A Passive Church

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Sterling)

Good morning family!

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Announcements:

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Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Joshua 24:14-15)

Prayer of Praise (Susana Donahue)

As for Me and My House

All Who are Thirsty

Prayer of Confession (Nathan Rathbone), Passivity

Assurance of Pardon (1 John 2:17)

Come Let Us Return to the Lord

All I Have is Christ

Scripture Reading (Revelation 2:12-17)—page 1219 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Sterling)

Prayer for PBC—Help us to actively pursue purity

Prayer for kingdom partner—Reformation Christian Fellowship (Kenny D’Auria)

Prayer for US

Prayer for the world—Djibouti

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

For ten long years the Greeks surrounded the city of Troy.

They attacked its walls. They launched assaults. They tried to break through the gates.

But for ten long years, the city of Troy stood.

Until one morning, the Trojans woke up and the battlefield was silent.

The Greek army was gone.

All that remained outside the gates was a massive wooden horse. It was a “gift,” supposedly left behind in surrender.

Some of the Trojans were suspicious. “This is a trick,” they warned. “Burn it.”

But many were curious. Others were flattered. “Surely the enemy wouldn’t leave something this magnificent unless the war was truly over.”

And so the Trojans made a decision that would define their history.

They opened the gates, rolled the horse inside their city, and celebrated what they thought was victory.

But that night, when Troy slept, Greek soldiers climbed down from inside the horse, opened the gates from within, and let the Greek army inside the city.

Troy did not fall because the enemy attacked from outside.

Troy fell because the enemy was welcomed inside.

And that is exactly what happens in many churches— not collapse under pressure, but compromise from within.

Including a church in a town called Pergamum.

Turn to Revelation 2:12.

The message to the church in Pergamum is the third of seven messages that Jesus sent to the seven churches in Asia Minor.

SHOW 7 CHURCHES MAP

Like the city of Troy, the Christians at Pergamum were under siege.

They had already faced the persecution that was about to overcome the church at Smyrna, which we learned about last week.

The Pergamene believers had suffered, and they had endured. They were faithful!

So their Enemy switched tactics. Instead of assaulting them with persecution, he seduced them with false teaching.

And like the Trojans who did nothing while their enemy was rolled into the city, most Pergamene believers did nothing while false teaching crept into the church.

From the failures at Pergamum, we learn an important lesson:

A faithful church is not passive about the purity of Christ’s people.

That’s the Big Idea I hope to communicate from our text this morning.

From Jesus’ words to this church I want to show you Four Steps to Actively Pursuing Purity in the Church:

First, we will Revere the Lord over the Church,…

Second, we will Recognize the Pressures outside the Church,…

Third, we must Remove the Sin from Within the Church,…

and finally, we must Remember the Promise Ahead for the Church.

First, if we’re going to actively pursue purity in our churches, we must…

1) REVERE the Lord Over the Church

Perhaps this whole idea about the purity of Christ’s people seems silly to you. Does that really matter? After all, none of us are perfect! Do we really need to be that concerned about sin creeping into the church?

A ship is meant to be in the water, but the water is not meant to be in the ship. And the longer the water remains in the ship undealt with, the quicker that ship will sink.

Local churches are much the same way. We are meant to be in the world, but the world is not meant to be in the church. And the longer the world remains in the church undealt with, the quicker that church will lose its influence in the world.

And we should care about this, because of who the church is supposed to represent.

Revelation 2:12—And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

Once again, Jesus introduces Himself using the vision John saw in chapter 1.

And once again, Jesus’ introduction emphasizes something this particular church needed to hear.

What does a passive church need to remember? That Jesus is not only tender, He’s also tough. He’s not only meek, He’s also mighty. He’s not only gentle, He’s a Judge. And when He returns He’ll be wielding a sword!

And I want you to notice something frightening: Verse 16 makes it clear that Jesus’ sword is not first pointed at Rome. It is not first pointed at the pagan temples in Pergamum. It is pointed at His church.

The risen Christ goes to war — not first with persecutors — but with corruption inside His own house.

A passive church treats sin lightly. Jesus does not.

A passive church shrugs at false teaching. Jesus draws a sword.

A passive church says, “Let’s not make this a big deal.” Jesus says, “This is worth going to war over.”

We will not have the stomach to respond to sin in the church the way Jesus demands unless we begin with a healthy reverence for Jesus.

