Revelation Chapter Two part 2
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Pergamum is located on a sharp rugged hill rising 1,000 feet above the surrounding plain. The acropolis, which is visible from a great distance, is accessible only from the southern slope. These geographical features create an ideal site for a fortress. With its public buildings built on terraces on a steep hillside and multiple temples as part of its acropolis, Pergamum was one of the most beautiful cities during the Hellenistic era.
The Hellenistic era brought significant population and prosperity to Pergamum. Along with the nearby city of Ephesus, it became an important Hellenistic center in Asia Minor. From 263–133 BC, Pergamum was the capital of the Attalid Empire. Most of the monumental architecture and fortifications visible on the acropolis belong to this era of the Attalid kings.
Pergamum held religious, cultural, and economic significance. It was a typical Hellenistic city, with a fortified wall, gates, towers, citadel, palaces, water system, baths, storage buildings, agora, theatre, library, odeon, and gymnasium.
The city had numerous temples dedicated to Greek deities (Athena, Zeus, Dionysius, Asclepius, Hera, Demeter, and Persephone) as well as Egyptian deities (Serapis, Isis, and Harpocrates). There may have been others as well, but some are difficult to identify due to a lack of dedicatory inscriptions. The Pergamum patron deities, whose attributes appeared on the city’s coinage, included Athena, Zeus, Dionysius, and Asclepius.
The temple to Athena (Athena Nikephoros, “Victory-Bearer”) located next to the theatre was perhaps the most important religious site for the city, as she is part of the mythology of Pergamum’s origins. Attalid kings credited Athena for their military victories and named her the city’s patron goddess in the manner of Athens. The monumental gate (propylon) of the sanctuary of Athena has been restored and is displayed in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin.
The sanctuary of Zeus was a close second in significance. The great altar to honor Zeus was built under Eumenes II and Attalus II. The altar was identified on the acropolis during the first archaeological excavation of the city in 1878 (German Archaeological Institute). It would have been the most visible monument to people approaching the city across the valley. The altar is preserved in remarkably good condition and displayed in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin. Its decorations depict scenes from a battle between Olympian gods and the giants, as well as scenes from the life of Telephus, the city’s legendary founder.
The temple of Dionysius, patron god of arts and theatre, is located next to the theatre and is among the best preserved ruins of ancient Pergamum. The original sanctuary from the time of Eumenes II was redesigned under the reign of Emperor Caracalla (AD 198–217).
The Asclepion—the shrine of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing—was built in the lower city during the Roman period. Most of the buildings visible there today belong to the rebuilding that took place in the second century AD. However, the cult of Asclepius at Pergamum dates back to about 350 BC, when it was introduced from Epidaurus in Greece (Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.26.8). The Asclepion functioned as a combined sanctuary, spa, and hospital. This ancient medicinal destination was second only to the one at Epidaurus, and its numerous healing pools, sacred spring, and mud treatments attracted pilgrims, visitors, and patients from a great distance—including the emperor. So popular was the cult of Asclepius in Pergamum that the serpent, the symbol of Asclepius, became one of the emblems of the city.
The famous rhetorician Aurelius Aristides (born AD 118), a frequent patient at the Asclepion, wrote of its treatment practices—primarily of diet, exercise, and hot and cold baths. He also recorded some cultic practices, such as “incubation,” in which a patient slept in the sanctuary with the hope of receiving a dream in which Asclepius would give instructions for a cure. Priests stood ready to interpret the dreams and suggest cures. Live snakes may have been used as part of the healing cult, as indicated in inscriptions from Epidaurus.
Galen (AD 129–216), a prominent figure in the history of ancient Western medicine, was born in Pergamum and practiced medicine there. He became an expert on anatomy through caring for gladiators and dissecting pigs and primates. Galen studied at Smyrna, Alexandria, and Corinth, and served as physician to the emperors Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Septimus Severus (Yamauchi, The Archaeology, 49).
Cultural Importance
Pergamene rulers were generous patrons of art, philosophy, athletics, rhetoric, and science. King Attalus I in particular was an avid collector of paintings and sculptures; pieces from his personal collection were displayed across the acropolis (Wilson, Biblical Turkey, 279). The sculptural friezes of the altar of Zeus and the figure of a Dying Gaul are some of the finest examples of Pergamene style (Bean, Aegean Turkey, 71).
