by Joel V Webb | Apr 21, 2024 | Uncategorized
One of the things I remember when getting to apply for colleges was “do I have all the prerequisites?” Has
everything I have done up to this point made me able to proceed with this potential program?
I grew up in a church background that was all about qualifying. Have I done everything perfectly so that I will
merit God’s blessing and favor, will I be enough to be the best of the best Christians to be worthy of the highest
forms of revelation that God could dish out.
This of course leads to and breeds problems.
I have heard numerous sermons throughout my life that were making sure we knew all about qualifying for our
inheritance, doing everything to not miss out on the special promises of rewards and rulership that I could attain.
Then my dad showed me this pesky little verse in Colossians. (this after being out of this context for a coupe years)
Colossians 1:12 NIV giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his
holy people in the kingdom of light.
Wait…what is that!?
The text (and the surrounding context makes it abundantly clear) that it is Christ who qualifies us.
WE DON’T DO IT OURSELVES! This may seem really obvious, and it is. But for someone who
was taught (intentionally or unintentionally) to have a spiritual superiority complex, and that I make myself
qualify, this is earth shattering.
This simple truth strikes at the core of the Gospel. Really this is the reason Jesus had to come. We are unable in
and of ourselves, no matter how we try to qualify and make ourselves right before God.
But there can also be a slightly more nefarious implication. In the background I am from somewhere that
everything was about the special spiritual pedigree that we had because of the teaching. And in order to qualify
for the special benefits we had to qualify by staying true. This then could be used as a cudgel to keep people in
line with fear and trembling to obey what they are told. And why? To make sure that you qualify for the “special
blessings”
But this is all hay, wood and stubble. Yes, our allegiance to Christ is essential. We want to stand true to Him not
matter what is going on around us. By not matter what, that is not what qualifies us. There is not spiritual pedigree
or hierarchy that we can measure in this life for what is in eternity. And even if we could, it doesn’t matter because
whatever crown we have we will cast before King Jesus. Because no matter what we did, it was He who qualified
us first.
So be encouraged and know that it is Christ who qualifies us. For salvation or anything else. He is one through
His Holy Spirit that empowers us to be and live differently. When we put our allegiance in Him, that transforms
us into the human He intended us to be. And that starts with Him qualifying us.
by Joel V Webb | Apr 12, 2024 | Uncategorized
I never tested well when it came to math. Even if I studied, I would get to the test and I could never get the numbers to add up just right. I remember the distinct feelings of being in a math exam, knowing something was wrong, nut just not able to put my thumb on it. If I had, the answer would have been right!
Sometimes we find ourselves in situations in life where we have that pit in the stomach feeling that we can’t get rid of. Everything seems to be working, but something is just off an we can’t get our minds wrapped around it. This is often the case when it comes to being in churches that are toxic or cultish. How could anything be wrong? I’ve been told we have the best and highest level of teaching, and if I do what I’m supposed to I’ll be the 1% of believers at the end of days.
When you grow up in a system like that that seems normal. When you don’t know what different is you just keep on going like nothing is wrong. That is until you start to notice stuff just doesn’t add up.
What about those people that recently left the church? “well…they got bitter and left”, or “they took up another person’s offense and left because of it.” These phrases and many others like it are often paired with language of warning to not become like that person lest you “miss God’s highest for your life”
Maybe you find yourself in a situation like this and you don’t even know where to start. My suggestion, start with math!
Christian Cults do 4 things:
1. Add to God’s Word
2. Subtract from the person of Jesus
3. Multiply the requirements of salvation
4. Divide their followers loyalty
(from https://www.brentcunningham.org/)
Keep your eye out and you will be surprised by what you see. Fudamentalism and legalism in different way find a way to implement each of these math fundamentals (see what I did there). It may not be obvious at first (it wasn’t for me), but you will begin to realize what is wrong. Things have been taken out of balance. The truth of who God is has been removed from the love and mercy of who He is and utilized as a tool to keep people in their place, and order their lives how the leaders wants them to be. The math of Christian cults is used to force people to stay with their adulterous and abusive spouses, keeping people in shame for their habitual sins with no way to find freedom, keeping people in immaturity unable to make basic decisions without feeling guilty of “not seeking counsel” and the list goes on.
The gospel is different. In Jesus there is freedom and new life from whatever was before. There is a new day that has dawned because of King Jesus, and He’s offering it to each and every one who says yes.
