Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday,
April 26, 2019
We are now ready to get a little more detail on why the Lord taught this doctrine dealing with the subject of on the Vine and the branches.
He also reveals the attitude that we should have towards each other as they worship God together and esteem His word above anything else.
ROM 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
You need to make sure that you are filled with the Spirit so that our fellowship is now with our Mentor, God the Holy Spirit.
We all need to be concentrating upon our Lord and not ourselves when we are being taught by our mentor, God the Holy Spirit.
1Pe 5:7 Cast all your cares or worries upon Him, because He cares for you.
Dwell on our problems = when the Word of God is being spoken, what we are really saying is that we don’t trust God to fulfil His Word towards us.
When God’s word is being taught you either fulfilling His Word or rejecting His Word.
What are “all these things” that shall be added unto us if we fulfill what our Lord said to which is to seek and learn God’s word?
If you come to church and all you do is to concentrate on your problems than what you are really doing is expressing the fact that you don’t trust in the Lord to help you solve them.
Joh 15 is one of those passages that are very vital to understand especially because in about 18 hours from now, our Lord will be nailed to a cross and will not even look human anymore.
It is true that our Lord’s sufferings were more than just physical, it was also spiritual sufferings of which we have no idea what it must have been like when Divine Holiness contacted sin.
What I want to achieve is to give you some of the overt sufferings of our Lord and how they must have affected Him in ways we will never know.
As our Lord is getting ready for His cross, think of what lies before Him and then think about some of the physical sufferings our Lord had to face even before the cross.
Twelve Points to Consider:
1. He was betrayed says LUK 22:48 Jesus said to Judas, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
- He was taken captive: MAT 26:50 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.
- Next, He was deserted: MAT 26:56 “But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.
- He was falsely accused by those in the crowd: Mat 26:60; many false witnesses came forward and lied about Him.
- He was spat upon and beat up: MAT 26:67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him.
- Some even slapped Him, saying ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” (Mat 26:67-68).
- He was falsely accused by those in authority: MAT 27:12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He made no answer.
- He was also rejected: Mat 27:21-22 “The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two d you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’
- He was scourged: “Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified” (Mat 27:26).
- He was mocked: MAT 27:29-30, And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- He was ridiculed constantly; Mat 27:39-40.
- Finally, He died: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit” (Mat 27:50).
The apostle Peter was probably the one who knew more about the mystery doctrine of the Church-age than any other apostles except the apostle Paul.
The apostle Peter was one of the main apostles who recognized certain doctrinal principles that only the apostle Paul knew because of the choice that our Lord Jesus Christ made.
The Apostle Paul taught this new teaching called the Mystery Doctrine of the Church-age and he taught a lot of things that the other apostles didn’t even know at that time.
The apostle Paul, who also was known as Saul was present when the religious crowd in Jerusalem stoned one of the first deacons in the early Church called Stephen.
The one individual who led the assault against Christians was the same individual who became one of the greatest Apostles of our Lord.
The Apostle Paul truly believed that he had a unique calling as the one apostle who was known for being sent to the gentiles and not to the Jews.
While the rest of the apostles were sent to the Jews, the apostle Paul was the one apostle who was sent to the gentiles, which refer to any other race except the Jews.
The one apostle who didn’t walk with Christ be the one apostle who knew more doctrine than any of the other apostles, was a major principle concerning the grace of God.
As our Lord is getting ready for His cross, think of what lies before Him and then think about some of the physical sufferings our Lord had to face even before the cross.
It is one verse that has caused thousands of Christians to fall away and think that the Lord has forsaken them or because of what it looks like in the English translation.
What I am about to show you is a verse that has scared thousands of believers into thinking that the Lord has rejected them and they have lost their Salvation.
JOH 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
We continue to focus on the different manifestations that I introduced the believer who was supported by the grace of God and therefore, our first approach is what we call the Eternal Security Approaches.
We will note this doctrine by studying it point by point or verse by verse as the prophet Isaiah suggests especially when it comes to such a serious subject; Isa 28:8-11.
In Joh 15, this one passage in verse 6, has been misunderstood by many believers who have good intentions but really cannot grasp the “Finished Work” of our Lord.
JOH 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
I need to be sure that all of you understand this final point, as I refute those who say you can lose your salvation and we will approach this subject very carefully by using the word “Approach.”
There are many different ways we can learn and be sure that our salvation is stronger than one verse (JOH 15:6) that seems to say you can lose your salvation.
- Our first approach is what we call the Positional Approach: Rom 8:1; Eph 1:3-6; Jude 1. Every believer is in union with Christ and that is why Rom 8:38-39.
When we are told that we are “in Christ” that is our position and not our condition.
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The apostle Paul stresses that we are in Christ and we can never lose what God has given by means of grace.
- Logical Approach: Rom 5:9, 8:32. God did the “most” for us when we were His enemies and will do “much more” for us as His sons. Romans 8:38-39.
- The Hand Approach: John 10:28; Psa 37:23-24. The believer is held by God’s hand, and He will never let go.
JOH 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
- Experiential Approach: 2Ti 2:12-13. Though a believer may say he no longer believes that God remains faithful, because He is immutable and therefore will not seek guidance.
Those blessings were never given from the grace of God because grace does not demand payment.
- The Rewards Approach – 2Ti 2:12 which speaks of rewards. “Deny us” (believers) rewards is the message.
When a believer denies Christ, he is out of fellowship and therefore not producing.
- There is also what is known as the Family Approach: GAL 3:26; John 1:12. We are born into God’s family, we cannot be unborn.
JOH 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
In GAL 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
- The Inheritance Approach: 1Pe 1:3-5, based on Omnipotence. And become Heirs of God.
- Body Approach: 1Co 12:13, 21. Christ, the head of the body can never say to any member of the body (a believer) that He does not need him.
- The Sovereignty of God Approach: 2Pe 3:9; Jude 24.
2Pe 3:9b The Lord is not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
JUD 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
- The Greek Tense Approach:
Aorist tense: (once and for all) Acts 16:31.
Perfect tense: (saved in the past with the result that you keep on being saved forever). Eph 2:8-9; Col 2:6; Rom 8:1.