Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 10
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
And your fruits… are your WORDS. So true good things… God’s things… are His WORDS!
1 Corinthians 2:11-14 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
These THINGS that ONLY Christians do… which lost people CANNOT do… are not earthly things. They are SPIRITUAL things.
And are not found in the earth… They are only found IN THE WORDS of God.
These things that Jesus is talking about are not our fleshly WORKS. In fact… they are not really things that we DO. They are things that we KNOW and SPEAK. They are WORDS. They are truths. It is knowledge and understanding.
Those are the THINGS that Christians CAN bring forth as fruit, while unsaved men CAN DO NOTHING.
God’s good things cannot be touched or be produced with men’s hands. They are spiritual things, that can ONLY be produced through SPEAKING the WORDS of heavenly wisdom.
Jesus is not talking about doing good things in this world, or giving good things in this world, like food, and clothing, and money, and medicine, and houses, or any good and services in this world.
Those are men’s things. God’s things are NOT man’s things.
Luke 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
God’s things are His WORDS: His wisdom.
Without Jesus, you can do man’s things. But without Jesus, ye cannot do God’s things. To God, you can do NOTHING. Nothing good. Nothing valuable.
Loving your neighbor in this world is not a thing of God. It is a thing of a man. so give it to the men you owe it to. But it is NOT what God requires. God requires HIS things.
His WORDS… His truth!
That is the good fruit that the true vine (Jesus Christ) produces… the WORDS of God
1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Fleshly things don’t endure for ever. So God doesn’t value them.
They are not His things. They are man’s things. They are corruptible things.
God does not care about fleshly things. He doesn’t value them, and He does not require them from men.
God requires His word. You need to put His words, His truth, His things, in your inward parts, in your spirit. How? BY THE GOSPEL!
Psalms 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
And once His word is received, and is abiding in there… it can be brought forth as FRUIT.
If you don’t receive His word… you CANNOT produce good FRUIT.
Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
A man’s fruits are his WORDS, and he bring them forth, with his MOUTH!
Hebrews 13:15 … the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Proverbs 18:20-21 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth;
Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
Why will the froward tongue be cut out? Because…
Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: …
Matthew 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
A Christian produces WISDOM as fruit. He does not produce fleshly good works, or fleshly good things.
The things that ONLY a Christian can do, can produce… are SPIRITUAL good things. WORDS.
Things which an unsaved person CANNOT produce… That is, things that an unbeliever cannot SPEAK.
Matthew 12:33-35 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Once the word of God, by the gospel, is abiding in a man’s heart, that man is CAPABLE of true good things… he is CAPABLE of SPEAKING God’s good things; God’s WORDS.
A Christian CAN produce the words of eternal life, while an unsaved person CANNOT.
A Christian CAN do spiritual things… but an unsaved person, spiritually, CAN DO NOTHING.
In the flesh he can do good. But in the Spirit, in the truth, he CANNOT do a single thing that is good.
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
Now, someone will eventually point out that Jesus didn’t say “without me ye can do nothing good”… Jesus said “ye can do nothing”. Period. So it would seem that if we take Him literally, He is saying that unbelievers can’t do good works OR evil works.
So I should be clear that, though I’ve been using “ye can do nothing” to drive home the point that fleshly good works are NOT true good works, the context of Jesus’ statement really isn’t about WORKS. It is FRUIT!
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
It’s FRUIT that they can’t bring forth. It the production of FRUIT that they cannot DO.
And truly, Jesus can both be saying that they don’t bring forth GOOD fruit, but ONLY EVIL fruit… while at the same time that they don’t bring forth any fruit at all.
Both of those statements are true at the same time.
Here is the proof:
Hosea 9:16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.
Interestingly, you have “no fruit” being brought forth, yet you also have fruit being brought forth.
What you have here is evil fruit – being called “no fruit” because it is DEAD, and/or is GOING TO DIE.
