____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ January 2, 1994 ____________________________________________________ Who Are the "Branches" of John 15? by Tom Edwards In the first several verses of John 15, one learns of the importance of abiding in the vine. It is imperative in order for one to be fruitful in the Lord--and without fruitfulness, one will be cast forth and thrown into the fire like a dried-out, useless branch that is no longer yielding anything profitable and has ceased to manifest even a vestige of life. In these verses, the Lord is presenting a parable in which He is the true vine and we are the branches. But who really are the ``we'' who are the branches? Some today cite this passage to justify denominationalism. They say that the Lord's church is made up of various religious denominations--just as a vine has many branches--and that they are all connected to Jesus Christ. Therefore, they view the different branches to be symbolizing various denominations. But is this what the Bible teaches? First of all, the many branches on a vine are much more similar to each other than the various, conflicting denominations that exist today when viewed in contrast to the church of the New Testament. Secondly, is a member of a church fruitful, just because everyone else there might be? Will the Lord overlook a person's unfaithfulness as long as the unfaithful individual is a member of a loyal and zealous congregation? Is one's fruitfulness and righteous standing before God based exclusively on the church that person is a member of? or is there also the need for individual responsibility? Thirdly, there were no denominations in existence when the Lord gave this parable; and we must also remember His words when He said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up" (Matthew 15:13). Any religious group that has not been established by God's authority is a plant that He has not planted. Furthermore, the Bible stresses the need for unity--and would have us shun factionalisms and divisions, which characterize the various denominations today. Rather, it should be our desire and plea for everyone to be united in the one faith, the one Spirit, the one hope, the one Lord, the one baptism, and the one Father (Eph. 4:4-6); and not for each group to be following a ``different gospel'' (Gal. 1:6-9). God not only desires His people to be a united people, but Jesus also prayed and died that this come to pass (Jn. 17:20-23; Eph. 2:13-22); and the apostle Paul instructed the brethren to be ``of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose'' when it came to spiritual matters (Phil. 2:2). Fourthly, we can note by the grammar itself that the Lord's admonition was not about groups, but rather concerning individuals. He said, ``HE who abides in Me, and I in HIM, HE bears much fruit...if ANYONE does not abide in Me, HE is thrown away as a branch...'' (vv. 5,6; emphasis mine). These singular pronouns refer back to the ``every branch'' of verse 2. Obviously, this warning is not addressed to groups as a whole, nor to denominations, but rather to each individual who is a member of the Lord's church. Even if every member in a particular church, therefore, were very fruitful in their service to God, this would not automatically make your standing before God just as fruitful, because we each have an individual responsibility to be that way--and no one can fulfill our role for us. In addition, we can note that this passage also presents the possibility of a Christian losing salvation--if he does not remain faithful (cf. 2 Peter 2:20-22). And, in view of this, we must each, as children of God, strive to do our best so that we may firmly take hold of that eternal life and never lose it. Abiding in the vine, walking in the light, walking by faith, keeping oneself in the love of God (Jude 21), being faithful, etc., are all terms that imply the need for obedience; and in so doing, one will then be a fruitful branch on the vine of Christ, and continually bearing fruit to the glory of God. Are you one of the fruitful branches in this vine? ___________________________________________ "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones" (Prov. 16:24). ___________________________________________ Things Saul Saw While Blind by John Isaac Edwards While Saul of Tarsus was on the road to Damascus, he was blinded by a light from heaven (Ac. 9:1-9). During the time that Saul was blind, he saw a number of things that most people today don't see. Let's notice three things that Saul saw while blind. 1) That One Can Live In All Good Conscience And Be In Error. The trend in religion today seems to be, ``just let your conscience be your guide.'' Saul of Tarsus was guided by his conscience, but he was guided into error. Saul was a man who ``made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and hailing men and women committed them to prison'' (Ac. 8:3). Tell Me Saul, did your conscience bother you while you persecuted the church? Saul said, ``I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day'' (Ac. 23:1). Many today may live in all good conscience in religious matters, but still be engaged in religious error. 2) That A Person Can Be Zealous In His Religion And Be Wrong. Saul revealed to the Galatians that he was a religious man (Gal. 1:13). But Saul was not your ordinary religious man. He was zealous in his religion! In Acts 22:3, Saul testified that he was ``zealous toward God.'' Furthermore, he announced to the brethren in Galatia, that he was ``exceedingly zealous'' (Gal. 1:14). The Bible teaches that zeal is essential if one is to please God (Tit. 2:14). Yet, some today may be in the same condition that Saul was in--''concerning zeal, persecuting the church'' (Phil. 3:6). It takes more than just being zealous to be pleasing to God! 3) What A Man Must Do To Have His Sins Washed Away. While Saul lay trembling on the earth, he asked, ``Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?'' The Lord answered, ``Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do'' (Ac. 9:6). It must be recognized that whatever Saul was told to do, in the city, that it was imperative if he was to have his sins washed away. Saul was told, ``And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord'' (Ac. 22:16). Saul, while blind, saw that in order to have his sins washed away, he had to be baptized. Saul of Tarsus saw these things while blind. Can you see them? ___________________________________________ Vain Worship by Windell Wiser The worship of the Pharisees was vain because of two reasons. It was only lip service, and they taught for doctrines the commandments of men. Jesus said, ``In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men'' (Mt. 15:9). Jesus also said, ``This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me'' (Mt. 15:8). Jesus was actually quoting what God said through the prophet Isaiah and He applied it to the Pharisees (Mt. 15:7). No matter how great our zeal may be; even as great as the Pharisees who compassed sea and land to make one proselyte; all of our efforts are vain if we are not sincere, and if we teach for doctrines the commandments of men. God is interested in our hearts. Mere formality does not appeal to Him at all. The doctrines and commandments of men not only make our worship vain, they will cause us to be accursed (Gal. 1:6-10). People also will be damned for believing the lies we preach (II Thess. 2:10-12). ``Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven,'' Jesus said (Mat. 7:21). There is no need to play the hypocrite with God. ``Be not deceived God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting'' (Gal. 6:7,8). ``Be sure your sins will find you out'' (Num. 32:33). ``The way of transgressors is hard'' (Prov. 13:15). ``Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed; but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded'' (Prov. 13:13). ``It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God'' (Heb. 10:31). Let us avoid vain worship. ___________________________________________ "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city" (Proverbs 16:32). ___________________________________________ "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on" (Prov. 4:14,15). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________