Conviction, Compassion, & Compromise

The Church is to Show Conviction and Compassion Without Compromise. Revelation 2:12-17

Introduction One of the negatives of the internet is that famous quotes have become lost and almost untrustworthy. I recently saw a quote that said, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet," attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Any line quoted often enough will get misattributed throughout the years. That’s true of this quote: “The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” It comes from a character in an 1893 Chicago Evening Post column about a fictional Irish bartender named Mr. Dooley. Since then, it has been applied to everything from its original context of journalism to the role of education, the role of the church, the role of the politician, and the role of art. It has had such enduring appeal primarily because it describes the strange ability of some things to both hurt and heal, comfort and discomfort, calm and distress people in different circumstances. This quote describes the balance of conviction and compassion.

Historically, the church and the church in America have been challenged to balance convictions and compassion. There is a fine line between maintaining biblical convictions and biblical compassion. We struggle with that balance. Rick Warren diagnoses and comments on this problem: "Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense." You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate. And you don't have to compromise compassion to have convictions.

In this letter, the church at Pergamum (Perg-a-mum) is reminded about the importance of convictions, compassion, and compromise. This reminder is as needed today as it was back then. Revelation 2:12-17

Revelation 2:12–17 ESV

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Scriptural Analysis VERSES 12-13 Pergamum, a sophisticated city and center of Greek culture and education, boasted a 200,000-volume library that was second only to the famous library in Alexandria, Egypt. It was an educated, famous, and prosperous city with up to 200,000 citizens. There is some evidence of a Jewish community at Pergamum, but it was a strongly pagan city. The city was a central hub for the imperial cult. It was famous for the giant altar of Zeus, which was 120 by 112 feet and overlooked the city. Some have suggested that this is the background for “Satan’s throne” in this verse, as the Zeus altar included sculptures of serpents. Within two decades of John writing this letter, an additional cult temple was dedicated in Pergamum.

The opening of the proclamation to Pergamum connects the letter back to the opening vision of Christ in chapter 1, depicting him as the one who carries a sharp sword. This sets the context of the letter in two ways. First, as the remainder of the book reveals, Christ will conquer Satan with that sword. Second, Christ announces the use of the sword against heretical individuals associated with the church unless they repent.

One of their number, a faithful witness to the gospel named Antipas, had made the great sacrifice of being put to death. While believers in other places might have buckled in the face of such pressure, Christ complimented the believers who did not renounce their faith in Him.

VERSES 14-15 The church in Pergamum apparently had the opposite problem of the Ephesian church. Rather than testing and rejecting false teachers, they had uncritically accepted people who held to the teaching of Balaam (Ba-lum). The risen Lord unleashes stinging criticism of them and the teachings of the Nicolaitans (Nico-lay-tans). The book of Numbers tells the strange incident of Balaam and Barak. Balaam, a prominent ancient figure, is also attested outside the Bible, was from Babylonia. Balak, king of Moab, tried to get Balaam to lay a curse on the Israelites. Other nations could not destroy Israel, but Balaam knew that if he could subvert their morals, God would withdraw his blessing and judge them. Balaam’s advice led the people of Israel to worship idols and indulge in immoral practices. So, he became the first biblical example of a teacher who persuaded the people to abandon God and worship idols. God judged Israel, but Balaam, who acted with mercenary motives, also lost his life. “Sexual immorality” may be meant literally here, or it may refer, as often in the Old Testament prophets, to spiritual infidelity against God. Either way, Balaam was a significant figure who represented the idea of compromising one's commitment to God.

The Nicolaitans were Christians who had compromised their faith in order to enjoy the sinful pleasures of their society and to be able to burn incense on the altar to the emperor to avoid the penalty for not doing so. Their sin was in compromising their faith in the world. They thought the best policy was to peacefully coexist and go along with Roman society so as to be left alone. But such compromise could only dilute their faith; thus, Christ said it could not be tolerated.

VERSES 16-17 So, to summarize, some believers in Pergamum were tolerating falsehood by teaching that the violation of the conscience or God's Word is perfectly all right when it conflicts with the culture. Christ responds vehemently, I will have none of this. In view of their deficiency, Christ calls the church to repent. Because their error is toleration and following of false teachers, repentance will involve excising the offending teachers and stamping out the influence of such teaching within the church.