Though they bring forth fruit… it is not truly counted as fruit.
Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
How do you know a thorn is a thorn? By its fruit! By the thorns, growing on the thorn.
Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
This is how you know false Christians from true Christians… by their fruits… by their words.
The false Christian can both be said to bring forth EVIL fruit, and also “NO FRUIT”.
Though there is fruit… in truth, it is “no fruit”, because it is EVIL fruit.
That evil fruit is what Jesus calls NOTHING.
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
That is what lost people produce: nothing. Fruit… but really “no fruit”.
Technically, thorns are “fruit”, yet also they are “no fruit”
Mark 4:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
At first, you just think that Jesus simply means that they didn’t produce ANY fruit. But that is only partially true. Notice how Jesus says it in Luke:
Luke 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
They yielded something. They brought forth something. They brought forth “no fruit”.
They produced NO fruit… and yet.. they also did produce fruit.
The fruit that they brought forth, was “no fruit”. Evil fruit.
They brought evil fruit (“no fruit”), to perfection.
They PERFECTED their fruit… They brought it forth fully.
They brought forth “NOTHING”… to completion. To perfection. The perfection of evil fruit.
Evil fruit is “nothing” to Jesus. It is “no fruit”. It is fruit… but it is evil fruit.. thus, it is counted as “No fruit”! As “NOTHING”.
So Jesus isn’t simply saying they can’t do ANYTHING. He is saying that what they DO is NOTHING to Him. What they DO is produce EVIL FRUIT. All man’s fleshly works – whether good works, or evil works – only produce evil fruit: “ No fruit”. Nothing/
John 15:5 … He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
That is what people do “without” Jesus. That is what men bring forth: Nothing!
Without Jesus, you can ONLY bear evil fruit. And Jesus is not in your flesh. Your flesh is without Jesus. So in your flesh, no matter how good your works are… you can only produce evil fruit. You can only produce NOTHING.
Jesus said “without me”…
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
Without Jesus… means outside of Jesus. The flesh (of both saved and lost people) is outside of Jesus. Thus, the flesh “can do nothing”.
The flesh of a person (saved or unsaved) is not IN CHRIST… So…
The flesh can do NOTHING! The flesh can do NOTHING to please God.
Romans 8:8 … they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Nothing you do IN YOUR FLESH, nothing you produce with your flesh, truly pleases God.
Giving to the poor of this world does not please God.
Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless… does not please God!
Not even the fleshly acts of going to church, reading the Bible, praying, or preaching, truly please God.
No fleshly work pleases God.
Fleshly good works CANNOT please God. They are NOTHING to God.
Your flesh is not in Jesus, and Jesus is not in your flesh. So your flesh CANNOT do good.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
The ability to do TRUE good things is not in anyone’s flesh today.
The flesh CANNOT produce true good things.
God’s things… THE TRUE good things… are spiritual things.
John 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Hebrews 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Solomon built God a house on Earth. Yet it was not considered a TRUE thing.
Man, with his hands, with his fleshly good works, cannot do TRUE things. Man can at best, do a FIGURE of the true.
TRUE good things… are spiritual good things. Heavenly things. Anything else… God will not accept as true good things.
Fleshly good things, all the good things in THIS world… are only a FIGURE of the true.
Your flesh does fleshly things. Your flesh does not do SPIRITUAL things… it does not produce true good things.
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
So many people believe “Jesus comes in and helps me do good works now”.
But Jesus is not in your flesh. He is not helping your flesh. He is not giving the ability to do good works to your flesh. If He is… if Jesus is responsible for YOUR good works, then you must admit that every unbeliever who is capable of doing a single, fleshly good work, has Jesus Christ in them, just as much as you do.
Those unbelievers must be IN Christ, just as much as every Christian is IN Christ.
3 John 1:11 … He that doeth good is of God: …
Unbelievers certainly CAN do fleshly good things… so they must be “of God”. In Jesus.
