6/25/25

John 15:2 NASB95 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

When you are conceived you are a part of the vine of Jesus. To remain a branch connected to the vine, there must be faith. A healthy faith will have works. James 2:22 NASB95 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;

Strong faith produces fruit. Is their fruit from your life? We as mankind, being influenced by the sin seed, tend to think that works produce salvation but this is backwards. Christ is the nutrient provider. He produces the fruit. He sends the nutrients down the veins of faith, and through the faith, fruit is produced. It all comes from Christ the vine, through faith then the fruits (works) are produced.

During the process of Christ sending nutrients (Holy Spirit Power) through the faith veins to produce the fruit. There are bugs (sin) that start to eat away at the branch, causing decay and hindering the flow of nutrients to produce the fruit (work). God the Father, according to the truth of our text today, will prune away the infected and decaying areas so the branch can produce even more fruit. This pruning is chastisement and it hurts. We must realize that it is done because of love, to enable us to be a healthier branch and produce more fruit (works). He is increasing the flow of nutrients by growing the faith veins to produce more fruit, and we keep getting healthier and producing more with more flow.

Some branches, however, refuse the measure of faith provided from Christ and therefore get no power from the Holy Spirit and continue to decay. The vine dresser (God the Father) will then remove those branches completely before they infect the other branches.

It is better to be pruned than removed.

One last thing. If God has pruned you, then you are meant to grow toward the heavens where the SON is seated at the right hand of the Father. So don't go growing down into the pile of removed branches. Hanging there increases the likelihood of catching their bugs!

It is a blessing to be a well-pruned fruit-bearing branch, connected to the vine of Christ and understanding the reason for your fruit production. It is not because of your works but because of God.

Love Bro. Scott