---
title: "Don’t Have Much Fruits? You’ll BURN IN HELL??? (John 15)"
description: "John 15 talks about Jesus Christ being the true vine, and that believers are the branches. People are worried about losing their salvation because the..."
image: "https://het.realbiblebelievers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/dont-have-much-fruits-youll-burn-in-hell-john-15"
---

# Don’t Have Much Fruits? You’ll BURN IN HELL??? (John 15)

 10 min. read · [Doctrines](/category/doctrines)[Salvation](/category/salvation)

![](https://het.realbiblebelievers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/missing.jpg)

[John 15](/kjv/john/15) talks about Jesus Christ being the true vine, and that believers are the branches. People are worried about losing their salvation because the “branches” refer to believers. This is an infamous passage used to prove one can lose salvation.

> 

***[John 15:1](/kjv/john/15/1)** “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”*

> 

***[John 15:2](/kjv/john/15/2)** “**Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away**: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”*

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***[John 15:3](/kjv/john/15/3)** “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”*

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***[John 15:4](/kjv/john/15/4)** “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”*

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***[John 15:5](/kjv/john/15/5)** “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”*

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***[John 15:6](/kjv/john/15/6)** “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and **cast the****m into the fire, and they are burned**.”*

In verse 2: “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away” — it looks like if a person doesn’t produce any more fruit, that person can lose salvation.  Verse 4 shows the importance of abiding in Christ, and if one is not abiding in Christ right now, it seems to show one can lose salvation and burn in hell according to verse 6.

It was surprising that there are actually three ways to answer this, so one doesn’t have to worry about losing salvation here.

## Losing Salvation

The first thing to notice is the **abiding** — verse 4: “Abide in me, and I in you.” The “abiding” is referring to salvation in Christ. If one refuses to accept Jesus Christ for salvation, so that Christ can be in that person, that is why the person goes to hell in verse 6.

Can one get out of abiding in Jesus Christ? **No,**according to [Ephesians 4](/kjv/ephesians/4). No matter how much one sins, Jesus Christ will always be in the saved person; once saved, always saved. When Christ is in a person, he never leaves, no matter how much they sin.

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***[Ephesians 4:30](/kjv/ephesians/4/30)** — “And **grieve** not the holy Spirit of God, whereby **ye are sealed unto the day of redemption**.”*

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***[Ephesians 1:13-14](/kjv/ephesians/1/13-14)** — “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your **salvation**: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were **sealed with that holy Spirit of promise**, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”*

One can grieve God with sin according to [Ephesians 4:30](/kjv/ephesians/4/30), but the rest of the verse says God Almighty will never leave, no matter what, because one is sealed all the way to the day of redemption. The same idea is repeated in [Ephesians 1:14](/kjv/ephesians/1/14). According to [Ephesians 1:13-14](/kjv/ephesians/1/13-14), Christ being in a person has to do with salvation, so being sealed to the day of redemption happens when one believes in Jesus Christ for salvation. It **DOES NOT** have anything to do with maintaining a relationship and walk with Jesus Christ (eg: being holy, avoiding sin).

This is the first possible interpretation.

## God Takes Away

> 

***[John 15:2](/kjv/john/15/2)** “Every branch **in me** that beareth not fruit **he taketh away**: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”*

Looking back to [John 15:2](/kjv/john/15/2): “every branch **in me**” — so that means one is in Jesus Christ, “that beareth not fruit he taketh away.” Notice it never said burning in hell here. It says that when one is in Jesus Christ but not bearing fruit, God will take away — which is very true.

When one is in salvation, that person has a chance to produce fruit. If a person refuses to produce fruit, the person doesn’t burn in hell; it simply says that God takes that person away, and the person can’t live the saved Christian life producing fruit anymore. God takes that person home to heaven — kills the person.

In 1 [Corinthians 3:17](/kjv/1-corinthians/3/17), it says the Holy Spirit in that person isn’t going to put up with continued sin forever, so He takes that person’s life. Because the Holy Spirit is in that person, and He will never leave nor forsake that person — He won’t cast the person to hell. But when that person keeps sinning against God, God can’t take it anymore, and He will take that person away, and that person will go to heaven early.

> 

***[1 Corinthians 3:17](/kjv/1-corinthians/3/17)** — “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”*

[John 15:2](/kjv/john/15/2) never talked about hell — the only verse that talked about hell was verse 6. But at verse 6, the basis is if one is not abiding in Christ. But if one is abiding in Christ, according to [Ephesians 1:13-14](/kjv/ephesians/1/13-14), one is in salvation and sealed unto the day of redemption.

## Tribulation Doctrine

This interpretation is going to be the more likely one — Ps. Gene believes this interpretation is right.

The author of [John 15:1-6](/kjv/john/15/1-6) is John. [John 15](/kjv/john/15) would be more of a tribulation doctrine because John’s ministry is toward the Jews, and the time period he often talks about is the end times. So this is referring to a Jewish context in the end times.

