The Cost of Not Abiding

John 15:6 – “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.”

Jesus warned His disciples that failing to abide means that life fails. A branch only has life if it is connected to the stock of the vine; a disciple only spiritually lives as they are connected to the Master.

The verbs in this verse describe a progression for the one who doesn’t abide: cast out, withered, gathered, thrown, and burned. As in other parables, the picture Jesus used here was not meant to describe a whole theological system. Yet the progression described is a sober and significant warning about the danger of not abiding.

The phrasing Jesus used here was important. He didn’t say, “If anyone does not bear fruit he is cast out.” He said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out.”He knows who abides and who does not, and this can’t be perfectly discerned by our outward estimation of fruit.

The lifeless branch bears no fruit and even its wood is good for nothing but burning. This reference to burning and fire raises the association of punishment in the life to come and warns of the great consequences of failing to abide.

Think of how these words would impact the eleven disciples who first heard them. Jesus told them He would depart; yet they would not be disconnected from Him. The work of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, would be to keep them connected to Jesus. If they were disconnected from Him, they would be ruined – perhaps as Judas was.

This passage is interpreted at least three ways regarding the security of the professed disciple’s position in Jesus.

· The first view believes that “cast out” branches are ones who, though once true believers, end up in hell for lack of abiding and lack of fruit. They were once disciples, but are now cast out.

· The second view is that the “cast out” branches are ones who only appeared to be disciples, and who never really abided in Jesus, and therefore go to hell (like Judas).

· The third view sees the “cast out” branches as fruitless disciples who live wasted lives that are in effect burnt up, but this passage doesn’t refer to their eternal destiny (like Lot, Abraham’s nephew).

The emphasis seems plain: there are no true disciples who do not abide. The branch must remain connected to the vine, otherwise it has no life and is of no lasting good.

Based on The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik.