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Abide in Me | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We're glad you're joining us.
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This is the deep dive, the part of the show where we really get
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into the weeds. You know, we take your sources,
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articles, notes, all that stuff, but we try to boil it down to
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what really matters. Our goal is to help you get up
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to speed quickly on important subjects, maybe share some
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things you didn't know and give you something solid to think
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about. Have you ever looked at some
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Christians and just thought, wow, their spiritual life seems
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so vibrant, so real. It's like there's this
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effortless flow of, I don't know, strength or Eace or
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purpose in their lives. It doesn't seem forced there.
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Yeah, like a Dee. Well, they're drawing from
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constantly. Exactly.
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And you wonder what's the secret?
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Is their secret? Well, today we're diving deep
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into an instruction straight from Jesus Christ himself.
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Abide in me. Our main source for this is John
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Piper's work, specifically his insights from all that Jesus
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commanded. He really does a great job of
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unpacking this command. He does.
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It's very thorough. So our mission for you, our
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listener, this deep dive is pretty straightforward.
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We want you to really graph what abide in me means for your
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actual day-to-day life. How does it lead to good things,
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to spiritual fruit? And maybe most surprisingly,
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who's actually doing the work of maintaining this connection?
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That last point is really crucial.
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We're aiming for clarity here, hoping to offer some insights
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that might just shift how you view your relationship with
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Christ. OK, let's dig in.
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We hear this phrase, abide in Christ.
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A lot of Christian circles, right?
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Frequently. And sometimes maybe you can feel
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a bit up in the air, bit abstract, like something for,
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you know, spiritual giants or monks.
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Or just very theological language perhaps?
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Yeah. So what does it actually mean?
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Is abide some kind of special holy word?
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Or is it maybe simpler than we think?
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More basic. Well, it's fascinating,
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actually, when you look at the Greek word used in the New
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Testament for abide, it's, well, it's surprisingly ordinary.
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Oh, really? Yeah.
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It basically just means to stay or to continue or to dwell, like
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making a place your home. So not super spiritual sounding
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in itself. Not inherently, no.
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So when Jesus says abide in me, he's essentially saying stay in
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me, continue in me, make me your dwelling place.
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It's about choosing Jesus as your ongoing home, the place you
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live from, the source you draw from constantly.
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OK, making him your dwelling. That feels more concrete.
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Right. It's less about achieving some
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mystical state and more about a fundamental orientation, a
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decision to remain connected to him as your source of life.
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That makes a lot of sense. So following that thought, it's
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clearly not just a one off decision then, not something we
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do once, like maybe when we first become a Christian and
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then you know, tick the box. Job done.
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Precisely. That's a really key point in the
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sources we're looking at. Jesus's commands, Piper
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emphasizes, are not for a single moment, but for a lifetime of
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following a. Lifetime.
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Yeah, he doesn't just call for a single once for all decision to
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repent or believe and then you coast.
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Instead, the instruction is more like go on repenting, keep
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coming, keep believing, keep loving, keep listening.
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It's continuous. So it's active an ongoing
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process. Exactly.
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It's an ongoing, active engagement of our hearts and
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minds with Him every day and all the ups and downs.
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Think about it physically, maybe like breathing.
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You don't just take one big breath when you're born and
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expect that to last you your whole life.
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Oh, obviously not. You have to keep breathing
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moment by moment just to stay alive physically.
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And in a similar way, our spiritual life needs that
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continual receiving from Jesus. It's a constant drawing on his
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life, his strength, his grace, a continual reliance.
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It's dynamic, not static. A living relationship, not just
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remembering a past event. That's it exactly.
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It's about cultivating this habit of returning to him again
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and again for everything we need spiritually.
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This difference, this distinction between just a past
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decision and this ongoing active engagement, it feels really
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significant. It almost changes the definition
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of what being a disciple looks like.
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It does highlight the nature of true discipleship.
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So what happens then if someone is relying only on a past
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experience? Maybe they prayed a prayer years
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ago, had a powerful moment, but, well, there's no real
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continuation of that connection in their life today.
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Right. And this leads to a pretty
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sobering clarification in the source material.
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Piper makes a sharp distinction here.
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He points out that a past transaction with Jesus, as he
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puts it, that doesn't have any ongoing expression in our lives
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today, Well, it's labeled a false transaction.
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Wow, false transaction. That's strong language.
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It is, but it reflects Jesus's own words.