If things don’t add up, come to the one who said “it is finished!”
by Joel V Webb | Apr 9, 2024 | Uncategorized
A Synthesis and Review of J. Richard Middleton’s Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God
One of the buzzwords in our culture is that of “deconstructing”, where those of usually Christian faith begin a process of tearing down their beliefs and usually becoming atheistic. What has led to this phenomena that has grabbed a hold of many, especially in the younger generations? While there are many who go down various tracts of talking about various elements of spiritual abuse, toxic environments, bad theology and hypocrisy (all of which are reasons why people are deconstructing) one that many seem to be forgetting to address is that of the problem of pain and evil.
Much of the time, in our world full of brokenness and pain, we look at the problems and issues before us, and seem to get frozen in a state of knowing what to do. Much of our evangelical western Christian culture has given us the view that in the face of pain and suffering we are to unquestioningly respond that “God knows”, and while we may be with people through their pain and suffering, it doesn’t really go beyond that. This at least for me was the way and method of dealing with pain and suffering. “Don’t show your emotion, just swallow the tears, be stone faced and know God has it in the end” Obviously, for someone on the pastoral track, that is not a very good way to conduct pastoral care!
What is the Biblical example when it comes to pain and suffering? I have recently read J. Richard Middleton’s book called Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God which deals with this very question. While it is a more academic work and goes deep into the text, I still find it is very accessible for the regular reader.
Middleton proposes, as I have come to agree with him; that our response to God in the face of suffering is very different from the characters in Scripture. Before we break down what this response is, let’s look at a couple direct examples and see if we can notice the response to God.
Psalm 10:1, Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Psalm 39:4, “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
Exodus 31:11-12, But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.
Job 15:11, God has turned me over to the ungodly, and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
These are just a couple examples of many throughout the Old Testament (though they are in the New as well) of people during times of pain and/or lament, and their response is to question or push back to God as to why it is happening. Why is this important? Because the idea of pushing back or questioning God goes right to the heart of His reason for creation. God wanted a family, people like Him who could know and love Him. How does one get to know another person? Through dialogue, understanding what motivates them, and through that there is understanding and relationship.
This is where I will again recommend checking out Middleton’s book, as he elaborates this concept much more thoroughly than I ever could. It is masterful, and goes to the heart of God’s desire to know each one of us, and lays out how through our lamenting and questioning God, He meets us in that.
For our modern day what is this to look like? Firstly, in the face of suffering and pain we should go to God. But how we go to God may need to look a little different. In Hebrews we are encouraged to, “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV). Do we press in and ask God the what and why of what is going on? Do we recite who we know He is, and ask at this time why it is happening? It is in these times of suffering that God can draw near to us. Instead of being settled with “accepting the pain”, do we press into who God is, questioning what is going on.
Having this perspective could drastically change our interaction with pain and suffering in the world around us. If we had the response to pain as our default, would the answers we give as to why there is pain and suffering be more satisfying for those potentially deconstructing? It wouldn’t be a 100% bet, but it would provide a response that is Biblically grounded, and allows us to comprehend the reality of suffering and evil.
by Joel V Webb | Mar 29, 2024 | Uncategorized
Good Friday…a seemingly paradoxical kind of day. One that
represents suffering, pain and death. For us as humans,
disillusionment, fear, betrayal and cowardice. What can be good about
this day?
Of course having the
knowledge of the end of the matter, that answer seems easy. But put
yourselves in the shoes of someone who really didn’t or couldn’t
of known what was happening. This day, when Jesus was brutalized,
beaten and crucified seemed like a complete and utter defeat. All
hopes being dashed and destroyed in but a few hours.
This day, Good
Friday had been preceded by thousands of years of broken human
history of pain, suffering, injustice and sin as humanity did what it
does best; trying to make our own way instead of following God’s.
What we see on this day was the answer to all of that. The story is
an amazing one. How God chose a special people to reveal Himself to
the world be living differently. But even that was not enough because
they often failed and became captive to the very things they were
supposed to show others there was a different way.
The many sacrifices
that allowed temporary fellowship between God and man were now
complete. The promised One who would crush the serpent’s head
accomplished His mission.
If you don’t know
the story, check it out. See what lengths that God has gone to
reconnect with His beloved creation.
While we do have the
joy of resurrection ahead, that does not mean now on this Friday we
can’t lament and acknowledge the pain we all feel and suffer. And
yet, in that pain there is the torn veil. At the moment of Christ’s
death, the symbol of separation was broken to now show the way is
open, and we can now go boldly before our King, friend and Savior!
On this Good Friday,
let us all be thankful for the greatest gift of love that any of us
can and ever will receive. Salvation and forgiveness of sins that
comes from Jesus on the cross.
by Joel V Webb | Mar 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
Death and taxes.
It’s a quippey pretty well known phrase for the reality an inevabilitu of both things. Right now tax season in the USA is coming up in a few weeks. And we just entered Holy Week, as we prepare the remember in solemnity the death of Christ on the cross, and then celebrate His resurrection.
