Stairway to Heaven – 1

ADD TO YOUR FAITH

Part 1 of the series “Stairway to Heaven”

Future posts are found on this blog.

As the Divine Vinedresser, God prunes the branches in His Vineyard — ­His family. The branches represent His children, and the pruning represents the discipline He teaches so that His children can grow in faith. God, a just vinedresser, cuts off branches that are unfruitful or without works — dead and unacceptable — and destroys them in the fire.1

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.2

Look back on your experiences with God, the times when you found reliance on Him as the only escape from the dilemma in which you were. It may have been a financial struggle, a lost job, a death of a loved one, a child or elderly parent with a special need, a rebellious teenager, an abusive spouse, a broken relationship, a marriage in shambles, or another heavy trial in which you found no relief. You may have been through times in which God strengthened your faith through the building of a step that brought you closer to Him.

Faith in God is a sure foundation for your character development, the identity of who you are, the type of person you represent. Yet, you must

add to your faith 3

by building upon it layers of fruitful living, growth that builds a character of godliness for your climb up His Stairway to Heaven.

James, Jesus’ brother, who was concerned that Christians—new to the faith that Christ provides eternal life—would stop short of living a life of faith through their actions and behavior, admonishes all of us to become “doers of the word, and not hearers only,” and thus, deceive ourselves that we have become sanctified through our salvation.4

Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well”— but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.5

Sanctification, the state of growing in divine grace as a result of active dedication and service to God after accepting Christ as Savior,6 requires “works” or actions. His Stairway to Heaven that you build together with God, is determined by what you do with your life after salvation—it is your climb of sanctification—the journey that sets you apart from the world, purifies your character, grows with divine grace, and becomes the virtuous living assisted by the Holy Spirit given to you by God when you accepted His Son, Christ Jesus, as Lord of your life.7

“Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you and to your children … all who have been called by the Lord our God.”8

How far can you climb up His Stairway to Heaven? On your own, very little if at all, for you can do nothing without Christ Jesus branched into your life.9 When you are joined with Christ, you are complete in Him, the fruits of His indwelling grow in you and manifest as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.10 These fruit of the Spirit, godly attributes of character and virtuous living, may have been missing from your life prior to your salvation.

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Praise to Our Father for the words He has given me.

Written June 10, 2004
Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2016 by Jeff Cambridge, Stellar Rhema Ministry

Footnotes

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Verses marked NLT are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NIV are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society. “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.

Stairway to Heaven - 1
1. John 15:1-8, 2 Peter 3:7
2. John 15:1-8 NLT
3. 2 Peter 1:5
4. James 1:22
5. James 2:14-17 NLT
6. The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek to English Dictionary, 39 hagiazo, Copyright © 2001 by Zondervan; Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Copyright © 1984 by Merriam-Webster Inc., sanctification.
7. John 14:26, 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:10-14, Acts 5:32, 10:44-45, 11:16-17, 15:8, 19:1-6, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 John 3:24
8. Acts 2:38-39 NLT
9. John 15:5
10. 1 Corinthians 6:17, Colossians 2:10, Galatians 5:22