Are the Branches Going to Hell?

A couple of weeks ago a good friend asked me what I made of John 15, specifically these verses:

• "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." (John 15:2)
• "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned." (John 15:6)

Do these verses indicate that those who are "in Christ" may ultimately end up in hell?

Allegory Alert
Proposition: If "in Me" is to be born-again, and being "taken away" and "cast into the fire and burned" represents eternal punishment, then this passage clearly speaks to believers that become unsaved.

Clearly, this view hinges on what Jesus means by being "in Me." Before we discuss that, however, a warning is needed: Allegory Alert! Yes, that's right, this is a symbolic representation, a visual aid. After leading the disciples out of the upper room, and coming upon a vineyard, Jesus stops the group and uses the vine to further explain what He is already talking about. The vineyard allegory therefore serves one point, not many. We must look to the context of what Jesus is talking about before, during and after this illustration and understand His teaching in that context. We should not get caught analyzing details beyond the obvious meaning. For example, is "in Me" really germane to the message, or just a necessary part of the vineyard picture? If the latter, then we must not get caught up trying to attach meaning to it. After all, there are many other unexplained aspects of the vineyard which we could get quickly lost by analyzing: the Father is human, but Christ is a plant... what does that say about Christ's humanity? And what about the soil? Surely every vine is planted in earth... where does Christ draw His nutrients from? Can't be the Father - He's already represented... is the soil the Holy Spirit? No, not every aspect of the allegory is intended to convey meaning.

The Meaning of the Allegory

So what is the clear meaning here? Obedience. We cannot live in Christ if we do not keep His commands. We cannot love Christ if we do not keep His commands. This has been the theme since the group left the upper room, and will continue through to Jesus' "high priestly" prayer. It is a theme carried through by John in his first epistle. This then is the object of Christ's teaching in John 15. To be in Christ is to obey Christ. Obeying Christ results in fruit bearing. Those who do not bear fruit - who do not obey - do not have the life of Christ in them. Other scriptures similarly show that God has no use for plants (people) that bear no fruit - (Matt 3:10, Matt 21:19, Lk 13:7-9, Heb 6:7-8.) "He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”" (John 3:36) In John's language, obedience is synonomous with belief. To disobey Christ is to disbelieve that He is God's Son, and to forsake the only possible means of reconciliation with God - obedience to the call and commands of Christ.

The Limitations of the Allegory

The branches that do not bear fruit are therefore branches that do not obey Christ. They have no place in the vine and are cast off. Does this mean that they once had a place on the vine, that they once drew saving life from Christ? Again, you're dealing with the limitations of the chosen allegory. Would it have been better for Christ to start the picture with branches that were never part of the vine? How then would these branches have ever come into existence? Did they grow out of the ground by themselves? Clearly not; they have to be branches of something else, in this case, the vine. This fact was a necessity of the visual aid, not a theological statement.

Dead From the Get-Go

The fact that Jesus does not at all explain the original standing of the dead branches means that it must have been plain to all. Jesus has already shown that all who are His will remain His. Those who are born again, cannot become unborn again.

• "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." (John 6:37)
• "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:39)
• "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand." (John 10:27-29)

Further, in his proceeding prayer (Jn 17) Jesus prays repeatedly that God would keep (guard) His followers. As He kept them while with them, He prays that God would keep them after His departure. These passages make it difficult for me to accept that Jesus is teaching here that the unfruitful branches were once fruitful, were once true believers, but now are lost forever.

Believer's Discipline?

Could the "burning" refer to the discipline of a believer? Do obedient believers undergo the fires of affliction? Absolutely, but that is clearly different in nature and purpose from discipline for disobedience. The metaphor for a believers' discipline is already taken by "pruning."

Conclusion - The Clear Meaning

The vineyard picture is an allegory, and comes with all the limitations of allegory. We must understand the clear meaning, and be wary of proceeding further. To be fruitful is to keep Christ's commands, and we cannot have any part in Christ if we do not do so. This is a major theme of all of John's writings. Wheat and tares may grow together, but are distinguishable by their obedience:

• "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." (1 John 2:3-6)
• "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments." (1 John 5:2)

There is a clear warning in the vineyard allegory: if we do not keep Christ's commands, we will never be His and we will die in our sins. If you are willfully disobeying the commands of Christ, you must repent and call upon Him to save you, or you will be taken away and burned for eternity.

For those who have already received God's mercy through Christ, let's take the clear meaning - obedience - and apply it to our lives.