WOW! We're getting the teachings! We have even deeper things to learn concerning branches.
Calvin warns everybody what he believed to be a false teaching by the Papists (the Roman Catholic Church), that says that we bring something to the table that also helps produce the fruit to glorify God.
This is Calvin's words...
I looked up the Catholic Church position in their Catechism. They say...
In other words, there are two schools of thought concerning this verse...
“4 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. 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.” (John 15:4-5 KJV)
Roman Catholic Belief - It is the Grace given by the LORD God plus yourself that produces the works for Him, by uniting the will of the Father through the vine of Jesus Christ to his branching follower..
Protestant Belief based on Calvin's teachings - Only Jesus Christ does the works of God. It is only His vine that produces fruits, and the branching followers are merely a conduit for His fruit to grow.
Now class, don't assume anything. Think this one out. Are works only done through you as a conduit, or are you responsible for those works also? If it is only Jesus Christ doing the works through you, why would you need to study the Word of God? If it only requires the moving of Jesus Christ through you, without any regard to yourself, why do some people do more works than others?
You know what? Each of you must contemplate these questions deeply, because your answer will choose a path of spiritual growth. There may be no wrong answers here...it may just be different paths. In the next couple of days, we're going to be thinking about and addressing this issue.
Looking forward to the discussion.
David "Bucker" Becker
Calvin warns everybody what he believed to be a false teaching by the Papists (the Roman Catholic Church), that says that we bring something to the table that also helps produce the fruit to glorify God.
This is Calvin's words...
The doctrine invented by the Papists is, that we have something of ourselves in addition to his grace. But Christ, on the other hand, declares that we can do nothing, and therefore, he not only extols the aid of his co-operating grace, but deprives us entirely of all power but what he imparts to us. Accordingly, this phrase, without me, must be explained as meaning, except for me.
I looked up the Catholic Church position in their Catechism. They say...
859 - Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the Father. As "the Son can do nothing of his own accord," but receives everything from the Fther who sent him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from him, from whom they received both the mandate for their mission and the power to carry it out.
308 -The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseperable from faith in God the Creator. God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes: "For God is at work in you, both to will andto work for his good pleasure." Far from diminishing the creature's dignity, this truth enhances it. Drawn from nothingness by God's power, wisdom, and goodness, it can do nothing if it is cut off from its origin, for "without a Creator the creature vanishes." Still less can a creature attain its ultimate end without the help of God's grace.
In other words, there are two schools of thought concerning this verse...
“4 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. 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.” (John 15:4-5 KJV)
Roman Catholic Belief - It is the Grace given by the LORD God plus yourself that produces the works for Him, by uniting the will of the Father through the vine of Jesus Christ to his branching follower..
Protestant Belief based on Calvin's teachings - Only Jesus Christ does the works of God. It is only His vine that produces fruits, and the branching followers are merely a conduit for His fruit to grow.
Now class, don't assume anything. Think this one out. Are works only done through you as a conduit, or are you responsible for those works also? If it is only Jesus Christ doing the works through you, why would you need to study the Word of God? If it only requires the moving of Jesus Christ through you, without any regard to yourself, why do some people do more works than others?
You know what? Each of you must contemplate these questions deeply, because your answer will choose a path of spiritual growth. There may be no wrong answers here...it may just be different paths. In the next couple of days, we're going to be thinking about and addressing this issue.
Looking forward to the discussion.
David "Bucker" Becker
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