Q4. Do Nothing Alone

[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?

[JanMary]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”?

 

I think He means that believers can do nothing of eternal value apart from relying on His indwelling Holy Spirit.

 

Psalm 103:14 taught me this principle: "For He knows our frame, He earnestly remembers and imprints on His heart that we are dust". I sighed a huge sigh of relief when I found that verse years ago, understanding that His expectation is not one of my performance, but of my dependence upon His power in and through me to perform HIS WORKS.

 

Isaiah 26:12 "Lord, You will ordain peace, both temporal and spiritual, for us, for You have also wrought in us and for us all our works" I love the NIV  translation best:  "All that we have accomplished, You have done for us."

 

What is the value of things done without Christ?

 

None of eternal value.

 

What is the final end of things done without Christ?

 

"Only one life t'will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last."

 

At the Bema seat of Christ when our works are weighed....all that He did through us will be jewels which remain....the things we did to please others, or to look good or to feel better about ourselves to to impress others...will turn to ash as wood, hay and stubble, when tested in His fire.

 

"But if anyone builds upon the foundation, whether it be with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay straw. The work of each one will become plainly, openly known (shown for what it is): for the day of Christ will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done. I Cor. 3:11,12)  "But if any person's work is burned up under the test, he will suffer the loss of it all, losing his reward, though he himself will be saved"  I Cor. 3:15

[SoiKosum]

(John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ? 

 

Abiding also involves utter dependence upon Jesus the Vine. If we branches don't continue intimately connected to the vine, our "sap" is cut off. We wither and whatever fruit might have been in the process of ripening becomes like dry raisins rather than lush grapes full of juice. We can do things by ourselves. We expend great human effort in doing so. But the things that last, that count for eternity, these we cannot do without his leading and his power. According to Paul, the final end of things done with or without Christ is this - "His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:1315)

[blezed]

(John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”?  What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?    

• Jesus is our life line.  Without Him the things we do are not lasting things.  Through Him we can do all things which will last thru eternity. 

[haar]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ? 

 

It is only with the help of Jesus we can achieve significant and enduring results in our pursuits.

 

Things done without Christ will be like the chasing of the wind.

 

 

 

[Clarence]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?

 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (Philips) Believers ..."must know that each man’s work will one day be shown for what it is".

In the end days every thing that we have done, thought and said as believers will be measured and tested. Apart from Christ we can do nothing of eternal value (v5). The final end of things we have done without christ will be without value. It will be like building apon a foundation (christ) with sticks and straw, tested with fire.

[hanks]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) 

Unbelievers can do many things. 

So what does Jesus mean when He says, "Apart from Me you can do nothing"? 

What is the value of things done without Christ? 

What is the final end of things done without Christ? 

Jesus means that without His Spirit, grace, strength, and presence, we can do nothing that is spiritually good. If we have not got Christ in us, there is no good thought, no good word spoken, and no good deed done, that is acceptable before God. This passage teaches us about the inability of man to do any good in the sight of God, and we have it confirmed in Romans 14:23b, “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” The value of things done for God without Christ are absolutely worthless, they have no value in His eyes - no current value and no eternal value. The only lasting things done are those done while in a relationship with Jesus. It is all a worthless using up of energy, unless God is behind it and God is guiding it and God is directing it. Finally, the fruits and results of sin shall all perish. Only that which bears the stamp of eternity can really have any value.

 

Man’s greatest need

No man lives a true and useful life who lives without Christ. 

The good man feels his need of Him, and of all of Him always.

1. His eye to guide him.

2. His hand to uphold him.

3. His arm to shield him.

4. His bosom to lean upon.

5. His blood to cleanse him.

6. His Spirit to make him holy and meet for heaven.

Christ is the one only Saviour who can make a sinner a saint, and secure to him eternal life. 

Usefulness is suspended upon holiness, and we are made holy by Christ’s cleansing blood, and in no other way. 

(Homiletic Monthly.)

 

[Jen]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?

 

Only by God's grace can unbelievers do anything and what they do will be laced with sin (selfishness, jealousy, anger, revenge, lustful thoughts etc).

If we abide in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us we will have the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness,kindness, goodness, patience, long-suffering, self-control.  Unbelievers cannot have what the Holy Spirit does not give, they have only a sin nature and can do many things (by God's unbelievable grace) but there again it will be laced with sin.