They must repent, recognizing and forsaking their sins, just as their Ephesus friends must. The penalty will be severe for those who do not. I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. The distinction between you and them is important here. The Balaam-like teachers and Nicolaitans are not truly part of the people of God, even though they have succeeded in infiltrating the church.

For Christians in Pergamum, to “overcome” means to continue steadfast in the face of opposition, but especially to stand against teachings of compromise with the world and to do their best to purge such teachings from their ranks. To those who overcome, Jesus promises both the “hidden manna” and a “white stone with a new name written on it." These are two different symbols for eternal life: the first Jewish and the second Gentile. The ancient Israelites had “hidden” a pot of their divinely given bread, Manna, in their ark of the covenant. Jewish tradition held that this manna had been miraculously preserved for the arrival of the Messiah. In the ancient pagan world, special white stones were often used as admission tickets for public festivals. Possessing a stone with a special name, “Jesus,” serving to certify the stone as genuine, means that admission to heaven is absolutely sure for believers in Christ.

Each of the seven proclamations to the churches concludes with a call to hear what the Spirit has spoken through Christ’s words. This formula shows that what the Spirit speaks to one church, he speaks to all the churches, including us today.

TODAY'S KEY TRUTH The Church is to Show Conviction and Compassion Without Compromise. Application Once we move past the particulars of the situation in Pergamum, the issue of compromise becomes evident. Although the issue of persecution is central to Revelation, those who emphasize that the book as a whole warns against compromise as a means of assimilation with the world are also correct. As one scholar notes, “The Apocalypse of John has pastoral relevance in any context where Christian assimilation into a culture with non-Christian ethics is an issue.” In other words, we should be careful to distinguish between appropriate interaction with culture and compromise with it.

As a first-century missionary, Paul had appropriate interaction as he readily spoke the language of his culture, adapting, for instance, Stoic models to promote his case in Romans 1. Paul had friends who were high-ranking citizens regularly involved in pagan civic religion (Acts 19). Jeremiah told the exiles to seek the good of the land where God had placed them (Jeremiah 29). But we need to make sure that we are influencing the world with the kingdom’s values, not embracing the world’s values where they conflict with those of the kingdom.

At some level, the seven churches in Revelation advocated for a peaceful co-existence with the pagan society by participating in the Roman Civil religion. Revelation called these churches to wake up to the reality that the world and the church were locked in a fight to the death and that the church could “overcome” only by rising to the battle and risking martyrdom in its uncompromising witness for Christ.

The first letter, you remember, was written to Ephesus, the church that left its first love. The second letter was written to Smyrna, the persecuted church. This letter is written to a compromising church. This church is beginning to be linked inseparably to the world. This church has decided that it can maintain some kind of Christian credibility and also associate itself with the sins of the culture. Pergamum is a picture of any church that courts the world and embraces cultural values and morals. The church at Pergamum is a picture of any believer, any Christian who compromises the world.

Pergamum was compromising the church. Pergamum was a church comprised of Gentiles who had been converted from paganism. They had, no doubt, been converted to Christ, and there was some great transformation, but times have changed, and they have now gone back and picked up some of their pagan habits. They have merged back into the world and are in danger of the judgment of the Lord. Disaster is looming on the horizon.

In short, when we value what the world does instead of valuing the kingdom, we compromise our role as witnesses for Christ’s kingdom in this world. Too much of Western Christianity has become indistinguishable from our culture. Too much of our “evangelistic” effort is really just the church persuading the world that we are acceptable because we are just like them. If we affirm what the world affirms, or, more often, live as the world lives, then what conversation do we invite them into that differs from what they already experience? You can never correct an error or sin by compromising with it. Yes, we want to reach out in love. Yes, we want to bring in unbelievers to hear the truth of Christ, experience our love, and experience our kindness and graciousness. But the church should never give a false security that every behavior is ok, everyone is safe, and everybody will be saved one day and in Heaven. Compromise is so serious that Christ says stop it, now. Sin is sin. If God has defined something as sin, our opinion doesn't matter. The danger of following your own opinion is that you will inadvertently lose sight of the actual truth. The word of God is the standard of right and wrong. Your opinion is not. If the Bible says something is wrong, it is wrong.

