And again in God's word to John 15, and particularly at the end of verse five, Jesus said, for without me, you can do nothing. At the start of a new year, many people make resolutions, they have aspirations for the year ahead, and they think about what they want to accomplish. The most important thing for us is not those sorts of resolutions that the world makes, how much weight we can lose, how much money we can make, how many countries we can travel to, but rather how much fruit can we bear for the Lord. Simple fact of verse five is what I want us to take into this new year. Without Jesus, you and I can do nothing. Apart from him, separate from him, we will do nothing. And this is a very bold thing that Jesus says of himself. He is about to leave his disciples. They have followed him for three years. They view him as their master and as their rabbi. And now he is leaving them. He's leaving them alone in the world. And he says, without me, you can do nothing. I'll soon, of course, be leaving you. If I said this, without me, you can do nothing. You would listen to that with disgust. For any mere man to say something like that would be the height of arrogance. Without me, you can do nothing. That would be a very proud and distasteful thing to say. But Jesus, leaving his disciples, is able to say this truthfully. It's the fact of the matter. Without him, these disciples could do nothing. They would do nothing. They would bear no fruit. And this is what we need to learn. You see, it's our pride that stops us from learning this lesson well, that without Jesus, we can do nothing. Dear congregation, what will you and I accomplish without Christ. Imagine someone that's holding a branch that is separated from the vine. And they're holding it up to you and they're saying, I just don't understand why this branch is not fruitful. It's been a whole year. Harvest time has come and no fruit came. I watered it. I cared for it. I kept it safe from the elements. I even pruned it. and still there is no fruit. And obviously you would think of such a person, they're a fool, because the branch is disconnected from the vine. How can it grow? It's separate from that source of life. It will wither and it will die. A branch cannot be fruitful without the vine. And so to a person cannot be fruitful without the Lord Jesus Christ, for without him, we can do nothing. I want us to think about a few ways in which we experience this. First of all, without Christ, you cannot be saved. Without him, there is no salvation. It's a very unpopular message in the world around us to tell people that they are sinners, to tell people that they are guilty, that they are defiled, to tell them that they can do nothing to pull themselves up, that no good work that they do can save them, that they can try their best, but there will be no success for them. You see, it's not just that people in the world are a little bad. but they are wicked in the sight of God. They have done what is evil, and therefore they stand condemned before him. You see, when people hear the bad news that always comes with the gospel presentation, they maybe think, I can turn over a new leaf. I can do something to remedy this. The minister is saying, the word of God is saying that I have sinned against God and I deserve punishment and death. But let me turn over a new page, a new year, a new me, and all will be well. I'll try to change my life. But friends, even if we turn over a new page, we know that we cannot atone for a lifetime of sin. We cannot atone for the sin in our heart, even if we could, which we can't, but even if we could, assure ourselves that from now on we would be perfect, we would never sin. Even if we could do that, it wouldn't be enough to atone for past sin. Because every sin, even the least of sins, is against the infinite holiness of God. And that's something we just don't get by nature. We just don't understand how wicked sin is, how evil it is to sin against the infinite holiness of God. It's an infinite crime, even the smallest of sins. And infinite crimes, of course, deserve infinite punishment. We cannot atone for our sin, and so the only course open to us is to suffer the infinite wrath and curse of God. And that works itself out in eternal punishment. Infinite in the sense of time. It will never end. Because God's majesty has been sinned against. Friends, the good news of the gospel is that we don't atone for our own sin. The good news of the gospel is that Christ is a willing and able Savior. Without Christ, we can do nothing. Without Christ, we cannot be saved. A leopard cannot change its spots. One who is dead in trespasses and sins cannot make himself alive. Christ the Savior can completely redeem us, completely deliver us, and save us from this eternity of punishment which is ours by right. Because there is one name given by which we must be saved, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're not saved, friends, see your sin today, see what it is before God, see the guilt of that sin. See the misery of it. See your inability to save yourself and humble yourself