Death is a reality. One that will come to each and every one of us. The last week I’ve considered the reality of this, not just because of Easter. But also because someone who was a friend died, passing from this life to be with the Lord.
Do we consider death?
At times my mind has been captured in the wondering thought of what death actually is. It’s something that whole our culture tries to deny we think about it, but I think many suffer in thinking about it in silence. We try to put out the inevitable reality that death comes for us all.
In my mind this became evident during the pandemic. Many in our culture mentally and emotionally broke at the stark confrontation that death is a reality. We have taken Death, and that it happens and shoved it in a back room, trying to sanitize and forget it so we can go on living our lives.
Thankfully, I don’t think about Death a lot normally. But I think we all should have a healthy understanding of it. Not to live in fear or apprehension, but to actually live life as it was intended…
Knowing that there is more than the here and now.
While for much of human history we have either idealized Death as a way to be remembered, or taken it as something to totally fear.
What Christ does is He gives us ultimate hope and victory in the face of it. Our final enemy is actually defeated. It’s sting has been taken, and it’s finality has been revered for those who trust and giver their entire allegiance to Christ and love their lives for Him.
This is not for the sake of moping around saying, “I’m gonna die, just waiting around while I plan my funeral”, or joyfully going into every deathly situation stupidly. What it means for us, because of the gospel that we can look death right in the face, know that we are in the hands of the King, creator, savior of the entire universe with the ultimate hope and promise that even after we die, it will be reversed in resurrection and we will indeed live again
So as we move into this Easter season, remember and consider the cross. The brutal reality of what it meant, and the impending death that Jesus was aware of from the beginning of His ministry. Remember that death comes for us all…but it doesn’t end there
The cross changes everything. There is resurrection life in Christ
by Joel V Webb | Mar 20, 2024 | Uncategorized
Has it ever happened to you, in the middle of a conversation
someone jumps in at exactly the wrong moment, and without the context of the
last few minutes, hears a line that on its own sounds really bad? I could be
talking with someone about their computer not working and say “did you try
unplugging it and giving it a kick?”, but at that moment a person joins the
conversation, and not knowing things I’m talking about a person and is horrified. This example
is a bit silly, and probably unrealistic, but it illustrates the point. Context
is key in understanding not just what someone is saying, but why as well.
Often times when we read 1 Timothy 2:11-15, we walk away
with the conclusion that Paul is saying women can’t preach in church, and then
infer from that women can’t be pastors. Seems like a simple reading of the
text, right? But what about why Paul is writing these specific words to
Timothy?
I will be summarizing several thoughts from Marg Mowczko,
who wrote a fascinating post about the connection to Gnostic literature and
this passage. (I will also link the full post at the bottom of this one).
We know that Gnosticism was one of the primary heresies that
was plaguing the early church. Gnosticism comes from the Greek work gnosis
meaning knowledge. Within this heresy it was believed that a person could received
secret knowledge from God that superseded the teachings of Jesus. This was
often used to promote either strict asceticism, or be the foundation for living
immorally. What is fascinating is that some of the gnostic literature has been
recovered, and reveals that one of the key components was perverted teachings
when it comes to the story of Adam & Eve. Often in these gnostic
narratives, Eve was elevated as the first, and often as the teacher, and
superior to Adam (specific quotations from these writings are found in the
linked blog post from Marg).
So what is the connection?
Textual evidence (1 Tim. 1:3–7; 2:5, 15; 4:1–4, 7; 6:20) and
writings from Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Eusebius suggest that one of the primary
issues faced by Timothy in the city of Ephesus was dealing with Gnosticism. As
we know Paul’s letters were usually written in response to problems facing
these churches of the recipients, it is very likely that Paul is addressing elements
of gnostic teachings in this letter. This would address why Paul writes specifically
about women teaching, and why he lays out the Biblical account of Adam & Eve
as a means of correcting the error being taught by the Gnostic.
What do we do with this?
We know that Paul was writing in context, addressing
specific issues in the church. The problem was not that women as a whole were
teaching. It seems that because of wrong gnostic teaching, women felt superior and
justified in supplanting men in ministry on the whole. Because of other
evidence in Paul’s writings, and the affirmation of women in position of
teaching in home churches, the writings specifically in 2 Timorthy, and in
other areas like 1 Corinthians are addressing issues of order and false
teaching, rather than a general ban on women in ministry.
Again, I hope you will check out Marg’s post specifically on
this topic as she covers it much more in depth.
https://margmowczko.com/adam-and-eve-in-gnostic-literature/
.png)
.png)
.png)