Can a Christian be “cut off” from Jesus Christ? Perhaps one of the most explanatory passages on salvation is Jesus’ teaching on the vine and branches in John 15:1-14. Clearly Jesus said, “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” (John 15:6). This is hardly a picture of a Christian losing rewards in heaven (as Eternal Security teaches), but losing their salvation. Jesus said,
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, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (John 15:1-3)
Jesus made these statements to His disciples; He addressed those who are “already clean.” The branches are His disciples or Christians. Yet again and again Jesus makes it crystal clear that those who are already clean must abide in Him by keeping His commandments (John 15:9-11) or they will be taken away, cast out as a withered branch and burned in the fire.
Jesus continued,
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, 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, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 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. (John 15:4-6)
Once again, branches are disciples. But if they do not remain in Christ, they are burned. Does this sound like God will say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant” or “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”? Jesus also said, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:19). Nowhere does Jesus talk about being cast into the fire as a reference to eternal life. Yet burning in the fire is the consequence for those “once clean” or “once saved” CHristians who fail to abide in Christ by keeping His commandments (John 15:9-11). Burning is an obvious reference to judgment. It is impossible that Jesus is talking about a person who was never saved to begin with because the branch was once on the vine. A person who was never saved was never on the vine in the first place. A branch on the vine is a Christian in Christ. The branch that is burned is that disciple who was once in Jesus Christ, but they neglected to keep His commandments and ceased to abide in Him.
The branch does not have life in itself; the life is in the vine. We do not have eternal life in ourselves but we do have it in Christ. 1 John 5:11-12 says:
And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
God has given us eternal life but He has given it to us in His Son. Just as there is life in a vine, there is eternal life in Christ. God has given us eternal life, but He has given it to us in Jesus. If we abide in Christ, we will have eternal life as the branch that remains in the vine will continue living. But those who are cut off will be cast into the fire and burned. The branches that were cut off don’t have eternal life in them anymore. Why? Because it wasn’t eternal? No. The life is still eternal life but the life is not in them, it’s in Jesus and they are no longer in Jesus. Jesus continued,
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. (John 15:7-14)
In sum, Jesus described salvation as an obedient faith relationship similar to a branch abiding on a vine. If we keep Christ’s commandments, then we will abide in Him. But if we do not keep the commandments of Jesus, then we will be cut off as a branch is cut off the vine and we will be burned.
Another very descriptive passage from the Apostle Paul uses a similar illustration to depict the conditional security of the believer. This passage is found in Romans 11:11-24. Paul commented on God’s rejection of Israel and warned the believing Gentiles that they may also be rejected if they do not continue in faith. Paul wrote:
I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? (Romans 11:11-24)
Those who try to apply this passage to groups of people such as the Gentiles and Israel fail to recognize that the branches refer to individual Jews and individual Gentiles. Granted, there are groups in view here: the cultivated olive tree represents believing Israel and the wild olive tree represents the Gentiles. But the branches correspond to individuals among those two people groups. God did not spare natural branches (Romans 11:21), i.e., unbelieving Jews. The natural branches that were “broken off” are individual Jews who did not believe in Christ and are not saved (Romans 11:17). But God did not destroy the entire cultivated olive tree or the entire Jewish race, only the branches or unbelieving Jews. Neither was the entire wild olive tree grafted in, but only certain branches; the entire Gentile population did not believe in Christ but only individual Gentiles. And God will not spare the wild olive tree branches, i.e., believing Gentiles (Romans 11:21), if they do not “continue in His goodness” (Romans 11:22). Otherwise they also will be “cut off” (Romans 11:22). Therefore, the once saved Gentile Christian who does not continue to abide in Christ will be cut off and lost in the exact same way as an unbelieving Jew who rejected Christ.
The kindness of God toward us is provided if we continue in His kindness. Otherwise we will be cut off. The branches remain holy only if they remain attached to the tree, but they will no longer partake in the root and fatness of the olive tree if they don’t remain attached (Romans 11:17). Paul says “Do not be haughty, but fear” (Romans 11:20) because God is not obligated to save you unless you abide in Him and continue in His goodness. God is the same God to the Gentiles as He is to the Jews. We are not to be haughty but fear because we are not unconditionally secure. Those who are “cut off” cannot be a reference to those who were never saved because those who were never saved never became attached. But those who were “cut off” were once attached. A person cannot fall away unless they were once in Christ.
The isolated and often ambiguous proof texts for unconditional Eternal Security should be examined in light of these clear warnings from Jesus and the apostles. These passages include the conditions of salvation and warnings of losing salvation.
SEE MORE:
The Role of Obedience in Salvation