by Joel V Webb | Jul 8, 2024 | Uncategorized
An image that is used in Scripture, and by extension preaching is the idea of being pruned. When a plant grows, sometimes the way that it is growing does not contribute, but actually takes away from the fruit production of the plant. Jesus talked a lot about the fruit we produce, and it’s importance for the Kingdom. We know for all of us that there may be things (even if they are good) that need to be pruned and removed so that we can actually be the most fruitful.
This principle is pretty accepted across the board as part of Christian growth, and can be applied not just to individuals, but to organizations like churches and denominations as well. The message of the Gospel never changes. And sometimes the structure, organization or method that we proclaim that message needs to be modified or adapted to be more effective. Cut off the excess to bear more fruit. This is normal and expected. As the world around us changes so do the methods and way things look.
But this is not always the case. We often ask the question (personally or corporately), “there’s not a lot of fruit, so there needs to be pruning”, or similarly ask, “things seem really small and cut back, maybe were preparing for fruit!” And these certainly could be legitimate. We could be in a season where things have been hacked back to prepare for new growth that will bear fruit. But sometimes things being small is not because of pruning…it can be because of rot.
Something my pastor has said before, “we often say if there is opposition that it must be the enemy. But we never ask the question, what if it is God?” WHAT? How could God be the one opposing us if we are His people? Very simply, He will if we are not bearing the message of the Gospel and representing His Kingdom.
If we (individually or corporately) acting as ambassadors of Christ’s Kingdom do so in a way that actually harms, abuses and hurts people, do we think that the Lord would support that? Yes, He is long suffering and great in His mercy. AND THANK HIM FOR THAT!! Because we all need His mercy. But even Israel was eventually judged for their injustice and evil committed.
There are sadly so many examples of churches that while bearing Christ’s name have used it to domineer, control and tell people what to do. These places are hiding holes for spiritual, emotional and sexual abuse. And while many of these organizations had their hayday (IBLP etc…) the abuse and fruit become evident very quickly. When people start leaving when they realize what is going on the response often inside these organizations is just like the false prophets of the Old Testament who opposed any message that was not positive.
I recently heard such a message from an organization I am very familiar with that has demonstrated many of these qualities. Their message will often be “God is pruning us so we can be ready to bear fruit!!!” The expectation of some kind of revival around the corner that will fill their seats because they are small.
Is this a possibility? It could be. But we also need to ask, could it be for the other reason that instead of being pruned we are actually rotting? Have we, or I for so long refused to look at the truth of what is going on around me and am sadly self-deceived into thinking whats actually happening is God preparing to move through us, rather than against us?
I ultimately believe that God is for us, and He loves us. Scripture makes that abundantly clear. And, He also opposes those who oppresses and hurt the helpless, and misrepresent His name. So it is a possibility that it could be God allowing the fruit of out tree to bloom to show other to steer clear. As Jesus said, “you shall know them by their fruit” (Matt. 7:15-20).
What can we or should we do? We should all pray and ask the Lord to open our eyes through His Holy Spirit to the blind spots in our lives. If pride or deception has blinded me it is impossible to see on my own. I need the help of the Holy Spirit, through my brothers and sisters in Christ to lovingly tell me where I have erred and where there is rot, so I can subject it to the loving work of Jesus to change and transform.
This can happen in a corporate setting as well. It is and will be painful if it ever happens at all, but it is worth the pain because of the gain in Jesus.
I humbly pray this for myself, and for all of us to know the one who took our place.
DV
by Joel V Webb | Mar 19, 2024 | Uncategorized
I think this is a phrase we usually hear about “keeping the
gospel central”. But what does it actually mean? It becomes more complicated
because our modern world offers a plethora of frameworks and methods of dissecting
and understanding the world around us.
The two that we seem to see the most of is fundamentalism
and progressivism. While they initially seemed opposite of one another, ironically,
they are the opposite sides of the same coin. Both ideologies seek to make the
answers for life a two-dimensional world where there is a canned answer for
everything. One side says “obey everything”, the other side says “tear down
everything”. I know that the reality is more nuanced, but that tends to be the
basics. Both want to uphold an unrealistic reality that fulfills the clinical
need for certainty and making everything black and white. The other aspect is
that fear is often the primary motivator to keep people in line. The
consequence is either being “damned to hell, or missing God’s best”, and on the
other side is being cancelled, or called something like a racist, colonizer or
the plethora of other progressive slurs used to keep people in line.
