Courage and Compromise

Key Elements

In Revelation 2:12-17, Jesus calls the church at Pergamum to remain faithful to the truth of the gospel by rejecting compromise with the sinful values of the world, promising eternal reward to those who overcome.

Main Idea: As the church faces pressure from without and temptation from within, God's people are called to courageously stand against persecution from the outside while guarding against compromise from within.

I want my audience to be faithful to God on both fronts, standing against persecution from those in the culture around them while guarding themselves against compromise that seeks to destroy the church from within.

Sources: Commentaries on Logos; The Battle For Your Soul by Robby Gallaty; The Church in Pergamum video

Intro

I love history especially ancient history. I love reading stories and watching movies about ancient battles and wars that were fought long ago. If I’m scrolling through social media and I come across an archeological page or a story about an ancient battle, I go down the rabbit hole every time. If I’m scrolling through the guide on YoutubeTV, after Kristi has gone to sleep, and I come across a documentary about an ancient battle, I’m going to stop and watch it until I fall asleep. One of the ancient battles that I love to read about is one we all have a little bit of knowledge of and that is the Trojan War. This was a ten year long battle between the Greeks and the city of Troy and according to legend, it all started over the kidnapping of a woman named Helen, who was supposedly the most beautiful woman in the land at the time. And her abduction sparked a ten year long battle between some of the most famous warriors in history. What’s interesting about the battle is that for the entirety of the war, the city of Troy withstood the relentless attacks of the Greeks. Everything they threw at them was put down because of the massive walls surrounding the city. The city of Troy was impenetrable from the outside. You see the warriors of Troy had become experts at defending against external threats. Then it happened. We know the famous story, one morning the Greeks appeared to have sailed away. They were nowhere to be found. But they had left behind a large wooden horse sitting on the outside of the gates. The people of Troy celebrated. They thought they had won the battle. Despite warnings from a few voices who urged them to be cautious, they opened the gates and they pulled the horse into the city as a trophy of victory. And that night, while the people of the city slept, Greek soldiers who were hidden inside the large wooden horse emerged and opened the gates of the city from within and the walls were breached and Troy was defeated. Troy wasn’t defeated by an army breaking through its walls from the outside. It was defeated because it welcomed inside what it should have kept out. You see, the greatest danger wasn’t the enemy outside the gates, it was the enemy allowed within.

And that story, though mostly legend, communicates perfectly what is happening in the church in Pergamum that John writes his third letter to in Revelation 2: 12-17. For it’s here that we see a church that got the hardest part right and the easier part wrong. They didn’t deny their faith in Jesus when it threatened to cost them everything. When one of their own was put to death rather than renouncing his faith in God, the church at Pergamum did not flinch. And if we stopped reading the letter there, then Pergamum would be considered the model church. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. You see, the church that wouldn’t bend under the persecution of the culture around them had slowly and quietly given in to compromise through members from within. They had held the line when it came to persecution but they had lost ground when it had come to permissiveness.

And that’s the warning that’s embedded in this letter written by the Apostle John from Jesus to the members of this church. And it’s also a warning for us as individual Christ followers and members of Stone Ridge Baptist Church as well. Courage in the face of opposition is no guarantee of purity in the face of temptation. It is possible for a church to stand firm against the sword of persecution from without and still fall to the seduction of compromise from within. And what Jesus reminds the church in Pergamum of and calls their attention to and what He reminds us of today as well is that the church must do both. Both fronts must be guarded and must be defended by the church of Jesus Christ.

And the same is true for us as well in this day and time. As individual Christ followers and as a church that God has called to reach this community with the Gospel, we have to resist the external pressure and persecution of the culture while at the same time refusing to tolerate internal compromise.

Message

Which leads us to our main idea for today: As the church faces pressure from without and temptation from within, God's people are called to courageously stand against persecution from the outside while guarding against compromise from within.

