In this article, I want to address some lessons we, as believers, can learn from John 15 concerning how a believer must respond to a culture that hates Christ. Jesus opens this passage with a fascinating illustration of the dependence of the believer upon Christ. Jesus says in John 15:1, “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.” As Christians, Jesus Christ is not only the source of our forgiveness and redemption, but He is the source of our new life. He is the One Who has transformed us, and grafted us into the vine, so that as the branches we can bear fruit in this new life we have been given.
We cannot censor the truth to make it more appealing, because apart from Christ we can do nothing. John 15:5 teaches us an important lesson for our time using this analogy of the vine and the branches. “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.” It is my contention that the American Church has tried to disconnect itself from the Vine and bear their own fruit. Why do we think we can disconnect ourselves, our families, and society from the Word of God and remain unstained by this world?
The Gospel is the cure, not the disease, though far too many who claim to be in Christ would have the Gospel censored, even silenced, because they do ...
