“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” John 15:5-6

These words were read to the high school students in front of a blazing fire on September 25. Perhaps the fire helped to catch their attention and their imagination as Jesus warns of the judgment that awaits those who do not continue to abide in Him. Jesus was preparing his disciples for His departure so that they would endure threats and challenges to their faith. Jesus’ words still warn us today of the consequences of falling away. He continued a little later, “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away” (John 16:1).

Jesus was warning his disciples while assuring them of who He is and what He has done. “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you…” (John 15:3-4a) Loved by Jesus, they were to abide in Jesus and His love and bear fruit. 

How do you abide in Jesus? He says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10) We are to keep our Lord’s commandments. On our own, we cannot do this. Therefore, like a branch is sustained by the life-giving vine, we hold fast to our life-giving Lord and His Word.

In an earlier related discourse, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.” (John 6:53-57) What more reason do we need to regularly receive the Lord’s body and blood in the Divine service, than to abide in Him?

The Lord calls us to regularly receive the gifts transmitted through the divine service, so that we abide in Him rather than fall away. But more than simply to sustain us, we abide in Christ so that we will bear fruit. For this you were chosen and appointed.

“Together with all (members of the congregation) pursue peace and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord, by watching out that no one misses out on the grace of God, that no bitterness springs up and causes trouble and through it many become defiled, that no one is a fornicator or unholy person like Esau, who gave up his birthrights for the sake of a single meal.” (Heb 12:14-16, translation by John W. Kleinig) 

Through Jesus you have ongoing access to the peace and sanctification that God provides for you. We “pursue” peace and sanctification by our faithful participation in the Divine Service and our avoidance of everything that desecrates their holiness.

Pursuing peace together is God’s will for us, His saints. It is a gift from God which we need for mutual cooperation and encouragement as we run together as one body in the race of faith.

We are also to “pursue” sanctification together, which is actually something done to us communally by Jesus (Heb 2:11). He does this throughout our lives as we participate in the Divine Service with the body he offered for us (Heb 10:10) and the blood he shed for us (Heb 10:19; 13:12). Through Jesus as our High Priest, we participate in God’s holiness. Without this sanctification “no one will see the Lord”. 

We are told in Hebrews that the vision of the Lord is available to all of the saints both when the Lord returns to bring salvation to those who wait for him and by faithful participation in the Divine Service. There we see Jesus by faith crowned with glory and honor (Heb 2:9). There we see Jesus at God’s right hand (Heb 1:3; 12:2). There is where we get a preview of him before he returns in glory when he “will appear a second time” (Heb 9:28).

Practically, the congregation pursues peace and sanctification by exercising communal oversight of itself and its members and “watching out” for three things. First, the congregation watches to make sure none of its members “misses out on the grace of God” by falling behind and dropping out of the race. The grace of God can be lost by refusing to listen to his Word and participate in Christ’s holy meal. So, the congregation’s first duty is to encourage its members to keep on seeking God’s grace by faithful participation in the Divine Service. Second, the congregation needs to watch out for any embittered members and deal pastorally with them, so that it is not polluted by them. Third, the congregation needs to watch that none of its members do as Esau did by desecrating his holiness by sexual intercourse outside of marriage, damaging the peace of the community and hindering its sanctification.

Lord, help us to pursue peace and sanctification together with You. Amen.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col 3:16) Paul’s letter to Christians in Colossae is helpful for Christians today. Paul writes, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Col 2:8) We are exposed to various philosophies and empty deceit conveyed through the media we absorb and the people around us who follow these. When the word of Christ does not dwell in us richly, we are vulnerable to being taken captive and deceived. 

One deceitful belief that some hold onto is that God’s Word is simply data, and we process it like computers. In other words, once we download the data to our memory, we are good to go. But we are much more than lifeless computers made by man. We are living, breathing children of the Almighty, fearfully, and wonderfully made by and in the image of the Creator. We are loved, redeemed, and renewed. We are joined to Jesus Christ in our baptism – He in us and us in Him. Though hidden in Christ, we are living our eternal lives now by faith. That faith comes by the hearing of the Word of God, which, “is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). God works faith and life through His Word. It was written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we may have life in His name (cf John 20:31).  

Rather than trying to understand God’s Word in human terms, such a data in a computer, we let God Himself tell us about His Word and its purpose. The Lord declares, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Is 55:9-11). 

As Paul writes, “the sacred writings…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:12-17 

So, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly”. It will succeed in the thing for which God sent it.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Thomas