The Compromising Church

The Letters to the Churches - Pergamum The Compromising Church - Revelation 2:12-17 June 29, 2025 When I used to conduct leadership training, there was always a section on conflict resolution. Obviously, there are several models that are used for corporate training, but one that I believe we used comes from the "Thomas Kilmann Conflict Model." This model outlines five strategies, to include, avoiding, competing, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating. Where I want to focus is the fourth strategy - compromising. In the context of the workplace, and probably in personal relationships, compromise occurs when each party willingly forfeits some of their personal needs or desires to reach an agreement. It's generally referred to as a "lose-lose" strategy, as neither party gets what they want - at least in full. While this strategy may work in some contexts, within the church, there is no place for compromise. We'll see this this morning in Jesus' third letter to the church in Pergamum. Let's see what He has to say in Revelation 2:12-17: 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.' Let's quickly identify the Six "C's" of this letter: * The church, of course, is Pergamum. Pergamum has been described as "the greatest city in Asia Minor," as the capital of Rome (at least for a period), as a hub for culture and education - including a huge library of over 200,000 books, and as a very religious city, of course to the pagan gods, to include Zeusm Athena and Asclepius, the "god of medicine, healing and knowledge." It also had several temples dedicated to emperor worship. Next ... * How is Christ represented here? Christ identifies Himself as THE WORDS OF HIM WHO HAS THE SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD. This, of course, is consistent with John 1, which identifies Christ as the Word. The language of the Word as a two-edged sword is also consistent with Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12. Later, in verse 16 of this same section, we see that this Word will also be used for judgement. Next, * Christ's commendation to the church is that they were holding fast to Christ, despite their surroundings. We'll expand on this later. Of course ... * Christ's condemnation is that some held to false doctrines of false teachers that were prevalent in Pergamum. Again, we'll expand on this shortly. Next, we see that ... * Christ's counsel to the church was for them to repent. You may recall Pat's definition of repent from a couple of weeks ago as, "a change of mind, which leads to a change of heart, which leads to a change in behavior." Finally, * Christ's challenge (or His exhortation or promise) to the church, was twofold. First was to receive the hidden manna, the other was a white stone with a new name. What does this mean? o The hidden manna likely refers to God's provision and fellowship with Him. Obviously referring to the manna from heaven during the Exodus. o The white stone in those days were used for many purposes, but one that seems to make the most sense is the usage of a white stone as an invitation to a banquet. So, the white stone here likely represents that the one who receives it - the conqueror, the overcomer - is accepted and favored by God and is invited to fellowship with Him. o And the new name may refer to a closer or more intimate relationship we have as believers in Christ with the Father. John talks about this in the opening verses of his first letter. Now that we've done a quick overview of the letter, let's address a couple of items that I think are relevant to our culture today. If we were to read this letter slowly and carefully, I think we could identify a significant problem. This church was a compromising church. Let's further develop this with our main idea: Being all-in for Jesus means that I cannot have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. Let's first address the church by answering the question ... WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM IN PERGAMUM? * [First,] They tolerate false teaching. (vv.14-15) o One thing I didn't mention earlier when we talked about Pergamum was the meaning of the name of the city. One of the meanings of the word, or name, Pergamos is, "mixed marriage," and that is what we see here in the city. They were tolerating the false teachings of Baalam and the Nicolaitans. Recall, verse 6 of chapter 2, Jesus commended Ephesus for hating the teachings of the Nicolaitans, proclaiming that He too hated their teachings. o We don't know a lot about the Nicolaitans, but there seems to be a parallel with both Balaam and the Nicolaitans, as both names mean something along the lines of "lording over the people." o Balaam here is also associated with Balak, who we read about in the book of Numbers chapters 22-24 and in Numbers 25-31. o In short, Balaam taught Balak to put a stumbling block before God's people as seen in verse 15. Even Peter said that he was driven by greed. o We also see that they lured Israel into relationship with the Moabites, both through intermarrying, but also through their pagan practices. This led to the death of many as part of God's judgement. o In fact, Peter warns about the motivation of false teachers in 2 Peter 2, which included preying on the weak, and being motivated by money. o So, even though the Christians in Pergamum didn't deny Jesus, they allowed the sin around them to continue. They allowed people to be led astray. o In other words, they tolerated the culture of sin around them. o Let's face it, many Christians do the same today. o An online article, speaking of this exact issue identified five "slippery steps to spiritual compromise:" [beginning with ...] * A failure to purpose in our hearts ahead of time to do the right thing. * Underestimating evil (including the failure to recognize temptation). * Rationalizing. * A failure to consider the costly consequences. [and] * A sudden, deliberate choice to give in to sin. o In other words, the compromising church is not much different than the world. o Through the example of Pergamum, we see the next step in a church that tolerates sin. Namely that ... * They participate in the sins of the world (vv.14-15) o It's hard to identify in the English here, but the two examples given of the false teachings of FOOD SACRIFICED TO IDOLS AND PRACTICE SEXUAL IMMORALITY, both indicate that they were participating in the pagan worship practices. o In the well know Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, once the Apostles decided that it was not necessary for the Gentile believers needed to get circumcised to be saved, they concluded the