We will never confront sin rightly if we do not first fear Christ rightly.

A church that fears man will stay passive. But a church that fears Christ will pursue purity.

But fearing Christ doesn’t mean pretending we’re not under pressure.

The church at Pergamum wasn’t passive because it didn’t love Jesus.

It was passive because it underestimated its enemy.

If we’re going to avoid the same mistakes, we must...

2) RECOGNIZE the Pressures Outside the Church

Pergamum was located about fifty-five miles north of Smyrna and had a population of roughly 120,000 when John wrote the Book of Revelation. [1]

SHOW PERGAMUM SLIDE

It was a city of power, prestige, and remarkable cultural achievement.

Michael Wilcock writes, “If Ephesus was the New York of Asia, Pergamum was its Washington, for there the Roman imperial power had its seat of government.” [2]

The city was famous for its architecture, but tragically, nearly all of its splendor was devoted to pagan worship.

Towering above the city on a steep hill stood a massive altar to Zeus, shaped like a throne and visible for miles. [3]

Less than a quarter mile away stood a temple to Athena; another honored Dionysus; and still another had been erected to the “divine” Caesar Augustus, making Pergamum the first city in Asia to host a temple to a living emperor. [4]

The city was also a major center for the worship of Asklepios, the god of medicine and healing, whose symbol was a serpent entwined around a staff — the very image still used in medical symbolism today. [5]

Everywhere you looked, there were reminders of imperial power and pagan worship.

It’s no wonder, then, that Jesus says this...

Revelation 2:13a—I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.

The Christians in Pergamum did not live in a neutral environment. They lived in a city where spiritual darkness was organized, impressive, and powerful.

And listen to what Jesus says: I know where you live. I see your temptations. I recognize the pressures that surround you.

And, depending on where you live, the pressures you are under may vary tremendously.

John Newton is most remembered as the author of Amazing Grace, arguably the most beloved Christian hymn ever written. But Newton was also a pastor in London for 27 years.

Ministry in London was so difficult that Newton wrote: “London appears to me like a sea wherein most are tossed by storms and many suffer shipwreck.”

He then stressed the need of “having London grace in order to live in London.” He explained, “By London grace I mean grace in a very advanced degree.” [6]

Have you ever stopped to think about what kind of grace you need to live in Poquoson? Or Yorktown? Or Newport News or Hampton?

The truth is, we need special grace to remain faithful here, just as much as Newton did in London and the believers did in Pergamum.

We may face different kinds of pressures, but we face pressures nonetheless.

Certainly one pressure we face is an idolatry of safety. That’s one of the dangers that comes with living in such a safe community. We begin to think that everything should always be optimally safe, or we won’t do it.

We don’t come to church if we might get sick, we don’t volunteer if we might get hurt, we won’t give if we might not have enough for retirement, we won’t tell others the gospel if we might get rejected. And with every decision we bow to the idol of safety.

Another pressure we face that’s more unique to our community is a fear of outsiders. We don’t trust people who look differently, talk differently, or think differently from us.

So we miss out on opportunities to tell our co-workers and neighbors about Jesus because we’re too suspicious.

Brothers and sisters, I challenge you to spend some time thinking about the ways that our community might be shaping us into its mold.

Just like a fish doesn’t know it’s in water until you pull it out, a Hampton Roads resident doesn’t realize all the ways his community is shaping him until Jesus slowly starts pulling that worldliness out.

That’s what Jesus was doing in Pergamum. And, by God’s grace, the believers were faithful...

Revelation 2:13b—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.

We’re not sure who this Antipas was. He’s only mentioned one time in the New Testament.

But apparently he was a faithful witness to Jesus and the gospel. And the citizens of Pergamum killed him for it.

Put yourself in some Pergamene sandals for a moment. If one of our members was killed for being a Christian, what sorts of conversations would we be having the following Sunday at church? Would we be ready to attack those who did this? Would we be questioning the goodness of God? Would we be tempted to turn our backs on Jesus? Would our attendance be lower because some of us would rather stay home than risk the same thing happening to us?

To their credit, nothing like that happened in Pergamum!

After Antipas died, the believers “held fast” to the name of Jesus. They did not deny their faith in Him. They were faithful.

Perhaps they remembered the words of Jesus in…

Matthew 5:10—Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The believers in Pergamum had already faced the persecution that was about to test Smyrna. And they had passed the test!

