WHI-1144 | I Am The Way, The Truth, & The Life
Mar.10, 2013 by
in
2013 Show Archive, The Gospel of John, White Horse Inn
What does Jesus mean when he says, “Already you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you”? How does his word make us clean? What are the implications of Jesus’ claim not merely to be a teacher who shows us the way, the truth, and the life, but rather, one who claims to actually be “the way, the truth, and the life”? We will interact with these questions and more as we unpack John 13 through 16.
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March 13th, 2013 at 11:29 am
We have a Pope! Praise God for His bountiful blessings of Grace!
March 14th, 2013 at 10:53 am
@Jane,
From what you hear, what is the likelihood that Francis I will renounce and nullify the Tridentine anathemas which you are currently bound to uphold against those of us who accept, believe, trust, hold, proclaim, preach, teach, love, and find our only comfort revealed in the doctrines of … Grace?
March 14th, 2013 at 9:22 pm
I just heard this White Horse Inn program. Unbelievable, I mean how good the exegesis. I’ve never heard anybody before give the biblical meaning to Jesus comment to his disciples that they were going to do greater works than him. John 14:12 was just incredible how Mike Horton explain it. And from then on till the end, the abiding in the vine, everything. Thanks for bringing the gospel to life.
Now with regard to the new Pope. Although I live in North America, Pope Francis was born in the same country that I was. There are some positives about this Pope that everybody needs to know. I know good works won’t get you to heaven, and I don’t know if this Pope has trusted in Christ alone for salvation or not. Nevertheless, this guy has refused to live in the archbishop “palace” in Buenos Aires and instead chose to live in a one bedroom apartment. Also this guy has refused a limousine and chauffeur that come with the job of being archbishop of Buenos Aires, instead the man has chosen to travel by bus and train. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio ought to be commended that as archbishop of Buenos Aires, he refused both the housing and vehicle (with driver) that the job offered. Make no mistake this pope is different, and I’m not roman catholic neither am I biased because he was born in the same country as I was. As a matter of fact the government of Argentina is one of the worst on the planet today, and to his credit cardinal Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) has a history of standing up for what it’s right and antagonized the government of Cristina Kirchner and her predecessor as predecessor the late Nestor Kirchner (Cristina’s husband). I wish this pope knows Christ, maybe he does, regardless his modesty are humility are noteworthy already. After being elected pope he went to his hotel in Rome and checked out and paid the hotel himself, unheard of for a Pope who would have been expected to send somebody else to do it. On top of this he was the only cardinal that arrived to the Vatican on foot. All this I’ve read in the North American media. The only thing I read in the argentine media that wasn’t mentioned here is of a friend that bought him a new pair of shoes for his trip to the conclave of cardinals at the Vatican because he told him his current shoes were too old. I don’t know if the man is saved or not, I do not know if he has trusted in Jesus or not, but I do know that Pope Francis will not be an ostentatious pope, he’s modest and humble and will turn down the trappings of power that come with being a pope. The guy will shock the world, mark these words.
March 14th, 2013 at 9:44 pm
Here’s an article to back up what I just wrote:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/new-pope-jorge-mario-bergoglio-rode-the-bus-because-he-gave-up-his-limo/
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/14/17309135-trading-in-the-bus-for-a-butler-the-new-popes-new-lifestyle?lite
And he also has refused the offer to fly first class opting instead for economy class when he has to travel by plane.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/us-pope-succession-bergoglio-idUSBRE92C15X20130313
March 16th, 2013 at 9:13 pm
Jesus looks you straight in the eye and says “I AM the truth.” Not “I bring you the truth,” or “I speak the truth,” or “I reveal the truth,” but that he IS truth. That’s a pretty immense and important statement which reveals oceans about the meaning of truth its self, not to mention how important the truth is to God.
March 17th, 2013 at 7:10 pm
In the discussion about what it means to abide in christ, i wish i hosts would have spent some time unpacking the part about branches being cutt off from the vine if they are unfruitful…what does it mean, mike?