discussion with these words, found in verses 19-20: 19 THEREFORE MY JUDGMENT IS THAT WE SHOULD NOT TROUBLE THOSE OF THE GENTILES WHO TURN TO GOD, 20 BUT SHOULD WRITE TO THEM TO ABSTAIN FROM THE THINGS POLLUTED BY IDOLS, AND FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY, AND FROM WHAT HAS BEEN STRANGLED, AND FROM BLOOD. o As followers of Jesus, we cannot participate in the false doctrines and practices. o I have two personal examples. * A long time ago now, I was dating someone (obviously before I met Natalie) and her sister had a baby boy. She asked us to be his godparents. If I agreed, that meant that I would have had to baptize him. While my walk with the Lord was not strong at that time, I still had my convictions, to include believing in a believer's baptism. So, I declined the offer to be the godfather. Another - and (unfortunately) related example is when ... * I went to a Catholic funeral many years ago. It was for a co-worker, a young lady, who died of an illness. I wanted to show my respects and represent the department that I managed, so I attended. I respectfully stood there when they began their "Hail Mary's" and their "Our Father's" over the deceased, but in no way was I going to give my "amen" to any of their practices. To be honest, I was quite sad experiencing that for the first time. But I just could not bring myself to participate. o When we return to the example from Acts, the key word is "abstain." We must abstain from tolerating and participating in false teachings and practices. Both, individually, and corporately. o Because when we do not abstain, we begin to compromise and begin to blend in with the world around us. Sadly, this is why these compromising churches see so much growth and worldly success. o If you are not "all-in" for Jesus, then you are in danger of compromise. o This is why I said in our main idea earlier that ... being all-in for Jesus means that I cannot have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. So, the question must be: HOW TO KEEP BOTH FEET IN THE CHURCH (or how do I avoid compromise): * [First, I must] Hold fast to Christ (v.13) o We return to Christ's commendation for - at least some - that held fast to Christ. o Recall that being Christian means that you are a disciple. o Of course, this implies an authentic profession of faith. o A disciple is one who learns from, and becomes like, his teacher. o The purpose of a disciple is to become like their teacher. o Which means we spend time with our Lord, our Teacher. o Another reason that this is important is because the more time we spend with Jesus, the easier it will be to spot those antichrists. o As Christians, we need to be able to clearly see Jesus, which is why He Himself said that His sheep know His voice. o We must stick to His truth, even when it's not popular. o We need to speak His truth, even when it's not popular. o When we allow compromise, we become like Pergamum. o Similarly, and really one of the ways we hold fast is that we are to ... * Cling to Christ's Word (vv.12,16) o "Cling" and "hold fast" basically mean the same thing. o But we see here that in two of six verses of our text, the "TWO-EDGED SWORD" is referenced. o There is power in the Word of God. o We saw that when we looked at Genesis 1 several weeks ago, didn't we? o God said, "LET THERE BE" and what happened? There be! o God's Word has a purpose, and that's why we hold it in such high regard here. Here's what the Apostle Paul said about it in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: 16 ALL SCRIPTURE IS BREATHED OUT BY GOD AND PROFITABLE FOR TEACHING, FOR REPROOF, FOR CORRECTION, AND FOR TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, 17 THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE COMPLETE, EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK. o This Timothy passage is perfect in explaining why we must cling to the Word. * One, it's God's Word. * Two, it's profitable. * Three, it's equipping. o We touched on this earlier but notice what Jesus says in verse 16. First, the command, the warning, which is to ... * Repent (v.16) o Or else. o Did Jesus just threaten the church in Pergamum? o Yes. Yes, He did. o Jesus is giving them a strong warning here that they must deal with their sin, or He will. o There is an expectation of a change of behavior and of obedience for those who are in Christ. o When we sin. We must repent. As noted earlier, and in week one, repents indicates a change of mind, which leads to a change of heart, which leads to a change in behavior. It is not a simple "sorry," only to do it again and again. o This is what James talks about in his letter. In chapter 1, beginning in verse 21, James says: 21 THEREFORE PUT AWAY ALL FILTHINESS AND RAMPANT WICKEDNESS AND RECEIVE WITH MEEKNESS THE IMPLANTED WORD, WHICH IS ABLE TO SAVE YOUR SOULS. 22 BUT BE DOERS OF THE WORD, AND NOT HEARERS ONLY, DECEIVING YOURSELVES. 23 FOR IF ANYONE IS A HEARER OF THE WORD AND NOT A DOER, HE IS LIKE A MAN WHO LOOKS INTENTLY AT HIS NATURAL FACE IN A MIRROR. 24 FOR HE LOOKS AT HIMSELF AND GOES AWAY AND AT ONCE FORGETS WHAT HE WAS LIKE. o True repentance comes with change of heart, and a change of behavior. o Finally, we keep both feet planted in the Church when we ... * Listen (v.17) o Each of the closing words to these letters begin with "HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR" o In this verbiage, Jesus is inviting us to listen to that powerful Word that we spoke about earlier. o The implication here is to hear, understand, and respond. o Because He is still speaking, we have time to understand and to respond accordingly. o He is telling those who have held fast to continue to persevere. o He is telling those who have compromised to repent and return to Him. o He is reminding the readers of the time, as well as us today, that when you persevere, you are rewarded with a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. What is God calling you to do this morning? * Do you need to be courageous in your pursuit and defense of the Truth? * Do you need to pull away from the influences of the world and all her temptations? * Do you need to dive deeper into His Word, so you may grow and draw nearer to Him? * Do you need to repent from besetting sin as you realize that it is only pulling you further and further away? * Do you need to listen and be obedient to His will for you? These are all the questions that we see from the compromising church at Pergamum. Yet, He gives us hope that it is possible to overcome. It is possible to receive from Him, the promises of God. How? Through Christ Jesus WHO DIED AND CAME TO LIFE (v.8). Let's pray. 2