But our Enemy does not give up easily.

So he changed tactics, from external persecution to internal false teaching.

Pergamum stood firm when the enemy attacked from the outside. But they grew passive when the enemy slipped inside.

If we’re going to avoid the same mistakes, we must...

3) REMOVE the Sin from Within the Church

Even though we live in a very safe neighborhood in Poquoson, every night before we go to bed we make sure all our doors are locked.

Personally I would probably be fine as long as the front door is locked, but Holly is diligent to make sure I lock the back door too.

Usually I don’t mind, unless I’m already in bed and she asks me to go downstairs and make sure it’s locked.

The believers in Pergamum faithfully locked and bolted the front door.

When Satan attacked them head-on with his weapon of persecution, they resisted him. But Satan didn’t give up.

He snuck around to the back door and attacked them with the weapon of false teaching.

And the Pergamene believers acted like I do when Holly asks me to check the back door after I’m already in bed. “It’s probably fine. What’s the worst that could happen?”

The church at Pergamum became passive, and the devil took advantage.

Jesus explains in...

Revelation 2:14—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.

Alright, what is Jesus talking about here? What is “the teaching of Balaam”?

The story of Balaam is told in Numbers 22-25.

If you’re doing the Five-Day Bible Reading Plan with us, you just read this story recently.

Balak was the king of Moab, one of the enemies of God’s people.

Balak was terrified that the Israelites were going to destroy him and his people, so he hired Balaam, who was something like a mercenary sorcerer.

Balaam’s job was to curse God’s people, but when he opened his mouth all he could speak was blessing.

What a great reminder that our God is much more powerful than all our enemies!

But just like Satan in Pergamum, Balaam didn’t give up easily. He had another idea.

If the front door won’t work, let’s try the back door.

He encouraged Balak to send Moabite women into the Israelite camp. They would seduce the men of Israel and lead them into immorality and idol worship.

Balaam discovered something Satan has known from the beginning: if you can’t curse God’s people from the outside, corrupt them from the inside.

Like the story of the Trojan Horse, the Moabites conquered the Israelites from within.

And 1500 years later, Balaam’s strategy was still alive and well in Pergamum...

Revelation 2:15—So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

We first met the Nicolaitans in Ephesus. We said then that they were false teachers.

Although we don’t know a lot about what they taught, the context suggests they were employing the same strategy Balaam used 1500 years earlier.

“It’s okay if you satisfy the lusts of the flesh. Jesus will forgive you. It’s not a problem if you indulge in a bit of social idolatry. After all, Jesus doesn’t want you to be a freak, does He? Doesn’t He want you to be happy? To live your best life now? To enjoy yourself!”

Today we call this teaching antinomianism.

It comes from the Latin words anti, meaning “against,” and nomos, meaning “law.”

So quite literally, antinomianism is against the law of God.

Here’s a simple definition: Antinomianism teaches that since we are forgiven, obedience is optional.

This false teaching is more prevalent in the church today than we would like to admit.

It whispers, “Holiness doesn’t matter that much.”

“Jesus is going to forgive me, so it doesn’t really matter how I live.”

“It’s just a little sin. Besides, nobody’s perfect!”

The Ephesian Christians were encouraged for hating the works of the Nicolaitans. The Pergamene Christians didn’t love the Nicolaitans. But they did nothing to stop their false teaching in the church.

They passively stood by while the enemy attacked them from within.

So what does Jesus tell them do to?

Revelation 2:16—Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

Remember to repent means to turn around.

It’s more than just saying you’re sorry. It’s changing direction.

So what does it look like for a church that is passive towards false teaching to repent?

In his phenomenal book about Revelation, Triumph of the Lamb, Dennis Johnson writes: “This repentance would mean exercising church discipline, refusing to tolerate Nicolaitan teaching. The church and its leaders must confront the Nicolaitans, as Paul instructed Timothy: ‘with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition; if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil’ (2 Tim. 2:25–26).” [8]

Christian, it is not enough to merely avoid worldliness and false teaching yourself. You must love your brothers and sisters in your church family enough to actively resist the worldliness and false teaching that affects your church family.

A church that actively pursues purity is going to pursue wandering Christians when they sin. It will love its members enough to confront them. And if and when they refuse to repent, it will have the courage to exercise church discipline and remove those persisting in sin.