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Remember in John chapter 8 Jesus says If you abide in my word,
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you are truly my disciples. OK.
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If you abide. The implication there is quite
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clear, isn't it? If you don't abide, if you don't
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continue in His Word and in relationship with Him, then
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you're not truly His disciple. So just pointing back to a
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single moment isn't enough. According to this understanding,
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no relying solely on a past event, a prayer, a decision,
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even a strong feeling. Without that continuous living
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devotion today, it risks classifying someone as, well, a
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false disciple. It's really a call to some
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honest self examination, isn't it?
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About the reality of our connection to Christ, right?
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Now you really is. The genuine proof of a real
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connection is its persistence, how it shows up day by day, not
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just as a historical marker. It has to be a living, breathing
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thing in the present. So for someone maybe listening
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who feels that describes them a past moment but little present
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connection, what's the take away?
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The call would be to well examine the nature of that
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initial connection. Was it genuine saving faith?
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And if perhaps it wasn't, or if the connection has faded, the
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invitation is always open to truly come to him now, today,
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and begin that life of real, moment by moment.
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Reliance abiding isn't closed off.
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That's helpful. Now, you mentioned Jesus's
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words, and he actually gives us a really powerful illustration
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to help us get our heads around this whole abiding thing,
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doesn't he? He.
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Does a very vivid 1. The vine in the branches.
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It's such a common image, but maybe we don't always grasp its
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full weight. Absolutely.
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If we look at John 15, this analogy really is central to
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understanding the command Abide in me.
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Jesus explicitly says I am the vine, you are the branches.
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And he adds that the Father is the vine dresser, the one
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tending the whole thing. OK, so Jesus is the vine, we're
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the branches, the Father tends it.
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Right. And the core message, the
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absolute heart of this illustration is about where
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fruit comes from, the ability to bear fruit.
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And that means living a life of genuine Christ, like love,
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obedience, goodness, things that please God.
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That ability flows directly and only from Jesus the Vine.
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Only from the vine. Only.
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But here's the critical part. It only flows if we stay vitally
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connected to Him, if we abide. So the connection is everything.
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Everything. Think about a literal branch.
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If you snap it off the vine, what can it do on its own?
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Nothing. It just Withers and dies.
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Can't produce grapes or leaves or anything.
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Exactly. It's completely useless for
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fruit bearing. Once it's severed, it has zero
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independent capacity. In the very same way Jesus is
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saying our spinach full vitality, our actual ability to
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produce genuine spiritual fruit, is utterly dependent on staying
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connected to Him. It's like the SAP, the life of
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the vine flowing into the branch.
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Without that flow, the branch is spiritually lifeless.
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Utter moment by moment reliance. That's quite a picture.
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It really is no connection, no life, no fruit.
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And within that analogy, Jesus says something incredibly stark,
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That phrase Apart from me, you can do nothing.
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John 15.5 that really jumps out. It sounds so absolute, maybe
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even a bit discouraging. What does he mean?
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Nothing? Does that mean we can't even
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like, do a kind deed or help someone unless we're consciously
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abiding in that exact moment? How does that work?
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Yeah, that's a phrase that requires careful handling.
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It does sound absolute, and it signifies absolute dependence,
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but we need to understand what kind of nothing he means.
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The source material, Piper's analysis clarifies this.
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It means without Jesus we can do nothing truly good.
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OK, truly good. What's the distinction?
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It means nothing truly God honoring, truly Christ exalting,
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truly self abasing meaning not done for our own glory, and
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nothing eternally helpful for others.
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OK so it's not saying non Christians can't be kind or
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moral or contribute positively to society.
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No, not at all. Clearly, people can do outwardly
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good things without conscious reliance on Christ.
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Common grace allows for much good in the world.
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But Jesus is talking about actions that have ultimate,
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eternal significance, actions that genuinely please God
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because they flow from a heart connected to Him and are aimed
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at His glory, not our own. Actions that are self abasing,
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flowing from humility. Right actions where the
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motivation isn't ultimately about us, but about him.
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So any seemingly good deeds done apart from that connection,
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while perhaps socially beneficial, don't count as truly
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good in this ultimate God centered sense.
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They don't bear that eternal weight.
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So abiding means letting Jesus be the actual source, the moment
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by moment cause, as Piper puts it, of everything in our lives
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that has that true, lasting God honoring quality.
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Precisely Just like the branch depends utterly on the vine for
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the SAP that produces fruit, we depend utterly on Jesus for the
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grace and life that produces anything of genuine, eternal
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spiritual value. It really is about the source,
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isn't it? Not just the outward action.
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Absolutely. The source determines the
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ultimate nature and value of the action in God's eyes.
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OK, this leads to another really important distinction you
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touched on earlier. It sounds like you're saying
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abiding causes the fruit, but the fruit itself isn't the same
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thing as abiding. Yes, that's correct, and getting
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this wrong can lead to a lot of confusion and striving in the
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Christian life. How so?
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People might think trying harder to produce fruit is abiding.
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Exactly. They might think if I just try
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harder to be loving or more patient or more obedient, then
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I'll be abiding. But it's actually the other way
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around. The sources are very clear on
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this point, Piper states. Fruit bearing and commandment
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keeping are the result of abiding.
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If we abide, we bear fruit. The result, not the means.
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Correct. Fruit is the outcome, the
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evidence, the natural consequence of a healthy, vital
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connection to the vine. It's not the definition of that
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connection, nor is it the way we achieve that connection.
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Can you give an analogy maybe? Sure, think of a healthy apple
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tree. The apples are the fruit, right?
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But the apples themselves aren't what makes the tree healthy.
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They're the result of the tree being healthy, having good
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roots, getting water and nutrients, sunlight.
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You wouldn't try to tape apples onto a sick tree to make it
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healthy. Exactly.
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That would be absurd. You work on the health of the
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tree, the connection to its life source, and the fruit follows
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naturally. In the same way, if someone
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isn't bearing the spiritual fruit of Lovejoy, peace,
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patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
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self-control, the things Paul lists in Galatians.
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The food of the Spirit. Yes, if that fruit is
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consistently absent, it indicates that the person has,
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as Jesus says, cease to abide or perhaps never truly have that
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life giving connection in the first place.
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So the practical question for us shouldn't be how can I force
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myself to bear more fruit? No, the better, more fundamental
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question is how can I more fully, more consistently abide
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in Christ? How can I deepen my connection
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to the vine? Because abiding is the pathway
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to genuine God pleasing fruitfulness.
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We focus on the connection and He produces the fruit through
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us. That feels liberating, actually.
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It takes the pressure off trying to manufacture fruit through
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sheer willpower. It should.
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It redirects our effort from trying to be good on our own to
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simply focusing on being in him, staying connected to him,
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drawing life from him. The fruitfulness becomes an
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overflow, not a straining effort.
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OK, So if abiding is the key, the source, how do we do it?
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We've established it, staying connected, continuing dwelling.
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But what does that look like Monday morning or Tuesday
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afternoon when things are tough? How do we practically live this
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out? Right, the practical nuts and
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bolts. Well, fundamentally, it begins
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with continuous trust, active reliance.
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The sources explain that abiding in Jesus love, which is part of
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abiding in Him, means continuing to believe, moment by moment
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that we are loved. Moment by moment belief that we
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are loved. Yes, and this isn't just, you
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know, a vague warm feeling. It's an active choice to trust
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in His specific personal covenant love for you as
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revealed in the gospel. And crucially, this trust needs
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to hold firm even when circumstances scream the
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opposite. Like when things are really
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hard. Exactly.
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When you're facing persecution or dealing with crowning
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illness, or maybe feeling abandoned or betrayed by people,
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or wrestling with your own failures and sins, abiding in
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His love in those moments means choosing to trust that
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everything that comes into your life, everything permitted by
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His sovereign hand, even the painful, difficult things, is
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somehow part of His loving purpose for you.
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Trusting that even the hard stuff is filtered through his
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love. Yes, trusting that he is
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working, even difficulties for your ultimate good, because he
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loves you, whether it feels pleasant or agonizingly painful
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in the moment. It's about consciously choosing
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to live on that truth, to receive his care, his wisdom,
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his plan for you, like the branch continually receiving the
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SAP. So it's an act of receiving a
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conscious choice to dwell in the reality of His love and wise
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rule, even when our feelings or circumstances might tell us a
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different story. That's it precisely.
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It's holding fast to what he has revealed about his character and
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his promises, regardless of the shifting sands of our
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experiences or emotions. OK, that's abiding in His love
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through trust. What about abiding in His Word?
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You mentioned that earlier too. Is that just reading the Bible
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more? It includes interacting with
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Scripture, certainly, but it's deeper than just accumulating
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information. Similar to abiding in His love,
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abiding in His word means actively, continuously trusting
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it. It means, as Piper puts it, keep
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on trusting my word. Keep on trusting what I have
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revealed to you about myself and my Father and my work.