The value of things done  without Christ, cheap at best, no lasting value.

All things done without Him will be for destruction, burnt in the fire.

 

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26

[Delivered]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"?

It means, no one can have a “right” relationship with God apart from the “vine”.

 

Q5. What is the value of things done without Christ?

They will be tempered in their growth, denying them the ability to bring forth “FRUIT” that the vine produces.                                         

 

Q6. What is the final end of things done without Christ?

They will shrivel up and die from lack of the vines nourishment.

 

 

 

[RebeccaMallinson]

Jesus is speaking of our spiritual life, not our earthly one.  The value of things done without Christ will not last for eternity.  They will end in this mortal world.  I think it is as simple as that.

[lighthouse2014]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?

What Jesus means when he says "Apart from me you can do nothing", without him indwelling within us and we in him, is that we can not survive in his vine or being in his Kingdom. By not remaining in Christ and being obedient and observing his commands our eternal life will not be with him in the Kingdom of God. Not having his spirit in us, our prayers are useless, our belief in God futile, our fellowship with other believers is self deceiving.  

Things done without Christ maybe accomplished in the world, but they only are worldly things. Things can not benefit us in the kingdom of God, worldly accomplishments will not gain us favor with our salvation or mercy from God.  

[quilter]

1. Nothing can be done without our Savior in our lives. if we don't have him in our lives and lots of people don't they think what they accomplish is own their own and is but it is worldly things that won't get you to heaven.

2. Things done without Christ has no value in this world and will keep you from having eternal life with Jesus Christ

3. There will not be a place in Heaven without Christ in our lives. If we don't have a life with him we  go to hell.

[PeteD]

Lesson 26 Question 4

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing of significance. Of course, we can busy our selves and even sometimes achieve greatness and even believe it is we who do it independent of God will. But this independence is pride and ultimately leads to emptiness and ungratefulness. If what we do is not in God's will, it will amount to nothing. That is not to say that God cannot make anything of significance from what we do, but it is God who does it. God used Babylon, Persia, and Rome to accomplish His will.Yet for us - if we do anything independent of God, we sin and the truth is not in us and what we do amounts to nothing in the greater scope of things. Specifically, when it comes to being Jesus followers we have to be connected to him.

[Stanley Tavaziva]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?

There is a sense in which we literally can do nothing without God. Without God we wouldn’t have water to drink or air to breath. Without God we wouldn’t exist.

Without a relationship with God we can do nothing.

Jesus describes Himself as the true vine and He describes us as vine branches. And the purpose of vine branches is to bear fruit. And a branch that’s joined to the vine can’t produce any fruit. When Jesus says” A part from me you can do nothing “He meant” If you are not joined to me you can’t bear fruit

• To obey God's will and live a Godly life.
• To be faithful to God in my everyday life.
• To do good works.
• To have Christian moral and ethical values.
• To read and obey the Word of God
• Christ to live in me.
• To avoid sinning.
• To be a child of God and show my love for God.
• To follow values taught in the Bible and Christian virtues.

Worldly values include wealth, power, pleasure, revenge, fame, vanity and status. These are the most important things to people who perceive no power or purpose beyond themselves. Worldly values promote jealousies, resentments and conflicts among people in accordance with the purpose of Satan.

[pickledilly]

When Jesus said “Apart from Me you can do nothing”, He was referring to the spiritual dimension of the Kingdom of God.  I immediately thought of Isaiah 64:6, which reminds us that sin has made us unclean and “all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags” in the sight of our holy God.  Even with our best efforts, we can’t accomplish anything of eternal value because what is of the transient flesh cannot produce what is of the eternal Spirit.  So, apart from Christ at work in us through His Spirit, nothing we attempt “for God” has any lasting value.  The example in these verses is that what is done of the flesh will one day be revealed, cut off, and burned in the fires of judgment.  That doesn’t mean we as believers will be destroyed, just the works we have done out of our own desires, motivations, strength, and efforts.

 

[royk]

2:20)

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?

 

What unbelievers do is of the world. It will rust and decay and perish. Not so for work done for the Kingdom that is of  God's will. We can't decide to save someone, but we can patiently show them and teach them something beautiful about Jesus' life. Still this on its own will do nothing. The Holy Spirit touches those when and where it is God's will. We must recognize that keeping up the fight requires REMAINING IN HIM. Or it will be lots of lost energy.