before the willing Saviour. Fall before Him crying out, have mercy on me, a sinner. Because without Him, you can do nothing. Without Christ, you cannot be saved. But secondly, without Christ, you cannot mortify sin. That is, you cannot put sin to death. We're commanded to put sin to death, the sin that remains in us. For many of us, we can say we've been born again by the Spirit of God. We have tasted a regeneration. We're no longer what we once were. We have been made new. There's a new principle in us, a new life in us, a new spark in us. The Spirit of God himself dwells in us. Yet, there also remains in us the old man. There remains in us corruption, and it's this that must be put to death. In Colossians chapter three, we're commanded to put such sin to death. We're commanded to put to death fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. To put off the old man with his deeds. It's a command. It's a command for every Christian. This is what we must do. But how can we do it? Do we think that we can put to death the sin that is in us by our own strength and by our own willpower? It's utter folly to think that. Anyone who thinks that they can deal with their own indwelling corruption is a fool. They do not know the depth of sin in the human heart. You see, we're good at cutting off branches, but we're not so good at digging up the roots. And you know what happens with a plant that you just cut off the branches, but you don't touch the roots? It's going to grow up again. For a while, you deceive yourself. You think you've got the victory over it, because you can't see it on the surface. But it's deep down beneath you, it's in below, and it will come again when you least suspect it. What is the sin in your heart? From that list Paul gives, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, of course there are other lists in parts of the Bible. But friends, these are the things that can be lurking under the surface of the heart. These are the things that are deep within that must be rooted out. These are the sins that must be mortified, crucified, cut off, and there can be no mercy given towards them. We can't live at peace with sin. It's all out war. There can be no treaty made with them that we will spare them if they will spare us. No, they must die. As John Owen said, be killing sin for sin will be killing you. But without Christ, we cannot do it. Without Christ, we can do nothing. Without him, there will be no lasting change. The corruption will remain. Indeed, it can even intensify. It can erupt out of our hearts. And so, friends, consider your heart. Consider what is in there. The things that you say, the things that you do, the things that you think are all simply symptoms of what's in the heart. That's what comes out from deep within. Do you not find that the good that you will to do is what you don't do? And the evil that you will not to do is what you find yourself doing? Oh, wretched man, who will deliver you? And how does the passage conclude? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Without him, you and I can do nothing. We cannot mortify sin. But I thank God through Jesus Christ. There is the victory. There is the way to deal with sin that dwells within the heart. Without Jesus, we cannot be saved. Without Jesus, we cannot mortify sin. Thirdly, without Jesus, we cannot resist temptation. You see, it's not just the sin within us that can cause us trouble. but it's also the temptations which are external to us, temptations that come from the devil himself, temptations that come from the course of this world all around us. What great enemies we have, that we're constantly surrounded by enemies who want us to sin, who want us to do what is displeasing to the Lord. Without Christ, we cannot resist such temptation. The devil crawls around like a roaring lion because he is our enemy and he wants to devour us. He doesn't always do so in ways that are obvious. He is sly. He has wily schemes that he has perfected, as it were, through the millennia. He has used them on countless people through the years. and he has enabled or he's caused many to succumb. He has laid snares and he has entrapped many people. His temptations are so sly and so smart in many ways. And we perhaps in the pride of the human heart think that we'll be able to withstand such temptations Maybe we see someone who has been tempted in a particular way, and they've fallen into that sin, and we think to ourselves, I would never fall for that sin. Friends, let him who thinks he stands take heed to himself. Pride is not what will hold us up. Human strength, human ability is not what helps us to resist temptation. In fact, when we think we shall stand, that is the very time in which we fall into sin, whether the snares of the devil or the enticing ways of the world. It is the Lord alone who provides the way of escape in every temptation. Where the devil would subtly present a snare to us, it's the wisdom of Christ that directs our steps to turn away from it, to move around the snare. where the devil would powerfully try to seduce us with all the