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Keep on trusting what he's revealed.
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Yes. It's not just reading it, or
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even agreeing with it intellectually.
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It's letting His revealed truth be the foundation you build your
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life on, the authority you submit to, the reality that
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shapes your thinking, your desires, your choices, your
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reactions. So it shapes us from the inside
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out. Exactly.
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And the result, The fruit of abiding in His Word this way is
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knowing the truth in a deep, experiential way.
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And Jesus says the truth will set you free.
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Free from what? Free from the slavery of sin.
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Free from deception. Free from the empty ways of the
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world. Free from fear.
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So again, notice the pattern. Piper stresses that not sinning
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is the fruit, not the definition of abiding in the word.
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Right. The freedom from sin is the
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result of trusting the word yes. It's the outcome of consistently
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receiving, believing, and living in light of what Jesus has
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revealed. We don't primarily get free from
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sin by gritting our teeth and trying harder not to sin.
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We get free by continually trusting and immersing ourselves
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in the liberal truth of His Word, letting that truth
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displace the lies that fuel sin and allowing it to reorient our
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hearts and lives. That internal change then leads
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to external obedience. Trusting the truth sets us free,
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which results in changed behavior.
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That's the dynamic. So putting this together,
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abiding in His love, abiding in His word through continuous
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trust, it doesn't sound like a dry duty or just an intellectual
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thing. It sounds like it should be,
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well, satisfying, like something that actually meets a deep need.
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Oh. Absolutely.
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It's meant to be deeply satisfying.
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The sources use some really vivid metaphors to capture this.
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Abiding is compared to drinking the water, savoring it, and
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being satisfied with it. Like finding a spring of living
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water for a thirsty soul. Savoring it, not just gulping it
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down. Right, enjoying it, finding
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pleasure in it or using using the vine analogy, it's like the
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branch receiving, drinking in, savoring and having its life
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sustained by the SAP that flows from the vine.
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This picture is 1 of dynamic life giving nourishment.
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It's actively partaking of Jesus, finding our souls, true
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delight, our rest, our deepest contentment in Him.
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So that connection is meant to be enjoyable, fulfilling.
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Yes, Piper concludes that this daily, ever renewed satisfaction
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in Jesus is the key to bearing fruit.
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That's the living experience of abiding.
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It's where our deepest spiritual thirst is quenched, where our
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souls find their home and their deepest joy.
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And it's out of that place of satisfaction, that contented
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resting in him, that a fruitful life naturally overflows.
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Almost effortlessly, like you said.
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In a sense, yes. The effort is in the staying
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connected, the drinking, the savoring.
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The fruit is the natural result of being filled and satisfied by
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him. It transforms obligation into
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joyful participation. OK, this sounds wonderful, this
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idea of continuous trust and satisfaction.
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But let's be honest, it also sounds like a lot of
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responsibility rests on us. It can feel.
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That way you know you. We have to keep trusting, keep
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staying connected, keep savoring moment by moment.
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It could almost feel like a precarious balancing act,
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constantly worrying if we're doing enough, if we're
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maintaining the connection properly.
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That's a very understandable. Feeling.
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So the question is, is it solely our responsibility?
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Once we believe, does Jesus just sort of step back and say, okay,
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now it's all up to you to abide? This is where the Gospel shines
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so brightly in this command, and it's a point Piper really
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emphasizes. While the command abide in me is
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definitely given to us and we are responsible to obey it,
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we're culpable if we drift away. The amys truth is that Jesus
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himself plays the decisive role in keeping us connected.
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He doesn't just command us to abide, He actively works to keep
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us abiding. He keeps us, yes.
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Even with all our weaknesses, our sinful tendencies, the world
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pulling at us, the devil trying to derail us, Jesus himself
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keeps us there, Piper argues compellingly.
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I think that we simply would not abide.
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We couldn't maintain that connection on our own without
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Christ's crucial, ongoing work of presuming us.
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Wow. OK, that changes things.
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Our effort is real, but it's happening within his keeping
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work. Exactly.
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Our active response of trusting and staying connected is itself
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upheld and enabled by His prior and continuous work of
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preservation. We're active, yes, but our
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activity rests entirely on His power to hold us fast.
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So our doing of abiding is actually a result of receiving
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His grace that enables the doing.
