty simple, isn't it? If you love Me, keep My commandments. Look in verse 21. He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. So it says, he that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. Now, if that's not understandable, our Lord then reverses it in verse 24. Look at it. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings.

[John Weaver] The word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. Now, according to John 15 in verse 10, abiding in the love of Jesus Christ relates directly to obedience. I don't see really truly how it could be any plainer. When you look at verse 10, our Lord said, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love. You shall abide is a future active indicative in the Greek. It means that abiding is result of active obedience that is keeping his commandments. And the indicative mood is a simple statement of fact. So he is stating a simple fact. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love. Now, it is his grace and mercy and power that unites us to Jesus Christ, initially and originally. And it is his grace and mercy and power that enables us to abide in Christ, which also enables us to obey Christ.

[John Weaver] This truth is kind of like the truth of preservation and perseverance. You remember in Jude 1, the Bible tells us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. But you know, the Bible also says that we are to persevere. He then drew it to the end. The same shall be said. The Bible talks about holding out, working out, keep going, holding on. What is that talking about? It's talking about perseverance. Now watch. those whom God preserves, he enables to persevere. In other words, when we are preserved in Jesus Christ, God gives us grace to continue in repentance and continue in faith and continue in obedience. So in truth and reality, our perseverance is evidence and proof of the fact that we've been preserved. If God had not preserved us, we would never persevere, anyhow. So when you talk about preservation and perseverance, it's the two sides of one coin. Likewise, when you talk about abiding in Christ and obeying his commandments, it's the two sides of one coin. Because it is God who unites us with Jesus Christ, and then it is God, according to the book of Hebrews and Jeremiah as well, who writes his law upon our hearts that enables us to obey and gives us the desire and the ability to obey.

[John Weaver] Now, so the obedience to His commandments is evidence of abiding grace. Now, let me try to explain this farther by showing you some Scriptures. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jude. Right before the book of Revelation, you have the book of Jude. I don't even have to give you the chapter. You will find there's only one chapter there. But I want you to look in Jude verse 21 to begin with. Jude verse 21. Now watch carefully.

[John Weaver] Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ into eternal life. Now, I don't know. Oh, if you call it just what I read, Keep yourselves in the love of God. Wow. You know, I didn't check it, Gary, but is that an imperative? Do you know? I'm sure it probably is. OK, it's an imperative, which is a command. Keep yourselves in the love of God.

[John Weaver] Now, there's a good question. How do you keep yourself in the love of God? Well, Let's look in verse 20. These could be connected, but we will still need further explanation. In verse 20 he says,"...but you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Now he says,"...but you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. So you have a responsibility to build up yourselves on your most holy faith. And one of the ways we do so is by praying in the Holy Ghost. But wait a minute. Let me tell you about the word building. It's a very interesting Greek word. The word is people I call Domeo.

[John Weaver] And it means, listen carefully, it means to finish the structure of which the foundation has already been laid. Do you remember that passage in 1 Corinthians 3? The Apostle Paul said, I have laid the foundation which no other man can lay, which is Jesus Christ. Now, he is commanding us to finish the structure. The foundation has already been laid. We must build up ourselves in our most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost. Watch.

[John Weaver] Keep yourselves in the love of God. Wow. Let me just give you a quote right quickly before I show you a verse. Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry said this. Keep up the grace of love to God in its lively, vigorous actions and exercises in your souls. And then he said this. Take heed of throwing yourselves out of the love of God to you, or its delightful, cheering, strengthening manifestations. Keep yourselves in the way of God if you would continue in His love.

[John Weaver] You know, sometimes when you read these commentators, it makes me think of what the old black preacher said years ago. that their Bible showed us shed a whole lot of light on them commentaries. That's true. That's true. Well, you know, although what Matthew Henry just said is good, and I like Matthew Henry, there's nothing wrong with Matthew Henry. But when he says keep yourselves in the way of God, then you have to ask yourself, what is the way of God? Wow. That's like answering, what is it to keep yourselves in the love of God? Well, if we're going to keep ourselves in the love of God, we're certainly going to keep ourselves in the way of God. But what does it mean to keep yourselves in the love of God?

[John Weaver] I want you to look back in your Bibles to first John, chapter five, first John, chapter five. You remember, it was the apostle John who wrote the gospel of John, first John, second John, third John in Revelation. So we've got the same individual. And look what he says in first John five and verse three. Here is what he's telling you the love of God really is. 1 John 5, verse 3. Watch it. Watch it. For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. What is the love of God?

[John Weaver] It's not some little esoteric experience. It's not some type of mystical feeling. It's not something floating around in the universe somewhere. The love of God is keeping His commandments. The love of God is obedience. We build up ourselves in our most holy faith by obedience to His commandments. Praying in the Holy Ghost, we keep ourselves in the love of God by obedience to His commandments. Let me show you. You remember Joseph?

[John Weaver] Was sold into slavery in Egypt. Ended up in Potiphar's house. He was made the master of that house. And you remember how Potiphar's wife made a play for Joseph. Of course, he ran off leaving his coat. And in Genesis 39 and verse 9, Joseph said this to her, There is none greater in this house than I. Neither hath he kept anything back from me but thee, because thou art his wife.

[John Weaver] How then Can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And he ran out.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you, how did Joseph keep himself in the love of God? He obeyed God. How did he keep himself in the love of God? He ran away from temptation. I'm going to be dealing with some of this probably in the future. But you remember Paul wrote Timothy, and he told Timothy, flee also youthful lusts. Do you know when Paul wrote that to Timothy, Timothy was in his forties. And youthful lusts continue whether you're 70 or 80 or 90. It doesn't matter. You still have to flee them. You still have to get away from them. And you always flee. So Joseph then built himself up in his most holy faith. How simply by obedience. He obeyed.

[John Weaver] Instead of sitting against God, here's just a couple of quotes, I want you to listen. We're going to keep going, but Albert Barnes is it like this? Talking about this is the love of God that we keep his commandments. This constitutes true love. This furnishes the evidence of it. And his commandments are not grievous, and the Greek word is heavy. That is, they're not difficult to be borne as a burden.

[John Weaver] The meaning is that his laws are not unreasonable. The duties which he requires are not beyond our ability. His government is not oppressive. It is easy to obey God when the heart is right, and those who endeavor in sincerity to keep his commandments do not complain that they are hard All complaints of this kind, that they are hard, come from those who are not disposed to keep his commandments anyhow. And then he says this, no man ever yet heard a true Christian say that the laws of God requiring him to lead a holy life were stern and grievous.

[John Weaver] It doesn't grieve me that I can't murder. It doesn't grieve me that I can't steal. Does it grieve me that I can't commit adultery? Does it grieve me that I can't worship idols? I don't want to do those things anyhow. And this is what he's saying. This is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. John Gill said it like this. Keeping of the commandments of God is an evidence of love to God. This shows that love is not in word and tone, in profession only, but in deed and in truth. and that such persons have a sense of the love of God upon their souls under the influence of which they act, and such shall have and may expect to have greater manifestations of the love of God unto them." Wow.

[John Weaver] And another author went on to say this. This is the love of God that we keep as commandments. There is nothing else that is worth calling love. Love to God is the spirit of obedience. It is that which subjects the whole life to Him. How can it be loved to Him, whose authority we admit and whose perfection in the exercise of it we cannot truly doubt for a moment, and yet at the same time refuse obedience to Him? What is this path that His commandments mark out for us but a path of peace? as it is a path of victory over all that the world would destroy, subjection to God is that which is peace to the individual and to the whole universe." And that's true. Subjection to God. So he says, this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous. Now, I've heard professing Christians say, but I love God and I don't keep his commandments. I've heard people say, well, I don't like the restraints.

[John Weaver] I don't like the hindrances. I want to be free to do my thing. But now I believe in God and I love him. Really? Well, Here's my answer.

[John Weaver] Now that you have expressed yourself, allow God to express Himself. So if you look in 1 John 2, beginning there with verse 3. 1 John 2, verse 3. Look, if you would, please, at what John writes. 1 John 2, verse 3. He that saith, I know Him, And verse 3, and hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. How do I know that I know God? Because He is enabling me and empowering me to keep His commandments.

[John Weaver] That doesn't mean that I'm perfect. But it does mean that the general tenor of my life is a life of obedience. It means generally that yes, I may sin, I may fall short, but my life is characterized by obedience to God in keeping His commandments. Hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. But watch verse 4. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Wow. And then if you look in verse 5, But whoso keepeth his word, In Him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him. So as obedience demonstrates and manifests our knowledge and submission to Him, disobedience demonstrates and manifests our rebellion and the reality that we really do not know Him and really do not love Him. Because if you love me, said our Lord, You'll keep My commands. If you love Me, you'll obey Me. Now look in 1 John 3, verses 23 and 24. 1 John 3.

[John Weaver] Notice verse 23. And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave His commandment. Now look carefully. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abided in us by the Spirit which he hath given us. Now, let me just pause with verse 24. Because the word dwelleth there is the same little word minnow. He that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he, that is God, in him. And hereby we know that He abided in us by the Spirit which He had given us.

[John Weaver] Here is the explanation for John 15. He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him. Why am I keeping His commandments? Because He dwells in me. And hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He had given us. So it is the Holy Spirit in us which enables us to obey Him, which enables us to abide, and therefore we know that He abides in us because He is enabling us to obey Him. That's fairly simple. Wow. Okay. Look in 1 John 4 and verse 13. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him. There's that same word, minnow, abide. Hereby know that we abide in Him and He in us because He had given us of His Spirit. Isn't that amazing? How do I know that God abides in me? Because He's given us and given me His Spirit who enables me to obey Him and bring my life in conformity to Him.

[John Weaver] So let me just say this again. I've already said it. It's the same truth as preservation and perseverance. Our preservation comes to light by God enabling us to persevere. Our abiding in Christ comes to light by His power enabling us to obey and to bring our lives in conformity to His Word. Look in 1 John 3 and verse 22. He said, And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Now, wait a minute. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him. Why? Because we keep His commandments. Are you looking? And do those things that are pleasing in His sight. What is pleasing in God's sight? Keeping His commandments. Obedience.

[John Weaver] Now, here's an interesting thing. The Bible says in verse 22, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. The word sight is the little Greek word enopion, and it literally means before, in the sight of, or in the presence of, or I could give it even more a colloquial expression, in front of. Let me show you how important this is. You remember that passage in 1 Samuel chapter 15 when God sent Saul, King Saul, on a mission to utterly slay all the Amalekites. He said slay them all, man, woman, boy, girl, ox, suckling ass, everything. But the Bible says that Saul spared Agag the king and the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen. And when Samuel came up It was Saul who said, blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed all the commandments of God.

[John Weaver] And at that time, something went bad. And Samuel said, if you obey God, what meaneth the blading of the sheep and the lowering of the oxen in my ear? If you had obeyed God, everything had been dead. And of course, then Saul tried to Blame it on the people, the people spared them, et cetera, that we might sacrifice. In that tremendous passage, hath the Lord's great delight in burnt offering sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord. And then little Samuel said, bring ye hither to me Agag. And the next verse says that Agag came delicately And so he was saying to himself, surely the bitterness of death has passed. Every time I read that word, I've never looked at him. I've got to. But I can just see him pressing up to little Samuel, you know. He came delicately. And Samuel looked at him and said, as thy sword hath made women childless, so thy mother shall be childless. And Samuel took the sword. And here's what the Bible says. He hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord.

[John Weaver] Wow. In the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, in the sight of the Lord, the word sight is in opion. In other words, what Samuel did to Agag, he did in front of the face of God. He did it in the presence of God. He did it with God's approval because he did to Agag exactly that which God wanted done to Agag by King Saul who refused to do it. And now the Bible says we do those things that are pleasing in His sight. What does it mean? It means that we live our lives keeping His commandments in the presence. in the face of, before our God. Before our God.

[John Weaver] Stop and think about everything that we do. It is in the face of God and before God and in the presence of God. And if we want to please Him, we obey Him. Let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. I've already said it. I'm going to restate it. Abiding in Christ is not optional, but it is mandatory. We cannot exist apart from Jesus Christ. He is the vine. We're the branches. Abiding is not some esoteric act.