The gymnasium, which was built under the reign of Eumenes II and reconstructed during the Roman rule, was one of the most impressive buildings in Pergamum and one of the best preserved from antiquity. It was built on three terraces: the upper terrace for young men, the middle terrace for adolescent boys, and the lower terrace for children. The athletic activities held there included discus and javelin throwing, jumping, wrestling, boxing, weight lifting, and ball playing (Cimok, Pergamum, 58).
On the hillside of the acropolis is a steep Greek theatre with 80 rows of seats that would have accommodated up to 10,000 spectators. The current structure is from the time of Eumenes II, but the foundations of the theatre date to the third century BC.
Remains of the only Roman amphitheatre (theatre on both sides) built in Asia Minor were found in the lower city. This amphitheatre was the site of gladiatorial games and nautical reenactments. It was also a site of some second-century Christian martyrdoms (Wilson, Biblical Turkey, 293; Cimok, Pergamum, 93).
The library established by King Eumenes II (197–159 BC) held an estimated 200,000 volumes and was second only to that of Ptolemy Philadelphus in Alexandria. The Ptolemies and the Attalids had a considerable rivalry over the collecting of books. It is unclear whether the building visible on the acropolis could have held the reported 200,000 volumes, suggesting there may have been other storage locations. After the destruction of Alexandrian library, Mark Anthony took the contents of the Pergamene library as a gift to Cleopatra in Alexandria in about 40 BC. The books likely survived there until the seventh century, when Caliph Omar ordered them to be destroyed (Bean, Aegean Turkey, 75).
The main products of the city and its surrounding areas were agriculture, produce, livestock, silver, ceramics, woolen textiles, and—most famously—parchment. In fact, parchment may have gotten its name from Pergamum, its major site of production. Pliny reports that parchment was invented here under the patronage of King Eumenes II as a substitute for papyrus, which was in short supply—likely due to Ptolemy V of Egypt’s cutting off papyrus exports to Asia in response to the rivalry of the Alexandrian and Pergamum libraries (Pliny, Natural History, 13.11). Additionally, papyrus prices soared after over-harvesting of the papyrus plant in Egypt limited its availability. Pergamene charta (hence, “parchment”) became a popular alternative. Although it was expensive, it could be inscribed on both sides, thus offering more space for writing.
Literary sources from as early as 60 BC attest to a Jewish presence in Pergamum. The city is mentioned among those who sent gold to the temple of Jerusalem (Josephus, Antiquities, 14.10.22). Archaeologists have also found a detail featuring a menorah, which indicates a Jewish presence. However, the location of the community’s synagogue is still unknown. John’s message to Pergamum assumes an audience with a deep knowledge of Jewish Scripture and traditions.
A Christian congregation in Pergamum has been present since the mid-first century AD. This community was likely an outgrowth of the ministry of the Apostle Paul, who stayed in the nearby Ephesus for three years (Acts 20:11). Pergamum would have been on Paul’s route from Ephesus to Alexandria Troas. With its moderate Jewish population at the time, it would have been a place worth visiting.
Christians at Pergamum experienced great pressure due to the city’s heavy focus on traditional Graeco-Roman religious life. The letter addressing the Pergamene church in the book of Revelation reflects this active persecution: They were under constant pressure to compromise their monotheistic convictions (Rev 2:13)—as apparently some did—to gain a more prosperous life and a better social status. The practices John mentions include eating meat sacrificed to idols and “fornication” (likely also a metaphor for idolatry; Rev 2:14). Both practices were sometimes necessary for full social and economic functioning in a Graeco-Roman society. Festivals held by trade guilds were part of city’s ordinary life and involved paying respect to the guilds’ patron deities. Refusal to participate would have resulted in economic and social marginalization, if not outright persecution.