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Beautifully put. Yes, that's the inner plague.
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That is a huge comfort. It really shifts the focus from
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our potentially failing grip to his unfailing grip on us.
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It absolutely should. So how does he do it?
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How does Jesus actually keep us connected?
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What does that look like practically?
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Well, he gives us rock solid assurance through his own
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promises. Think about John chapter 10.
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The Good Shepherd passage, yes. Jesus states it so clearly.
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There, he says, no one, no person, no power, nothing can
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snatch his true sheet out of his hand.
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My sheep hear my voice, I give them eternal life, and they will
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never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
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Exactly. And then he adds, My father, who
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has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to
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snatch them out of the father's hand.
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So it's like a double crip, Jesus's hand and the Father's
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hand. Precisely.
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It highlights this absolute security, the sovereign care he
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has for those who belong to him. His power to hold us is greater
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than any force that might try to pull us away.
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Whether that force is external, like persecution, or internal,
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like our own doubts or sins. Yes, his grip is stronger than
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our weaknesses, stronger than the world's temptations,
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stronger than demonic opposition.
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That truth is meant to be a bedrock foundation for our
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confidence. As we strive to abide, we are
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held. We are held.
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That's powerful. So his promises give us
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security. What else?
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You mentioned his prayers earlier.
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Is his intercession part of this keeping work too?
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Oh, absolutely vital His ongoing work is our High priest includes
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interceding for us. Remember his prayer in John 17
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just before he went to the cross?
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He prayed specifically to the Father for His disciples and by
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extension for all who would believe through their message.
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That includes us. It includes us, he prayed.
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Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me.
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He asked the father to keep them.
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Yes, this shows that ultimately God the Father, in response to
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the Son's prayer, performs the decisive work in keeping a
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secure in the vine. It's not just wishful thinking.
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It's a prayer that has divine power behind it.
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And think about Peter specifically.
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Jesus knew Satan wanted to sift him like wheat to utterly
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destroy his faith. Right before Peter's denial.
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And what did Jesus say? But I have prayed for you,
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Simon, that your faith may not fail.
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And Peter did fail, didn't he? He denied Jesus three times.
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He stumbled badly. Yes, his faith faltered, but
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critically, it did not utterly fail.
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He repented. He was restored.
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He became a pillar of the church.
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Why? Because Jesus prayed for him.
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This demonstrates, Piper argues, that Jesus's intercessory
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prayers are sovereignly effective in preserving his own,
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ensuring their ultimate perseverance in faith.
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And there's no reason to think he stopped praying like that for
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us today. Not at all.
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Hebrews tells us He always lives to make intercession for us.
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His prayers are continually ascending for his people,
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securing our faith, ensuring our connection.
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Our ability to keep believing, to keep abiding, is undergirded
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by His constant prayers for us. That's just staggering to think
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that Jesus Christ is actively praying for my faith, for your
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faith right now. It is staggering and deeply
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comforting. So if he promises to hold us and
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He actively prays for us to be kept, what does this mean for
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the outcome of our own efforts to abide?
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Does it take all the struggle out of it or does it mean the
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ultimate victory is already assured?
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It means the ultimate victory is assured, the battle to abide,
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the daily choices to trust and stay connected.
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They are real. The struggle can feel intense at
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times, but the final outcome doesn't depend on us.
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Jesus wins. He has promised security.
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His prayers are effective. Therefore, the command abide in
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me when seen through this lens isn't a burden, it's an
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invitation. An invitation to.
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An invitation to keep trusting the one who keeps us trusting.
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That's how Piper frames it. Our responsibility to abide is
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perfectly harmonized with His sovereign grace that preserves
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us and enables that very abiding keep.
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Trusting the one who keeps us trusting.
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I like that. It changes the dynamic from
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fearful striving to confident resting and responding.
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We strive, yes, but we strive because He is holding us, not in
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order to make Him hold us. Our effort flows from His
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security, not towards it. That makes sense.
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It puts sovereignty and responsibility together in a way
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that fuels faith, not anxiety. Exactly.
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OK, this paints a very secure picture, but there are those
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verses in John 15 right at the beginning that seemed to throw a
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wrench in the works for some people.
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The ones about branches being cut off, yeah.
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Verses 2 and 6 Jesus talks about branches in him that don't bear
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fruit being taken away by the Father, and branches that don't
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abide being thrown away like a branch and withered, and the
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branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
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Right. Very sobering words.
