If such a thing were possible, if such a thing were conceivable that someone could love God so much and love perishing sinners so much that they would be

willing to be damned for those people and thus be damned.

The Apostle Paul said he would be willing in Romans 9. 3.

And the way he put it was like this.

I would be willing to be a cursed, cut off from Christ.

Anathema or Paul. from Christo, a

to Christu, cursed away from Christ. So the opposite of union with Christ, the utter opposite of union with Christ

is to be cursed and cut off from Christ. It was the worst thing Paul could imagine.

It was the absolute worst thing he could imagine.

The best thing in the universe is to be united to Christ, to be in Christ, to enjoy union with Christ. When this is fully understood, nothing is greater experientially and nothing is greater

theological. If you grasp this fully, you'll have no higher experiences than the

enjoyment of this.

And nothing reaches higher in theology.

Nothing is more comprehensive in theology than this.

My message tonight is mainly expository, that is, it's an unfolding of John 15, 1 to 11.

And the reason for focusing on this text is that for many, this text was the place where the reality of union with Christ moved

from being a doctrine to being an experience.

This text figures centrally

in the lives of those who have known most deeply what it is to abide in the

vine in Christ.

Another reason for putting this text here, front and center,

is that Hudson Taylor, with whom we will end the conference, and then a Q&A.

...