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Often times in response to the question, "What must I do to be saved" (Acts 16:30), we echo Paul, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). However, we often neglect to tell people what exactly it means to "believe in Jesus." Since pop-Christianity became a kind of norm in America a couple of decades ago, concepts like "belief in," "faith," and "love" have become watered down. Hence, young Christians often stumble upon passages like Romans 6, James 2:14-26, or Matthew 5:17-48, and ask, what gives? "If we are saved by faith, why do we have to obey all these commands?" "Are we justified by faith or by works?" Skeptics hoot and howl about how the Bible can "contradict" itself on such a fundamental issue.

But what are we missing? Perhaps there is something about Christianity we need to rethink anew. Maybe there is in fact no contradiction, we just misunderstood (don't worry, it happens all the time). Shall we be willing to set aside our presumptions, even if only for a little while, and examine this issue?

The original name for this essay was "The Most Important Overlooked Passage in the Bible." This was an apt name, as I have not seen much on John 15:1-8; when the topic of faith and works comes up, Eph. 2:8 and James 2 get a lot of attention, yet I don't hear the vine allegory be mentioned. It is a shame too, since the very marrow of Christianity is here. No other passage that I am aware of has so much to say about Christian faith and living in so few lines.

Thus, whether you are skeptic, wonderer, new Christian, or a pillar of faith, let us consider Jesus' vine imagery.

To start, let's consider the context. It was late in the evening after the last passover meal before Jesus was crucified. Knowing His end was near, Jesus has been giving an emotional farewell speech to His disciples. We then read the passage in question.

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 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.
"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 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. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."
John 15:1-8 NASB.

I believe that in modern Western Christianity, many of us lost the Biblical meaning of Faith, so that anyone can think they are saved if the believe that Christ exists, or that Christ died for our sins. While these beliefs are correct, they are beliefs about Christ, not belief in Christ. John 3:16 never taught us to believe about Christ, but instead, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:16-18, emph. me.

So, what of the Parable of the Vine? let's look at this passage piece by piece:

v. 1: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser."

This introduction is common to John, in that Jesus often says "I am the..." "I am the bread of life"; "I am the Light of the world"; "Before Abraham was born, I am"; "I am the gate"; "I am the good shepherd"; "I am the resurrection and the life"; "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (respectively, John 6:35, 8:12, 8:58, 10:9, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6).

Yet, there is a strong background behind this comparison Jesus is making. In Isaiah 5:1-7 in the Old Testament, Israel was described metaphorically as God's vineyard. Yet, despite all of God's hard work, the people of Israel failed to produce good fruit.

Now Jesus has come. Israel was the vineyard which, instead of upholding God's Law (that is, bearing good grapes), only produced injustice and corruption (wild grapes). Jesus, on the other hand, is the true vine, and is intent on succeeding where Israel failed.

v. 2: "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."

First off, anyone who has worked around vines (i.e. grape vineyard), will tell you one can't draw a clear line between between the vine and the branch: the branches are quite literally a part of the vine. This is the type of relationship Jesus desires to have with Christians: that we be so united that, figuratively speaking, no distinction can be made between Him and us.

Fruit is analogous here to works. compare to: "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:15-20.

Someone may interject, "Hey isn't this verse teaching that we are saved by works, since it says that one is condemned if one doesn't produce works?" However, this interpreter is being hasty, and as I will show, he has to disregard the rest of the passage to make this interpretation...

v. 3: "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."

Jesus breaks momentarily to address the Disciples directly. (Note that Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, is not currently present; cf. John 13:1-30.) The idea here is that the process Jesus is describing has already been started for them.

This statement itself doesn't have any salvific implication: to be "clean," to the Jew meant to be ceremonially clean. Before the Old Testament Jew could approach the altar of God to make an offering (sacrifice), or participate on most social ceremonies (i.e. religious feasts), they had to be ceremonially clean. The concept here is, no speck of "uncleanliness" must be present for the Jew to meet with God on a personal level.