They CAN do good… and WITHOUT Jesus, they could do NOTHING.
So if fleshly good things are true good things… then they MUST be IN Jesus.
Its binary. Black and white. True or false.
Its not, “without me you can do a little, but with me you can do more”.
Its not, “without me you can do good sometimes, but with ME helping you, you can do good much more often”.
No, its…
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
Every good work of this world, is done without – OUTSIDE of – Jesus.
Every TRUE good work is done IN Jesus.
John 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
If you are doing good works in this world, you are not “doing TRUTH”.
You are doing a figure of the true. You are doing NOTHING.
Only works done IN Christ, in the Spirit.. not on Earth, but in God, in heaven, are TRUE good works.
Fleshly good works are not TRUE good works. They are done OUTSIDE of Jesus.
Thus, they are valueless to God. They are NOTHING.
Isaiah 41:29 …their works are nothing: …
Good pleasure
The idea that Jesus comes in and makes the Christian full of good works in this life, or at least “better”, in this world, is a lie! And it is supported only by a misunderstanding of Scripture. A misapplication of Scripture. A misapplication of spiritual things to the carnal things.
One such passage that is misunderstood and misapplied is…
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
This is what the “works are proof of salvation” crowd point to.
“See? See! God does our good works in us,” they say.
Of course it’s true. Its absolutely true…
But they are applying this to their FLESH, when it is not applicable to the flesh. It is spiritual!
They apply it to their fleshly works. But it is absolutely NOT ABOUT fleshly works!
How do I know that? Because the phrase “good pleasure” is only in the Bible 5 other times. Here is the first occurrence:
Psalms 51:18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
What is the significance of that, you might wonder? The significance is that spiritually, to build Jerusalem, is to build the church… to get people SAVED.
God’s “good pleasure” is to win SOULS – and in so doing, to BUILD His house – the heavenly Zion!
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
This is the work that we work together with God, the work of His good pleasure that God worketh in Christians. Adding souls to the church. Building His house.
Every saved person is a living stone in the heavenly city of New Jerusalem.
1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, … 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, …
Winning souls. Building God’s house. That is what pleases God. That is His GOOD PLEASURE.
That is a true good work. That is THE true good work. AND THAT is what God is responsible for. That is the work that He both wills and does in us: He builds His house. That is the labour which we do TOGETHER WITH GOD.
Not serving, and feeding, and healing, and profiting men’s flesh. Not fleshly good works.
Not building a worldly house with our hands.
Building a spiritual, eternal, heavenly house, with our WORDS.
Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
That is how we do “His good pleasure”. We preach the word of grace. We give wisdom so they can get saved. And thus we build God’s house “brick by brick” – living stone by living stone.
Getting people saved, is God’s “good pleasure”. To confirm this, let me show you the next 3 occurrences:
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
His “good pleasure” is people getting saved.
Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
His “good pleasure” is people getting saved.
Ephesians 1:8-10 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Those are all three about people getting saved… getting wisdom and understanding to get saved.
That is God’s good pleasure: Giving people salvation. People getting saved.
That is God’s work. That is what He cares about. Getting people IN Christ. That is what pleases Him.
1 Corinthians 12:18 But now hath God set the members [Christians] every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
He sets us in Him, and labours together with us to build others into Him as well. To get people saved.
That is what He is responsible for doing in us.
It is not good works done in this world. It is works done “in himself”; in His body; in His building.
Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; …
Through WORDS of knowledge and understanding we do His good pleasure.
Colossians 1:9-10 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Your fruits are your WORDS: your WISDOM, your SPIRITUAL understanding.
That FRUIT, those words, are what is PLEASING to God.
Spiritual good fruit, the fruit of righteousness, the WORDS of eternal life, is the PLEASING sacrifice:
Hebrews 13:15-16 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that
Feb 10 2025
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 10
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 10
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
And your fruits… are your WORDS. So true good things… God’s things… are His WORDS!