[John Weaver] It's not some mystical feeling. Abiding in Christ is obedience to the totality of his word. It is submitting to him. It is refusing to sin against him. It is fleeing from temptation. It is running from that which is contrary to him and obeying him in his presence and in his sight. Abiding in Christ is obedience. The second thing is this. We must keep ourselves in His love by fervent obedience by His grace and mercy. We cannot become apathetic. We cannot become lazy and indolent and lackadaisical.

[John Weaver] Like Joseph, we have to learn to flee from every violation of Scripture. Sometimes it's mental. Sometimes it's emotional. Sometimes it's physical. It doesn't matter what it is, we must learn to flee from it. When we are talking about abiding, the term abiding is a term of constancy. It's a term of continuance. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to one last passage, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. And I want you to see how fervently, how adamant we must be in obeying our Lord. In first Corinthians, chapter nine.

[John Weaver] Beginning there with verse 26, the Apostle Paul says this. I, therefore, so run, not as uncertainly so, but I not as one that beat the air. He's not a shadow boxer. He's not just playing around. But I keep under my body and bring it in a subjection, lest that by any means, when I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway." Now, what is the apostle saying? Here's what he's saying.

[John Weaver] I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God. I'm not playing in this thing. It is a real, genuine fight. It is a real, genuine struggle. Do you remember what else the Apostle Paul said? I die how often? Daily. Sometimes it must be hourly. Sometimes it may be minute by minute or moment by moment. But we have to fight the good fight of faith. And that fighting is real and genuine.

[John Weaver] Most of our battles, we would use the term spiritual. They're all spiritual, but most of our battles are mental. Everything starts in the mind. Out of the heart proceedeth all of these things. And the heart, as I've shown you from scripture, is the mind. It's the reasoning ability. If you can control your mind, you usually can control your body. Abiding in Christ is not optional. It's mandatory. And abiding in Christ is just obedience to Him.

[John Weaver] Fighting the good fight of faith. and bringing our lives into total submission to Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your grace and your mercy. We do pray, Lord, that you would give us understanding on what it really means to abide in Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to understand that you have said, if we keep your commandments, we will abide in you. Help us to be obedient. Help us, Lord, to trust in the Holy Spirit of God, to enable us to resist temptation and to submit ourselves unto Thee and to obey Thee in every area of our lives. We ask for Your grace and Your mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen. a a a you

Abiding In Christ

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	HcM0JRjr3WE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Walking With God
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-03-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 135: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 2 — Chapter 26
Source Timed Segments	72

Formatted Transcript

Opening

John chapter 15, and we're going to read the first 11 verses. John 15. The title of the message is Abiding in Christ. Notice if you would, a very familiar passage. He says,

Scripture Reading — John 15:1-11

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." "Now ye are clean through 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, no more 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 bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit."

"So shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." A number of years ago, I read, I don't know, three or four, five or six books on the subject of abiding in Christ. I do not really think that any of those books particularly helped me. Many of the books were pietistic, egocentric, and deeper life-related or just plain nonsense. Some of the authors posited or demanded a life that absolutely no one could live and no one could fulfill.

Introduction and Personal Struggle with Pietistic Standards

Weaver shares his failed attempt to emulate Puritan prayer habits, concluding that God is reasonable and our pattern is Christ, not historical figures.

And some even went so far as to say that unless you lived exactly the way they were saying, then obviously you were not a Christian. And of course, when one tries to do a lot of things that are impossible, then reality sets in and brings one again back to his senses. Let me give you an illustration. Many years ago, I was reading a lot of the Puritan writings, and I was struck not only with their piety, their dedication, their exposition of scripture, their prayer life. And many of those old Puritans would arise at 2 or 3 in the morning and began praying and studying and preparing themselves for the day. And I thought, well, you know, that is wonderful. That's something that I really need to do myself. And so I determined that that was exactly what I was going to do. So I got up. I don't remember if it was two or three. And I knelt beside my bed and I put my head in my hands on my bed and I started praying. And when I woke up about three hours later, my knees were sore. Well, I tried it again and it happened again the second day. I tried the third day and I failed again. And I was berating myself and I was thinking, wow, I must be very unspiritual. I must not be up to par. Something's got to be wrong with me. They did it.

And then it dawned on me. Yes, they did it. But they also went to bed at 6 p.m. No telephones, no TV, no computer, no nothing. And here I was, not only a pastor, but I was the principal of our Christian school. I taught in our Christian school. I was the counselor. I was the disciplinarian. Besides, I taught three nights a week at our Bible study group, not counting Sunday preaching and Wednesday night preaching. The Bible Institute was three hours a night. I was putting in 12 and 14 hour days, getting in bed about 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, and then trying to get up at 3 o'clock. No wonder I failed. So, the point I'm trying to make from all of this is very simple. God is very reasonable.

He said in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord." And so obviously, someone who lived 200 years ago or 300 years ago is not our pattern. The Lord Jesus Christ is our pattern. And whatever He demands, we must obey. But our lives are not to be lived based upon what someone was able to do two or three hundred years in the past. Our lives must be based upon the Scripture, and we must seek Him for grace and mercy to obey Him and bring our lives into conformity with that Word. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is our example, and we must follow Him.

The Metaphor of the Vine and Branches

Jesus uses the common metaphor of the vine to show He is the true vine, contrasting with false vines, and that fruit comes only from union with Him.

Now, if you study some of the commentators, you'll find different versions as to why our Lord used this particular metaphor. Well, some say the Passover had just ended, and of course, they had wine, and so it was obvious then that he's using, "I'm the true vine, and you're the branches." Others, like Josephus, says that on the entrance of the temple, there was a golden vine, a grapevine there. And still others were just simply saying that he was walking with the disciples to the Mount of Olives and passed a vineyard. Obviously, there were a lot of vineyards back in those days because everyone had grapes, obviously. But when you start thinking about a vineyard and or vines, that is something that has been used all throughout Scripture. In fact, some of the major portions of scripture that deals with vineyards and vines you will find, for instance, in Isaiah 5, Psalm 80, Joel chapter 1, Jeremiah chapter 2, Ezekiel chapter 19. And so these illustrations have been used all down through history.

So you would have to ask yourself, like in verse 1, Jesus Christ said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." So why in the world would Jesus Christ refer to himself as the true vine? Well, he calls himself the true vine to demonstrate and to show that all other vines are false vines. It's much like the illustration that he used in John chapter 10 when he said, "I am the good shepherd. I'm the good shepherd giving his life for the sheep."

Then he talked about the hirelings. So Jesus Christ is the true shepherd in contrast to all the hirelings who don't care for the sheep. He is a true vine in contrast to all the other false vines that entangle and ensnare. And I've got news for you. If you've ever walked in the woods with any frequency, you've tripped over a vine. Obviously. And a lot of the vines do not even produce fruit. They're just there. And so, our Lord is saying, "I am the true vine, and in Me, and only in Me, are you going to be able to produce fruit." Now, there's another reason, I think, that He refers to Himself as the true vine. He does so to demonstrate to His disciples that their fruit was not in themselves, but their fruit was to be found in Him alone. Fruit did not, and does not, originate from all of the ceremonial laws or from the rituals of the Pharisees, or from any religiosity; biblical fruit only comes from our union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Fruit-Bearing as Evidence of Salvation

Every true believer bears fruit, which is the fruit of the Spirit; lack of fruit indicates a lost state regardless of profession.

That is, he prunes it, he shapes it. But every branch in him brings forth fruit. So we can say it like this. Bearing fruit is normal and natural for a true, genuine child of God.

Now when we talk about fruit, you have to understand Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23, where he refers to the fruit of the Spirit. He says,

Scripture Reading — Galatians 5:22-23

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

So, every child of God is going to have, to some degree, that fruit in their person. You have to remember in Matthew chapter 13, Mark chapter 4, Luke chapter 8, where he talks about the parable of the sower, some brought forth twentyfold, some sixty, and some a hundredfold. Not everybody's going to produce fruit a hundred percent every year, but we're going to have some kind of fruit in us that's going to be noticeable. It will be made manifest, but in every child of God there is going to be some fruit. Now, it is called the fruit of the Spirit. Why is it called the fruit of the Spirit? Because it is produced by the Holy Spirit. That is why in Romans 8 and verse 9, the Word of God says it like this, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

So, if the Spirit of Christ does not abide in you, you're not going to have any fruit. If the Spirit of Christ does abide in you, then you're going to have fruit. It will be made manifest in one way or the other. The third truth that is very clear in this passage is this, that abiding in Christ is not optional, but it is mandatory. It is absolutely necessary. Look in verse 4. He said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me." It is impossible to live a Christian life without Jesus Christ.

But you know so many people try to do that. That's why you have so many church members who are actually lost. It is impossible to please God the Father apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible to produce biblical fruit apart from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It is possible to be religious and lost. It is possible to be a baptized church member, a Sunday school teacher, a deacon, and a preacher and be lost. There have been many preachers that have been saved after they were preaching. One of my dear friends preached for a number of years, lost, and then God saved him.

And he gives testimony very clearly. But you have to understand this, professions do not save. So many people count their profession as their salvation. Professions do not save. Years ago, when I was in the university, I had a ministry going to the jail, and I would preach every Friday night in jail. When I went to the jail that particular Friday night, the jailer, who was a Christian and a friend, told me about one man who was in the cell, who had just been charged with murdering his wife and murdering his mother-in-law. When I went back, of course, they released all the prisoners in this larger cell block, and I was able to preach to them.

Now, I noticed he stood up against the wall with his foot against the wall. Everybody else was up front. So when I got through preaching, he came up to me and he said, "Preacher, I'm glad you brought that message. They really need it." I looked at him and I said, "Are you implying that you didn't need it?" "Oh, no." He said, "I'm a Christian." I said, "Wait a minute. Pardon me?" "Aren't you the man that is in here because you're charged with murdering your wife and your mother-in-law?" Well, he said, "Yes, I am." I said, "Well, how is it that you claim to be a Christian? Well, you just violated God's law and you murdered your wife and your mother-in-law." Well, he said, "I know I'm saved because I went forward to the Billy Graham crusade." That was his answer. And I looked at him and I said, "Sir, the scripture says, 'And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.'"

And I said, "So either you are lying or God is lying, and I don't think it's God. So if I were you, I believe I would be seeking the Lord Jesus Christ is what I'd be doing." But professions do not save. Works do not save. Churches do not save. Soul winners do not save. Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone saves. So what the Scripture is telling us is this, if there is no biblical fruit in your life, then you are lost. It's just that simple. Because if there is fruit, that is evidence of life. If there is no fruit, there is no life. Now, watch this.

It does not matter what your profession is. It does not matter what your position in the church is. If there is no fruit in your body, you're not a Christian. It's just that simple.

Now, here's another reason that demonstrates that it's absolutely mandatory to abide in Christ. Look in verse 6. He says, "If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." So obviously there is no life apart from Jesus Christ. And a refusal to abide in Christ places one in eternal jeopardy.

The Mandatory Nature of Abiding

Abiding in Christ is not optional; failure to abide results in being cast away and burned, showing the necessity of a living union.

It does not matter what your profession is. It does not matter what your position in the church is. If there is no fruit in your body, you're not a Christian. It's just that simple.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 25:46

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment."

So according to verse 6 then, a failure to abide in Christ means that you're to be cast out, cast away, dried up, withered, and burned. Everyone in this room understands that dead limbs do not produce fruit. The only thing a dead limb is good for is firewood.

And that's exactly what he's saying. Now, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, as I read the scripture originally, and as I pointed out certain verses, but I want to emphasize that there is a real, specific emphasis in this passage. That emphasis, very clearly, is abiding in Jesus Christ.

The Emphasis on 'Abide' in John 15

The Greek word 'meno' (abide) appears 10 times in 11 verses, underscoring the central theme of remaining in Christ.