> 

***[Galatians 2:9](/kjv/galatians/2/9)**— “And when **James, Cephas, and John**, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and **they unto the circumcision.”***

“and when James, Cephas, and John” — note John, but what was their ministry concentrated toward?  “That we (Paul) should go unto the heathen (Gentiles, non Jews), “and they” (James, Cephas, John) “unto the circumcision”, meaning the Jews.

1 John is written by John, so it should be common sense that one is going to see a lot of similarities in the writing of John and 1 John. Notice the time period John is referencing is “the last time” in verse 18. That time period is very plain and definitely tribulation — it’s Jews in the tribulation. Remember, [John 15](/kjv/john/15) talks about abiding in Jesus and Jesus abiding in a person. The “abiding” in verse 24 is being in the Son. And verse 28 says “abide in him”. So, this abiding in [John 15](/kjv/john/15) would refer to a tribulation doctrine, which makes a lot of sense.

> 

***[1 John 2:18](/kjv/1-john/2/18)** Little children, it is the **last time**: and as ye have heard that **antichrist shall come**, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.*

> 

***[1 John 2:24](/kjv/1-john/2/24)** Let that therefore **abide in you**, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall **continue in the Son, and in the Father.***

> 

***[1 John 2:28](/kjv/1-john/2/28)** And now, little children, **abide in him**; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.*

## “Man” and “Men”

This interpretation is Pastor Gene’s favorite. Going back to [John 15:2-6](/kjv/john/15/2-6), the first interpretation refers the “abiding” to salvation while the second and third interpretation refers the “abiding” to walking in Jesus, or living clean for Jesus. This is what people are worried about — they say they’re not walking in Jesus properly, not avoiding sin, not staying close in their relationship with Jesus Christ, so because they’re not abiding in Jesus, they must be the branch that’s burning in hell.

But look at this, “if a **man** abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered” — and notice: “**men** gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”

> 

***[John 15:6](/kjv/john/15/6)** “If a **man** abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and **men** gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”*

This is really important to understand — man and men. The man who’s not abiding — he’s burned. But look at this: “men gather them” to burn them. One can tell that the “men” that gather them are not the same as the “man” who’s not abiding. These “men” — whoever these men are — they’re not burned; it’s the branches, the “man” who is burning.

The answer is in [Ephesians 4](/kjv/ephesians/4). Did people know they are made up of two “man” natures? In verse 22, the “old man, which is corrupt” is the one that’s not abiding in Christ. Then there is the “new man” at the latter part of the verse that is “created in righteousness and true holiness.” Here’s the key: a person consists of two natures — an old man nature (the flesh) and a new man nature (the spirit).

> 

***[Ephesians 4:22-24](/kjv/ephesians/4/22-24)** — “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the **old man**, **which is corrupt** according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye **put on the new man**, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”*

The old man’s fleshly works are burned while the person is not burnt at all. That makes sense because [John 15:6](/kjv/john/15/6) says “men” gather them to be burned, not angels. The ones who gather them to be burned are supposed to be angels according to [Matthew 13:39-40](/kjv/matthew/13/39-40), if [John 15](/kjv/john/15) were referring to hell fire. Why the same “men”? Because it’s referring to Christians — doing something with these fleshly old-man deeds and casting them to be burned, which is at the judgment seat of Christ in [1 Corinthians 3](/kjv/1-corinthians/3).

> 

***[1 Corinthians 3:12-15](/kjv/1-corinthians/3/12-15)** — “Now if **any man** build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, **because it shall be revealed by fire**; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If **any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved**; yet so as by fire.”*

In verse 12, note “every man build upon this foundation…”, and Jesus Christ, at [John 15](/kjv/john/15), is going to take those works to “be revealed by fire” — there’s the fire that’s going to burn up the things that are not good. So, the works of the old man is burned, not the man himself in verse 15, because he “shall be saved; yet so as by fire”.

The new man is the real self; the old nature is dead, just as Paul says the old man is dead, which is why it can burn. It is interesting that the thing that can be burned off in verse 12 is “wood” (branches). So the person’s dead old man’s works are burnt away, and the new man (real self) is what is retained.

## Conclusion

So there are three ways to handle [John 15](/kjv/john/15), and one can use either interpretation to justify it — but there is no doubt that for the Christian gospel today, Bible believers are once saved, always saved. All three explanations show that. It’s important to understand different salvation plans too, because in the tribulation there’s no doubt it is a faith-and-works system: one can’t take the 666 mark no matter how much one is starving, and one can’t buy or sell — that’s a lot of work, so one has to keep abiding in Jesus Christ. During the tribulation, the Jews are resisting the Antichrist — just as [1 John 2](/kjv/1-john/2) and [Galatians 2](/kjv/galatians/2) told and John is focusing on the Jews.

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