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They definitely sound like it's possible for someone who is in
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him to be cut off and lose their connection permanently.
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How does that fit with everything we've just said about
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his secure grip and his promise that his sheep will never
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perish? It feels like a tension there.
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It certainly appears that way on the surface, and it's a question
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that needs careful attention. The sources, particularly
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Piper's interpretation consistent with Reformed
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understanding, address this directly.
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The interpretation offered is that these branches, which are
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taken away or thrown into the fire, represent individuals who
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have an outward or superficial association with Christ and His
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people but lack a genuine life giving internal connection to
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Him. So they look like they're part
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of the vine, but they aren't truly drawing life from it.
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Precisely. They might be part of the
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visible church. They might profess faith.
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They might even experience some blessings or influences that
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come from proximity to Christ in his community.
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But the connection isn't real, and saving it doesn't result in
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the fruit that always accompanies true union with
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Christ. Can you give an example?
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Judas Iscariot is often seen as the prime biblical example.
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He was counted among the 12. He walked with Jesus, heard his
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teachings, sought his miracles, was sent out to minister.
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From all outward appearances, he was a branch.
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Look like the real deal. Absolutely.
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But inwardly, his heart was never truly united to Christ and
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saving faith. His connection was ultimately
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superficial, artificial, and it didn't produce the fruit of
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genuine love or loyalty. And ultimately he was cut off.
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So that taking away isn't referring to God removing
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someone who has genuine saving faith.
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Correct. According to this
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interpretation, it's referring to the removal of those whose
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connection was only external or nominal to begin with.
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It's revealing the true nature of their relationship, or lack
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thereof. This understanding protects and
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upholds the other clear teachings of Jesus, like in John
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10, that His true sheep, those genuinely united to Him, do have
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eternal life and will never perish, and no one can snatch
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them away. True vital saving connection is
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eternally secure because it's maintained by God Himself.
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OK, that distinction is really helpful.
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It resolves the apparent tension.
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The branches removed were never truly life receiving branches in
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the first place. That's the view presented.
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It aligns the whole council of Scripture on the nature of
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salvation and perseverance. So let's try to wrap this up,
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then pull the threads together. We've seen today that Abide in
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Me isn't some mystical, vague command, but a call to a
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lifelong, continuous connection with Jesus.
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As staying a dwelling in him as our source.
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Right. And this connection, this
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abiding, is the absolute wellspring of any genuinely
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fruitful Christian life, the source of true love, obedience,
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and anything eternally good. It's where the life comes from.
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And practically, we live this out through continuous active
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trust, trusting moment by moment in His unwavering love for us
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even in hardship, and trusting continuously in the truth and
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authority of His revealed word. Letting that love and truth
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shape us from the inside out. But maybe the most amazing part
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is that while we are called to actively abide, the ultimate
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security and success of our abiding doesn't rest on our
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shoulders. No, thankfully we were like
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completely on Jesus himself, who actively keeps us connected
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through His power, His promises and His prayers.
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He protects us, He holds us, He intercedes for us.
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It's his sovereign keeping that undergirds our human
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responsibility to stay connected.
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A beautiful partnership of grace.
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It really is. It takes away the fear and
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replaces it with a confident dependence.
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So here's something to really chew on as we finish a final
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thought for you, our listener. If abiding truly means
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continually trusting the one who continually keeps you, trusting
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what might actually change in your day-to-day life, in your
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struggles and your joys, if you learn more fully into His
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keeping power. If you rested more deeply in the
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fact that He is holding you, even while you actively strive
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to hold on to Him. And secondly, what does it
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really mean for you personally to savor Christ, to find your
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soul's deep satisfaction in Him, not just occasionally, but as a
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daily ever renewed reality? What would it look like to
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pursue that satisfaction as the key to everything else?
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Those are some deep questions to ponder.
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They really get to the heart of living out this command.
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We genuinely encourage you. Maybe take some time later today
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or this week, open your Bible to John 15.
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Read it slowly. Think about this incredible
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invitation from Jesus to abide, to stay connected to Him.
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And reflect on the glorious assurance that comes with it,
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the promise that He himself will keep you connected if you are
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truly His. See both the call and the
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comfort there? Both are vital.
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Well, that's all the time we have for this deep dive.
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Thanks so much for joining us on Reformed Thinking.
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We. Really hope these insights from
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Piper on abiding in Christ will serve your growth and encourage
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your heart. Until next time, keep thinking
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deeply about these great truths.