Now the word "abide" that occurs so many times here is from the little Greek word meno, M-E-N-O, which means to abide, to remain, to dwell, to continue, to endure, to last, and to tarry. In fact, the word "abide" occurs twice in verse 4. It occurs once in verse 5. It occurs once in verse 6. In verse 7, it occurs twice. In verse 9, the word "continue" is the same little Greek word, meno. In verse 10, it occurs twice. And then the word "remain" in verse 11 is still the same Greek word meno. So when you add those up, you're going to find that the one little Greek word meno translated "abide" occurs 10 times in 11 verses.

So obviously, there is an emphasis here upon abiding. And here's two questions that I want to answer. And I want you to think about this. First of all, what does it mean to abide in Christ? And secondly, how do I know whether or not I'm abiding in Christ? How do I know whether or not Gary is abiding in Christ? How do I know whether or if he's abiding in Christ? If the emphasis is upon abiding, obviously, we need to know what abiding is, and we need to know how we can tell whether or not we are genuinely abiding in Christ. Now, if abiding in Christ is some type of esoteric experience, if it's some type of mystical feeling somewhere, how in the world would you know it?

Abiding Defined by Obedience to Christ's Words

Abiding transitions from Christ to His words; keeping His commandments is how we abide in His love, as Christ kept the Father's commandments.

And if you had it, how would you continue in it? And if you lost it, how would you get it back? I mean, very obviously, there has to be some biblical answers to these questions. And thankfully, there are answers to those questions. So if you look in verse 7 and then verse 10, I want to just emphasize this before I show you a number of other passages. So look in verse 7. Our Lord says, "If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." Then if you'll skip down to verse 10, He says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." Now go back to verse 7. He says, "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." I want you to notice the word "words," plural. "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you." The little Greek word there is the word rhema, which refers to that which has been uttered or spoken by the living word. So actually what he is saying is the reference here is to his doctrine or to his commandments. His words are to remain, continue, indwell, and abide in us as a living principle to regulate our affections and our lives. In other words, we are to derive our life, our sustenance, and our nourishment from His words.

Now, let me point something out. When you read verses 1-6, everything is about abiding in Christ. When you look at verses 7-10, it's still about abiding in Christ, but there is a transition. The transition is from Christ to His words. That's why I said in verse 7, "If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you." Now skip down to verse 10. "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." Now, I want you to see that there is a transition from Christ to His words, but in reality they are one and the same. I've probably told you this many times, but I'm going to tell it to you again in light of what I'm preaching and teaching. Jesus Christ is the living Word. The Bible is the written Word. You remember that passage in John 1:1-3? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with Him."

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."

And then you skip down to verse 14. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus Christ is the Living Word. When you get to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for proof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work," or every good work. Now, since Jesus Christ is the Living Word, the Bible is the written Word, he puts the two of them together in John 12 and verse 48. Here he says this, "He that rejecteth me," that is the living word, "and receiveth not my words," that is the written word, "hath one that judgeth him in the last day. The word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day." So you cannot have one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward his word because they are one and the same.

He is the living word and the Bible is the written word. So when you look at verse 10, he says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." Now, ask yourself this question. How did Jesus Christ abide in his Father's love? And the answer is, according to verse 10, by actively keeping and obeying his Father's commandments. So that brings me to the second question. How do we abide in Jesus Christ? And the answer is the same. By actively keeping and obeying His commandments. So Christ's pattern then is to be emulated and imitated by us.

Now let me say this another way. It is impossible to retain a sense of God's pardoning love without continuing in the obedience of faith. It was the obedience of Jesus Christ that marked out and manifested His love to the Father. And likewise, it is our obedience to Jesus Christ and His commandments that marks out and manifests our love to Jesus Christ. So let me say this another way still. Our obedience does not save us. It does not help save us.

Obedience as Evidence of Love and Salvation

Obedience does not save but manifests salvation; calling Jesus 'Lord' demands obedience, and love for Christ is proven by keeping His commandments.

We're saved by the sovereign grace and mercy of God alone. However, our obedience does indeed manifest whether or not we are saved. And clearly, in this passage, there has to be a reference to the government of the Lord Jesus Christ. He not only is God, He also governs. Let me explain what I mean by that. You remember the question that our Lord asked in Luke 6 and verse 46? He asked, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say unto you?"

Now, the word "Lord" is the Greek word Kyrios, which literally means boss, owner, master, sovereign. So Jesus Christ is saying, "Why are you calling me boss? Why are you calling me master? Why are you calling me sovereign if you're not going to obey me?" Obviously, those who recognize Him as boss, owner, master, and sovereign do obey Him. Those who do not recognize Him as that refuse to obey Him. So clearly then, there is a most weighty meaning for those that belong to Jesus Christ in these words. Because if we acknowledge Him as our boss and our owner and our master and our sovereign, we will obey Him.

Now, it is impossible to produce fruit for the Father, impossible to keep up the enjoyment of Christ's love being manifest in our lives without obedience. If you would, look in verse 11. Here's what he said. After having given us the truth in verses 1-10, he says, "These things have I spoken to you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full." In other words, if you want my joy in you and you want full joy, then you obey what I'm telling you. So, obedience then is not optional. It is mandatory. It is an expression of our love to Jesus Christ.

Now, let me show you how He prepares us for John 15. So look in your Bibles at John 14 and verse 15. Our Lord makes it very clear, John 14, verse 15, He says this,

Scripture Reading — John 14:15, 21, 24

"If ye love Me, keep My commandments."

That's pretty simple, isn't it?

Scripture Reading — John 14:15, 21, 24

"If ye love Me, keep My commandments."

Look in verse 21. "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." So it says, "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." Now, if that's not understandable, our Lord then reverses it in verse 24. Look at it. "He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings." "The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." Now, according to John 15 in verse 10, abiding in the love of Jesus Christ relates directly to obedience. I don't see really truly how it could be any plainer. When you look at verse 10, our Lord said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." "Ye shall abide" is a future active indicative in the Greek. It means that abiding is the result of active obedience, that is keeping his commandments. And the indicative mood is a simple statement of fact. So he is stating a simple fact. "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." Now, it is his grace and mercy and power that unites us to Jesus Christ, initially and originally. And it is his grace and mercy and power that enables us to abide in Christ, which also enables us to obey Christ.

The Relationship Between Preservation and Perseverance

God's preservation enables our perseverance; abiding in Christ and obeying His commandments are two sides of one coin, empowered by the Spirit.

This truth is kind of like the truth of preservation and perseverance. You remember in Jude 1, the Bible tells us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. But you know, the Bible also says that we are to persevere. "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." The Bible talks about holding out, working out, keep going, holding on. What is that talking about? It's talking about perseverance. Now watch. Those whom God preserves, he enables to persevere. In other words, when we are preserved in Jesus Christ, God gives us grace to continue in repentance and continue in faith and continue in obedience. So in truth and reality, our perseverance is evidence and proof of the fact that we've been preserved. If God had not preserved us, we would never persevere, anyhow. So when you talk about preservation and perseverance, it's the two sides of one coin. Likewise, when you talk about abiding in Christ and obeying his commandments, it's the two sides of one coin. Because it is God who unites us with Jesus Christ, and then it is God, according to the book of Hebrews and Jeremiah as well, who writes his law upon our hearts that enables us to obey and gives us the desire and the ability to obey.

Now, so the obedience to His commandments is evidence of abiding grace. Now, let me try to explain this farther by showing you some Scriptures. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jude. Right before the book of Revelation, you have the book of Jude. I don't even have to give you the chapter. You will find there's only one chapter there. But I want you to look in Jude verse 21 to begin with. Jude verse 21. Now watch carefully.

Keeping Ourselves in the Love of God

Jude 21 and 1 John 5:3 show that keeping ourselves in God's love means obeying His commandments, which are not burdensome.

"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Now, I don't know. Oh, if you call it just what I read, "Keep yourselves in the love of God." Wow. You know, I didn't check it, Gary, but is that an imperative? Do you know? I'm sure it probably is. OK, it's an imperative, which is a command. "Keep yourselves in the love of God."

Now, there's a good question. How do you keep yourself in the love of God? Well, let's look in verse 20. These could be connected, but we will still need further explanation. In verse 20 he says, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Now he says, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." So you have a responsibility to build up yourselves on your most holy faith. And one of the ways we do so is by praying in the Holy Ghost. But wait a minute. Let me tell you about the word "building." It's a very interesting Greek word. The word is epoikodomeo.

And it means, listen carefully, it means to finish the structure of which the foundation has already been laid. Do you remember that passage in 1 Corinthians 3? The Apostle Paul said, "I have laid the foundation which no other man can lay, which is Jesus Christ." Now, he is commanding us to finish the structure. The foundation has already been laid. We must build up ourselves in our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Watch. "Keep yourselves in the love of God." Wow. Let me just give you a quote right quickly before I show you a verse. Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry said this. "Keep up the grace of love to God in its lively, vigorous actions and exercises in your souls." And then he said this. "Take heed of throwing yourselves out of the love of God to you, or its delightful, cheering, strengthening manifestations. Keep yourselves in the way of God if you would continue in His love."

You know, sometimes when you read these commentators, it makes me think of what the old black preacher said years ago, that their Bible shed a whole lot of light on them commentaries. That's true. That's true. Well, you know, although what Matthew Henry just said is good, and I like Matthew Henry, there's nothing wrong with Matthew Henry. But when he says "keep yourselves in the way of God," then you have to ask yourself, what is the way of God? Wow. That's like answering, what is it to keep yourselves in the love of God? Well, if we're going to keep ourselves in the love of God, we're certainly going to keep ourselves in the way of God. But what does it mean to keep yourselves in the love of God?

I want you to look back in your Bibles to 1 John, chapter five. 1 John, chapter five. You remember, it was the apostle John who wrote the gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation. So we've got the same individual. And look what he says in 1 John 5 and verse 3. Here is what he's telling you the love of God really is. 1 John 5, verse 3. Watch it. Watch it. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous." What is the love of God?

It's not some little esoteric experience. It's not some type of mystical feeling. It's not something floating around in the universe somewhere. The love of God is keeping His commandments. The love of God is obedience. We build up ourselves in our most holy faith by obedience to His commandments. Praying in the Holy Ghost, we keep ourselves in the love of God by obedience to His commandments. Let me show you. You remember Joseph?

Was sold into slavery in Egypt. Ended up in Potiphar's house. He was made the master of that house. And you remember how Potiphar's wife made a play for Joseph. Of course, he ran off leaving his coat. And in Genesis 39 and verse 9, Joseph said this to her, "There is none greater in this house than I. Neither hath he kept anything back from me but thee, because thou art his wife."

"How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" And he ran out. Now let me ask you, how did Joseph keep himself in the love of God? He obeyed God. How did he keep himself in the love of God? He ran away from temptation. I'm going to be dealing with some of this probably in the future. But you remember Paul wrote Timothy, and he told Timothy, "Flee also youthful lusts." Do you know when Paul wrote that to Timothy, Timothy was in his forties. And youthful lusts continue whether you're 70 or 80 or 90. It doesn't matter. You still have to flee them. You still have to get away from them. And you always flee. So Joseph then built himself up in his most holy faith. How? Simply by obedience. He obeyed.

Instead of sinning against God. Here's just a couple of quotes, I want you to listen. We're going to keep going, but Albert Barnes says it like this. Talking about "this is the love of God that we keep his commandments." This constitutes true love. This furnishes the evidence of it. And his commandments are not grievous, and the Greek word is heavy. That is, they're not difficult to be borne as a burden.

The meaning is that his laws are not unreasonable. The duties which he requires are not beyond our ability. His government is not oppressive. It is easy to obey God when the heart is right, and those who endeavor in sincerity to keep his commandments do not complain that they are hard. All complaints of this kind, that they are hard, come from those who are not disposed to keep his commandments anyhow. And then he says this, "No man ever yet heard a true Christian say that the laws of God requiring him to lead a holy life were stern and grievous." It doesn't grieve me that I can't murder. It doesn't grieve me that I can't steal. Does it grieve me that I can't commit adultery? Does it grieve me that I can't worship idols? I don't want to do those things anyhow. And this is what he's saying. This is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. John Gill said it like this. "Keeping of the commandments of God is an evidence of love to God. This shows that love is not in word and tongue, in profession only, but in deed and in truth. And that such persons have a sense of the love of God upon their souls under the influence of which they act, and such shall have and may expect to have greater manifestations of the love of God unto them." Wow.