1 Corinthians 2:11-14 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
These THINGS that ONLY Christians do… which lost people CANNOT do… are not earthly things. They are SPIRITUAL things.
And are not found in the earth… They are only found IN THE WORDS of God.
These things that Jesus is talking about are not our fleshly WORKS. In fact… they are not really things that we DO. They are things that we KNOW and SPEAK. They are WORDS. They are truths. It is knowledge and understanding.
Those are the THINGS that Christians CAN bring forth as fruit, while unsaved men CAN DO NOTHING.
God’s good things cannot be touched or be produced with men’s hands. They are spiritual things, that can ONLY be produced through SPEAKING the WORDS of heavenly wisdom.
Jesus is not talking about doing good things in this world, or giving good things in this world, like food, and clothing, and money, and medicine, and houses, or any good and services in this world.
Those are men’s things. God’s things are NOT man’s things.
Luke 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
God’s things are His WORDS: His wisdom.
Without Jesus, you can do man’s things. But without Jesus, ye cannot do God’s things. To God, you can do NOTHING. Nothing good. Nothing valuable.
Loving your neighbor in this world is not a thing of God. It is a thing of a man. so give it to the men you owe it to. But it is NOT what God requires. God requires HIS things.
His WORDS… His truth!
That is the good fruit that the true vine (Jesus Christ) produces… the WORDS of God
1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Fleshly things don’t endure for ever. So God doesn’t value them.
They are not His things. They are man’s things. They are corruptible things.
God does not care about fleshly things. He doesn’t value them, and He does not require them from men.
God requires His word. You need to put His words, His truth, His things, in your inward parts, in your spirit. How? BY THE GOSPEL!
Psalms 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
And once His word is received, and is abiding in there… it can be brought forth as FRUIT.
If you don’t receive His word… you CANNOT produce good FRUIT.
Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
A man’s fruits are his WORDS, and he bring them forth, with his MOUTH!
Hebrews 13:15 … the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Proverbs 18:20-21 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth;
Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
Why will the froward tongue be cut out? Because…
Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: …
Matthew 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
A Christian produces WISDOM as fruit. He does not produce fleshly good works, or fleshly good things.
The things that ONLY a Christian can do, can produce… are SPIRITUAL good things. WORDS.
Things which an unsaved person CANNOT produce… That is, things that an unbeliever cannot SPEAK.
Matthew 12:33-35 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Once the word of God, by the gospel, is abiding in a man’s heart, that man is CAPABLE of true good things… he is CAPABLE of SPEAKING God’s good things; God’s WORDS.
A Christian CAN produce the words of eternal life, while an unsaved person CANNOT.
A Christian CAN do spiritual things… but an unsaved person, spiritually, CAN DO NOTHING.
In the flesh he can do good. But in the Spirit, in the truth, he CANNOT do a single thing that is good.
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
Now, someone will eventually point out that Jesus didn’t say “without me ye can do nothing good”… Jesus said “ye can do nothing”. Period. So it would seem that if we take Him literally, He is saying that unbelievers can’t do good works OR evil works.
So I should be clear that, though I’ve been using “ye can do nothing” to drive home the point that fleshly good works are NOT true good works, the context of Jesus’ statement really isn’t about WORKS. It is FRUIT!
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
It’s FRUIT that they can’t bring forth. It the production of FRUIT that they cannot DO.
And truly, Jesus can both be saying that they don’t bring forth GOOD fruit, but ONLY EVIL fruit… while at the same time that they don’t bring forth any fruit at all.
Both of those statements are true at the same time.
Here is the proof:
Hosea 9:16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.
Interestingly, you have “no fruit” being brought forth, yet you also have fruit being brought forth.
What you have here is evil fruit – being called “no fruit” because it is DEAD, and/or is GOING TO DIE.
Though they bring forth fruit… it is not truly counted as fruit.
Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
How do you know a thorn is a thorn? By its fruit! By the thorns, growing on the thorn.
Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
This is how you know false Christians from true Christians… by their fruits… by their words.
The false Christian can both be said to bring forth EVIL fruit, and also “NO FRUIT”.
Though there is fruit… in truth, it is “no fruit”, because it is EVIL fruit.
That evil fruit is what Jesus calls NOTHING.
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
That is what lost people produce: nothing. Fruit… but really “no fruit”.
Technically, thorns are “fruit”, yet also they are “no fruit”
Mark 4:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
At first, you just think that Jesus simply means that they didn’t produce ANY fruit. But that is only partially true. Notice how Jesus says it in Luke:
Luke 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
They yielded something. They brought forth something. They brought forth “no fruit”.
They produced NO fruit… and yet.. they also did produce fruit.
The fruit that they brought forth, was “no fruit”. Evil fruit.
They brought evil fruit (“no fruit”), to perfection.
They PERFECTED their fruit… They brought it forth fully.
They brought forth “NOTHING”… to completion. To perfection. The perfection of evil fruit.
Evil fruit is “nothing” to Jesus. It is “no fruit”. It is fruit… but it is evil fruit.. thus, it is counted as “No fruit”! As “NOTHING”.
So Jesus isn’t simply saying they can’t do ANYTHING. He is saying that what they DO is NOTHING to Him. What they DO is produce EVIL FRUIT. All man’s fleshly works – whether good works, or evil works – only produce evil fruit: “ No fruit”. Nothing/
John 15:5 … He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
That is what people do “without” Jesus. That is what men bring forth: Nothing!
Without Jesus, you can ONLY bear evil fruit. And Jesus is not in your flesh. Your flesh is without Jesus. So in your flesh, no matter how good your works are… you can only produce evil fruit. You can only produce NOTHING.
Jesus said “without me”…
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
Without Jesus… means outside of Jesus. The flesh (of both saved and lost people) is outside of Jesus. Thus, the flesh “can do nothing”.
The flesh of a person (saved or unsaved) is not IN CHRIST… So…
The flesh can do NOTHING! The flesh can do NOTHING to please God.
Romans 8:8 … they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Nothing you do IN YOUR FLESH, nothing you produce with your flesh, truly pleases God.
Giving to the poor of this world does not please God.
Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless… does not please God!
Not even the fleshly acts of going to church, reading the Bible, praying, or preaching, truly please God.
No fleshly work pleases God.
Fleshly good works CANNOT please God. They are NOTHING to God.
Your flesh is not in Jesus, and Jesus is not in your flesh. So your flesh CANNOT do good.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
The ability to do TRUE good things is not in anyone’s flesh today.
The flesh CANNOT produce true good things.
God’s things… THE TRUE good things… are spiritual things.
John 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Hebrews 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Solomon built God a house on Earth. Yet it was not considered a TRUE thing.
Man, with his hands, with his fleshly good works, cannot do TRUE things. Man can at best, do a FIGURE of the true.
TRUE good things… are spiritual good things. Heavenly things. Anything else… God will not accept as true good things.
Fleshly good things, all the good things in THIS world… are only a FIGURE of the true.
Your flesh does fleshly things. Your flesh does not do SPIRITUAL things… it does not produce true good things.
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
So many people believe “Jesus comes in and helps me do good works now”.
But Jesus is not in your flesh. He is not helping your flesh. He is not giving the ability to do good works to your flesh. If He is… if Jesus is responsible for YOUR good works, then you must admit that every unbeliever who is capable of doing a single, fleshly good work, has Jesus Christ in them, just as much as you do.
Those unbelievers must be IN Christ, just as much as every Christian is IN Christ.
3 John 1:11 … He that doeth good is of God: …
Unbelievers certainly CAN do fleshly good things… so they must be “of God”. In Jesus.
