The True Vine

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

John 15: 1-8


In these times many are wringing their hands asking what we can do to "re-energize" the church? What programs can we develop to encourage evangelism? How do we motivate people to get involved with the work of the church?

I believe that the heart of the problem is not to come up with a new approach to evangelism; but, that we need to focus on "making disciples". If we want renewal, we need to refocus our priorities for Christ in our discipleship. If we truly lead people into a relationship with a living God who becomes the Lord of one's life by being born again, it is the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) that empowers people's lives. Instead, if we focus on "activities", i.e. does he attend regularly, does she tithe, do they participate in our services, we can miss the point of asking is Jesus Lord of one's life? There is a lot of religious activity that inoculates people from understanding the truly personal relationship of being "in Christ". When a disciple wishes to turn away from the dictates of the world and wishes to see understanding of faith, we will not have to worry about brow beating people to pray, study the Bible or serve the needs of those less fortunate. Those things will take care of themselves through spiritual DNA that God injects into the heart of a believer. That is how we become a new creature. If one's heart is not changed, then there is no fruit. If one wants to know how they are doing, look at the fruit in one's life. The reaching of the lost is a spontaneous reaction to the understanding of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When the focus becomes anything else other than "Lordship", there is a loss of direction. It is God in us through his power that makes the difference.

The House of the Lord

1 Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies round about, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent." 3 And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you." 4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, 5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men; 15 but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'" 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

2 Samuel 7:1-17

In the above passage David, King of Israel, comes to a realization of how much God has blessed him. The king is living in a palace. Yet, the Ark of the Covenant, God's symbol of his residence upon earth, rests in a tent. So, David proposes to build God a house. David's response to God's blessing is admirable. But, the concept of the God of the universe dwelling in a house made by human hands is somewhat taken to task through the prophet, Nathan. In verses 5-7, Nathan, reveals that God has not chosen not to dwell in a house; nor, has he commanded David to build a house for him. Instead, he points out that he took David, a shepherd (who lives out of doors) and made him a prince over "my people Israel". Instead, it is the Lord God who will make a house out of David (v.11) and give him a future and descendants. One of these descendants will build a "house for my name". (v13) That house and the kingdom of David shall "be made sure for ever before me; your throne will be established forever".

We know that the throne of David did end when King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians destroyed the temple in 587 B.C. The Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah recount the story of the reconstruction of the second temple that began under Cyrus the Great and completed about 515 B.C. That temple was reconstructed under King Herod the Great in 20 B.C. and ultimately that temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The "wailing wall" in Jerusalem today is the only remnant of that construction left standing.

So how does God's promise through the prophet stand today? Jesus, who was born of the House of David, proclaimed that through the kingdom of God, the Messiah would come and save us. Isaiah 33:22 states:

"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler, the LORD is our king; he will save us."

It is the reign of God that is part of the Messianic promise that delivers salvation. Isaiah 11: 1-10 talks about a "shoot" and a "branch" that will grow from the stump of Jesse. He will be anointed with the spirit and show that with wisdom, understanding, power and knowledge that his kingdom will mean the triumph of righteousness. In that day the one from Jesse will stand as "a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him".

Years later the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2 would proclaim:

Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; 5 and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." 7 To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," 8 and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.

Confessions of an Elder

Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Hebrews 13:17

The concept of "church membership" has changed drastically in my lifetime. Some of that is for the good. For many in our tradition the concept of being on the church's formal list of membership was thought of as being a prerequisite to getting into heaven. Personally, I don't buy that. Jesus told the righteous of his era that there would be many going into the kingdom ahead of them. But, the concept of consumerism in the church world has destroyed the concept of community. Today, people shop for a church like they would for a nice social club. When I find a church that meets my needs, then I will consider membership; but, in the meantime feel free to never make a commitment to the local congregation. This kind of thinking is toxic to one's spiritual development.

While one will not find the term "membership" in the New Testament, you will find passages like that in Hebrews 13:17 that call for leaders to "shepherd" a congregation. When one places membership, he or she is giving permission to the leadership for spiritual advice. A church is a voluntary commitment of believers to live in community. How we live makes a difference. The conduct of members is vital to the spiritual health of a church.

In 1 Timothy 5 Paul goes into a rather detailed set of instructions regarding the care of widows and who should or should not be “enrolled” into the church’s support. This may not relate to modern church membership but it at least makes reference to developing a list of people falling under the care of elders. Further, in discussing church discipline, Paul gives instruction in 1 Corinthians 5 to take the immoral man and put him out. You cannot really put someone out if they have not in some meaningful way been “put in.”

Membership in a church facilitates the practice of spiritual discipline. It does not guarantee it. We preach the "kingdom of God". But, when one is born into the kingdom he or she is in need of a family where one can be nurtured and taught. That necessarily implies a commitment to the local congregation. We are imperfect people trying to be like Jesus. When we allow people to be carried as members whom do not attend, participate in ministry, pray, or ever become involved with teaching, we do them a disservice. There will always be room for those whom are honestly searching for the truth to come and participate. That is part of our evangelism. But our goal is for every person to "put on Christ" through baptism and to become part of the church visible. Only Jesus has the final authority to decide who is "in" or "out" on the day of judgment. But, being part of the body of Christ implies an active participant who is in fellowship with the saints of a local congregation.