Renewing Your Mind is a radio production of Ligonier Ministries. The purpose of Ligonier Ministries is to awaken as many people as possible to the holiness of God by proclaiming, teaching, and defending God's holiness in all its fullness. In order to fulfill that mission, Ligonier Ministries has been producing Christian education materials designed to fill the gap between Sunday school and seminary. For more than 35 years we've been accomplishing this mission in many ways. The Renewing Your Mind broadcast is one of those ways. To find out more about Ligonier Ministries and how you can help us fulfill this mission, give us a call at 1-800-435-4343. Again, that's 1-800-435-4343. A resource consultant is waiting for your call. Who is the Israel of God and what is the relationship to the New Testament Church? Stay tuned, renewing your mind. Weekend Edition is next. Welcome to this weekend edition of Renewing Your Mind with author and teacher Dr. R.C. Sproul. Dr. Sproul is also the Senior Minister of Preaching and Teaching at St. Andrews, a Reformed congregation in Sanford, Florida. For the last century and a half, there has been a popular notion in the Church that God has two separate plans of salvation for two separate groups of people, Israel and the Church. Much of this is based upon a faulty understanding of Jesus and his fulfillment of Israel's vocation in redemptive history. Where can we go in Scripture to learn about this fulfillment? Today on Renewing Your Mind, as we continue our study of the Gospel of John, Dr. Sproul will take us to John 15 to learn about the relationship between the vine and the branches. Here now is Dr. Sproul with today's message, I Am the Vine. Once again, we turn our attention to the teaching of the apostles as we find it in the 15th chapter of John's Gospel. I am the vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit he prunes. that it might bear more fruit. You're already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. And as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, You ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. And by this is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit so that you will be my disciples." He has ears to hear the Word of God. Let them hear. Throughout our study of the Gospel of John, we've paid particular notice to those sayings that are grouped under the heading, the I am's of Jesus. I am the light of the world. I am the bread. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the father of one. Before Abraham was, I am, and so on. And this morning now, we come to the last of those I am's where Jesus uses that provocative language, egoimi, where he is, in a sense, quoting from the sacred name of God in the Old Testament. And in this case, this I am brings with it something new. This is the first and only of the I am's that has a second aspect to it. Jesus says, I am the vine, and my father is the vine dresser, or your translation may read, the husband man. There are at least two very important thrusts that we dare not miss in Jesus' statement here. The first thing is this, when Jesus says, I am the vine, the true vine, it is next to impossible to miss the significance of that in terms of its relationship to the Old Testament. Because Israel was an agrarian society and one of the key industries in the entire nation was the wine industry and the production of vineyards and grapes and so on, that many, many metaphors and allusions are used in the pages of the Old Testament that call attention to the vine. And the central motif of the Old Testament use of the metaphor of the vine is with specific reference to Israel as a nation. That God not only called the nation Israel His bride, but He also called it His vine. the vine that he has planted, the vine that he has tended, the vine that he has cared for, the vine that he has called out of the world to bear fruit to all nations. And so we have seen throughout John's Gospel how that in his person and in his work, the teaching of the Old Testament with respect to Israel is focused and fulfilled in Christ himself. John tells us that Christ is the tabernacle. He is the mercy seat. He is the light from within the tabernacle. And it is out of Egypt that God calls his son. The first application of that, of course, is to Israel in the Exodus, but it finds its ultimate fulfillment in the call of Jesus and his family back from exile in Egypt after Herod sought to destroy the babe. And so throughout the text, we see these strands of connection between Old Testament Israel and New Testament Christ. And what every Jew would understand in this bold declaration of our Lord in the upper room is He is in effect saying, I am the true Israel of God. Now I know throughout the evangelical Christian world today there is this novelty theology that began in the 19th century that is completely committed to the idea that God has two distinct plans of redemption, one for the Jews of the Old Testament and another one for the New Testament church, and categorically reject the idea that the church of Jesus Christ is in fact the fulfillment of Old Testament Israel. I think that's a very, very unfortunate departure from Orthodox Christianity, and its sheer popularity cannot make it sound. For here our Lord clearly identifies himself with the Israel of God. He is the personification in terms of his own personal relationship. He fulfills by way of corporate solidarity all that is laid upon the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. Just briefly and quickly, let me read a portion from Psalm 80 without much comment because it's pretty plain. where God is