Can you explain the meaning of the following: “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” -John 15:6
You should be very careful about this.
I agree, we SHOULD be very careful about verses like this. On face value, it looks like Jesus is speaking of the need for us to bear fruit in order to "abide" in Him and, if we don't, we are going to hell. Once again, this kind of interpretation comes from a preconceived idea that genuine salvation is something we can lose. Taken from the view that I believe IS Scriptural - and takes into account other passages that speak about the grace of God and our justification through faith in Christ - I get a different meaning.
A Bible commentary called "Barnes' Notes on the Bible" has this to say about that verse, that I think mirrors what I also think it means:
Is cast forth - See the notes at John 15:2. Also Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13.
Is withered - Is dried up. A branch cut off withers. So of a soul unconnected with Christ, however fair it may have appeared. and however flourishing when a profession of religion was first made, yet when it is tried, and it is seen that there was no true grace, everything withers and dies. The zeal languishes, the professed love is gone, prayer is neglected, the sanctuary is forsaken, and the soul becomes like a withered branch reserved for the fire of the last great day. See a beautiful illustration of this in Ezekiel 15:1-8.
Men gather them - The word "men" is not in the original, and should not have been in the translation. The Greek is "they gather them," a form of expression denoting simply they are gathered, without specifying by whom it is done. From Matthew 13:40-42, it seems that it will be done by the angels. The expression means, as the withered and useless branches of trees are gathered for fuel, so shall it be with all hypocrites and false professors of religion. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/john/15-6.htm
The genuine, born again believer in Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit as the "earnest of our inheritance", WILL always abide in Christ because Christ abides in him and will "never leave nor forsake" him nor will He cast us out. There may come times in all our lives where we go through down times - and a snapshot of our "fruitfulness" at that one point in time may appear to be unfruitful. Does that mean we get one chance and if we blow it we're doomed forever? I don't think so. Abiding in Christ is what belonging to Him means - there are those who are IN Christ and everyone else is NOT in Christ. At the final judgment, those who are not in Christ will be cast into hell.