The Test of Knowing God: Obedience

1 John 2:3-5 and 3:24 teach that keeping God's commandments is the evidence that we know Him and abide in Him by the Spirit.

Now that you have expressed yourself, allow God to express Himself. So if you look in 1 John 2, beginning there with verse 3. 1 John 2, verse 3. Look, if you would, please, at what John writes. 1 John 2, verse 3. "He that saith, I know Him," and verse 3, "and hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." How do I know that I know God? Because He is enabling me and empowering me to keep His commandments.

That doesn't mean that I'm perfect. But it does mean that the general tenor of my life is a life of obedience. It means generally that yes, I may sin, I may fall short, but my life is characterized by obedience to God in keeping His commandments.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:3-5

"Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."

But watch verse 4.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:3-5

"He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

Wow. And then if you look in verse 5,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:3-5

"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him."

So as obedience demonstrates and manifests our knowledge and submission to Him, disobedience demonstrates and manifests our rebellion and the reality that we really do not know Him and really do not love Him. Because "if ye love me," said our Lord, "ye'll keep My commands." If you love Me, you'll obey Me. Now look in 1 John 3, verses 23 and 24. 1 John 3.

Notice verse 23. "And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave His commandment." Now look carefully. "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us." Now, let me just pause with verse 24. Because the word "dwelleth" there is the same little word meno. "He that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he," that is God, "in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us."

Here is the explanation for John 15.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:23-24

"He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him."

Why am I keeping His commandments? Because He dwells in me.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:23-24

"And hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us."

So it is the Holy Spirit in us which enables us to obey Him, which enables us to abide, and therefore we know that He abides in us because He is enabling us to obey Him. That's fairly simple. Wow. Okay. Look in 1 John 4 and verse 13. "Hereby know we that we dwell in Him." There's that same word, meno, abide.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:23-24

"Hereby know that we abide in Him and He in us because He hath given us of His Spirit."

Isn't that amazing? How do I know that God abides in me? Because He's given us and given me His Spirit who enables me to obey Him and bring my life in conformity to Him.

Living in the Sight of God

We do what is pleasing in God's sight (enopion) by obeying Him, as illustrated by Samuel hewing Agag before the Lord.

Now, here's an interesting thing. The Bible says in verse 22, "and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." The word "sight" is the little Greek word enopion, and it literally means before, in the sight of, or in the presence of, or I could give it even more a colloquial expression, in front of. Let me show you how important this is. You remember that passage in 1 Samuel chapter 15 when God sent Saul, King Saul, on a mission to utterly slay all the Amalekites. He said slay them all, man, woman, boy, girl, ox, suckling ass, everything. But the Bible says that Saul spared Agag the king and the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen. And when Samuel came up, it was Saul who said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed all the commandments of God."

And at that time, something went bad. And Samuel said, "If you obey God, what meaneth the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen in my ear? If you had obeyed God, everything had been dead." And of course, then Saul tried to blame it on the people, "the people spared them," etc., "that we might sacrifice." In that tremendous passage, "Hath the Lord's great delight in burnt offering sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" And then little Samuel said, "Bring ye hither to me Agag." And the next verse says that Agag came delicately. And so he was saying to himself, "Surely the bitterness of death has passed." Every time I read that word, I've never looked at him. I've got to. But I can just see him pressing up to little Samuel, you know. He came delicately. And Samuel looked at him and said, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so thy mother shall be childless." And Samuel took the sword. And here's what the Bible says. He hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord.

Wow. In the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, "in the sight of the Lord," the word "sight" is enopion. In other words, what Samuel did to Agag, he did in front of the face of God. He did it in the presence of God. He did it with God's approval because he did to Agag exactly that which God wanted done to Agag by King Saul who refused to do it. And now the Bible says we do those things that are pleasing in His sight. What does it mean? It means that we live our lives keeping His commandments in the presence, in the face of, before our God. Before our God.

Practical Applications: Fight and Flee

Abiding requires constant, fervent obedience; like Paul, we must fight to bring our bodies into subjection and flee temptation.

Stop and think about everything that we do. It is in the face of God and before God and in the presence of God. And if we want to please Him, we obey Him. Let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. I've already said it. I'm going to restate it. Abiding in Christ is not optional, but it is mandatory. We cannot exist apart from Jesus Christ. He is the vine. We're the branches. Abiding is not some esoteric act.

It's not some mystical feeling. Abiding in Christ is obedience to the totality of his word. It is submitting to him. It is refusing to sin against him. It is fleeing from temptation. It is running from that which is contrary to him and obeying him in his presence and in his sight. Abiding in Christ is obedience. The second thing is this. We must keep ourselves in His love by fervent obedience by His grace and mercy. We cannot become apathetic. We cannot become lazy and indolent and lackadaisical.

Like Joseph, we have to learn to flee from every violation of Scripture. Sometimes it's mental. Sometimes it's emotional. Sometimes it's physical. It doesn't matter what it is, we must learn to flee from it. When we are talking about abiding, the term abiding is a term of constancy. It's a term of continuance. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to one last passage, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. And I want you to see how fervently, how adamant we must be in obeying our Lord. In 1 Corinthians, chapter nine.

Beginning there with verse 26, the Apostle Paul says this. "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air." He's not a shadow boxer. He's not just playing around. "But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway." Now, what is the apostle saying? Here's what he's saying. I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God. I'm not playing in this thing. It is a real, genuine fight. It is a real, genuine struggle. Do you remember what else the Apostle Paul said? "I die" how often? Daily. Sometimes it must be hourly. Sometimes it may be minute by minute or moment by moment. But we have to fight the good fight of faith. And that fighting is real and genuine.

Most of our battles, we would use the term spiritual. They're all spiritual, but most of our battles are mental. Everything starts in the mind. "Out of the heart proceedeth all of these things." And the heart, as I've shown you from scripture, is the mind. It's the reasoning ability. If you can control your mind, you usually can control your body. Abiding in Christ is not optional. It's mandatory. And abiding in Christ is just obedience to Him.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Abiding in Christ is obedience, not mysticism

Summary: Weaver argues that abiding is not an esoteric experience but is defined by keeping Christ's commandments, as seen in John 15:7,10.

Evidence: He says, 'Abiding in Christ is obedience to the totality of his word.'

Fruit-bearing as evidence of genuine salvation

Summary: Every true believer produces fruit; lack of fruit indicates a lost state, regardless of profession or church position.

Evidence: He states, 'If there is no biblical fruit in your life, then you are lost.'

The necessity of union with Christ

Summary: Jesus is the true vine; apart from Him, we can do nothing and face judgment, making abiding mandatory.

Evidence: He says, 'It is impossible to live a Christian life without Jesus Christ.'

Obedience as the test of love and knowledge of God

Summary: Love for God is demonstrated by keeping His commandments; disobedience proves one does not know Him.

Evidence: He cites 1 John 2:3-4: 'He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar.'

The role of the Holy Spirit in enabling obedience

Summary: The Spirit indwells believers, enabling them to obey and thus abide in Christ, providing assurance.

Evidence: He explains, 'It is the Holy Spirit in us which enables us to obey Him, which enables us to abide.'

Perseverance as evidence of preservation

Summary: God preserves believers by enabling them to persevere in obedience; abiding and obeying are two sides of one coin.

Evidence: He says, 'Our perseverance is evidence and proof of the fact that we've been preserved.'

Rejection of pietistic, impossible standards

Summary: Weaver critiques books that demand unattainable piety, emphasizing that Christ is our pattern, not historical figures.

Evidence: He says, 'Many of the books were pietistic, egocentric, and deeper life-related or just plain nonsense.'

The seriousness of disobedience

Summary: Failure to abide results in being cast out and burned; obedience is a matter of eternal consequence.

Evidence: He warns, 'A refusal to abide in Christ places one in eternal jeopardy.'

Key Arguments

Abiding is defined by keeping Christ's words

Summary: John 15:7 and 10 show a transition from abiding in Christ to abiding in His words; keeping His commandments is how we abide in His love.

Evidence: He says, 'If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.'

Obedience is the evidence of love, not the means of salvation

Summary: Obedience does not save but manifests salvation; calling Jesus 'Lord' demands obedience, as seen in Luke 6:46.

Evidence: He states, 'Our obedience does not save us. It does not help save us. However, our obedience does indeed manifest whether or not we are saved.'

The Spirit enables obedience and assures abiding

Summary: 1 John 3:24 and 4:13 teach that keeping commandments is evidence of mutual indwelling, made possible by the Spirit.

Evidence: He says, 'Hereby know we that we dwell in Him... because He hath given us of His Spirit.'

Professions without fruit are worthless

Summary: Many church members are lost despite professions; fruit is the necessary evidence of life, as illustrated by the murderer who claimed salvation.

Evidence: He recounts the jail story: 'Professions do not save.'

God's commandments are not burdensome to the believer

Summary: 1 John 5:3 says His commandments are not grievous; true Christians do not find obedience oppressive.

Evidence: He quotes Albert Barnes: 'No man ever yet heard a true Christian say that the laws of God requiring him to lead a holy life were stern and grievous.'

Abiding requires active, constant struggle

Summary: Like Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, believers must fight to bring their bodies into subjection and flee temptation.

Evidence: He says, 'I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God.'

Christ is the true vine, contrasting false hopes

Summary: Jesus calls Himself the true vine to show that all other vines (religious systems, self-effort) are false and cannot produce fruit.

Evidence: He says, 'He calls himself the true vine to demonstrate and to show that all other vines are false vines.'

Living in the sight of God demands obedience

Summary: The word 'sight' (enopion) means 'before the face of God'; we live in His presence and must obey, as Samuel did with Agag.

Evidence: He explains, 'We live our lives keeping His commandments in the presence, in the face of, before our God.'

Scripture References

John 15:1-11

Context: The primary passage expounded; Jesus is the true vine, and abiding in Him is necessary for fruit-bearing.

Isaiah 1:18

Context: Cited to show God's reasonableness: 'Come now, let us reason together.'

John 10:11

Context: Jesus as the good shepherd contrasts with hirelings, similar to the true vine contrasting false vines.

Galatians 5:22-23

Context: The fruit of the Spirit is listed as evidence of a believer's life.

Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8

Context: Parable of the sower shows varying degrees of fruitfulness among believers.

Romans 8:9

Context: If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His; the Spirit produces fruit.

Matthew 25:46

Context: The goats go into everlasting punishment, illustrating the fate of those who do not abide.

John 1:1-3, 14

Context: Jesus is the living Word; the Bible is the written Word; they are one and the same.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Context: All Scripture is inspired and profitable, equipping the man of God.

John 12:48

Context: Rejecting Christ and His words brings judgment; the word He spoke will judge.

Luke 6:46

Context: Why call Him 'Lord' and not do what He says? Lordship demands obedience.

John 14:15, 21, 24

Context: If you love Me, keep My commandments; keeping them shows love; not keeping them shows lack of love.

Jude 1:21

Context: Keep yourselves in the love of God; an imperative command.

1 Corinthians 3:11

Context: Paul laid the foundation which is Jesus Christ; we build on it.

1 John 5:3

Context: This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; they are not grievous.

Genesis 39:9

Context: Joseph fled temptation, showing obedience as keeping himself in God's love.

1 John 2:3-5

Context: We know we know Him if we keep His commandments; disobedience proves one is a liar.

1 John 3:23-24

Context: Keeping His commandments is evidence of mutual abiding, by the Spirit given to us.

1 John 4:13

Context: We know we abide in Him because He has given us of His Spirit.

1 Samuel 15

Context: Saul's disobedience contrasted with Samuel's obedience in hewing Agag before the Lord.

Historical References

Puritan prayer practices

Context: Weaver recounts trying to emulate Puritans who rose at 2-3 a.m. to pray, but failed due to different life circumstances.

