To the Church…Part 4: Compromised

Introduction

Revelation 2:12–17 ESV

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “ ‘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. 14 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. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 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.’

1) Jesus Possesses All Authority (v.12-13)

“words of Him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”

Sign of supreme authority.

Means to carryout His will

None can escape His power, will, and authority.

He knows the circumstances we face and live in and His sovereignty and authority still stands unmatched.

“Satan’s throne” means place where Satan tries to exercise dominion.

Highlights the cult practices, grotesque debauchery, and blind idolatry of Pergamum

Pergamum was filled with worldviews and ideologies that were vastly opposed to reality revealed in Jesus

Most believers in Pergamum held fast to Jesus in this environment, even to the point of earthly death!

In His death, Antipas was a “faithful witness” to the power of Jesus in darkness.

His faithful witness and the faithfulness of those who remained displayed the authority of Jesus in the place of rebellion.

Even when false worldviews and ideologies are embraced and acted upon by the populace, Jesus’ authority still remains and His people must hold fast to Him and walk in faithfulness!

2) He Deserves our Full Allegiance (v.14-16)

“teaching of Balaam”

Numbers 22-24 tells the story of Balaam.

He was a Mesopotamian priest who was called upon by King Balak of Moab to curse Israel as they traveled towards his lands in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.

Balaam was not allowed by God to speak curses but only blessings.

Yet the people of Israel, rather than remaining faithful and blessed by God, took the women of Moab to be their wives and along with them the false gods and worldviews of Moab.

Numbers 25:1–2 “1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.”

Numbers 31:16 reveals that it was Balaam who convinced the people to do such a thing.

Numbers 31:16 ESV

16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.

We don’t know for sure Balaam’s advice, but it is very probable it went something like…

“You are already blessed and highly favored by God…why not…”

“God is already on our side so why couldn’t you…”

“teaching of the Nicolaitans”

Revelation 2:6 “6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Nicolaitan teaching was one of syncretism.

The belief that you can follow God and participate in the idolatrous practices of the world so that you can go along to get along.

Nicolaitan teaching was a way of maintaining self-preservation in a culture opposed to biblical truths.

It was teaching that it was okay to embrace Jesus and hold to old practices of idolatry.

In today’s world, this teaching looks like New Age Spiritualism, Universalism, and Cult-Christianity.

Jesus demands our full allegiance to Him and to Him alone.

We cannot, like Israel with Balaam, embrace the false worldviews around us so as to fit in.

We cannot abuse our freedoms in Christ to be enslaved by sinful worldviews.

In our world that holds false worldviews about abortion, sexual identity, plurality of religion and spiritualism, disregard for human worth, etc., we must remain evermore dedicated to faithfulness in Jesus and not embrace these idolatries!

Like the Nicolaitans, we cannot be a people who live as though Christ and the world are compatible.

We cannot embrace the world’s views of tolerance and inclusivity of beliefs.

We cannot settle for such a low view of Christ that He would tolerate anything less that being exclusively sold out to Him.

Likewise, we cannot sit by in the comfort of silence and give the impression that God is okay with a world in rebellion. His Gospel purposes compel us to highlight the sin of this world and call people to repentance and New life!

There is only one worldview that is correct!

There is only one worldview that hold proper perspective!

There is only one way of viewing this world that absolutely true regardless of our perceptions and perspectives!

How Jesus sees the world is how the world really is! How God declares this world to be is the reality of what this world is!

God says this world is filled with broken people living in sinful rebellion who are in need of the only One who can save, redeem, and restore: JESUS!

To give way to any other worldviews sells God short and shows a low view of Him by His own people!

Why does Jesus HATE the Nicolaitans and threaten to wage war against those who are a stumbling block in Pergamum?

Because a teaching that you can still walk in the ways of this world and hold false views about this world rob Him of His glory and rebel against His authority.

Because a teaching that you can have affiliations that are opposed to Christ deny His Gospel purposes that only He is a safe refuge for humanity.

Because Jesus gave His life and took on our sin to free us from sin, not to settle for tolerating sin in our own lives!

Because the hope for people is not found in anything this world has to offer…it is found in Jesus alone!

3) He Desires to Make us All Together New (v.17)

For the one who conquers the draws of this world and hold fast to Christ he promises:

Divine sustenance (hidden manna)

Declared innocence (white stone)

Defining Identity (new name)

CLOSING

Holding firm and holding fast to Jesus is hard to do in a place where Satan’s throne is. But we do not hold firm and hold fast in our own strength…we do so by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Our ambitions as Christians is to rely fully on the Holy Spirit and allow Him to strengthen us, sustain us, and shape our lives.

Holding fast to Christ is difficult, but it is worth it!

Holding fast to Christ is unpopular here, but open your eyes to the reality that from the realms of eternity you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness and therefore let us lay aside every weight and sin that entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith!

Will you commit yourself to living all of life, all for Jesus?

Will you commit to giving no headspace to false worldviews and embracing the perfect, holy, and righteous perspective of Christ exclusively?

Will you commit to running this race with endurance and conquering the temptation to Balaam and the Nicolaitans?

To the one who conquers, Jesus will give some of the hidden manna, and He will give a white stone, with a new name written on the stone!

What will you do with this message and calling from our Lord and His word this morning?