Constantly Abiding

In John 15:4, Jesus said, "Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me."  In this passage, Jesus reveals to us our sole purpose in life - to bear fruit.  To bear fruit means that we are influencing others to know Christ as their Savior and to be His disciples.  God told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply", and in a spiritual sense, that is what He expects of us - to reproduce ourselves through our influence and make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Our purpose in life is bearing fruit, but that is not our job; our job is to abide in Him.  When we abide in Him, fruit will be produced.    To abide in Christ means to live every moment in the awareness of His presence and to constantly yield our will to His.  We call someone's "abode" a house, because that is where they live.  God lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and we are His "abode."  So, when we are acknowledging His presence and obeying His every command, we are abiding in Him.

Several things will be evident in our life to indicate our constant abiding:

First, we will be fruitful if we are abiding in Him.  Verse 5 says, "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit."  Again, we are not on this earth to fulfill our pleasures, to work, to make money, to marry, to have children, etc.  If that is all you are living for, life is going to be empty.  Our sole purpose is to bring glory to God, and that can only be done by bearing fruit.  Verse 8 says, "Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit."

Is their fruit in your life?  Are people coming to know Christ as a result of your witness and testimony?  Are you inviting others to church so they can hear the life-changing Gospel message?  Fruit is not limited to character qualities - it involves reproducing ourselves.

Secondly, we will be pruned if we are abiding in Him.  Verse 2 and 3 says, "Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now are ye clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you."  You may be satisfied with how much fruit you have, but God isn't; He wants more.  He uses His Word, which is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword,  to cut out anything unnecessary in our lives.  If we do not respond correctly to His Word, He uses trials to cause us to submit our will to His.  It is all about more fruit!  The more fruit we produce, the more He can be glorified, and the more we can fulfill our purpose for living.

Now, it may not be too appealing to us to get cut on just so God can get glory, but God has blessings for us as well.  You see, the third evidence of abiding in Christ is that we will receive answers to prayer.  Verse 7 says, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you."  What an amazing prayer promise!  The greatest joy in life is to see God answer your prayer, but in order to experience that, we must live in the constant awareness of His presence and surrender our will to His.  This will produce fruit, which will give Him glory, and empower us to pray in His will and receive what we pray for!  It is sin and selfishness that blocks most of our prayers and leaves us empty-handed and discouraged.  But, when we are abiding in Him, producing fruit, bringing Him glory, and praying according to His will, there will be showers of blessings!

The fourth thing you can expect when you are abiding in Christ is joy - full joy!  Verse 11 says, "These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy may be full."  Permanent joy is what is missing in the lives of many Christians.  Why would unbelievers want to get saved when so many believers are so discouraged and distraught?  The secret to having joy is abiding in Christ, surrendering our will to His, bringing Him glory, and seeing Him answer our prayer!  We will never have joy when sin is dominating our lives and our will is prevailing.

Now, I must introduce you to a negative aspect of this abiding.  The fifth thing we can expect if we are abiding in Christ is that we will not fit in with the world.  Verse 18 says, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you...I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."  Friend, if we are abiding in Christ, bearing fruit, winning souls, and glorifying God, we will not fit in with the world.  Many people are not willing to pay that price.  They want to fit in with the world and have God's joy and power, but it doesn't work that way!

Satan, the prince of this world, is out to conform us to the mold of the world.  He wants us to love the world so we will not love God. (1 John 2:15) The pressure is all around us to conform, but if we are abiding in Christ, we will not fit in.

But, the world is passing away.  1 John 2:18 says, "And the world passeth away and the lusts thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."  Cheer up, Christian disciple; the world will not be here long.  We are citizens of Heaven and soon, we will be home.  So, don't despair not fitting into the world's mold.  It is passing away, even as we speak.

The sixth thing you can expect to see in the abiding Christian is love.  Verse 10 says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.  Verse 12 says, "This is my commandment, that ye love one another."  As we are abiding in Christ and submitting our will to His, He commands us to love others the way He has loved us.  If we do not obey His command, we stop abiding, and therefore, stop being fruitful.

It is not easy to love certain people, but it is easy to submit our will to His.  As we do it, the love of Christ flows through us to others.  We become a conduit of His unconditional and merciful love.  When our will is lost in His, our selfishness and hurt feelings do not come into the equation, and we can love people like Jesus did.  John 13:35 says, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples; if ye have love one for another."