Josephus' mention of a golden vine on the temple

Context: One possible reason Jesus used the vine metaphor: Josephus says there was a golden grapevine on the temple entrance.

Billy Graham crusade

Context: A jail inmate claimed salvation based on going forward at a Billy Graham crusade, used to illustrate false profession.

Matthew Henry's commentary

Context: Quoted on keeping ourselves in the love of God: 'Keep up the grace of love to God in its lively, vigorous actions.'

Albert Barnes' commentary

Context: Quoted on 1 John 5:3: God's commandments are not grievous; true Christians do not find them oppressive.

John Gill's commentary

Context: Quoted on 1 John 5:3: keeping commandments is evidence of love to God, not just profession.

Important Quotes

Many of the books were pietistic, egocentric, and deeper life-related or just plain nonsense.

Significance: Weaver critiques unhelpful, unrealistic teachings on abiding, setting up his biblical alternative.

God is very reasonable.

Significance: Emphasizes that God's commands are attainable and suited to our lives, not based on historical extremes.

He calls himself the true vine to demonstrate and to show that all other vines are false vines.

Significance: Highlights Christ's exclusivity as the source of spiritual life and fruit.

If there is no biblical fruit in your life, then you are lost.

Significance: A stark warning that fruit is the necessary evidence of salvation.

Abiding in Christ is obedience to the totality of his word.

Significance: The central definition of abiding, moving it from mysticism to concrete action.

He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Significance: Quoting 1 John 2:4 to show that profession without obedience is false.

I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God.

Significance: Illustrates the active, strenuous nature of abiding as a constant battle.

Discussion Questions

How does Weaver's definition of abiding as obedience challenge common mystical or emotional views of the Christian life?

Context: Weaver argues that abiding is not an esoteric experience but keeping Christ's commandments.

Why is fruit-bearing essential evidence of salvation, and how should we examine our own lives for it?

Context: Weaver states that lack of fruit indicates a lost state, using the jail inmate as an example.

In what ways do we sometimes rely on professions or church involvement rather than genuine obedience for assurance?

Context: Weaver warns that professions, works, and church membership do not save; only Christ does.

How does the relationship between preservation and perseverance help us understand the balance between God's sovereignty and human responsibility?

Context: Weaver explains that God preserves us by enabling us to persevere in obedience.

What does it mean to 'keep yourselves in the love of God' (Jude 21), and how is that practically done?

Context: Weaver connects this command to obedience, using 1 John 5:3 and Joseph's example.

How can we cultivate a mindset of living 'before the face of God' (enopion) in our daily decisions?

Context: Weaver explains that we do what is pleasing in His sight, as Samuel did with Agag.

What are some practical ways to 'fight the good fight' and bring our bodies into subjection, as Paul describes?

Context: Weaver emphasizes the need for constant, active struggle against sin and temptation.

How does the Holy Spirit enable us to obey, and how can we rely more on His power rather than our own efforts?

Context: Weaver teaches that the Spirit indwells us to enable obedience and assure us of abiding.

Applications

Examine your life for fruit

Summary: Assess whether your life bears the fruit of the Spirit; lack of fruit may indicate a false profession.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If there is no biblical fruit in your life, then you are lost.'

Obey Christ's commandments as the path to abiding

Summary: Actively keep His Word in all areas of life, recognizing that obedience is the evidence of abiding in His love.

Evidence: He states, 'If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.'

Flee temptation like Joseph

Summary: When faced with sin, run from it immediately, trusting God to provide a way of escape.

Evidence: He uses Joseph's example: 'How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?'

Rely on the Holy Spirit for obedience

Summary: Depend on the indwelling Spirit to empower you to keep God's commandments, rather than striving in your own strength.

Evidence: He says, 'It is the Holy Spirit in us which enables us to obey Him.'

Live consciously in God's presence

Summary: Remember that all you do is before the face of God; let this awareness motivate holy living.

Evidence: He explains, 'We live our lives keeping His commandments in the presence, in the face of, before our God.'

Fight the daily battle against sin

Summary: Engage in the spiritual fight to bring your body and mind into subjection, dying to self daily.

Evidence: He says, 'I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God.'

Reject unrealistic, man-made standards

Summary: Do not measure your spirituality by historical figures or impossible pietistic ideals; follow Christ as revealed in Scripture.

Evidence: He warns against books that 'posited or demanded a life that absolutely no one could live.'

Test your love for God by your obedience

Summary: Evaluate whether your claimed love for God is genuine by examining your willingness to keep His commandments.

Evidence: He cites 1 John 5:3: 'This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:10:18Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T06:36:07Z

