A Severe Grace
How God Shapes Us Into the Image of Jesus Christ in John 15
The Sabbath is here. Rest. Renew. Recalibrate. Then return. But is there another moment in time, not Shabbat but a severe grace, when the Father intervenes in the ordinary rhythms of life to do something that is difficult but necessary?
“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 188:24).
Welcome to Your Sunday Chapel on Faith for Living with Mike Milton. Our mission is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures, through every means available to as many people as possible. That is so because our vision is for souls to be safe in the arms of Jesus when He comes again. And the vision and mission are flowing forth from a burden: that all of the earth will exchange darkness for light, the poison of idolatry for the nourishment of worshipping the Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Faith for Living is broadcast weekly through podcasts, the internet, and, in some cases, radio. Here, we aim to provide a sermon from our archive, present the Bible message, distill it for personal devotion or small-group study, and offer questions for reflection or discussion.
This week we turn to “pruning.” It is a spiritual work described by our Lord in the Gospel of John. Spiritual pruning is accomplished by the Father to His children through the Holy Spirit for the glory of Jesus Christ. We invite you to learn what the Bible says about the “severe grace” of being shaped into the image of Christ and how that message brings faith for living in your life today.
Yours faithfully,
Mike
You can listen to the message here or via the podcast link below. A devotional and “SoulWork” questions for reflection or discussion are also available below.
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Our messages are taken from the archives of Faith for Living, which run from June 1993 through 2024. May the Lord use these to fulfill His will in your life or the lives of those you might seek to reach through these broadcasts.
The Devotional Message
A Severe Grace Shaped by Pruning
Your Sunday Chapel | Faith for Living with Dr. Michael A. Milton
Scripture
“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 does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1–2, ESV)
The word of the Lord endures forever, even when it comes to us with the sharp edge of a pruning knife. In this passage from the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus does not soften the truth. The Father is the vinedresser. He cuts away what is dead and cuts back what is living. Both actions are severe. Both are grace.
We know the language of severe grace from ordinary life. A child reaches for the blackberry pie set aside for company and is later handed a peach switch with the solemn words, “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” A teenager returns home past curfew and hears the father say, “What I am doing, I am doing for your own good.” A coach keeps the team on the court for another set of suicide drills and declares, “No pain, no gain.” These familiar phrases point beyond themselves to a deeper reality: the wise and loving hand that wounds in order to heal, that restricts in order to free, that cuts in order that life may flourish.
“The warm sweetness of stolen blackberry pie still lingers on my tongue, just as the sharp swat of Aunt Eva’s peach switch still stings on my leg—reminding me that true love sometimes wounds in order to heal, and pointing me to the Father who prunes with severe grace for greater fruit.”—Michael A. Milton
Jesus claims ownership over every branch. “Every branch of mine…” He is the true vine; we are not autonomous. The branch that is only cosmetically attached—appearing to belong yet remaining lifeless—is taken away. Judas sat among the Twelve and still perished. There is no more perilous place than to be an almost-Christian, enjoying the outward privileges of the covenant while never personally receiving the grace those privileges proclaim. The branch that is organically joined to Christ is also cut—not unto death, but unto greater fruitfulness. The Father sees potential the branch itself cannot yet perceive.
This pruning is the Father’s responsibility, not the branch’s. We may share the gospel, train our children, and walk in holiness before one another, yet we cannot see the heart as God sees it. Branches do not prune other branches. The parable of the wheat and the tares reminds us that final separation belongs to the angels at the harvest (Matthew 13). In the meantime, the Father alone tends His vineyard with perfect knowledge and perfect love. He disciplines every true son (Hebrews 12:6–11). For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Severe grace therefore seeks a response. For the one still outside the vine, the response is the simple, costly movement of faith: acknowledge your sinful condition, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the only true source of life, and confess Him openly. For the believer already joined to the vine, the response is the prayer of surrender first voiced by William Cowper and echoed by David: “Search me, O God… and see if there be any grievous way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24). Sometimes the pruning removes sin. Sometimes it removes even good things so that better fruit may appear. Always it is the work of a Father who will not leave His children as they are.
I once met a woman named Stacy receiving chemotherapy. With quiet joy she said, “Cancer has changed my life. God has done an extreme makeover.” Her church had renovated her home while she was away; more profoundly, the Lord had renovated her heart. Whether He left her longer on earth or called her home, she belonged to Him. That is the fruit of severe grace—an unshakeable knowledge that we are His.
The invitation is not primarily “Lord, prune me,” for no one naturally seeks the knife. The invitation is deeper: “Lord, use me. I am Yours.” You have been bought with a price. You are not your own. Come, then, and do with Your servant what seems good in Your sight.
By His wounds we are healed. By His pruning we are getting stronger.
SoulWork
For private devotion or small-group study
In light of John 15:1–2 and the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, how does Jesus’ language of “every branch in me” guard both against presumption and against despair?
Hebrews 12 teaches that the Father disciplines every true son. Where in your own life have you experienced painful pruning that later produced the “peaceful fruit of righteousness”? Give thanks specifically.
The sermon distinguishes branches that are only cosmetically attached from those organically joined to the vine. How does the visible church’s mixture of wheat and tares (Matthew 13) call us to examine ourselves without usurping the Father’s role as final Judge?
“Branches cannot prune other branches.” In what practical ways does this truth free us from anxious control over the spiritual condition of family members, fellow church members, or those under our care?
Stacy spoke of an “extreme makeover” wrought by severe grace. How might the Holy Spirit be inviting you to greater fruitfulness in this season—perhaps through the surrender of a cherished comfort, a hidden sin, or an unrealized potential for service?
Close by praying Cowper’s cry in your own words: “O make this heart rejoice or ache; decide this doubt for me… and if I am not broken, break me and heal me.” Then rest in the finished work of the true Vine who was Himself cut down that we might live.
