Question: What Does The Bible Mean When It Says To Abide In Christ?
Donald Bohanon: Jesus Christ makes it plain in ST John 15:1-10. Where he emphasizes that to abide in him you must be part of the vine and he is the vine. But he also emphasizes the things that must be done to abide in him and or his love and be a part of the vine.
He clearly states that to abide in him and or his love you must keep his ten commandments. These are crucial and critical verses that false unlearned ministers regularly overlook while falsely claiming that they abide in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ says he is the vine and God is the husbandman and if you don’t abide in the vine, which he is (remember he has already clearly outlined what must be done to abide in the vine in ST John 15:10) you cannot bear fruit (which is a requirement of God) being separate from the vine you are then cast forth as a branch and withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and burn them up. So you can’t bear fruit separate from the vine and you can’t be a part of the vine if you don’t keep the ten commandments.
So those claiming to be bearing fruit without keeping the ten commandments are obviously lying and bearing false fruit. Or in other words, they’re putting on acts. Jesus Christ is simply saying to abide in him( which means to abide in his love) you must keep the doctrine that God gave to him.
Which is to keep the commandments which include the Holy Days and the word of God as a whole. Once you keep the ten commandments and repent you then receive the Holy Spirit which makes you a part of his spiritual family and this empowers you to bear fruit. This is how you abide in the vine. And not by joining one man’s church as he claims to be the only Prophet and joining his Church is the only way to Jesus Christ.
We get to God through Christ who is the vine and not by any man. And Jesus Christ emphasizes in ST John 14:15-17 that you must keep his commandments to receive the Holy Spirit. Incidentally, a Prophet is someone who warns the nation about the sins that are abominable and very offensive to God as he is commanded to do by God.
How can you be a Prophet and a Watchman when you don’t even utter a peep ( and never have as far as I can remember) about the things that greatly anger and offend almighty God? And without displaying any power? Prophets aren’t powerless and when they say things will happen they happen!
And they do what God tells them to do not skirt around the God-given instruction for fear of offending others! Emphasizing the importance of keeping the law/commandments is very important but breaking them isn’t as offensive as committing abominations in God’s eyes.
And no Prophet will keep silent as it relates to condemning and speaking out against abominable sexual sins, etc. A Prophet/Watchman will be vehemently and consistently speaking out against the abominations that greatly anger God not keeping silent in the face of their proliferation.
And you can’t even receive the Holy Spirit, bear fruit, or be a part of the vine without keeping the commandments and the word Acts 5:32. So those claiming to be a part of Christ and his spiritual family and being a part of the vine while refusing to acknowledge and follow the commandments and the word of God are obviously imposters and withered dried twigs ready to be consumed by fire as the Bible describes.
This is further emphasized in 2 John 9-11. Where it’s emphasized that he that doesn’t have the doctrine of Christ doesn’t have the father or the son. And that doctrine is emphasized By Christ in ST John 15:1-10. Jesus Christ further outlines the necessity and importance of keeping the ten commandments which is emphasized in Mark 7:7-9.
He further elaborates on the importance of keeping them in Matthew: 15: 7-9, and says if you don’t keep them you are a hypocrite. He goes on to emphasize that breaking the ten commandments is what makes men corrupt and filthy Matthew 15:16-19. Others claim that he did away with the need to live by the ten commandments through his sacrifice.
But Christ said he came not to destroy the law/ten commandments but to fulfill it. Matthew 5:17-18. 1 John 2:3-4 says if a man or woman say they know Christ and don’t keep his ten commandments they are liars and the truth is not in them. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:19 that keeping the ten commandments is what’s most important.
Paul also says we don’t make void the ten commandments through faith but yet we establish them Romans 3:31. Paul also emphasizes that the person who keeps the ten commandments shall be justified not the person who just listens to them and doesn’t act on them Romans 2:13. I cover this topic more thoroughly in the audios section of this site.
The way to abide in Christ, which means to abide in his love, from his own mouth, is to keep his ten commandments, but obviously keeping the Bible as a whole as well. Matthew 4:4, and Luke: 4:4 while being filled with the Holy Spirit and bearing spiritual fruit. ST John 15:1-10.
And how does God abide in our love? Or how do we show God and Christ that we love them? By keeping the ten commandments also. ST John 14:21, ST John 14:23-25, 1 John 5:3. So us abiding in Christ’s love and God and Christ abiding in our love is all based on keeping the ten commandments and word of God as a whole while being filled with the Holy spirit and bearing spiritual fruit.