Clean Transcript

Abiding In Christ

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

John chapter 15, and we're going to read the first 11 verses. John 15. The title of the message is Abiding in Christ. Notice if you would, a very familiar passage. He says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."
#1 | 0:13 to 0:40 | cleaned
"Now ye are clean through 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, no more 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 bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit."
#2 | 0:41 to 1:20 | cleaned
"So shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." A number of years ago, I read, I don't know, three or four, five or six books on the subject of abiding in Christ. I do not really think that any of those books particularly helped me. Many of the books were pietistic, egocentric, and deeper life-related or just plain nonsense. Some of the authors posited or demanded a life that absolutely no one could live and no one could fulfill.
#3 | 1:21 to 2:11 | cleaned
And some even went so far as to say that unless you lived exactly the way they were saying, then obviously you were not a Christian. And of course, when one tries to do a lot of things that are impossible, then reality sets in and brings one again back to his senses. Let me give you an illustration. Many years ago, I was reading a lot of the Puritan writings, and I was struck not only with their piety, their dedication, their exposition of scripture, their prayer life. And many of those old Puritans would arise at 2 or 3 in the morning and began praying and studying and preparing themselves for the day.
#4 | 2:12 to 2:55 | cleaned
And I thought, well, you know, that is wonderful. That's something that I really need to do myself. And so I determined that that was exactly what I was going to do. So I got up. I don't remember if it was two or three. And I knelt beside my bed and I put my head in my hands on my bed and I started praying. And when I woke up about three hours later, my knees were sore. Well, I tried it again and it happened again the second day. I tried the third day and I failed again. And I was berating myself and I was thinking, wow, I must be very unspiritual. I must not be up to par. Something's got to be wrong with me. They did it.
#5 | 2:56 to 3:44 | cleaned
And then it dawned on me. Yes, they did it. But they also went to bed at 6 p.m. No telephones, no TV, no computer, no nothing. And here I was, not only a pastor, but I was the principal of our Christian school. I taught in our Christian school. I was the counselor. I was the disciplinarian. Besides, I taught three nights a week at our Bible study group, not counting Sunday preaching and Wednesday night preaching. The Bible Institute was three hours a night. I was putting in 12 and 14 hour days, getting in bed about 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, and then trying to get up at 3 o'clock. No wonder I failed. So, the point I'm trying to make from all of this is very simple. God is very reasonable.
#6 | 3:44 to 4:34 | cleaned
He said in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord." And so obviously, someone who lived 200 years ago or 300 years ago is not our pattern. The Lord Jesus Christ is our pattern. And whatever He demands, we must obey. But our lives are not to be lived based upon what someone was able to do two or three hundred years in the past. Our lives must be based upon the Scripture, and we must seek Him for grace and mercy to obey Him and bring our lives into conformity with that Word. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is our example, and we must follow Him.
#7 | 4:34 to 5:13 | cleaned
When you look in John chapter 15, because this subject of abiding in Christ is very personal, and I'm going to show you it is very, very important as well. But when you look in John 15, there are several truths that are very obvious that anyone could pick up on. The very first one is this. Our Lord uses a very common metaphor. He uses that of a vine and its branches.
#8 | 5:14 to 5:41 | cleaned
Now, if you study some of the commentators, you'll find different versions as to why our Lord used this particular metaphor. Well, some say the Passover had just ended, and of course, they had wine, and so it was obvious then that he's using, "I'm the true vine, and you're the branches." Others, like Josephus, says that on the entrance of the temple, there was a golden vine, a grapevine there. And still others were just simply saying that he was walking with the disciples to the Mount of Olives and passed a vineyard.
#9 | 5:42 to 6:20 | cleaned
Obviously, there were a lot of vineyards back in those days because everyone had grapes, obviously. But when you start thinking about a vineyard and or vines, that is something that has been used all throughout Scripture. In fact, some of the major portions of scripture that deals with vineyards and vines you will find, for instance, in Isaiah 5, Psalm 80, Joel chapter 1, Jeremiah chapter 2, Ezekiel chapter 19. And so these illustrations have been used all down through history.
#10 | 6:20 to 6:58 | cleaned
So you would have to ask yourself, like in verse 1, Jesus Christ said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." So why in the world would Jesus Christ refer to himself as the true vine? Well, he calls himself the true vine to demonstrate and to show that all other vines are false vines. It's much like the illustration that he used in John chapter 10 when he said, "I am the good shepherd. I'm the good shepherd giving his life for the sheep."
#11 | 6:59 to 7:31 | cleaned
Then he talked about the hirelings. So Jesus Christ is the true shepherd in contrast to all the hirelings who don't care for the sheep. He is a true vine in contrast to all the other false vines that entangle and ensnare. And I've got news for you. If you've ever walked in the woods with any frequency, you've tripped over a vine. Obviously. And a lot of the vines do not even produce fruit. They're just there. And so, our Lord is saying, "I am the true vine, and in Me, and only in Me, are you going to be able to produce fruit." Now, there's another reason, I think, that He refers to Himself as the true vine. He does so to demonstrate to His disciples that their fruit was not in themselves, but their fruit was to be found in Him alone. Fruit did not, and does not, originate from all of the ceremonial laws or from the rituals of the Pharisees, or from any religiosity; biblical fruit only comes from our union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
#12 | 7:32 to 8:46 | cleaned
And everything flows out of Christ, because He is indeed the true vine. Now, there is a second obvious truth here, that is this. If you are savingly united to Jesus Christ, you are going to produce fruit. Look what he said in verse 2. "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."
#13 | 8:47 to 9:17 | cleaned
That is, he prunes it, he shapes it. But every branch in him brings forth fruit. So we can say it like this. Bearing fruit is normal and natural for a true, genuine child of God.
#14 | 9:17 to 9:34 | cleaned
Now when we talk about fruit, you have to understand Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23, where he refers to the fruit of the Spirit. He says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." So, every child of God is going to have, to some degree, that fruit in their person. You have to remember in Matthew chapter 13, Mark chapter 4, Luke chapter 8, where he talks about the parable of the sower, some brought forth twentyfold, some sixty, and some a hundredfold. Not everybody's going to produce fruit a hundred percent every year, but we're going to have some kind of fruit in us that's going to be noticeable. It will be made manifest, but in every child of God there is going to be some fruit. Now, it is called the fruit of the Spirit. Why is it called the fruit of the Spirit? Because it is produced by the Holy Spirit. That is why in Romans 8 and verse 9, the Word of God says it like this, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."
#15 | 9:35 to 10:45 | cleaned
So, if the Spirit of Christ does not abide in you, you're not going to have any fruit. If the Spirit of Christ does abide in you, then you're going to have fruit. It will be made manifest in one way or the other. The third truth that is very clear in this passage is this, that abiding in Christ is not optional, but it is mandatory. It is absolutely necessary. Look in verse 4. He said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me." It is impossible to live a Christian life without Jesus Christ.
#16 | 10:47 to 11:38 | cleaned
But you know so many people try to do that. That's why you have so many church members who are actually lost. It is impossible to please God the Father apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible to produce biblical fruit apart from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It is possible to be religious and lost. It is possible to be a baptized church member, a Sunday school teacher, a deacon, and a preacher and be lost. There have been many preachers that have been saved after they were preaching. One of my dear friends preached for a number of years, lost, and then God saved him.
#17 | 11:39 to 12:27 | cleaned
And he gives testimony very clearly. But you have to understand this, professions do not save. So many people count their profession as their salvation. Professions do not save. Years ago, when I was in the university, I had a ministry going to the jail, and I would preach every Friday night in jail. When I went to the jail that particular Friday night, the jailer, who was a Christian and a friend, told me about one man who was in the cell, who had just been charged with murdering his wife and murdering his mother-in-law. When I went back, of course, they released all the prisoners in this larger cell block, and I was able to preach to them.
#18 | 12:28 to 13:17 | cleaned
Now, I noticed he stood up against the wall with his foot against the wall. Everybody else was up front. So when I got through preaching, he came up to me and he said, "Preacher, I'm glad you brought that message. They really need it." I looked at him and I said, "Are you implying that you didn't need it?" "Oh, no." He said, "I'm a Christian." I said, "Wait a minute. Pardon me?"
#19 | 13:17 to 13:42 | cleaned
"Aren't you the man that is in here because you're charged with murdering your wife and your mother-in-law?" Well, he said, "Yes, I am." I said, "Well, how is it that you claim to be a Christian? Well, you just violated God's law and you murdered your wife and your mother-in-law." Well, he said, "I know I'm saved because I went forward to the Billy Graham crusade." That was his answer. And I looked at him and I said, "Sir, the scripture says, 'And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.'"
#20 | 13:43 to 14:23 | cleaned
And I said, "So either you are lying or God is lying, and I don't think it's God. So if I were you, I believe I would be seeking the Lord Jesus Christ is what I'd be doing." But professions do not save. Works do not save. Churches do not save. Soul winners do not save. Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone saves. So what the Scripture is telling us is this, if there is no biblical fruit in your life, then you are lost. It's just that simple. Because if there is fruit, that is evidence of life. If there is no fruit, there is no life. Now, watch this.
#21 | 14:23 to 15:03 | cleaned
It does not matter what your profession is. It does not matter what your position in the church is. If there is no fruit in your body, you're not a Christian. It's just that simple.
#22 | 15:04 to 15:18 | cleaned
Now, here's another reason that demonstrates that it's absolutely mandatory to abide in Christ. Look in verse 6. He says, "If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." So obviously there is no life apart from Jesus Christ. And a refusal to abide in Christ places one in eternal jeopardy.
#23 | 15:18 to 15:48 | cleaned
Our Lord said to the goats in Matthew 25, those on the left hand, He said, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment." So according to verse 6 then, a failure to abide in Christ means that you're to be cast out, cast away, dried up, withered, and burned. Everyone in this room understands that dead limbs do not produce fruit. The only thing a dead limb is good for is firewood.
#24 | 15:48 to 16:16 | cleaned
And that's exactly what he's saying. Now, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, as I read the scripture originally, and as I pointed out certain verses, but I want to emphasize that there is a real, specific emphasis in this passage. That emphasis, very clearly, is abiding in Jesus Christ.
#25 | 16:17 to 16:45 | cleaned
Now the word "abide" that occurs so many times here is from the little Greek word meno, M-E-N-O, which means to abide, to remain, to dwell, to continue, to endure, to last, and to tarry. In fact, the word "abide" occurs twice in verse 4. It occurs once in verse 5. It occurs once in verse 6. In verse 7, it occurs twice. In verse 9, the word "continue" is the same little Greek word, meno. In verse 10, it occurs twice. And then the word "remain" in verse 11 is still the same Greek word meno. So when you add those up, you're going to find that the one little Greek word meno translated "abide" occurs 10 times in 11 verses.
#26 | 16:46 to 17:50 | cleaned
So obviously, there is an emphasis here upon abiding. And here's two questions that I want to answer. And I want you to think about this. First of all, what does it mean to abide in Christ? And secondly, how do I know whether or not I'm abiding in Christ? How do I know whether or not Gary is abiding in Christ? How do I know whether or if he's abiding in Christ? If the emphasis is upon abiding, obviously, we need to know what abiding is, and we need to know how we can tell whether or not we are genuinely abiding in Christ. Now, if abiding in Christ is some type of esoteric experience, if it's some type of mystical feeling somewhere, how in the world would you know it?
#27 | 17:52 to 18:57 | cleaned
And if you had it, how would you continue in it? And if you lost it, how would you get it back? I mean, very obviously, there has to be some biblical answers to these questions. And thankfully, there are answers to those questions. So if you look in verse 7 and then verse 10, I want to just emphasize this before I show you a number of other passages. So look in verse 7.
#28 | 18:58 to 19:28 | cleaned
Our Lord says, "If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." Then if you'll skip down to verse 10, He says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." Now go back to verse 7. He says, "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." I want you to notice the word "words," plural. "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you." The little Greek word there is the word rhema, which refers to that which has been uttered or spoken by the living word. So actually what he is saying is the reference here is to his doctrine or to his commandments. His words are to remain, continue, indwell, and abide in us as a living principle to regulate our affections and our lives. In other words, we are to derive our life, our sustenance, and our nourishment from His words.
#29 | 19:28 to 20:46 | cleaned
Now, let me point something out. When you read verses 1-6, everything is about abiding in Christ. When you look at verses 7-10, it's still about abiding in Christ, but there is a transition. The transition is from Christ to His words. That's why I said in verse 7, "If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you." Now skip down to verse 10. "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." Now, I want you to see that there is a transition from Christ to His words, but in reality they are one and the same.
#30 | 20:46 to 21:45 | cleaned
I've probably told you this many times, but I'm going to tell it to you again in light of what I'm preaching and teaching. Jesus Christ is the living Word. The Bible is the written Word. You remember that passage in John 1:1-3? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with Him."
#31 | 21:46 to 22:12 | cleaned
"All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." And then you skip down to verse 14. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus Christ is the Living Word. When you get to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for proof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work," or every good work. Now, since Jesus Christ is the Living Word, the Bible is the written Word, he puts the two of them together in John 12 and verse 48. Here he says this, "He that rejecteth me," that is the living word, "and receiveth not my words," that is the written word, "hath one that judgeth him in the last day. The word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day." So you cannot have one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward his word because they are one and the same.
#32 | 22:12 to 23:22 | cleaned
He is the living word and the Bible is the written word. So when you look at verse 10, he says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."
#33 | 23:22 to 23:38 | cleaned
Now, ask yourself this question. How did Jesus Christ abide in his Father's love? And the answer is, according to verse 10, by actively keeping and obeying his Father's commandments. So that brings me to the second question. How do we abide in Jesus Christ? And the answer is the same. By actively keeping and obeying His commandments. So Christ's pattern then is to be emulated and imitated by us.
#34 | 23:38 to 24:13 | cleaned
Now let me say this another way. It is impossible to retain a sense of God's pardoning love without continuing in the obedience of faith. It was the obedience of Jesus Christ that marked out and manifested His love to the Father. And likewise, it is our obedience to Jesus Christ and His commandments that marks out and manifests our love to Jesus Christ. So let me say this another way still. Our obedience does not save us. It does not help save us.
#35 | 24:13 to 24:50 | cleaned
We're saved by the sovereign grace and mercy of God alone. However, our obedience does indeed manifest whether or not we are saved. And clearly, in this passage, there has to be a reference to the government of the Lord Jesus Christ. He not only is God, He also governs. Let me explain what I mean by that. You remember the question that our Lord asked in Luke 6 and verse 46? He asked, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say unto you?"
#36 | 24:51 to 25:25 | cleaned
Now, the word "Lord" is the Greek word Kyrios, which literally means boss, owner, master, sovereign. So Jesus Christ is saying, "Why are you calling me boss? Why are you calling me master? Why are you calling me sovereign if you're not going to obey me?" Obviously, those who recognize Him as boss, owner, master, and sovereign do obey Him. Those who do not recognize Him as that refuse to obey Him. So clearly then, there is a most weighty meaning for those that belong to Jesus Christ in these words. Because if we acknowledge Him as our boss and our owner and our master and our sovereign, we will obey Him.
#37 | 25:27 to 26:11 | cleaned
Now, it is impossible to produce fruit for the Father, impossible to keep up the enjoyment of Christ's love being manifest in our lives without obedience. If you would, look in verse 11. Here's what he said. After having given us the truth in verses 1-10, he says, "These things have I spoken to you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full." In other words, if you want my joy in you and you want full joy, then you obey what I'm telling you. So, obedience then is not optional. It is mandatory. It is an expression of our love to Jesus Christ.
#38 | 26:12 to 27:00 | cleaned