attractiveness that he can bring. It's the powerful grace of Christ which melts our hearts and helps us to see that what the devil presents is not what is good, it's not what is lovely, it is not what is pure, it is what Christ alone gives. When the world brings its temptations, And we think that it's best not to go against the flow, but to go with the flow. It's Christ alone who can help us and give us the strength to withstand the force of the world and even to withstand the reproach that the world gives to us. And so it's in temptation that we must learn this truth that without Christ, we can do nothing. We must go to him. in order to resist. Fourthly, without Christ, we cannot grow in grace. See, not only are we to mortify sin and to resist temptation, but we're also to grow. It's not enough just to try to stop sinning. We must produce fruit to God. As we see in Galatians 5, we're to produce love and joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We are to be fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God, yielding the peaceable fruit of righteousness. The Lord looks for fruit amongst his people. The simple fact is that the branch separate from the vine bears no fruit. Think of what Paul said in Philippians 1 and verse 11, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Where do those fruits of righteousness come from? He doesn't just say to them, you're filled with the fruits of righteousness that you have worked long and hard to produce in your life. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness that you have because your theology is good or you're good at enduring. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness because you're serious and earnest. But he says, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ. The will of God for our lives is our sanctification. Every Christian is to be sanctified. Every Christian is to grow in grace. Every Christian is to become zealous for good works. Friends, it is Christ who has secured our sanctification. He has procured it by purchasing it. with His blood, and it is Christ who affects our sanctification by pouring out His Spirit and His grace into our lives. When we grow in godliness, it's not because of what we have done, but it's because of Him. For without Christ, we can do nothing. Without Christ, we cannot be saved. We cannot mortify sin, we cannot resist temptation, we cannot produce fruit, we can't grow in grass. But then fifthly, without Christ, we cannot persevere. We are to persevere. It is a command to us in the scripture that we are to endure to the end. Revelation chapter 3, for one example, gives us a very clear command to persevere. We're commanded to keep ourselves. We're warned against backsliding and apostasy. We're to persevere all the way to glory, to heaven, keeping ourselves pure to be in that place with the Lord forever. Without holiness, we cannot hope to see the Lord. And yet, friends, we do not persevere in our own strength. Without Christ, It simply cannot be done. The first verse of Jude, it's telling us to whom Jude is writing. And those are the sorts of verses we're tempted perhaps just to skip over. It's just an introduction to the epistle. As we would write, dear John, or whatever, you just quickly get past that and get to the substance. But listen to what it says in that verse. to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ. Preserved in Jesus Christ. It is Him and Him alone who can keep us for that great day. No one can take us from His hands. He is the one who keeps all that the Father has entrusted to Him. 1 Peter 1 shows us that we are kept by the power of God. But friends, think of all that we must persevere through. Think of the difficulties of life that come our way. Life is not easy. There are times that we must be pruned. Times that we must be pruned severely. Cut almost all the way back. It looks as if there is nothing green left. So severe has the pruning been. And we may think to ourselves, how can I persevere through this? The affliction that has come my way, the difficulties that have come, all have abandoned me. I'm all alone. And where we're tempted to give up, let us remember what Paul says in Philippians 4. I can do all things through Christ. who strengthens me. It's interesting, if you take that verse along with our text, they're almost saying exactly the same thing, only in the two opposite directions, aren't they? Jesus says, without me, you can do nothing, but positively, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That verse is often taken and used very widely. Has a young person got an exam to do? You can do it through Christ who strengthens you. Have you got a job interview? You can do it through Christ who strengthens you. And of course, there is a wider application. of that verse that we can use. But that's not exactly what Paul means when he says it. He's talking about the context of suffering, of learning to be content when all goes wrong, when he lacks all things, to be content in poverty and in prison. He says, I can do that. Indeed, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. How