The strong presence of the imperial cult was a greater source of difficulty for Christians in Pergamum. John likely references the persecution of Christians who would not worship the emperor when he calls Pergamum “Satan’s throne … where Satan lives” (Rev 2:13). He also mentions the martyrdom of Antipas and likely refers to Rome, whose governors held the power of capital punishment. The temple honoring divine Augustus and the statue of the goddess Roma in the sanctuary of Athena were the focal points of the imperial cult throughout Asia Minor. The imperial cult directly challenged Christianity, which forbids worship of any human other than Jesus as Lord and Savior (both used as titles of the emperor). Refusal to pay public homage to Caesar as a deity would have been considered not only irreligious but also treasonous (Beale, Revelation, 246; Charles, Revelation I, 61; see also Pliny, Epistles, 10.96).
An alternative proposal for the “Satan’s throne” is that John had in mind the great altar of Zeus. This interpretation is less likely, since Revelation seems to allude to Rome as the primary opponent to Christianity. The cults of the old Hellenistic deities were already declining in popularity and were much less threatening to Christians.
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
Jesus once again is writing to the pastor of a church this time in Pergamum. He begins the address by reveling part of his nature. He is the One who has the sharp two-edged sword.
Jesus is the Word of God and His words are true. All of Scripture carries the authority of God’s words because...
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
This description of Jesus as the one with the sword points to the tone of His second coming. Jesus is not coming as a servant but as a conquering King who slays beasts and destroys the wicked. This sword has two uses.
To defend: The encouragement to those following Jesus and holding fast to His name is that the Word of God offers comfort and promises of rest and eternity with God in glory. There is hope for those who trust in His name. To the Christian God’s word is a sword defending them against the attacks of the evil one. However, in this land of advanced medicine and surgery, God’s sword acts as a scalpel cutting away sin and sanctifying the Christian. This sword cuts through bone and marrow into the very depths of our soul.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The more we believe that God hurts only to heal, the less we can believe that there is any use in begging for tenderness. A cruel man might be bribed—might grow tired of his vile sport—might have a temporary fit of mercy, as alcoholics have fits of sobriety. But suppose that what you are up against is a surgeon whose intentions are wholly good. The kinder and more conscientious he is, the more inexorably he will go on cutting. If he yielded to your entreaties, if he stopped before the operation was complete, all the pain up to that point would have been useless. But is it credible that such extremities of torture should be necessary for us? Well, take your choice. The tortures occur. If they are unnecessary, then there is no God or a bad one. If there is a good God, then these tortures are necessary. For no even moderately good Being could possibly inflict or permit them if they weren’t. Either way, we’re for it. What do people mean when they say, ‘I am not afraid of God because I know He is good’? Have they never even been to a dentist? Yet this is unendurable. And then one babbles— ‘If only I could bear it, or the worst of it, or any of it, instead of her.’ But one can’t tell how serious that bid is, for nothing is staked on it. If it suddenly became a real possibility, then, for the first time, we should discover how seriously we had meant it. But is it ever allowed? It was allowed to One, we are told, and I find I can now believe again, that He has done vicariously whatever can be so done. He replies to our babble, ‘You cannot and you dare not. I could and dared.’ -C.S. Lewis
To attack: Jesus is ready to do away with sin. This sword is bringing freedom to the captives and justice to the oppressed. Jesus was riding into His creation in triumph, sword drawn, ready to deal out wrath against evil. For those who hate Christ, who hated the church, and who were killing Christians Jesus is bringing vengeance. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stopped Peter from taking up his sword. It wasn’t time for Jesus to do that yet. Instead He gave Himself willingly to be executed. Here we see it is time now. The responsibility of taking up arms and dealing out judgement on the world is not ours to have. Christ is the one with the sword. Our responsibility is to hold firm to truth and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
In a city filled with books and a city that invented parchment there is only one book that carries the weight and authority of God. Jesus tells us that hearing and doing the Word of God is like the wise man who built his house on the rock, and when the storms and waves came it stood firm. God’s word is an anchor for our souls. When we fail to be transformed by the Word of God and to stand firm on the truths of God’s word we set ourselves up for deception from false teachers and an attitude of apathy in following Christ.