(SHOW MAP) So, let’s talk about the city of Pergamum because, again, it’s important to understand the cultural context of the day: Pergamum was a city that was built on a very prominent that towered over the surrounding area around it. It was the cultural and religious capital of Asia Minor at the time. It was home to the second largest library in the ancient world second only to Alexandria in Egypt. In their library there were 200,000 scrolls of parchment. Pergamum was known for being a powerhouse of philosophy, intellect, religion, and raw imperial power. Everywhere you looked in Pergamum, there was a temple built to the worship of a false god. In 29BC, Pergamum actually became the first city to construct a temple to worship a living Roman Caesar, Augustus. There was also a large temple built for the false god Zeus, the king of the gods, Athena, Dionysus, and to the false god Asclepius. Asclepius was considered the god of healing and we’ll talk about him in detail in just a moment. So, Pergamum was steeped in idol worship and the worship of false gods. It was also a city that had close ties to Rome. Which made it an epicenter for emperor worship outside of Rome itself. And it’s in the midst of all of this that the church in Pergamum exists and John writes to the members of this church to encourage them to continue to have courage against persecution from the culture around them but to also address the compromise that exists among some of the members within the congregation and what Jesus says through John is pretty serious.

Look with me at Revelation 2:12-17, John writes to the church in Pergamum these words from Jesus...

So, looking at this letter from Jesus to the members of this church in Revelation 2:12-17 today, we see three principles for us as individual Christ followers and the church when it comes to courage and compromise:

1. Courage is found in the uncompromising standard of God and His Word. (vs. 12-13)

Again, Jesus starts with Himself. In the opening line to this letter, just like all the other ones we’ve talked about up to this point, Jesus begins with Himself and He says in vs. 12...

So, I think there’s a two-fold purpose to what Jesus is saying here. First, Pergamum was not an easy place to be a Christ follower. In addition to the pagan false god worship that this city was saturated with, there was also a heavy concentration of devotion to Rome and its government. Remember, they were building temples to worship the Caesars of Rome. And because of its close ties with the Roman government of the day, if you were a citizen of Pergamum, you were expected to participate in all of this. And to refuse participation in the civic and religious life of the city basically made you an enemy of the state. So, as Christ followers, the members of the church in Pergamum, most of them, would have been marked as a social and political problem. Pergamum was also a place where the death penalty could be carried out locally without referring to Rome for approval. In other words, the sword of Rome was a definite threat to the members of this church. So, I believe that Jesus uses this terminology first to say that no matter how powerful Rome seems to be, I am more powerful, I am greater. Second, and this is the main purpose Jesus describes Himself in this way, the “sharp, double edged sword” Jesus is referring to is the Word of God. In Revelation 1:16 John says about Jesus, “He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.” Jesus is referring to this description of Himself in chap. 1 and He is saying “the Word of God, my words are powerful, they are where the ultimate authority is found and because of that they are where you will find the courage you need to stand.” And this sword, the Word of God, is sharp and double-edged. It cuts quickly and cleanly to the deepest parts of our lives. It transforms and changes us into the people God has called us to be. It convicts and challenges but it also heals. Here Jesus is proclaiming absolute authority through the power of His Word. While it’s true that Rome had given the city of Pergamum the authority to exercise capital punishment on its own against those who would not comply, and this authority was wielded by the sword; Jesus proclaims that His Word is the standard on which the church will find the courage to stand uncompromisingly against any persecution the culture will bring against the church.

And that’s exactly what the church in Pergamum had experienced. Look at vs. 13… Again, Jesus says “I know the environment you are surrounded by. I know the culture and the danger that is a daily threat for you. And that in the midst of it, you stand. In the midst of it you have courage, you are holding onto my name and you have not denied your faith.” Even witnessing, firsthand, the execution of one of their own, this church had not buckled in their faith, they stood firm and held fast.

And that’s the kind of courage that we are called to today as Christ followers surrounded by a culture that is constantly calling for us to compromise. It’s a courage that we don’t find in and of ourselves, it’s a courage that comes from God and the power of His Word. It’s a courage that comes from looking to God and His Word as our standard and finding our strength and our wisdom there. And while most of us are not facing the intense persecution of a death sentence for our faith in Jesus, there’s still pressure to compromise that we face daily. It may show up in a meeting at work where staying silent about our convictions is easier than speaking up. It may show up at the family gathering where talking about our faith opens the door to being mocked. It may show up in a moment where talking about what we believe costs us friendships or relationships or a promotion. Whatever form it takes for us or however it comes into our lives, the courage we find to face it down and stand strong comes only from God and the uncompromising standard of His Word.