could Paul be content in a Roman prison? How could he be content in the times that he was stoned and left for dead? How could he be content through the shipwrecks and the beatings? Through Christ, who strengthened him. And so when it comes to us persevering, when we have to go on the road to heaven, which is fraught with difficulties and affliction, No matter how difficult it is, we look to the one who strengthens us. Without him, we can do nothing. With him, through him, we can do all things. He can keep us through the difficulties, and therefore he can keep us even through death itself. For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide, even to death. And so what we see in these five ways is that without Christ, we can do nothing. Without Christ, we cannot be saved. We cannot mortify our sin. We cannot resist temptation. We cannot grow in grace. And we cannot persevere to the end. Without Christ, we are nothing. Without Christ, we can do nothing. But this cannot be used as an excuse for laziness. That's how some people would take it. It's simply a message that says, we can do nothing. Without Christ, you can do nothing, but then we can't be saved. We can't stop sinning. We can't resist temptation. We can't grow in holiness. We can't persevere. What's the point? We can do nothing. Therefore, we are not responsible for our lives. But as we've seen along the way, each one of these things is commanded to us. We're commanded to be saved. We're to repent and believe. We're commanded to put to death the sin that is in us. We're commanded to resist temptation, to grow in grace and to persevere to the end. These are commands that come from the authority of God. And so we can't slight his authority by ignoring the commands. There is no excuse for laziness just because of the simple fact that without Christ we can do nothing. Rather, we're to see how can these things be done with Christ, in Christ, by Christ and through Christ. Why is it that some are not saved? Why is it that Much sin is not mortified. Why is it that temptation is not resisted? Why is it that there's so little growth in grace? Why is it that some do not persevere to the end? Well, John 5 in verse 40 says, but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life. It's as simple as that, really. Those who were not saved, those who did not receive life, they were not willing to come to Jesus, and therefore they did not receive. We can say that for any one of these five things. If we're not willing to come to Christ for these things, we will not receive. Look at verses five and six again here, and contrast them together. Verse five, 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. You see the contrast there? We have one branch connected to the vine, abiding in the vine, producing not just a little bit of fruit, not a token amount of fruit, but producing much fruit. We have another branch separated from the vine, and it withers. It will be thrown into the fire, for it is good for nothing but to be burned. So there's the contrast. There's no excuse for our laziness. We are responsible to bear fruit and to bear much fruit, But if we want to bear fruit, we're to go all the more to Christ. Doesn't this text, without me you can do nothing, reveal to us all the more our need, our lack? And doesn't it show to us all the more clearly Christ's all-sufficiency? And so where we sense our need, and where we see Christ's all-sufficiency, Shouldn't we go to Him in our need, in faith, and in our depending upon Him, laying hold of Him, trusting in Him, abiding in Him, communing with Him? Not an excuse at all for laziness to say that we can do nothing by ourselves. Rather, we're to go in faith to Him. Think of what John said in his first epistle, chapter five. For whoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world. What do you expect him to say next? What is the victory that has overcome the world? What is the secret to this great power to overcome the world and all the evil that is in it? This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Our faith, our little faith, our weak faith, our faith that so often has doubts. Our faith, is that really what can overcome the world? Listen to what he says, for whoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is a victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world? but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. See, our little faith is in a great Savior, and that is why our faith overcomes the world. It's not because of any strength in us, not for any goodness in us. It's because our strength is found only in Him. We rely upon Him totally and completely. That is what it is to abide in Him, to go to Him, And so friends, I would counsel you in this new year which is ahead of us, go into this year not with a sense of what you will accomplish, not with aspirations of what you can do, but go into this new year with a sense of your need and a sense of Christ's all-sufficiency. Think less of what you can do and think more of what you need from Him. Without Him, you and I can do