calling to Israel to repent of her sins and to return to fidelity to his covenant relationship with them. He says, return we beseech you, first now the people are calling to God to return to them because he has departed from them, return we beg you O God of hosts, look down from heaven and see and visit this vine. and the vineyard which your right hand has planted, and the branch that you made strong for yourself." Now, why is the psalmist calling for God to return to the care of the vine? Because here's what he says, "'Cause it is burned with fire. It is cut down. They perish at the rebuke of your countenance. but let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, upon the Son of Man, whom you have made strong for yourself." So the plea of the psalmist is that God would restore His grace upon Israel through the Son of Man, who now has come and has announced That He is the vine of the Father. That He is the true vine, and it is God the Father who is the vintner. He is the one who owns the vineyard. He is the one who is responsible for the care, the nurture, and the ultimate productivity of that vineyard. And so, Christ now, not Israel, is the Father's vine. Because He is the fulfillment. of Israel. Now that's one aspect of this lengthy metaphor here in the 15th chapter. The other major emphasis is on the relationship of the believer to Christ. And the exhortation of Jesus here is that as Christians, as His disciples, we are called to be fruitful. We are called to be productive. Now you would think that that theme is so often declared in the pages of the New Testament that it would be almost a cliché by now, but that's not the case. You know what I encounter frequently in the Christian world, and I have to say particularly in the academic world where I come from, is that there is this idea that if you're a Christian, you don't really have to work so hard. And since we are justified by grace and by faith alone, works are so utterly inconsequential that we can kick back, take our ease in Zion, rest on the grace of God, and be utterly worthless for His kingdom. Because we think that if we are called to bear fruit that we're therefore confusing that with some kind of merit by which we earn our standing with God. No, no, no. We are saved apart from our works. We know that. And we are justified by faith apart from our works. We are justified by faith, beloved, unto works. I don't know how many times I'd have college students in my classes flunk examinations and they would come to an essay question and instead of answering the question, they would say, dear professor, I didn't prepare adequately for this examination. I'm so sorry. I won't let it happen again, but please be merciful to me because I really do love Jesus. And I would write back on the page, you know, I am delighted to hear the state of your soul. And I hope you've really grasped the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But in my classroom, it's justification by works alone. But there was this, almost this demand that if I'm really going to be a Christian, I'm not going to require any responsible behavior from my students. I see it in Christian ministries all over the place, that we think that because we're in Christian ministry, we shouldn't have to be concerned about productivity. No, no, no, no, no, beloved. If anything, the calling that we have as Christians is the highest calling there is. and that the idea of being productive in the Western world is not the invention of capitalism, it is the mandate of Christ, who saves us in our unproductivity and changes us and calls us to productivity. And in that process, he makes it clear that if he were to leave us to ourselves, we would be completely impotent, there would be no production of anything worthwhile, because as our Lord says in this passage, without Him we can do nothing. Without Him we can do nothing. Well, what's the fruit that He's concerned about? There's been lots of debates about that. Some people think that the only fruit that Jesus is concerned about are souls that are converted to Christ, that the bear fruit means to be a soul winner. to lead people to Jesus. Others say, no, what this means is it means that they are obedient to the mandates of the law. All of those things are involved in that, but the central emphasis on fruit bearing in the New Testament has to do with the fruit of the Holy Ghost, which is hard to measure. It's unspectacular, but it is the fruit of a changed life. It is the fruit of a changed character. A character that is strengthened and fed and nurtured by the source of holiness, Christ himself. Now listen to what he says here. Here's the warning that we must not neglect. Every branch that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that he may bear more fruit." Now, frankly, I don't like the translation here. What the author of this translation is trying to do is to render into English something that is really not renderable in the exact way it comes across in the Greek, because in the Greek, there is a play on words. And that's the most difficult thing in the world to translate from one language to another, when somebody puns or when they make a play on words. And what Jesus is saying here is that those who do not bear fruit receive from God ere I. And that means to be cut off. And everyone, however, that the Father, I don't like the word prunes, but the word the Father cleanses is katerai. You have erai and katerai, and you see the way in which those two words sound alike and which they're similar. And katerai is a word you're all familiar with. It's the word from which we get the term catharsis, which