Title: To Abide in Christ
Text: 1 Jn 2:28

To "abide" means to stand fast, to remain, to stay, to reside to submit to, to continue. John uses the word "abide" over fifty times in his writings; six times in this letter eleven times in John 15. The secret, if you can call it that, to the kind of life of Jesus lived, a life that was blameless before God and men, was his constant fellowship with the Father.

In this passage abide means we have a responsibility as Christians "to remain in union with Jesus Christ, to willingly submit every area of your life to Him in unbroken fellowship. It is not only a responsibility it is also a privilege. We privileged to be given access to that same kind of fellowship with the Father Jesus experienced.

Paul used the analogy of branches being grafted into an olive tree in Romans 11. Jesus used the analogy of a vine in John 15 :5-7 where He said:  "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.  "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.  "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. (NAS)

We, as believers, have been grafted into the vine which is Jesus Christ. We have been placed into Christ by the Holy Spirit. We must willfully remain or abide in Him. We must choose to maintain that "in Christ" relationship by the decisions we make.. That means we are by an act of will to do those things which subject us to Him and keep us in constant fellowship with him.

From this letter we learn eight elements of abiding in Christ. First we must walk in open confession before Christ. This was revealed in I Jn 1:8-10: "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (NAS)

Confession is not just naming our sins, but recognizing the nature of who we are and agreeing with God about our sinfulness, that we are sinners and fall short of His absolute perfection and always looking to Him for forgiveness and willing to go to Him for that forgiveness

We must also walk in fellowship with Christ I Jn 2:6, the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. (NAS) We must pattern our lives after that of Jesus, recognizing His dependence on prayer and obedience.

I Jn 2:6 The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. Jesus placed a great priority on maintaining constant fellowship with the Father through prayer. He always, even when things around Him were so hectic, made time to commune with the Father, notice I didn't say found time, but made time. (NAS) A person who is abiding in Christ makes the time to pray. We make time for the things that are important in our lives. Have you ever called work and told your boss you just didn't have time to come to work today? Think about the other things in your lives you make time for. Students, at least most students, make time to study. Sometimes it's the night before an exam when they stay up all night and cram, but they make time and make time to go to class. You ever tell a professor or teacher I just don't have time to come to class or study this week I'll catch you next week if I have time. And we always make time to eat. Any of you ever say I just don't have time to eat this week, maybe I'll eat next week? All those sound a little far fetched don't they. I mean if we want a paycheck and to be able to have a place to live we have to work, and students if they expect to get along in life have to go to class it's usually required and they have to pass or they get kicked out of school, and we all know that we have to eat if we expect to continue to live.

But you know spiritually we are willing to just get by on what's left over. Ps 16:11 says Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy. If we are to find the true path God has for us and know the fullness of joy we must take the time and make the time to commune with God.

A third element of abiding in Christ is continuing in fellowship with the church. Church simply means called out ones. Everyone who has made a genuine profession of faith is part of the universal church. The Bible teaches however the importance of the local church body. The Living Bible says in Heb 10:25, Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near. (TLB)

Do you realize the majority of the New Testament was written to local church bodies. God has ordained that through the local church people are brought to Christ, are discipled and encouraged and strengthened in their faith. All other ministries are or should be designed to strengthen the local church. The local church serves as an extended family, it provides a place and a time for people to worship and experience God, to practice or apply their spiritual gifts which are given the Bible says for the edification of the church.

Paul wrote in 1 Cor 12:4-7:  "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.  And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all {persons.} But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (NAS)

When I edify others I am edified by others the local church servers the common good or believers and fulfills the purposes of God.

Also if we are to abide in Christ we must not allow sin to control us. Paul explained that when we come to Christ we are given a new nature. In Col 2:13, Paul wrote that before we trusted Christ we were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh. That's the old nature the one that dominated our thought and actions. It is the nature that is contrary to the will of God. The nature that leads up into sin. When we came to Christ, however, that old nature was replaced by a new one. He made us alive with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions. This new nature brings an awareness of sin, and a desire to turn from it.

But there is a continual struggle with the old. When we abide in Christ we willfully seek to do those things which the new nature desires. Paul said it this way in Col 3:

Col 3:1-2, 5-17 "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ["If" in this case is a first class condition or something assumed to be true, i.e. since you have been raised with Christ.]  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.  For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, {and} abusive speech from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its {evil} practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.  And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;  bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things {put on} love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms {and} hymns {and} spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, {do} all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (NAS)

The person abiding in Christ deliberately sets their will or tunes their will to the will of God. That leads naturally or supernaturally to the fifth element of abiding in Christ obedience. 1 Jn 3:24a says, And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. 

We must act according to the will of God. We have a new focus, with the peace of Christ in our hearts, the word of Christ dwelling within us our relationship with Christ is demonstrated by our actions.

1 Jn 3:24b "And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." (NAS) The Sixth element of abiding in Christ is continual submission to the indwelling presence and witness of the Holy Spirit.
( 1 Jn 4:12:13)

I Jn 4:16-17: "And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world." (NAS)

John 17:19-23:  "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.  I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;  that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, {art} in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one;  I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me." (NAS)

The last but certainly not least element of abiding in Christ is fruitful lives (Jn 15)The vine exists for a purpose. That purpose is to bring forth fruit, the vineyard is not planted to be ornamental. So the question is, "What does this fruit stand for in our lives?" Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Jesus said the fruit is borne by the branches but it is produced by the vine. What is the fruit Jesus speaks of here?

Most of us probably automatically assume that what Jesus refers to is others lead to Christ. Many Christians have been discouraged and sometimes disheartened because they have heard or been taught that if a person is not constantly or frequently leading others to faith in Christ they are fruitless Christians. That is not what this parable of the vine teaches at all.

According to George R. Beasley-Murray each time Israel is mentioned in the Old Testament as a vine or vineyard it is in connection with the judgment of God for corruption and especially for its failure to produce good fruit. In Isa 5 we understand what the fruit is: Isaiah wrote God cleared out the rocks in his vineyard and hedged it about. He built a tower; he protected the vineyard and cared for it. He did everything possible to enable it to produce good grapes. But when He came to His vineyard he found it had produced worthless ones instead. Verse 7 says: "Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress." (NAS)

God came looking for justice and righteousness; instead he found oppression, cruelty, exploitation, and indifference to the needs of others. It is evident from Isaiah's words the fruit God expects of the vine is moral character.

To bear fruit is to show by our lives that we are under the influence of Christ. It is to live so as to be useful to Christ and others. Albert Barnes said, "As a vineyard is worthless unless it bears fruit that may promote the happiness or subsistence of man, so the Christian principle would be worthless unless Christians should live so that others may be made holy and happy by their example and labors, and so that the world may be brought to the cross of the Savior. (from Barnes' Notes)

The secondary idea in verse 28 is future judgement. Jesus will come again, there will be a day of judgement. It doesn't matter when or how long it will be before it takes place. We are to live in Christ now so that whenever it might come, whenever we stand before the judgement seat whether it's tomorrow or the day after or a hundred years from now we will have no reason for shame but confidence not only because of the source of our salvation but by the way we built our lives in Him.

Abiding in Christ means serving Him in spirit and truth with gladness in our hearts, giving to Him our supreme devotion. Are you abiding in Christ? Is His will your will? Will you make it so, will you abide in Him and serve Him with gladness?