They CAN do good… and WITHOUT Jesus, they could do NOTHING.
So if fleshly good things are true good things… then they MUST be IN Jesus.
Its binary. Black and white. True or false.
Its not, “without me you can do a little, but with me you can do more”.
Its not, “without me you can do good sometimes, but with ME helping you, you can do good much more often”.
No, its…
John 15:5 … without me ye can do nothing.
Every good work of this world, is done without – OUTSIDE of – Jesus.
Every TRUE good work is done IN Jesus.
John 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
If you are doing good works in this world, you are not “doing TRUTH”.
You are doing a figure of the true. You are doing NOTHING.
Only works done IN Christ, in the Spirit.. not on Earth, but in God, in heaven, are TRUE good works.
Fleshly good works are not TRUE good works. They are done OUTSIDE of Jesus.
Thus, they are valueless to God. They are NOTHING.
Isaiah 41:29 …their works are nothing: …
Good pleasure
The idea that Jesus comes in and makes the Christian full of good works in this life, or at least “better”, in this world, is a lie! And it is supported only by a misunderstanding of Scripture. A misapplication of Scripture. A misapplication of spiritual things to the carnal things.
One such passage that is misunderstood and misapplied is…
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
This is what the “works are proof of salvation” crowd point to.
“See? See! God does our good works in us,” they say.
Of course it’s true. Its absolutely true…
But they are applying this to their FLESH, when it is not applicable to the flesh. It is spiritual!
They apply it to their fleshly works. But it is absolutely NOT ABOUT fleshly works!
How do I know that? Because the phrase “good pleasure” is only in the Bible 5 other times. Here is the first occurrence:
Psalms 51:18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
What is the significance of that, you might wonder? The significance is that spiritually, to build Jerusalem, is to build the church… to get people SAVED.
God’s “good pleasure” is to win SOULS – and in so doing, to BUILD His house – the heavenly Zion!
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
This is the work that we work together with God, the work of His good pleasure that God worketh in Christians. Adding souls to the church. Building His house.
Every saved person is a living stone in the heavenly city of New Jerusalem.
1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, … 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, …
Winning souls. Building God’s house. That is what pleases God. That is His GOOD PLEASURE.
That is a true good work. That is THE true good work. AND THAT is what God is responsible for. That is the work that He both wills and does in us: He builds His house. That is the labour which we do TOGETHER WITH GOD.
Not serving, and feeding, and healing, and profiting men’s flesh. Not fleshly good works.
Not building a worldly house with our hands.
Building a spiritual, eternal, heavenly house, with our WORDS.
Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
That is how we do “His good pleasure”. We preach the word of grace. We give wisdom so they can get saved. And thus we build God’s house “brick by brick” – living stone by living stone.
Getting people saved, is God’s “good pleasure”. To confirm this, let me show you the next 3 occurrences:
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
His “good pleasure” is people getting saved.
Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
His “good pleasure” is people getting saved.
Ephesians 1:8-10 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Those are all three about people getting saved… getting wisdom and understanding to get saved.
That is God’s good pleasure: Giving people salvation. People getting saved.
That is God’s work. That is what He cares about. Getting people IN Christ. That is what pleases Him.
1 Corinthians 12:18 But now hath God set the members [Christians] every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
He sets us in Him, and labours together with us to build others into Him as well. To get people saved.
That is what He is responsible for doing in us.
It is not good works done in this world. It is works done “in himself”; in His body; in His building.
Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; …
Through WORDS of knowledge and understanding we do His good pleasure.
Colossians 1:9-10 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Your fruits are your WORDS: your WISDOM, your SPIRITUAL understanding.
That FRUIT, those words, are what is PLEASING to God.
Spiritual good fruit, the fruit of righteousness, the WORDS of eternal life, is the PLEASING sacrifice:
Hebrews 13:15-16 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that
By Pastor • Christian Doctrine, False Prophets/Doctrine, Problem Texts • 0