What are we to do? Neither side really answers the need for
direction and an answer to the problems we face.
This is where the centrality of the cross comes in. The growing
divides that we see can only be answered and bridged through Christ and His
atoning work. This is not to say we can simply say “Jesus has it handled” as the
way to deal with problems. Being a follower of Christ means we do the work, and
walk the walk. What it does mean is “He canceled the record of
the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”
(Col 2:14 NLT).
Now that we are new and alive in Christ,
the sin we were held to is now the past. Instead of being held in fear or not
qualifying, or not being inclusive enough, we are to love as Christ does for
us. How do we know we love Christ? By loving those who love us, and even more
importantly those who hate us. That is what the gospel does to transform us. It
enables us to love those we could never want to love, because Christ loved them
first.
This can get messy. But that’s kind of the
point. What loving others looks like will not always fit into the neat boxes of
fundamentalism, and it will still speak the truth of sin which is contrary to
progressivism. The way of Christ is the middle way that may seem complicated to
our human understanding. But what it does confounds our ways of thinking, and
through the Holy Spirit, passes the defenses we put up and can open even the
most hardened heart to their need for new life in Jesus.
If the gospel that we preach does not make us
love like Jesus, then its not really the Gospel. Love and truth go hand in
hand, and if separated from one another is actually lost. Focusing only on truth
makes you abrasive, legalistic and frankly kind of a jerk. Only focusing on
love loses the salt of distinction we are to have, not really believing anything and leads us to not really
loving people because they would still be found in the sin Christ came to
forgive them from.
But it is at the cross that truth and love
and complete. And that is the tension that we as Christ’s followers have to
walk in. That can only be done through the help of the Holy Spirit. It is hard,
and I certainly don’t do it perfectly. But it is a journey worth taking to see
our broken and hurting world transformed by the truth of love that is found in
the centrality of the cross.
by Joel V Webb | Feb 22, 2024 | Uncategorized
One of my favorite songs
of all time is In Christ Alone written by the Getty’s. In its last verse
comes a very rousing theme of being secure in Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear
in death—
This is the pow’r of
Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to
final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no
scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His
hand;
Till He returns or calls
me home—
Here in the pow’r of
Christ I’ll stand.
“No power of hell, no
scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand.” In a previous church context I
was a part of I was told we could not sing that 4th verse because of that
particular line which struck the pastor as “too reformed” for his comfort, and to
not have to deal with whatever issues would come from a line like that, we
could sing all the verses but that one.
I sadly didn’t push back
more at that time. I should have. Unfortunately in our day and age the concept
of perseverance of the saints has been relegated by many to be only a doctrine
of the Reformed tradition. I argue it is not. While the Wesleyan Arminian take
on the doctrine may be somewhat different, the core element is the same. If we
are found in Christ, we are secure in Him. This thought is directly talked of
in Romans 8:38b-39, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell
can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth
below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the
love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing is ever able to
take us from God’s hand. If we remain in Christ then we are secure in Him. Of
course, we can choose to walk out of His hand if we so choose. The question can
then be raised, “what does it mean to be found in Christ?” Simply put it can be
asked, Am I, having recognized the truth of the gospel, that Jesus alone is my
hope for salvation by His death and resurrection and no works of my own,
and through the enabling power of His Holy Spirit I am living as a
representative of Christ and His Kingdom, allegiant to Him alone. If the answer
is yes to that question, truly and honestly then you are found in Christ.
How does this look in
practice? We are all human. We suffer and struggle with the reality of our
fallen humanity. Maybe there is a habit that we have desperately been asking
the Lord to break in us. Does that mean I am not saved if I stumble and fall?
The question is, like King David after his sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah:
do I remain loyal to the Lord alone? Unlike the other Kings in Israel’s history
before their captivity, they would start worshiping other idols. Even though
David horrifically sinned, he remained loyal to God.
So as we look at our own
lives, we may have times where we stumble and fall (I certainly have in my
past). But, if we remain loyal to Christ, pursuing Him and getting back up
again with His help we will be found in Him and persevere no matter what comes against
us. No power of hell, or scheme of man can ever pluck us from His hand!
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