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Pergamum was a difficult place to live. It was full of paganism, full of emperor worship, full of hostility towards Christians. Jesus says Pergamum is home to Satan’s throne and is where Satan dwells. You can imagine the weight of living in such an environment. There were some who were holding firm to the truth and it was costing them their lives. Antipas is named as one who had lost his life for the sake of the Gospel. This points to the sovereignty of the writer. John likely has no clue who Antipas was, but Jesus knows intimately. He sees our state. Not even Satan himself can hinder the sovereignty of God who sees and knows all things.
What does it look like to be a witness and faithful in our culture today?
Are we willing to hold fast to our testimony even if it means we lose everything?
What encouragement do you get from knowing Jesus sees and knows us wherever we may find ourselves?
‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
While some were holding firm to God’s word others were apathetic to it. They were tolerating false teachings and allowing idolatry to creep into the church and lead them astray. Jesus compares them to Israel from Numbers 22 and 23. While Israel wandered in the wilderness the Moabites saw their conquest and grew afraid because of how they had destroyed the Amorites. Balak paid Balaam, a prophet, to curse Israel. Balaam goes to do it and as the story goes his donkey talked back and forth with him about what he was doing until his eyes were opened and he saw the angel of the Lord right in front of him.
When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground. The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me. “But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.” Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.
This angel of the Lord is typically seen as a christophany. Certain times in the Old Testament we see this description of a messenger of God known as The angel of the Lord. He is different from all other angels. When people see Him and worship Him He does not stop them. When people see Him they walk away saying they have seen the face of God. This Angel of the Lord speaks on behalf of Yahweh as if He is Yahweh.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.” Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
Here we see the Angel of the Lord with a sword in His hand like how Jesus describes Himself in this letter to Pergamum.
So Balaam does what the Angel of the Lord commands and every time he goes to curse Israel he ends up blessing them. Because this plan doesn’t work and because the Moabite rulers are angry with him, to save his own life, he comes up with a plan b. Instead of cursing Israel, intermarry with them. Make them feel comfortable and at home in Moab. This caused Israel to take foreign wives for themselves and jump headlong into idolatry and Baal worship. Short story long, here in Pergamum we see the same thing. This church trying to survive in the wilderness is being drawn in and enticed by a culture that says you can worship God and indulge in the flesh and idolatry. When Israel should have been making war against Moab they were making love. While the church was meant to be making war against the spiritual darkness in Pergamum they were making love. For us today we are called to love people but to make war against sin and against the spiritual darkness that is killing our communities.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Balak put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, what are some stumbling blocks that cause us to fall here in America?
How do we fight against the schemes of the devil in a city that loves him?
‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’
Jesus offers them hidden manna: another call back to this time in the wilderness. It is a call to forsake the food sacrificed to idols, forsake the chains of idolatry and trust in the Bread of Life. Find sustenance in God and make your food doing the will of the Father.
Jesus offers a white stone. This stone could be a reference to invitations to feasts, voting on judicial preceding, a call back to priests, or even in Joshua 4 when the Israelites build an ebeneezer of stones after leaving the wilderness and entering into the promised land. Each understanding could be applied.
Invitation: A white stone is seen as the ticket to a feast. People attending the feast would show their stone as proof of invitation. This understanding continues to point to Christ’s offer of hidden manna. An invitation to forsake the food of idolatry and join in the wedding feast of the Lamb
Judgement: In a court hearing the council would use a black stone to tally a guilty verdict and a white stone to tally an innocent verdict. In giving a white stone Jesus is declaring faithful Christians innocent and justified in the eyes of God.
Presence: the high priest would wear stones on their breastplates and as they ministered in the temple and Holy place the names of Israel would be present with God.
“The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each according to his name for the twelve tribes.
Security: It could be this stone was symbolic like the stones of remembrance laid by God’s people after the crossed into Canaan. It was a marker remembering how God delivered them out of slavery, protected them in the wilderness, and brought them into the promised land. All of which are relevant to this audience. (Being set free from sin, persevering a wild culture, and being brought to their true home in heaven)
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Thyatira
THYATIRA (Θυάτειρα, Thyateira). A city in western Asia Minor; its church was one of the recipients of the letters in Revelation (Acts 16:14; Rev 2:18–29). Thyatira was also a significant center for wool trade, which sheds light on the Lydia’s trade involving purple dye in Acts 16:14–15.
Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
Thyatira is similar to Pergamum. Some of what they do is good but they struggle with the influence of the culture around them. Jesus reminds them of the intimate knowledge He has of their condition and He says His eyes are flames of fire and feet like burnished bronze. He is a firm foundation (strong feet), He is a refining fire (burning eyes) and His desire is to refine Thyatira.
The problem is that they have allowed this “Jezebel” to have influence, to claim authority in the church, and lead people astray. Is this Jezebel symbolic of women in leadership or women having opinions in the church? No. The first convert in Europe was a woman from Thyatira. The problem with this church isn’t women, it is this woman that is leading people in idolatry. Imagine going to church on Sunday and worshipping the Lord and having this woman say all these things about how God is this and that and then take a group of people to the temple to have sex and participate in temple orgies and sacrifices. This woman is a literal witch. She most likely participated in sorcery and divination at the temple of Apollo that was in the city.
‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
Christ is bringing judgment against her and her followers. Jesus warns the church to have nothing to do with her. She and her children (likely disciples of hers) will be destroyed so the church would see and understand who God is. He is the one who searches minds and hearts and deals out justice for deeds done.
How do we protect against Jezebels in our church today?
What is the danger of sexual sin in the church?
Do we take sexual sin seriously enough?
‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.
It was likely that these followers of Jezebel not only practiced these sins openly, they boasted that their understanding of faith was the better way. This open rebellion would no longer be tolerated. For us today there is a call to live holy lives. This call is not a burden but an invitation to come and find rest. Condemnation is for the unrepentant but grace is offered freely and abundantly to those who repent and call for forgiveness.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
My encouragement to you tonight is that if you are struggling with sexual sin Jesus offers freedom from addiction, and grace and mercy in the place of guilt and shame. You don’t have to struggle alone. We are in the midst of a porn epidemic and even though we may not have someone getting up in our church services and telling us its okay there is a large percentage of people struggling and dealing with the effects of porn use and we live in a culture that manipulates and distorts the beauty of God’s creation and trains us to see people as objects for our own sinful gratification.
How do we fight against pornography and sexual sin?
Its a battle for the heart
Its a battle for the mind
Its a battle for the hands
Sexual sin preys on our hearts, our insecurities and affections. It promises companionship while taking advantage of us. Satan knows if he has our hearts he can do whatever he wants with the rest of us. We need to be constantly transformed by the grace of God. His grace gives us a new heart. The Holy Spirit comes to make His home with us. Our hearts are spoken for. When we feel insecure we need to remember our security is in Christ. When we feel hurt or broken we need to remember Christ is our healer. Sexual sin is used to cope from trauma, hurts, past pains, but it doesn’t heal it only numbs. We become desensitized to the people around us and to their needs. When we only see people as objects we struggle to see them as how God sees them. It takes time, but a heart weary from the carnage of sexual sin needs to heal in the grace of Jesus.
Sexual sin preys on our minds. It actually rewires our brains to where we become dependent on those little hits of dopamine and adrenaline. Consistent pornography use actually rewires our brain to look like the brain of a heroin addict. It is incredibly harmful and damaging. Getting clean is a heart issue but also a brain issue. We need accountability and a strong support system to overcome something like this. It isn’t just a matter of willpower. There are neurons that need rewiring and that takes time and consistency. Thankfully Christ offers a way to rewire.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Consistent time with the Lord, processing past traumas, identifying triggers, setting up a support system, taking away opportunity to be tempted, all these things are great tools to use and have put in place. It takes great vulnerability to deal with sexual sin. Satan makes you feel perverted and broken, he makes you feel beyond repair, but no one is too far to where God cannot reach them.
Sexual sin preys on our hands. When we feel guilt and shame and when we are buried in sexual sin it makes everything we do feel tainted. Christ sets us free from guilt and shame. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Our hands are free to do the work of God. To do that they have to be empty. No more holding on to sin. Let it go. Take hold of Christ and His righteousness and hold tight knowing its Him who holds you close. When our hands are available we can serve sacrificially, give generously.
‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’