Furthermore, it could be suggested that the cleaning here alludes to the pruning above, since a branch is "cleaned" by pruning excess growth. At least for the 11 Disciples who are listening to this address, the process has been started, and now the time is coming to see if they are fruit bearing branches.

vv. 4, 5: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

Here is the crux of Jesus' parable, the crux of his whole ministry, and all of Christianity (even ancient Judaism). This is the challenge Jesus has for all, which cannot be compromised. He already argued that those who don't produce fruit are going to get cast aside. Now he says how you may produce fruit and avoid being tossed aside: by abiding in Him. How do we abide? By faith.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." John 5:24.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." John 6:35.

Most theological dictionaries will have faith as being synonymous with trust, loyalty¹ This is why in Mark 4:36-41, Jesus rebuked the disciples for lacking faith: they were terrified at the storm because they didn't trust that Jesus would protect them. If you are interested in an extended discussion on faith, see J.P. Holding's material on faith.

Now going back to our observation of v. 2, in again comes the objection, "Doesn't this teach that works are necessary for salvation." this question, however, is misguided: nowhere does Jesus say, "If you produce fruit, you are saved." instead, he says, "He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit. Those who abide in Jesus will produce fruit that is pleasing to the Lord. this is a logical necessity, and the natural, inherent outcome of faith is works; and the lack of such works indicates lack of faith (hence James' observations in James 2:14-26; also Paul's arguments in 1 Cor. and Rom. 6-8, and John's in 1Jn. 1:5-2:6).

Note, that the verse says, will bear much fruit. This does not preclude that a Christian will become perfect, and will not fail to do what is good from time to time. indeed, v. 2 indicates that there is always pruning to be done, and that one can always bear more fruit. However, the implication is clear: the person who has Christ will show it in the fruit he produces.

v. 6: "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."

Clear reference to Hell, which awaits those who decline from abiding in Jesus. In the Bible, fire is often symbolic of "divine judgment."²

v. 7: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

Those who abide in Jesus may get whatever they pray for. This echoes Matthew 7:7,8: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Some will object, "If this is true, then why didn't I get that dirt bike I prayed for," or "Why isn't my acne healed that I prayed for a gazillion times?" however, if someone is abiding in Jesus, they are being "pruned" to conform more and more to God's will. You can certainly pray for what you want, but while this happens, the Christian will want to pray more for things that are in God's will. Nevertheless, this does passage should not be taken to mean that we can just pray for our selfish desires, without regard for others or what God wants.

James makes this exact observation in his charges against some early Jewish Christians: What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:1-3.

Thus, the prayer of a Christian should not focus on selfish pleasures (though it is okay, indeed rightful, to ask for whatever you need; cf. Matt 7:7-11); but they also should echo Jesus' prayer in the garden, "Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou will... My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." Matthew 26:39 KJV, 42 NASB.

v. 8: "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

This is the end result of the Christian life: that (1) God is glorified, and (2) people know we are disciples of Jesus, and the many blessings that entails. In the 1st century, much like today, good deeds were usually done for recompensation. When the disciples of Jesus love on nonbelievers and one-another, and do this without expecting anything in return, people notice! People ask, why the heck are you doing these things? And hence more people see this and are left to wonder, why shouldn't I put my faith in Christ?

One final point that needs to be said, now that we went through the whole passage, we need to return to v. 2 for a point:

v. 2: "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."

Anyone who has ever had to trim some form of shrubbery will tell you, pruning harms the plant! The underlining premise here is, that by cutting away unneeded material, the plant as a whole does better. Instead of having a branch that is bushy and chaotic, we have a branch that is neat, clean, and even more healthy (so much so that more fruit is produced). This pruning comes in the form of trials and struggle. It hurts! but, the end result well over justifies the means: a more well rounded Christian with a healthy spiritual life, producing more love for God, others, and even self.

So in summary, "Biblically speaking, How does one go to heaven? What does the bible ask of one in order to be saved?" Quite simply, abiding in Jesus Christ, through faith. Such a faith produces fruit that is pleasing to God, and lack of such fruit means lack of faith.

Notes and Citations:

1. See: Slick, Matt. "Faith." Dictionary of Theology. May 19, 2004. <http://www.carm.org/dictionary/dic_e-f.htm#_1_64>

2. Arnold, Clinton, E. ed. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. p. 145. vol. 2. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. 2002.