The final end of things done without Christ, it is not abut saving anyone. This we simply can not do.

We can not select someone to save, but we can pray a lot for that person or persons. Of course this is motivated by God whispering in our ears. We must hear him to do his will. It is not automatic we know this without prayer, and more prayer.

[Joe_Applegarth]

What does Jesus mean when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"?  He means that without a relationship with God we can (spiritually) do nothing on our own.  Paul told the Galatians that “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...” (5:22-23)  The bottom line is that if we don’t accept Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior it’s impossible to bear ‘spiritual’ fruit.  There are a lot of people who actually do try to improve themselves spiritually through self-discipline or any of the glut of self-help programs but the simple truth is, it’s only through the Holy Spirit that we can develop a “godly” character and if we’re not ‘abiding’ in Jesus Christ the Spirit can’t do His work. 

                                                                           

What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?  It’s often said in the financial world that a short-term gain generally leads to a long-term loss. If that’s true and our (long term) goal is to spend eternity with the Lord then we can reasonably conclude that, without Christ in our lives, there’s no value whatsoever in anything that we accumulate in this world.  Here in this wonderful country of ours there is a glut of material things that we always seem to be seeking.  A promotion or a better paying job, the next new big screen TV, the newest expensive cell phone, a new car or a more luxurious house.  Even if we don’t admit it to ourselves we all have these desires and I suppose there’s nothing wrong with wanting to better ourselves (short term) but the truth is, we brought absolutely nothing into this world when we came and we’ll not take anything out of it when we go.  Unfortunately in our quest for earthly “stuff”, more often than not, our Christian values often get trampled along the way and in our quest for earthly treasures we often lose sight of God.

 

The only possession that we can ever hope to acquire while we're here, at least the only thing that has eternal value, is our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Paul said it much better than I could ever hope to when he wrote, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Philippians 3:7-9 NIV)

 

So, what is the final end of things done in our lives without Christ?  Just like Paul, I also consider them garbage that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.  “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work." (1 Cor. 3:11-13)

[Old Jerry]

When Jesus says that “Apart from me you can do nothing” he is saying that we cannot promote the Kingdom of God unless we are in Him. The things that is done without Christ means nothing. When we die we can’t take that with us. The things done without Christ goes to nothing.

[Godswriter]

Q4. (John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ?

As Isaiah said in the OT all our righteousness is filthy rags before the Lord meaning we cannot earn our salvation and apart from Him we can do nothing because God is the one gives us everything. The value is worthless. The final end is they are burnt up. 

[Jonathan Edwards]

151Roman's 4:2 explains it very well.  Abraham wasn't justified by works; he was justified 24 years prior to circumcision in order he might be the father of unbelieving uncircumcised Gentiles. Original justification by faith belonged to the Gentiles.  In essence, justification by works alone cannot assure righteousness.   Outside Christ,   a person cannot abide in the graces of God as set forth in the Bible.  Abraham came from a background of idolatry; he was called by God to have faith when he was a Gentile idolater; he was justified freely by faith.  He did not work nor merited justification.  His righteousness was a pure gift of grace from God.   Acts of the Apostles illustrates this wonderfully.   The church magnified the name of Jesus Christ;  as a result, conversions were wrought confirmed by signs and wonders.  Twelve Apostles were strengthened in miraculous ways to go forth from Jerusalem.

1Corinthians 3:11-15 needs to be carefully studied and meditated on.  The value of things done without Christ cannot wrought righteousness.  Abraham was justified by faith.   This is a precious truth; faith alone in God wrought justification before circumcision and the giving of the Law on Mt Sinai.   Final end is that works that are judged to be wood, hay or stubble--will be burnt up by fire. Our doctrines, conduct to others and carnal traits will be judged.

[Irmela]

Q4. (John 15:4-6)

Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, "Apart from me you can do nothing"?

What is the value of things done without Christ?

What is the final end of things done without Christ?

Actually they too can do nothing without His enabling them to use whatever they are using.  They cannot really move without Him, even speak, breathe, or anything else for that matter.

But He has not created us as puppets, but has given us a free will, so we can choose to do things, but whatever is done without Him will not endure the final test, it will burn up.