The Lord Jesus stated unequivocally that if a branch in Him does not bear fruit it is cut from the Vine, that is, from Himself. There can be no argument about this. This is what the Son of God said.

The fruit to be borne on a branch in Christ is the image of Christ in the believer and in those whom the believer influences. I think most Evangelicals would agree with this.

Now if we do not bear the fruit of Christ-likeness in our personality and in the personality of those whom we influence, we will be cut off from Christ. No one can deny this. However the question remains, what does it mean to be cut off from Christ?

The Evangelical will say, perhaps we will be cut off from Christ if we do not bear fruit but we will still be saved. This answer reveals the individual is blindly clutching a Gnostic concept of salvation, that is, eternal residence in the spirit Paradise.

"I don't care if I am cut off from Christ just as long as I go to my mansion in Heaven."

This is the kind of thinking that goes on today.

The truth is, if you are cut off from Christ you are cut off from God. You are lost!

One major argument employed by fundamentalists is that if we sin and lose the Presence of God we were never saved in the first place. This is how contemporary scholars get around the opening verses of the sixth chapter of the Book of Hebrews.

What they are stating is that if you are a sinning Christian you are not truly saved. Thus they are reinforcing our position—that the only proof of salvation is a righteous life.

Every time we stumbled (and who among us does not stumble from time to time?) we would believe we never had been truly saved. Thus their argument flounders when put to the test.

God has given us an opportunity to confess our sins and turn away from them. Then the blood of Christ forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

But that believer who is not presenting his body a living sacrifice, is not denying himself, taking up his cross and following Jesus, who is living in the flesh, not praying each day, not meditating in the Scriptures, not seeking first the Kingdom of God—I tell you in Jesus' name that individual is close to the fire.

Will he or she finally be cut off from the salvation of God? Only Christ will decide that in the Day of Judgment.

But please understand just because we have made a profession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior does not mean we never can be removed from the program of redemption. This position contradicts many clear passages of Scripture.

Do you remember Satan's lie in the beginning? "You shall not surely die."

This is the message preached from many fundamental pulpits today. Even though Paul said you will die if you walk in the flesh, you will not surely die.

To be continued.