There is a church hymn in which the singer proclaims, “It is well, it is well with my soul.” From the most saintly to the most sinful in the church, all singers of that song “know” that, because they have taken Jesus as their Savior, completed the prescribed ritual and show up on Sunday that all is indeed good between them and their Maker. Admittedly for years I sang that song and believed its lyrics. The sentiment expressed in the song is wonderful; but Is this true? Are the souls of all who claim to be saved, sanctified, born again children of God WELL?

As the title of this series tells us: THE BELIEVER’S SPIRITUAL CONDITION DEPENDS ON HIS/HER SPIRITUAL “LOCATION.” The light at the end of one’s spiritual path might not be the glory of God as he/she has been told; it might actually be the flames of the Lake of Fire. Again, it all depends on the light-seeker’s location. Is he/she on the Lord’s narrow, His-way-only path, or is he/she on the devil’s wide, any-way-you-want-it path? Again, LOCATION determines the answer.

In the Gospel of the Apostle John we find Jesus stating numerous times exactly WHERE the salvation seeker must be in order to receive eternal life and rebirth. That location is “IN HIM,” which the Holy Scriptures refer to many times. Which brings up some important questions we all should ask ourselves periodically–questions such as: AM I “IN CHRIST” BECAUSE I AM IN CHURCH EVERY WEEK? AM I “WALKING WITH HIM” BECAUSE I “WALKED THE ISLE” AT SOME POINT IN THE DISTANT PAST? AM I THE BENEFICIARY OF HIS DEATH BECAUSE I RECOGNIZE WHY HE DIED? DO I QUALIFY TO BELIEVE THE PROMISES JESUS MADE BECAUSE I QUOTE THEM FROM TIME TO TIME? The answers to these questions depend on my spiritual location–whether I am “IN JESUS” or “in Satan.” The Messiah Himself addresses those questions in the 15th chapter of John’s Gospel. Let us now turn to that ultimately important part of God’s love letter to mankind.

We must first understand a Biblical fact: with the Lord, it is all or nothing at all. We are either with Him or against Him. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30: “He who is not WITH Me is AGAINST Me; he who does not GATHER with me, SCATTERS from Me.” In His eyes we are either hot or cold, light or darkness, RIGHTEOUS OR UNRIGHTEOUS, HIS DISCIPLES OR SATAN’S DISCIPLES. Jesus said that He and His Father are one, meaning one in character. In First John 1:5 we are told that “in God there is no darkness (sin) at all,” meaning that in Jesus there is no sin at all–only light; only righteousness. In Matthew 5:6 Jesus promised that if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, WE WILL BE FILLED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS, which leaves no room for sin. What does this say about those who are truly “in Him?” Can a professing Christian continue to sin and be “in Him?” as those who call themselves “sinners saved by grace” claim to do. In John 15 Jesus answers those questions plainly and repeatedly. He gets even more graphic in Revelation 3:14-20 where He wrote to the church that would exist during the end times in which we are now living. Read that passage and compare it to what is called “the church” today. The letter and the modern day church are mirror images.

Scripturally, references to vines and branches refer to grape vines and branches. In verses 1 and 2 Jesus says of Himself that He is the Vine and His Father is the husbandman. Branches are connected to and receive nourishment from the vine. Note that ALL BRANCHES (professing believers) whether good or bad, are IN HIM. Modern day branches are the 2.4 billion people who constitute professing Christendom. It is these people whom God calls “My people who are called by My name.” Read Who Are God’s People and “My People Called by My Name.” Key words–People and Called respectively.

Jesus says that any branch IN HIM that does not produce fruit (obey Him) will be destroyed. He says in verse 6 that a sinning branch is not abiding in Him spiritually and will be burned up on Judgment Day. In most cases the fruitless branches (church sinners) would remain physically IN HIM with their sins unknown (1 Tim. 5:24) until judgment at which time they will be identified and destroyed because they were not spiritually IN HIM and therefore were unable to receive the power (the Holy Spirit) needed to walk in righteousness (vs 4). Read All That Glitters and All That Glitters 2.0. Key word–Glitters.

In verse 3 Jesus tells us how we must get clean of sin and remain clean–THROUGH THE WORD HE HAS GIVEN TO US. This is made even clearer in Ephesians 5:26 where Paul declares that Christ SANCTIFIES AND CLEANSES HIS TRUE CHURCH “BY THE WASHING BY THE WATER BY THE WORD” (the Holy Bible), so that He will have a “GLORIOUS CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE … HOLY AND WITHOUT BLEMISH.” The Apostle Paul confirms the importance of the Word stating that “THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION” … “FOR THEREIN (IN THE GOSPEL) IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD REVEALED” (Rom. 2:16,17). Christ’s death provided the power which enables us to walk in the righteousness of God which we must do in order to receive salvation. Read The Message of the Cross. Key word–Cross.

In verse 5 Jesus reminds those IN HIM that they must ABIDE (REMAIN/LIVE) IN HIM AND HE IN THEM in order to bring forth fruit (holiness, righteousness, godliness) which must be manifested in the believer (branch) in order to receive salvation. Read Romans 5:21 and 6:22. Note that salvation is the END RESULT OF HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH TRUE SAINTS MUST MANIFEST IN SPITE OF THE PERSECUTION THEY RECEIVE FOR BEING DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER PEOPLE (2 Tim. 3:12). WE MUST MANIFEST THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTIL THE END OF LIFE OR THE RETURN OF CHRIST IN ORDER TO BE SAVED AT THAT TIME (Mat. 10:22). Read the series titled Persecution using that word as the key.

In verses 7 and 8 Jesus notes that IF the branches (church members) abide in Him, meaning IF His Word abides in them, their prayers will be answered. This explains why so few church prayers are answered. The church explains their lack of answered prayers by saying that God answered with a “NO.” Read verse 7 relative to God’s supposed “NO” answer. Note in verse 8 that only by abiding in Christ, with His Words abiding in us (vs 7) can we WALK AS JESUS WALKED AND “GLORYFY GOD AND THEREBY BE HIS DISCIPLES IN THIS LIFE. . L.J.