Christian, do you love your church that much? Do you love your church’s purity that much?

And notice, if we refuse to actively pursue purity in Christ’s church Jesus will come soon to wage war against false teaching.

Jesus isn’t saying He’s going to return sooner if we don’t repent.

The return of Christ is fixed in the eternal plans of God, and there’s nothing we can to speed it up or slow it down.

But if we refuse to repent, Jesus will come in judgment against His church. We will lose our influence in this dark and dreary world!

If we will not deal with sin in the church, Jesus will deal with it Himself—and His discipline may be severe.

Now if this were the end of the letter, it would feel crushing.

We must revere the Lord over the church.

We must recognize the pressures outside the church.

We must remove the sin from within the church.

But is that all there is? No.

Because Jesus never calls His church to fight without also reminding her of the reward.

4) REMEMBER the Promise Ahead for the Church

Revelation 2:17—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.’

Once again, Jesus gives a promise to those who conquer.

Remember, a conqueror is one who perseveres until the end. It’s an overcomer, someone who is faithful unto death.

Do you feel at all overwhelmed by that? How in the world am I going to persevere until the end? What if I can’t be faithful unto death? What if I can’t keep going?

We conquer by looking to the One who already conquered in our place!

Revelation 5:5— “… behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered…”

And how did Jesus conquer? By living the sinless life that we couldn’t live. By dying the sinner’s death that we should’ve died. And by rising from death on the third day so that whoever turns from their sins and trusts in Him can have eternal life.

Unbeliever: would you trust Him today?

Christian: because you have trusted Him, look at what He promises you.

First, He promises to feed us on hidden manna.

Manna was a miraculous bread from heaven that God used to feed His people in the wilderness. It was a provision that God’s people could not earn—they had to receive it by faith. And they had to trust it would be enough to satisfy their needs.

What then is the hidden manna?

It’s Jesus! He is the miraculous bread of life, sent from heaven. He is God’s provision to pay the penalty for our sin, and we cannot earn His grace. We must receive it by faith. We must trust that His death will be enough to satisfy God’s wrath in our place.

Right now we feed on Christ by faith, but the day is coming when we will feast at His table in His presence forever.

Second, He promises to give us a white stone.

Many believe this is a reference to courtrooms in John’s day. Judges would have two stones. If the defendant was found guilty, a black stone would be given to him. But if he was found not guilty, he would be given a white stone. [9]

Whether we think about it or not, Judgment Day is coming. You will stand before the heavenly Judge and give an account for all your thoughts, words, and actions. But if your faith is in Christ, you will be declared “righteous” on that day! Not because you earned that right, but because your faith is in Christ!

This has already been promised to us in the gospel, yet we still wrestle with doubts and accusations. But the day is coming when we will never doubt God’s forgiveness again.

Finally, Jesus promises His people a new name.

Think of all the famous new names in Scripture. Abram becomes Abraham, the father of many nations. Jacob the Deceiver becomes Israel, one who wrestles with God. Simon because Peter, the rock.

To be given a new name is to be given a new status. And that’s what we will receive if our faith is in Christ!

Again, we’ve already been promised this in the gospel. But we struggle to live up to our new status, don’t we?

Which is why pursuing purity is a fight.

It’s not easy, but a faithful church is not passive about the purity of Christ’s people.

Remember Troy.

For ten years the city withstood every attack from the outside.

It didn’t fall to battering rams.

It didn’t fall to flaming arrows.

It fell because it opened its gates.

Similarly, Pergamum stood firm when persecution came.

They held fast the name of Christ.

They didn’t deny the faith—even when Antipas was killed.

But they grew passive when compromise slipped inside.

And Jesus says: repent.

Not because He delights in destroying His people.

But because He delights in preserving them.

He delights in our purity.

Jesus loved the purity of His people enough to face the sword of judgment in our place.

He bore the wrath we deserved. He was cut down so we could be called sons and daughters.

And now He offers us not condemnation, but a feast.

So unbeliever, don’t leave today trying to clean yourself up. Come to Christ. Turn from sin. Trust Him. Receive the Bread of Life.

And Christian, don’t settle into passivity. Don’t make a truce with what nailed your Savior to the cross. Confess. Repent. Ask for help. Pursue purity—not to earn His love, but because you already have it.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Christ is Mine Forevermore

Benediction (Jude 24-25)