May God deliver us from our selfish and fleshly attitudes of bitterness, unforgiveness, and hate.  May we allow the love of God to flow through us as we are lost in His will!  Then, we can expect revival in our churches and our homes.  How life changing is this concept of abiding in Christ!

Are you abiding in Him?  Have you entered into a relationship with Christ?  You can do so by admitting you are a sinner, believing Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead, and calling on Him in faith and repentance to save you.  Then, you can begin to know His purpose for you and experience the joy of a fruitful Christian life.  For more information on how to receive Christ as Savior, contact me through this blog.

If you have already trusted Christ, yet you are not constantly abiding in Him.  Do it now!  Surrender your will to His, allow the Holy Spirit to direct every thought, word, and deed.  Be completely obedient to Him in all things.  Saturate yourself in His Word for guidance and submit to the knife of trials as He cuts away all unnecessary components of your life that thwart the richest grapes of Christlikeness.  As you do, you will witness  and experience God using your influence to bring about new life in unbelievers.  You will see amazing answers to prayer.  You will display contagious joy as you live out your sole purpose in life - bearing fruit and bringing God the glory due to His name.

The Sin of Partiality

Sin of Partiality

James 2:1-13

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

In His autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered becoming a Christian. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus, he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby Church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. However, when he entered the sanctuary, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people. Gandhi left the Church and never returned. He wrote, “If Christians have caste differences also, I might as well remain a Hindu.” This is what James is addressing – partiality in the body of Christ.

Racial prejudice has always been a problem in this country and still is a problem. Charles Drew was a brilliant medical doctor discovered the use of blood plasma that resulted in saving thousands of lives in World War II, Korea, and the Vietnam War. At Pearl Harbor, for example, 96% of those who received plasma, survived. After World War II Charles Drew was named director of the National Blood Bank Program, and devoted himself to teaching doctors at Howard University Medical School.

On April 1, 1950, while driving some young doctors to a conference, he was involved in an automobile accident in Burlington, N.C. He was rushed to a hospital where his life could have been saved by plasma. But Dr. Drew was denied admission to the hospital because his skin was black. He died on the way to another hospital 26 miles away.

There is no other way to say it – prejudice is sin, and there are several reasons why.

First, it is sin because of who we are. We are “brethren” (vs. 1). We are brothers and sisters in Christ. When God looks at us, He doesn’t see white, black, or yellow. He is color-blind. He just sees us as His children. James makes it clear that being a child of God and being prejudiced is totally incompatible. Regardless of our race, skin color, occupation, or background, we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Second, it is a sin because of who we are to be like. “Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” We are to be like Jesus, our Lord. He did not show favoritism. Romans 2:11, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” 

If God would have been a respecter of persons, you and I may have been left out of the opportunity to get saved. Thank God He isn’t willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) 


We can’t be like Jesus and be prejudiced! When we treat some people better than others just because of their social status, skin color, or any other factor, we are failing to be like Jesus.

Thirdly, it is a sin because of what it makes us. When we show favoritism, we are setting ourselves up as a judge. We are putting ourselves in the place of God. James 4:12 says, “Who art thou that judgest another?” When we set ourselves up as a judge, we need to remember that one day God is going to judge us. Do you want Him to be merciful with you? Then, you better be merciful with others. (vs. 13) What business do we have judging other people to see whether they are worthy of our attention and love?

Whenever the Bible speaks of God judging, it always says He judges by looking at our heart, not the outward appearance. Since we can’t see people’s hearts, we need to stop judging people and start loving them based upon their value as a person in the eyes of God.

Fourthly, it is a sin because of what it is compared to. James said if you show partiality you are breaking the royal law. What is the royal law? It is what Jesus said in Matthew 22:35-40. Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law.

The first four of the Ten Commandments deal with loving the Lord with all our hearts - worshiping Him only, guarding His name, and being faithful to His House. The last six deal with loving our neighbor as ourselves. If we love someone we will not commit adultery with their spouse, we will not steal from them, lie about them, kill them, or covet what they have.

James reminds us if we break one of those commandments, we are guilty of all. So, don’t think you are better than an adulterer or murderer, just because you struggle with prejudice. They are all three sin, because they all three are the result of not loving our neighbor as ourselves.


In Revelation 7:9, 10, John sees a vision of multitudes of people from every nation on earth gathered around the throne of God praising and worshiping Almighty God together.  Heaven will be full of all ethnic groups and social classes.  We will all be one there, and we should acknowledge that oneness here on earth.  


Don't treat people on the basis of what they can do for you.  Treat them the way Jesus would.  Treat them the way you want to be treated.