Through the media, we are constantly bombarded by various individuals' opinions, ideas, views, and beliefs, from the man in the street to leaders of nations. As public opinion changes, lawmakers and judges create and adjust laws that reflect people’s opinions about morality and impact how people interact with each other. The world's values and morals change more often than the direction of the wind.

Rejection of the Bible as the basis of all authority, even by the majority as is the case in most Western nations, in no way invalidates the truths in God’s Word. Some people say they accept the Bible but reject certain sections because the contents do not agree with their personal beliefs. This approach is unacceptable to God. “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:10-11). There has to be an unchanging, true, and right standard. That is God's Word.

The Church is to Show Conviction and Compassion Without Compromise. Conclusion We might become discouraged by the letters to the seven churches. They tell the truth about the sinful, challenged, seemingly weak state of the churches. On the other hand, the vision of the risen Christ in Revelation shows that Jesus is standing among the churches, holding the angels of the churches in his right hand, attending to their well-being, and possessing all glory, power, and authority. A repeated refrain throughout these letters is the promise to “the one who overcomes/conquers:" a reminder to the churches that they are called to persevere and that there are rewards awaiting them for faithfulness. Before the book’s vivid descriptions of even greater persecution and destruction to come, this refrain is a reminder that it is possible to persevere by the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit. These churches are like ours today; many of them are struggling, and some are even on the brink of total extinction. John urges them and us to persevere and not to fall away. Those who overcome and remain faithful to God will dwell with God for eternity in the new heavens and earth. John writes to remind the Church of this great truth.

When you read about all seven churches, you come to the conclusion that good churches have two characteristics: conviction and compassion.

There is a calling in our lives as Christians and as a church to demonstrate compassion toward one another and our neighbors. We are called to “put on” compassion as part of our identity in Christ. To have compassion means to empathize with someone who is suffering and to feel compelled to reduce their suffering. Good churches do practice compassion. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Colossians 3:12 says, "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Compassion is a “display of concern over another’s misfortune.” The body of Christ should be a place where you can arrive and have those in the body surround you with love, care, concern, and understanding. Churches should be a place that welcomes and restore you like an oasis. Compassionate churches are where the hurting can restore and rejuvenate their spiritual life. Our new mission statement, Loving God, Loving Each Other, Loving Fayetteville, is built on compassion.

We should have compassion for the hurt people have experienced by both the sins of others and their own sins. We all have been hurt by the sins of others, and we have been hurt by the consequences of our own sins. Christians aren't better than anyone else. We are as fallen, sinful, and hurt as the world around us. That reality should inform and inspire our compassion. Good churches are compassionate, and they won't compromise on being compassionate.

The Church is to Show Conviction and Compassion Without Compromise.

The best churches are those that practice compassion tethered to the truth of God’s Word. They have compassion and conviction. A “conviction” is a concrete belief or stance from which the church or individual believer will not sway despite the repercussions or changes in the world’s social climate.

Our conviction of the realization that Jesus makes the needed change in lives should be our primary focus. The justification of us by and through the finished work of Christ creates a conviction toward growth and greater sanctification. The process of our sanctification leads to greater convictions and a greater desire to be separate from the world. Conviction, by its mere definition, denotes a staunch and adamant belief that will not be compromised. As individual believers and as a church, we must be on guard in this increasingly sinful world from the eroding of our convictions. Our core conviction is the sole reliance on Jesus Christ for salvation and not our own understanding. Worldly thinking results in worldly compromise, and our churches cannot afford it. The church is called to have biblical conviction without compromise.

The Church is to Show Conviction and Compassion Without Compromise.

Of course, this call to be people of conviction and compassion without compromise isn't just to the church as a whole. It is to all of us as individuals. We are to have conviction about God's Word. We are to have compassion by understanding that all of humanity, ourselves included, is fallen, sinful, and hurt. We are to do both without compromise. That is the defining example of Christ. He not only taught about living a life of conviction and compassion without compromise, He lived it. He held his followers and religious leaders to God's standards. He also had compassion for the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, and every sinner He encountered. And he never compromised God's Word. He is the example. Jesus showed conviction and compassion without compromise. So should we.

The Church is to Show Conviction and Compassion Without Compromise.