Jesus tells us His Word is powerful, His Word is authoritative, and His Word is where we find the courage, like the church in Pergamum, to stand against compromise in our lives.

We also notice another principle...

2. Corruption comes when the church tolerates small compromises from within. (14-15)

About ten years ago, I had the privilege to lead a group from a church we were serving at in Georgia on a mission trip to the Amazon in Brazil. We spent a week going down the Amazon River working with SBC Missionaries who were in villages in the remote parts of the Amazon. And at one point they asked a group of us pastors to go across the river from the village we were in to another village they had not been able to reach. So, we agreed and they put 5 of us in a small boat with one little motor on the back of it and we began to make our way across the river. And as we got into the middle of the river, a huge cargo ship comes down the river and we get caught in its wake. The boat is rocking and water is coming over the sides and all I can think of is “we’re about to sink and get eaten by crocodiles or anacondas.” We finally make it to the shore of the village and as we pull up to the bank, the back end of the boat, that is full of water by now, sinks. You see, the boat we were in was one they had used many times. It was designed to navigate the Amazon river. The problem wasn’t the river around the boat, the danger happened when the water began to fill the inside.

And that’s the problem that Jesus points out through John in this letter to the church in Pergamum. The church wasn’t sinking yet but if it did not address the compromise among members in the church, eventually it would become totally corrupted. And that’s what Jesus is addressing in vs. 14-15...

You see, even though the church had stood against persecution, they were slowly being corrupted by the small compromises that were mounting up. And there were two areas that needed to be addressed: idolatry and sexual sin.

Some members of the church had compromised their morality and had adopted the patterns of the culture around them through idol worship. The enemy, the devil, had not been able to destroy the church with attacks of persecution so he began to make inroads by infiltrating the lives of some members of the church. And Jesus reaches back to the OT Book of Numbers to make His point by drawing from the story of Balaam. And to really get the full effect of the compromise that’s happening, we have to understand the story. Balaam was a true prophet who misused his gifts to make a profit from a King named Balak. He was hired to curse Israel but God prevented him from doing that. Instead of cursing Israel, God forced him to bless them. So, Balaam found another strategy. Instead of defeating Israel by cursing them, he deceived them causing them to compromise, intermarrying with the Moabites while offering food to their false gods and engaging in sexual acts tied to pagan worship. And as a result, 24,000 of God’s people died because of their disobedience.

And in a sense, this is what has crept into the lives of some of the members of the church in Pergamum. A minority of people were holding to the thought process that participation in the city’s idol feasts and the sexual practices associated with their pagan worship of their false gods were the same thing as following Christ. In fact, they had incorporated some of this into their worship and passed it off as an attempt to reach their neighbors. And ultimately, what was happening is they were blending in with the idolatry of the city around them and the immorality that was happening, to the point that it had now crept into the church. And notice what Jesus says, it’s not the entire church, it’s a minority. But the whole church is being held accountable by Jesus for tolerating it and allowing it. With each compromise that occurred, the distinction between this church and the culture around it became more blurred. The lifestyle of the members was becoming barely distinguishable from those outside the church.

And this is the danger of small compromises in the lives of God’s people. Corruption comes when the church as individuals and as a whole tolerates small compromises from within. And that’s how compromise works, it doesn’t come as some kind of rebellion, compromise rarely announces itself as compromise. It usually begins with small concessions and before long, truth becomes negotiable, holiness becomes optional, and sin becomes normalized. When the church begins to tolerate ungodly attitudes, actions, and behavior; corruption begins to spread like wildfire. Now, God is not calling us to be judgmental, He’s calling us to live set apart. To hold to the standard of His word and no matter how uncomfortable it may be or difficult; to address things in our lives, our relationships, and our church that goes against that standard. And when we do, we are actively guarding ourselves and our church against the corruption that is the result of small compromises.