nothing. but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. This text calls from us for a humble, reliant dependence on God. And a humble, reliant dependence on God is a victorious, overcoming faith. You see, we don't have to make our faith better. We don't dress up our faith as if it is strong. We simply come in our need and in our reliance. and we lay hold of the great Saviour. Without Him, we cannot be saved. Without Him, sin cannot be mortified. Temptation cannot be resisted. Without Him, no increase in grace comes. Without Him, we cannot persevere. But friends, with Him, what can be done? Through Christ, we can bear much fruit. And because it's all through Him, Therefore, all the glory belongs to him alone. We don't look to the great biographies of church history and celebrate who they were in and of themselves. We don't look at their upbringing and say, this is what made them great. Rather, in each story from church history, we reflect upon how Christ used weak people how their faith in Christ has overcome the world. They have done all things through Christ who strengthened them, because without Christ, they could bear no fruit. And so all the glory goes to him and to him alone. In 2 Peter 3, we see this connection quite clearly. Peter says, you therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, Beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away by the error of the wicked, but grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now up to that point, it's things we're being exhorted to do. Don't fall away. In other words, persevere. Don't be led away by error. In other words, resist temptation. Positively grow in grace, grow in knowledge. In other words, produce fruit. But listen to what it goes on to say. To Him be the glory, both now and forever. You see, these commands and these exhortations lead to that one truth. To Him be the glory, both now and forever. and forever. When we realize that truth, that without Him we can do nothing, therefore through Him we can do all things. And so all glory goes to Him. Dear friends, as we go into 2022, let us go in with a humble, reliant faith. Let us go all the more to the Lord Jesus. And let us go with this assurance one which perhaps isn't pleasing to the world, one which isn't the positive thinking that the world encourages us to have. But let us go with the truth into this new year, that without Jesus, we can do nothing. Amen. Let's stand and pray. Oh Lord, our God, we confess the human pride that so often we think of ourselves as sufficient and able. Oh Lord, would you not humble us as we read the words of this passage again and as we meditate upon them going from this place. Help us to see truly that without you, we can do nothing. Without Christ, we are nothing. Without him, we produce no fruit. Oh Lord, help us to see our poverty and our great need. Lord, we remember those who are poor in spirit have the kingdom of heaven. Help us, O Lord God, to go all the more to Christ in this year which is ahead of us. Help us to have a faith that overcomes the world as we look to him and to him alone for all these things. And gracious God, we pray that you would be with each and every one of us and that you would work in us and through us. and that we would each bear fruit, and that collectively as a congregation, that there would be much fruit, and that all would go to your glory and to your grace. Hear our prayers. Go with us now, we pray, and bless us. We ask all in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. I will conclude with singing from Psalm 84, Psalm 84 and we'll sing from verse 4 to the end. Here we see an idea of those who abide in Christ, those who are communing with Him, who go to His house, who are in His courts. And we see what the Lord does in them and through them. For example, verse seven, so they from strength and weary go still forward unto strength, until in Zion they appear before the Lord at length. See there, verse 11, for God the Lord's a sun and shield, heal, grace, and glory give, and will withhold no good from them, but uprightly do live. So here we see the strength that the Lord gives. Without him, we can do nothing. Psalm 84, verses 4 to the end. Let's stand to sing praise to God. In thy house of Bethlehem, in heavenly praise. Blessed is the man who spread thy word, in praise of God thy grace. To Plessin the luminous day, then into the age of Wales, also the rich land. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Oh, they don't stand on weary roads, If homeward bound to stray, Until it's time. ♪ The day hath been before the Lord hath fled. ♪ ♪ Lord God of hosts, I pray thee, ♪ ♪ Lord God of hosts, I pray thee, ♪ ♪ Lord God of hosts, I pray thee, ♪ Seek God and she'll become the prince of thy anointed dear. Father, thy courts above, Excels a person other in my bosom's will, I give adore the prevalent text of sin. For God the Lord has done so, and still, in grace and glory, And we'll withhold no good from them that have rightly to live. Oh, that I earn them all. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Oh man.