March 17th, 2013 at 11:42 pm
Teresa, actually the hosts of the White Horse Inn explained it perfectly, your question was answered clearly in the program. The unbeliever is cut off. The one that bears no fruit is the one that does not abide in Christ, abiding in Christ is believing in Christ. That simple is what the hosts of the White Horse Inn explained. John 15:6 is plain, those that don’t abide (believe) in Christ are cut off. Faith alone, God will not and can not cut you off from the covenant of grace because you don’t have good works, only if you don’t believe you will be cut off. Otherwise salvation would be of works and not grace.
John 15 verses 5 to 6:
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.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
March 17th, 2013 at 11:46 pm
further to my last posts the hosts of the WHI went at length to say that abide in Christ means believe in Christ. And John 15:6 explicitly teaches that the branches that are cut off are those that don’t abide (believe) in Christ, the unbelievers are the branches that are cut off. John 15:6 “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
March 18th, 2013 at 11:19 am
thanks bill, but the text says “any branch IN ME that does not bear fruit is cutt off”… the branches were “in christ” before they were cast away. so it refers to believers who are not fruitful
March 18th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
I think the best explanation I’ve read about the vine and branches is in the covenant. You can be a member of the covenant without being saved; all of the children of Israel were in the covenant with God, but as Paul rightly notes in Galatians, not all of those in Israel were saved.
Similarly, people can be church going members and in the covenant through the sacraments but not be saved. They are “grafted onto the branch” through the covenant but will be cut away.
March 19th, 2013 at 1:52 am
Teresa, I just checked online both Matthew Henry and John Calvin’s commentary with regard to John 15:2. Both say that “any branch in me that doesn’t bear good fruit” refers to false professors, those that make a false profession of faith for Christ but they are not really converted. The have not trusted in Christ for salvation. Christopher kind of says something similar. John 15:5 is clear that every believer bears good fruit. It’s impossible for a believer bear bad fruit and it’s impossible for an unbeliever to bear good fruit. This Luther explained wonderfully in his writing on christian freedom.
The most important thing though is to keep in perspective that belief in Christ is what matters. The good fruit comes from this belief. If we invert the order and focus on the fruit we are headed for serious theological trouble. Here Martin Luther warns us of the danger of inverting the order and make the fruit our focus, when it is the abiding in Christ that comes first. http://confessionalgadfly.blogspot.ca/2012/03/luther-on-john-155.html
March 19th, 2013 at 1:58 am
And here’s a sermon from a lutheran pastor http://lcrwtvl.org/2009/05/sermon-easter-5-you-will-bear-fruit-john-151-8/
The risk of focusing on the fruit is to confuse law and gospel, thus denying grace. The fruit flows from faith, as christians our focus has to be on Christ and his grace through the forgiveness of sins. This is what christians need to believe. If instead christians are asked to bear fruit, we immediately fall into salvation by works. Read the sermon, even if you don’t agree with everything, you will understand that christianity is not about moral improvement, bearing more fruit.
March 19th, 2013 at 2:52 am
You see christianity can be summarized in the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector. Luke 18:13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”. this is christianity, which is different from every other religion in the world which are religions of works concerned with bearing fruit, the pharisee said in Luke 18:11 and Luke 18:12 “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get”.
The pharisee was focusing on his own goodness (bearing fruit) while the tax collector was focusing on the forgiveness of sin (abiding in Christ). The pharisee focused on man’s righteousness, the tax collector on Christ’s righteousness.
Here’s Martin Luther explaining how from conversion to our last days christianity is believing that God is merciful to us (abiding in Christ). http://quiacreeds.blogspot.ca/2009/05/luther-on-john-154.html
Now that I have explained that we need to focus on abiding in Christ and not on bearing fruit, the reason is that the only fruit God accepts is the one that flows from somebody calling out to him God have mercy on me a sinner. We christians are like the tax collector from conversion till death.