Warren Wiersbe puts it this way, “The congregation or the individual Christian that compromises with the world just to avoid suffering or achieve success is committing “spiritual adultery” and being unfaithful to the Lord.”

That’s seems harsh but it’s true. God calls us to be on guard against compromise in our lives and in the church and when He shows us where we are drifting, He expects us to address it and turn back to Him. Which leads us to our final principle...

3. Christ rewards those who repent by allowing Jesus to restore them and give them a new identity. (vs. 16-17)

This is the best part of the letter, Jesus says in vs. 16...

He says, “Repent,” It’s a common instruction in most of these letters written to the churches who have something that they need to correct. He says, “Repent, or I will deal with you swiftly and decisively.”

And if they repent, Jesus promises to reward their repentance. Look at vs. 17...

Pastor Robby Gallaty defines repentance so well, “It’s changing the way you look at sin.”

If God says it’s sin, then it’s sin. And when we begin to see sin as God sees it, it changes the way we live. Not that we won’t ever sin. But when we do, we recognize it, we confess it, and we turn from it. And what Jesus is doing here is He’s saying “don’t sit at tables with food for idols, don’t settle for that; I have something better, hidden manna.” What Jesus offers is better, it doesn’t destroy, it restores. Why settle for less? He says, “don’t participate in the sexual immorality of the culture which is staining your soul; I have something better, a new identity found in a relationship with me.”

Let me explain it. In Exodus 16, we talked about this in our Exodus series we just came through, God provides manna every morning for the people of Israel in the wilderness showing them that He is the only one who can ultimately sustain and provide for them. Which also points to the truth that Jesus, Himself, in the Gospels, said He was the Bread of Life. Jesus looks at the church in Pergamum and He looks at us and He says “why are you feeding off of lesser tables of idolatry and what the culture offers that do not satisfy when, as a Christ follower, you have a seat at the table of the King of Kings that ultimately restores and satisfies?” You see, we fight sin and compromise in our lives and in the church by spending time with God and being in His presence. Not settling for what the culture offers that will ultimately leave us empty. When we recognize compromise and we repent, Jesus says what I have for you, the life I’ve called you to live is the reward of restoration that’s not found at the table of an idol but at the table of the King.

Not only is there the reward of restoration but there is the reward of a new identity. What does Jesus say at the end of the letter?...

To really understand this, we have to look at the cultural context of Pergamum. Earlier I mentioned the temple of Asclepius. This was the god of healing. His identifying symbol was the serpent. In fact, we see this symbol associated with many of our medical practices today (show pic). In the temple of Asclepius, sick people would come from all over the region seeking healing. They were allowed to spend the night in the temple laying on the floor in the darkness. Along the floor, there were tame, non venomous snakes that would slither around and if one of those snakes made contact with the sick person, their belief was that Asclepius was touching them and healing them. If they claimed to be healed, you were required to get up and go find a priest in that pagan temple and report the healing and he would validate it and then he would take a white stone and inscribe the name of the person and the healing of the disease. Their names were inscribed on a white stone. These stones still exist today in the ruins of the city of Pergamum.

Jesus looks at these members in the church in Pergamum and us as well and He says “if you repent, I will apply my blood that I shed for you on the cross that is the only means of forgiveness of sin, and I will forgive you but not only that, I will give you a new name.” You no longer are labeled by your past or the mistakes you’ve made, you’re a son and daughter of King Jesus. When we repent and surrender our lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord, God no longer sees our sin, He sees the blood of Jesus covering our sin. He sees a child of God. And that’s a big deal. He replaces our shame and our guilt and our pain from idolatry and settling for what the world has to offer and sexual sin and He gives us a new identity where we are not defined by our past but we are defined by the name of Jesus on our lives.

Christ calls us to repentance and when we repent, He promises to restore us and give us a new identity.

Closing

And this morning, that’s what we want to give you an opportunity to respond to. This call of repentance from Jesus, accepting His forgiveness being restored and redeemed.