Now, let me show you how He prepares us for John 15. So look in your Bibles at John 14 and verse 15. Our Lord makes it very clear, John 14, verse 15, He says this, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." That's pretty simple, isn't it? "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." Look in verse 21. "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." So it says, "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." Now, if that's not understandable, our Lord then reverses it in verse 24. Look at it. "He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings."
#39 | 27:01 to 27:59 | cleaned
"The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." Now, according to John 15 in verse 10, abiding in the love of Jesus Christ relates directly to obedience. I don't see really truly how it could be any plainer. When you look at verse 10, our Lord said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." "Ye shall abide" is a future active indicative in the Greek. It means that abiding is the result of active obedience, that is keeping his commandments. And the indicative mood is a simple statement of fact. So he is stating a simple fact. "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." Now, it is his grace and mercy and power that unites us to Jesus Christ, initially and originally. And it is his grace and mercy and power that enables us to abide in Christ, which also enables us to obey Christ.
#40 | 28:01 to 29:11 | cleaned
This truth is kind of like the truth of preservation and perseverance. You remember in Jude 1, the Bible tells us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. But you know, the Bible also says that we are to persevere. "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." The Bible talks about holding out, working out, keep going, holding on. What is that talking about? It's talking about perseverance. Now watch. Those whom God preserves, he enables to persevere. In other words, when we are preserved in Jesus Christ, God gives us grace to continue in repentance and continue in faith and continue in obedience. So in truth and reality, our perseverance is evidence and proof of the fact that we've been preserved. If God had not preserved us, we would never persevere, anyhow. So when you talk about preservation and perseverance, it's the two sides of one coin. Likewise, when you talk about abiding in Christ and obeying his commandments, it's the two sides of one coin. Because it is God who unites us with Jesus Christ, and then it is God, according to the book of Hebrews and Jeremiah as well, who writes his law upon our hearts that enables us to obey and gives us the desire and the ability to obey.
#41 | 29:13 to 30:46 | cleaned
Now, so the obedience to His commandments is evidence of abiding grace. Now, let me try to explain this farther by showing you some Scriptures. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jude. Right before the book of Revelation, you have the book of Jude. I don't even have to give you the chapter. You will find there's only one chapter there. But I want you to look in Jude verse 21 to begin with. Jude verse 21. Now watch carefully.
#42 | 30:47 to 31:24 | cleaned
"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Now, I don't know. Oh, if you call it just what I read, "Keep yourselves in the love of God." Wow. You know, I didn't check it, Gary, but is that an imperative? Do you know? I'm sure it probably is. OK, it's an imperative, which is a command. "Keep yourselves in the love of God."
#43 | 31:25 to 32:04 | cleaned
Now, there's a good question. How do you keep yourself in the love of God? Well, let's look in verse 20. These could be connected, but we will still need further explanation. In verse 20 he says, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Now he says, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." So you have a responsibility to build up yourselves on your most holy faith. And one of the ways we do so is by praying in the Holy Ghost. But wait a minute. Let me tell you about the word "building." It's a very interesting Greek word. The word is epoikodomeo.
#44 | 32:05 to 33:02 | cleaned
And it means, listen carefully, it means to finish the structure of which the foundation has already been laid. Do you remember that passage in 1 Corinthians 3? The Apostle Paul said, "I have laid the foundation which no other man can lay, which is Jesus Christ." Now, he is commanding us to finish the structure. The foundation has already been laid. We must build up ourselves in our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Watch.
#45 | 33:02 to 33:34 | cleaned
"Keep yourselves in the love of God." Wow. Let me just give you a quote right quickly before I show you a verse. Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry said this. "Keep up the grace of love to God in its lively, vigorous actions and exercises in your souls." And then he said this. "Take heed of throwing yourselves out of the love of God to you, or its delightful, cheering, strengthening manifestations. Keep yourselves in the way of God if you would continue in His love."
#46 | 33:35 to 34:13 | cleaned
You know, sometimes when you read these commentators, it makes me think of what the old black preacher said years ago, that their Bible shed a whole lot of light on them commentaries. That's true. That's true. Well, you know, although what Matthew Henry just said is good, and I like Matthew Henry, there's nothing wrong with Matthew Henry. But when he says "keep yourselves in the way of God," then you have to ask yourself, what is the way of God? Wow. That's like answering, what is it to keep yourselves in the love of God? Well, if we're going to keep ourselves in the love of God, we're certainly going to keep ourselves in the way of God. But what does it mean to keep yourselves in the love of God?
#47 | 34:16 to 35:05 | cleaned
I want you to look back in your Bibles to 1 John, chapter five. 1 John, chapter five. You remember, it was the apostle John who wrote the gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation. So we've got the same individual. And look what he says in 1 John 5 and verse 3. Here is what he's telling you the love of God really is. 1 John 5, verse 3. Watch it. Watch it. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous." What is the love of God?
#48 | 35:05 to 35:42 | cleaned
It's not some little esoteric experience. It's not some type of mystical feeling. It's not something floating around in the universe somewhere. The love of God is keeping His commandments. The love of God is obedience. We build up ourselves in our most holy faith by obedience to His commandments. Praying in the Holy Ghost, we keep ourselves in the love of God by obedience to His commandments. Let me show you. You remember Joseph?
#49 | 35:42 to 36:13 | cleaned
Was sold into slavery in Egypt. Ended up in Potiphar's house. He was made the master of that house. And you remember how Potiphar's wife made a play for Joseph. Of course, he ran off leaving his coat. And in Genesis 39 and verse 9, Joseph said this to her, "There is none greater in this house than I. Neither hath he kept anything back from me but thee, because thou art his wife."
#50 | 36:15 to 36:54 | cleaned
"How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" And he ran out.
#51 | 36:55 to 37:02 | cleaned
Now let me ask you, how did Joseph keep himself in the love of God? He obeyed God. How did he keep himself in the love of God? He ran away from temptation. I'm going to be dealing with some of this probably in the future. But you remember Paul wrote Timothy, and he told Timothy, "Flee also youthful lusts." Do you know when Paul wrote that to Timothy, Timothy was in his forties. And youthful lusts continue whether you're 70 or 80 or 90. It doesn't matter. You still have to flee them. You still have to get away from them. And you always flee. So Joseph then built himself up in his most holy faith. How? Simply by obedience. He obeyed.
#52 | 37:04 to 38:00 | cleaned
Instead of sinning against God. Here's just a couple of quotes, I want you to listen. We're going to keep going, but Albert Barnes says it like this. Talking about "this is the love of God that we keep his commandments." This constitutes true love. This furnishes the evidence of it. And his commandments are not grievous, and the Greek word is heavy. That is, they're not difficult to be borne as a burden.
#53 | 38:01 to 38:27 | cleaned
The meaning is that his laws are not unreasonable. The duties which he requires are not beyond our ability. His government is not oppressive. It is easy to obey God when the heart is right, and those who endeavor in sincerity to keep his commandments do not complain that they are hard. All complaints of this kind, that they are hard, come from those who are not disposed to keep his commandments anyhow. And then he says this, "No man ever yet heard a true Christian say that the laws of God requiring him to lead a holy life were stern and grievous."
#54 | 38:28 to 39:09 | cleaned
It doesn't grieve me that I can't murder. It doesn't grieve me that I can't steal. Does it grieve me that I can't commit adultery? Does it grieve me that I can't worship idols? I don't want to do those things anyhow. And this is what he's saying. This is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. John Gill said it like this. "Keeping of the commandments of God is an evidence of love to God. This shows that love is not in word and tongue, in profession only, but in deed and in truth. And that such persons have a sense of the love of God upon their souls under the influence of which they act, and such shall have and may expect to have greater manifestations of the love of God unto them." Wow.
#55 | 39:12 to 40:01 | cleaned
And another author went on to say this. "This is the love of God that we keep his commandments. There is nothing else that is worth calling love. Love to God is the spirit of obedience. It is that which subjects the whole life to Him. How can it be love to Him, whose authority we admit and whose perfection in the exercise of it we cannot truly doubt for a moment, and yet at the same time refuse obedience to Him? What is this path that His commandments mark out for us but a path of peace? As it is a path of victory over all that the world would destroy, subjection to God is that which is peace to the individual and to the whole universe." And that's true. Subjection to God. So he says, "This is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous." Now, I've heard professing Christians say, "But I love God and I don't keep his commandments." I've heard people say, "Well, I don't like the restraints."
#56 | 40:03 to 41:30 | cleaned
"I don't like the hindrances. I want to be free to do my thing. But now I believe in God and I love him." Really? Well, here's my answer.
#57 | 41:32 to 41:45 | cleaned
Now that you have expressed yourself, allow God to express Himself. So if you look in 1 John 2, beginning there with verse 3. 1 John 2, verse 3. Look, if you would, please, at what John writes. 1 John 2, verse 3. "He that saith, I know Him," and verse 3, "and hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." How do I know that I know God? Because He is enabling me and empowering me to keep His commandments.
#58 | 41:46 to 42:24 | cleaned
That doesn't mean that I'm perfect. But it does mean that the general tenor of my life is a life of obedience. It means generally that yes, I may sin, I may fall short, but my life is characterized by obedience to God in keeping His commandments. "Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." But watch verse 4. "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Wow. And then if you look in verse 5, "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him." So as obedience demonstrates and manifests our knowledge and submission to Him, disobedience demonstrates and manifests our rebellion and the reality that we really do not know Him and really do not love Him. Because "if ye love me," said our Lord, "ye'll keep My commands." If you love Me, you'll obey Me. Now look in 1 John 3, verses 23 and 24. 1 John 3.
#59 | 42:25 to 43:48 | cleaned
Notice verse 23. "And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave His commandment." Now look carefully. "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us." Now, let me just pause with verse 24. Because the word "dwelleth" there is the same little word meno. "He that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he," that is God, "in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us."
#60 | 43:48 to 44:36 | cleaned
Here is the explanation for John 15. "He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him." Why am I keeping His commandments? Because He dwells in me. "And hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us." So it is the Holy Spirit in us which enables us to obey Him, which enables us to abide, and therefore we know that He abides in us because He is enabling us to obey Him. That's fairly simple. Wow. Okay. Look in 1 John 4 and verse 13. "Hereby know we that we dwell in Him." There's that same word, meno, abide. "Hereby know that we abide in Him and He in us because He hath given us of His Spirit." Isn't that amazing? How do I know that God abides in me? Because He's given us and given me His Spirit who enables me to obey Him and bring my life in conformity to Him.
#61 | 44:37 to 45:53 | cleaned
So let me just say this again. I've already said it. It's the same truth as preservation and perseverance. Our preservation comes to light by God enabling us to persevere. Our abiding in Christ comes to light by His power enabling us to obey and to bring our lives in conformity to His Word. Look in 1 John 3 and verse 22. He said, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." Now, wait a minute. "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him." Why? Because we keep His commandments. Are you looking? "And do those things that are pleasing in His sight." What is pleasing in God's sight? Keeping His commandments. Obedience.
#62 | 45:54 to 47:11 | cleaned
Now, here's an interesting thing. The Bible says in verse 22, "and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." The word "sight" is the little Greek word enopion, and it literally means before, in the sight of, or in the presence of, or I could give it even more a colloquial expression, in front of. Let me show you how important this is. You remember that passage in 1 Samuel chapter 15 when God sent Saul, King Saul, on a mission to utterly slay all the Amalekites. He said slay them all, man, woman, boy, girl, ox, suckling ass, everything. But the Bible says that Saul spared Agag the king and the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen. And when Samuel came up, it was Saul who said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed all the commandments of God."
#63 | 47:13 to 48:28 | cleaned
And at that time, something went bad. And Samuel said, "If you obey God, what meaneth the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen in my ear? If you had obeyed God, everything had been dead." And of course, then Saul tried to blame it on the people, "the people spared them," etc., "that we might sacrifice." In that tremendous passage, "Hath the Lord's great delight in burnt offering sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" And then little Samuel said, "Bring ye hither to me Agag." And the next verse says that Agag came delicately. And so he was saying to himself, "Surely the bitterness of death has passed." Every time I read that word, I've never looked at him. I've got to. But I can just see him pressing up to little Samuel, you know. He came delicately. And Samuel looked at him and said, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so thy mother shall be childless." And Samuel took the sword. And here's what the Bible says. He hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord.
#64 | 48:28 to 49:47 | cleaned
Wow. In the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, "in the sight of the Lord," the word "sight" is enopion. In other words, what Samuel did to Agag, he did in front of the face of God. He did it in the presence of God. He did it with God's approval because he did to Agag exactly that which God wanted done to Agag by King Saul who refused to do it. And now the Bible says we do those things that are pleasing in His sight. What does it mean? It means that we live our lives keeping His commandments in the presence, in the face of, before our God. Before our God.
#65 | 49:49 to 50:48 | cleaned
Stop and think about everything that we do. It is in the face of God and before God and in the presence of God. And if we want to please Him, we obey Him. Let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. I've already said it. I'm going to restate it. Abiding in Christ is not optional, but it is mandatory. We cannot exist apart from Jesus Christ. He is the vine. We're the branches. Abiding is not some esoteric act.
#66 | 50:50 to 51:33 | cleaned
It's not some mystical feeling. Abiding in Christ is obedience to the totality of his word. It is submitting to him. It is refusing to sin against him. It is fleeing from temptation. It is running from that which is contrary to him and obeying him in his presence and in his sight. Abiding in Christ is obedience. The second thing is this. We must keep ourselves in His love by fervent obedience by His grace and mercy. We cannot become apathetic. We cannot become lazy and indolent and lackadaisical.
#67 | 51:33 to 52:21 | cleaned
Like Joseph, we have to learn to flee from every violation of Scripture. Sometimes it's mental. Sometimes it's emotional. Sometimes it's physical. It doesn't matter what it is, we must learn to flee from it. When we are talking about abiding, the term abiding is a term of constancy. It's a term of continuance. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to one last passage, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. And I want you to see how fervently, how adamant we must be in obeying our Lord. In 1 Corinthians, chapter nine.
#68 | 52:21 to 53:12 | cleaned
Beginning there with verse 26, the Apostle Paul says this. "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air." He's not a shadow boxer. He's not just playing around. "But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway." Now, what is the apostle saying? Here's what he's saying.
#69 | 53:13 to 53:45 | cleaned
I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God. I'm not playing in this thing. It is a real, genuine fight. It is a real, genuine struggle. Do you remember what else the Apostle Paul said? "I die" how often? Daily. Sometimes it must be hourly. Sometimes it may be minute by minute or moment by moment. But we have to fight the good fight of faith. And that fighting is real and genuine.
#70 | 53:46 to 54:26 | cleaned
Most of our battles, we would use the term spiritual. They're all spiritual, but most of our battles are mental. Everything starts in the mind. "Out of the heart proceedeth all of these things." And the heart, as I've shown you from scripture, is the mind. It's the reasoning ability. If you can control your mind, you usually can control your body. Abiding in Christ is not optional. It's mandatory. And abiding in Christ is just obedience to Him.
#71 | 54:29 to 55:18 | cleaned
Fighting the good fight of faith and bringing our lives into total submission to Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your grace and your mercy. We do pray, Lord, that you would give us understanding on what it really means to abide in Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to understand that you have said, if we keep your commandments, we will abide in you. Help us to be obedient. Help us, Lord, to trust in the Holy Spirit of God, to enable us to resist temptation and to submit ourselves unto Thee and to obey Thee in every area of our lives. We ask for Your grace and Your mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen.
#72 | 55:19 to 56:54 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:10:18Z

