All the scary scripture that backs up the loss of salvation pt3 JOHN 15:6
be fruitful n multiply
There is a long-existing bad attitude towards the scripture that is prevalent in the church, and this practice has been carried over to our everyday life. That’s the unwarranted ability to build an absolute conclusion of what the scripture is saying from just one verse. It’s common to hear a Christian who has not exhaustively covered a scripture say words like “I think the bible is trying to say..” I have grown a very strong resentment towards such an approach to the holy scripture, that it could be the end of a conversation for me.. THE BIBLE HAS ITS VOICE AND CAN NOT BE READ THROUGH YOUR AFROCENTRIC LENS.
JOHN 15:6 (NKJV)
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Many read this verse and immediately conclude, “Aha! If a believer doesn’t keep abiding in Christ, he will be cut off and thrown into hell.”
But a closer reading, considering the literal, grammatical, historical, and contextual interpretation, shows that Jesus is not speaking about salvation at all, but about fruitfulness in the life of one who already belongs to Him.
For Context
John 15 sits in what theologians call “The Upper Room Discourse” (John 13–17).
In this section, Jesus is not preaching evangelism; He is preparing His followers for life and fellowship in the New Covenant.
He speaks of their future union with Him (14:20), the coming of the Holy Spirit (14:26; 16:13), love in the family of God (15:12), and spiritual fruit that would flow from abiding in Him.
The focus is not on how a person gets saved, but how saved people walk with Christ.
So when He declares in verse 1, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser,” He immediately places Himself as the only source of divine life, and the Father as the One who cultivates and cares for that life in the believer.
Consider The Language
In verse 2, Jesus says:
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away…”
The words “in Me” matter.
This is relational and positional language. Even though the cross had not yet happened, Jesus is already speaking in the categories of union.
The issue is not salvation, but what happens after union; either fruit or barrenness.
The verb “takes away” is the Greek αἴρω (airō). It can mean “to take up, lift up” or “to remove.”
In viticulture, the first meaning is the normal use - -the vinedresser lifts up unfruitful branches from the ground and places them on a trellis so that sunlight and air can reach them and fruit can begin to form.
The goal is restoration, not rejection.
The next verb, “He prunes” (καθαίρει - -kathairei), means to cleanse, purge, cut away the unnecessary shoots.
Why? “That it may bear more fruit.”
So under both verbs (airō and kathaireō) the Father is working for fruit, not threatening destruction.
What “Abide” Actually Means
Then in verse 4, Jesus introduces the great key of the passage:
“Abide in Me.”
The word is μένω (menō) - - “to remain, to stay, to continue, to dwell.”
It is not the language of entering union, but of continuing in fellowship.
He is talking about living dependency, spiritual intimacy, an ongoing drawing from Christ as the source.
Then comes verse 6:
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as (ὡς – hṓs) a branch and is withered…”
Note the grammar.
He is cast out as a branch - not cast out from being a branch.
The comparison (ὡς) means “like a branch.”
What withers is the vitality and usefulness of that life, which has nothing to do with the salvation of the person
A believer who refuses to remain in fellowship eventually becomes dry and fruitless - like a vine-branch lying on the ground.
And then:
“…and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
The verbs “gather” (συναγάγουσιν - - synagagousin) and “throw” (βάλλουσιν - - ballousin) are third-person plurals… they, not He.
These are vineyard workers who dispose of withered sticks.. not God casting souls into hell.
The word “fire” here is πῦρ (pyr), not γέεννα (geenna), which is consistently used for eternal judgment (Matthew 5:22; Mark 9:43; James 3:6).
“Pyr” in this context refers to literal fire; fuel, rubbish burning, the fire used to get rid of useless materials in a vineyard.
If you compare this with Other Scriptures
Jesus has already declared in the same Gospel:
“He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but **has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)
He also says,
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:28)
If John 15:6 taught the possibility of a believer perishing, it would directly contradict the very words of Jesus in the same Gospel.
Likewise, Paul tells us,
“If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15).
That is precisely the “vineyard fire” picture; loss of reward, not loss of salvation.
So what is the Lord warning about?
He is warning believers against living in independence, ignoring the Vine, and ending up spiritually dry, useless, and unable to bear fruit.
The consequences of refusing to abide are; loss of fellowship (not loss of sonship), loss of fruitfulness (not loss of life), loss of purpose and effectiveness (not loss of salvation)
And the remedy is clear:
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)
Fruit flows from abiding.
Pruning flows from the Father’s love,
And eternal life is never at risk for one who has truly believed…your usefulness, power, and reward are.
GRACE!