means a cleansing. And so Jesus said, those ones who are in me who do not bear fruit are cut off. And those who do bear fruit are cleansed, purified, nurtured, pruned, that they may even become more productive. Again, this metaphor is all going back to the growing of grapes from the grape vine in Israel. that for the vineyard to be rich in its productivity, the husband would go on along the rows of the vines and when he would see those dead sticks that were sticking out of the vine, producing no fruit but trying to suck sap and strength away from the vine, they would cut those off and they would gather those dead sticks and throw them in the fire, burn them up. That's all they were worth. But the ones that were bearing fruit, they would cut back, clip, prune, clean, so that their fruit would increase. And you look at that text and you say, well, he's talking about people that are in the vine. And you can't be in the vine unless you're truly converted. No, but you can be in his church. You can have an external relationship to Him. And I don't think Jesus is teaching anything differently here from what He teaches in the parable of the sower where He talks about the seed that is sown and some of it falls upon the bad earth and it gets choked out by the thorns and so on. Jumps up, makes a profession of faith. I got a letter this week from somebody who said, I pray the sinner's prayer. Does that mean that I can never be lost? And my answer was, no, that doesn't mean that, because nobody is ever saved by saying the sinner's prayer. Now, if you say the sinner's prayer in faith, in true faith, then Christ will not only redeem you, but He will never let you go. But I've said this over and over and over again, because of the peril of not understanding it, that, beloved, nobody is saved by a profession of faith. Nobody is saved by joining the church. But by joining the church, as we had many people do this morning, people are brought into that earthly sanctuary where the means of divine grace are most heavily concentrated. It's a tremendous advantage to be where the Word of God is preached, to where the people of God are gathered in prayer. But if you are simply in the midst of it, as advantageous as that might be, it is no guarantee that you are in fact in a state of grace or in Christ permanently. In fact, I think Jesus hints at that in the very next statement where he says, you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit of itself, neither can you unless you abide in me." And he goes on and gives that exhortation of abiding. There's nothing more precious for me as a minister than to see one of our own receive the sacrament of baptism. What a magnificent thing. But the water is not magical. The water doesn't save anybody. The water symbolizes the promise of God to give the fullness of salvation to all who believe. And for the believer to have the confirmation of God's promise in your life is a wonderful support system. You see, the point is this. If you are a Christian, you will bear fruit. but you will bear fruit more or less. The closer you stay to Christ, the more fruit you will bear. The more you wander out from the center and neglect the means of grace that he has given to you, the less fruit you will produce. The word that he says here is, stay in me, abide in me. Get a hold of me. Hold on tightly. Don't think that you can make it on your own. Because without me, you can do nothing. You're listening to Renewing Your Mind, Weekend Edition with R.C. Sproul, explaining the essential relationship between the vine and the branches. One of the greatest contributions of the Protestant Reformation was making the scriptures available in a common language of the people. Following the lead of the 16th century Geneva Study Bible, which included margin notes from some of the most notable scholars of that time, Dr. R.C. Sproul, in collaboration with 40 other Reformed theologians, put together the new Geneva Study Bible. Every page represents some of the finest scholarship in the church today. Today, we're offering the New Geneva Study Bible, hardcover edition, for a donation of any amount while supplies last. There are many study Bibles to choose from, but only one New Geneva Study Bible. Again, today only, while supplies last, we're making the hardcover New Geneva Study Bible available for a gift of any amount. Call now to get your copy. Our toll-free number is 1-800-435-4343. Again, that's 1-800-435-4343. Or you can go online to rymoffer.com. That's R-Y-M as in renewing your mind, and the word offer.com. That web address is for this week's special offer only. The New Geneva Study Bible is the first Reformed Study Bible since the 16th century that provides notes and articles that exalt the sovereignty and holiness of God and the doctrines of grace. To be sure, this is not a new Bible translation, but rather it uses the New King James Version so popular in the church today. Again, the New Geneva Study Bible is available for a donation of any amount today. To take advantage of this very special offer, while supplies last, give us a call at 1-800-435-4343. Again, that's 800-435-4343. Or you can go online to rymoffer.com. That's R-Y-M as in renewing your mind. And the word offer dot com. That will wrap up this Weekend Edition of Renewing Your Mind. Thank you for listening. Join us again next weekend as Dr. Sproul continues to take us through the Gospel of John. Until then, you can keep up with us at our Facebook page at facebook.com slash Ligonier. You're listening to Renewing Your Mind Weekend Edition, the listener-supported radio outreach of Ligonier Ministries in Orlando, Florida.