Abiding In Christ

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver expounds John 15:1-11, teaching that abiding in Christ is not a mystical experience but is defined by obedience to His commandments. He warns against pietistic, impossible standards and emphasizes that true union with Christ produces fruit, evidenced by keeping God's Word. Abiding is mandatory, not optional, and is demonstrated through active, Spirit-enabled obedience, which manifests genuine salvation.

Opening

John chapter 15, and we're going to read the first 11 verses. John 15. The title of the message is Abiding in Christ. Notice if you would, a very familiar passage. He says,

Scripture Reading — John 15:1-11

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." "Now ye are clean through 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, no more 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 bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit."

Introduction and Personal Struggle with Pietistic Standards

Weaver shares his failed attempt to emulate Puritan prayer habits, concluding that God is reasonable and our pattern is Christ, not historical figures.

The Metaphor of the Vine and Branches

Jesus uses the common metaphor of the vine to show He is the true vine, contrasting with false vines, and that fruit comes only from union with Him.

Fruit-Bearing as Evidence of Salvation

Every true believer bears fruit, which is the fruit of the Spirit; lack of fruit indicates a lost state regardless of profession.

That is, he prunes it, he shapes it. But every branch in him brings forth fruit. So we can say it like this. Bearing fruit is normal and natural for a true, genuine child of God.

Now when we talk about fruit, you have to understand Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23, where he refers to the fruit of the Spirit. He says,

Scripture Reading — Galatians 5:22-23

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

It does not matter what your profession is. It does not matter what your position in the church is. If there is no fruit in your body, you're not a Christian. It's just that simple.

The Mandatory Nature of Abiding

Abiding in Christ is not optional; failure to abide results in being cast away and burned, showing the necessity of a living union.

It does not matter what your profession is. It does not matter what your position in the church is. If there is no fruit in your body, you're not a Christian. It's just that simple.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 25:46

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment."

The Emphasis on 'Abide' in John 15

The Greek word 'meno' (abide) appears 10 times in 11 verses, underscoring the central theme of remaining in Christ.

Abiding Defined by Obedience to Christ's Words

Abiding transitions from Christ to His words; keeping His commandments is how we abide in His love, as Christ kept the Father's commandments.

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."

Obedience as Evidence of Love and Salvation

Obedience does not save but manifests salvation; calling Jesus 'Lord' demands obedience, and love for Christ is proven by keeping His commandments.

Now, let me show you how He prepares us for John 15. So look in your Bibles at John 14 and verse 15. Our Lord makes it very clear, John 14, verse 15, He says this,

Scripture Reading — John 14:15, 21, 24

"If ye love Me, keep My commandments."

That's pretty simple, isn't it?

Scripture Reading — John 14:15, 21, 24

"If ye love Me, keep My commandments."

The Relationship Between Preservation and Perseverance

God's preservation enables our perseverance; abiding in Christ and obeying His commandments are two sides of one coin, empowered by the Spirit.

Keeping Ourselves in the Love of God

Jude 21 and 1 John 5:3 show that keeping ourselves in God's love means obeying His commandments, which are not burdensome.

The Test of Knowing God: Obedience

1 John 2:3-5 and 3:24 teach that keeping God's commandments is the evidence that we know Him and abide in Him by the Spirit.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:3-5

"Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."

But watch verse 4.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:3-5

"He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

Wow. And then if you look in verse 5,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:3-5

"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him."

Here is the explanation for John 15.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:23-24

"He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him."

Why am I keeping His commandments? Because He dwells in me.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:23-24

"And hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us."

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:23-24

"Hereby know that we abide in Him and He in us because He hath given us of His Spirit."

Isn't that amazing? How do I know that God abides in me? Because He's given us and given me His Spirit who enables me to obey Him and bring my life in conformity to Him.

Living in the Sight of God

We do what is pleasing in God's sight (enopion) by obeying Him, as illustrated by Samuel hewing Agag before the Lord.

Practical Applications: Fight and Flee

Abiding requires constant, fervent obedience; like Paul, we must fight to bring our bodies into subjection and flee temptation.

Abiding In Christ

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	HcM0JRjr3WE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Walking With God
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-03-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 135: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 2 — Chapter 26
Source Timed Segments	72

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Personal Struggle with Pietistic Standards: Weaver shares his failed attempt to emulate Puritan prayer habits, concluding that God is reasonable and our pattern is Christ, not historical figures.
The Metaphor of the Vine and Branches: Jesus uses the common metaphor of the vine to show He is the true vine, contrasting with false vines, and that fruit comes only from union with Him.
Fruit-Bearing as Evidence of Salvation: Every true believer bears fruit, which is the fruit of the Spirit; lack of fruit indicates a lost state regardless of profession.
The Mandatory Nature of Abiding: Abiding in Christ is not optional; failure to abide results in being cast away and burned, showing the necessity of a living union.
The Emphasis on 'Abide' in John 15: The Greek word 'meno' (abide) appears 10 times in 11 verses, underscoring the central theme of remaining in Christ.
Abiding Defined by Obedience to Christ's Words: Abiding transitions from Christ to His words; keeping His commandments is how we abide in His love, as Christ kept the Father's commandments.
Obedience as Evidence of Love and Salvation: Obedience does not save but manifests salvation; calling Jesus 'Lord' demands obedience, and love for Christ is proven by keeping His commandments.
The Relationship Between Preservation and Perseverance: God's preservation enables our perseverance; abiding in Christ and obeying His commandments are two sides of one coin, empowered by the Spirit.
Keeping Ourselves in the Love of God: Jude 21 and 1 John 5:3 show that keeping ourselves in God's love means obeying His commandments, which are not burdensome.
The Test of Knowing God: Obedience: 1 John 2:3-5 and 3:24 teach that keeping God's commandments is the evidence that we know Him and abide in Him by the Spirit.
Living in the Sight of God: We do what is pleasing in God's sight (enopion) by obeying Him, as illustrated by Samuel hewing Agag before the Lord.
Practical Applications: Fight and Flee: Abiding requires constant, fervent obedience; like Paul, we must fight to bring our bodies into subjection and flee temptation.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Abiding is defined by keeping Christ's words

John 15:7 and 10 show a transition from abiding in Christ to abiding in His words; keeping His commandments is how we abide in His love.

He says, 'If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.'

Obedience is the evidence of love, not the means of salvation

Obedience does not save but manifests salvation; calling Jesus 'Lord' demands obedience, as seen in Luke 6:46.

He states, 'Our obedience does not save us. It does not help save us. However, our obedience does indeed manifest whether or not we are saved.'

The Spirit enables obedience and assures abiding

1 John 3:24 and 4:13 teach that keeping commandments is evidence of mutual indwelling, made possible by the Spirit.

He says, 'Hereby know we that we dwell in Him... because He hath given us of His Spirit.'

Professions without fruit are worthless

Many church members are lost despite professions; fruit is the necessary evidence of life, as illustrated by the murderer who claimed salvation.

He recounts the jail story: 'Professions do not save.'

God's commandments are not burdensome to the believer

1 John 5:3 says His commandments are not grievous; true Christians do not find obedience oppressive.

He quotes Albert Barnes: 'No man ever yet heard a true Christian say that the laws of God requiring him to lead a holy life were stern and grievous.'

Abiding requires active, constant struggle

Like Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, believers must fight to bring their bodies into subjection and flee temptation.

He says, 'I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God.'

Christ is the true vine, contrasting false hopes

Jesus calls Himself the true vine to show that all other vines (religious systems, self-effort) are false and cannot produce fruit.

He says, 'He calls himself the true vine to demonstrate and to show that all other vines are false vines.'

Living in the sight of God demands obedience

The word 'sight' (enopion) means 'before the face of God'; we live in His presence and must obey, as Samuel did with Agag.

He explains, 'We live our lives keeping His commandments in the presence, in the face of, before our God.'

Scripture References

John 15:1-11: The primary passage expounded; Jesus is the true vine, and abiding in Him is necessary for fruit-bearing.
Isaiah 1:18: Cited to show God's reasonableness: 'Come now, let us reason together.'
John 10:11: Jesus as the good shepherd contrasts with hirelings, similar to the true vine contrasting false vines.
Galatians 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is listed as evidence of a believer's life.
Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8: Parable of the sower shows varying degrees of fruitfulness among believers.
Romans 8:9: If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His; the Spirit produces fruit.
Matthew 25:46: The goats go into everlasting punishment, illustrating the fate of those who do not abide.
John 1:1-3, 14: Jesus is the living Word; the Bible is the written Word; they are one and the same.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is inspired and profitable, equipping the man of God.
John 12:48: Rejecting Christ and His words brings judgment; the word He spoke will judge.
Luke 6:46: Why call Him 'Lord' and not do what He says? Lordship demands obedience.
John 14:15, 21, 24: If you love Me, keep My commandments; keeping them shows love; not keeping them shows lack of love.
Jude 1:21: Keep yourselves in the love of God; an imperative command.
1 Corinthians 3:11: Paul laid the foundation which is Jesus Christ; we build on it.
1 John 5:3: This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; they are not grievous.
Genesis 39:9: Joseph fled temptation, showing obedience as keeping himself in God's love.
1 John 2:3-5: We know we know Him if we keep His commandments; disobedience proves one is a liar.
1 John 3:23-24: Keeping His commandments is evidence of mutual abiding, by the Spirit given to us.
1 John 4:13: We know we abide in Him because He has given us of His Spirit.
1 Samuel 15: Saul's disobedience contrasted with Samuel's obedience in hewing Agag before the Lord.

Historical References

Puritan prayer practices: Weaver recounts trying to emulate Puritans who rose at 2-3 a.m. to pray, but failed due to different life circumstances.
Josephus' mention of a golden vine on the temple: One possible reason Jesus used the vine metaphor: Josephus says there was a golden grapevine on the temple entrance.
Billy Graham crusade: A jail inmate claimed salvation based on going forward at a Billy Graham crusade, used to illustrate false profession.
Matthew Henry's commentary: Quoted on keeping ourselves in the love of God: 'Keep up the grace of love to God in its lively, vigorous actions.'
Albert Barnes' commentary: Quoted on 1 John 5:3: God's commandments are not grievous; true Christians do not find them oppressive.
John Gill's commentary: Quoted on 1 John 5:3: keeping commandments is evidence of love to God, not just profession.

Important Quotes

Many of the books were pietistic, egocentric, and deeper life-related or just plain nonsense.

Weaver critiques unhelpful, unrealistic teachings on abiding, setting up his biblical alternative.

God is very reasonable.

Emphasizes that God's commands are attainable and suited to our lives, not based on historical extremes.

He calls himself the true vine to demonstrate and to show that all other vines are false vines.

Highlights Christ's exclusivity as the source of spiritual life and fruit.

If there is no biblical fruit in your life, then you are lost.

A stark warning that fruit is the necessary evidence of salvation.

Abiding in Christ is obedience to the totality of his word.

The central definition of abiding, moving it from mysticism to concrete action.

He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Quoting 1 John 2:4 to show that profession without obedience is false.

I fight to obey God. I fight to keep from sinning against my God.

Illustrates the active, strenuous nature of abiding as a constant battle.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does Weaver's definition of abiding as obedience challenge common mystical or emotional views of the Christian life?

[Context]

Weaver argues that abiding is not an esoteric experience but keeping Christ's commandments.

[Question]

Why is fruit-bearing essential evidence of salvation, and how should we examine our own lives for it?

[Context]

Weaver states that lack of fruit indicates a lost state, using the jail inmate as an example.

[Question]

In what ways do we sometimes rely on professions or church involvement rather than genuine obedience for assurance?

[Context]

Weaver warns that professions, works, and church membership do not save; only Christ does.

[Question]

How does the relationship between preservation and perseverance help us understand the balance between God's sovereignty and human responsibility?

[Context]

Weaver explains that God preserves us by enabling us to persevere in obedience.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'keep yourselves in the love of God' (Jude 21), and how is that practically done?

[Context]

Weaver connects this command to obedience, using 1 John 5:3 and Joseph's example.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a mindset of living 'before the face of God' (enopion) in our daily decisions?

[Context]

Weaver explains that we do what is pleasing in His sight, as Samuel did with Agag.

[Question]

What are some practical ways to 'fight the good fight' and bring our bodies into subjection, as Paul describes?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes the need for constant, active struggle against sin and temptation.

[Question]

How does the Holy Spirit enable us to obey, and how can we rely more on His power rather than our own efforts?

[Context]

Weaver teaches that the Spirit indwells us to enable obedience and assure us of abiding.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T06:36:07Z