Worthy is the Lamb: The Cost of Faithfulness

Text: Revelation 2:12-17

Theme: The Lord of Glory has a message for the church today: “The Church cannot adopt the mores of a secular society and remain true to Scriptural principles of morality.”

Tony Campolo is an American sociologist, pastor, author. In a 1995 article in Discipleship Magazine he wrote: “Christianity is clearly at risk in America today. But the ACLU and the PC police are not our greatest enemies. Today, as always, the greatest danger to those who would follow Jesus is not overt persecution by society, but subtle seduction by its values. Compromise with the culture has always had more potential for annihilating true faith than has intellectual skepticism or the threat of being thrown to the lions.”

The Church at Pergamum faced both issues. It had experienced persecution. Jesus acknowledges, “ ... Antipas, my faithful witness, ... was put to death in your city,” (vs. 13). But the Church at Pergamum was also facing the subtle seduction that Campolo refers to. In many ways the Church was thoroughly faithful, but in other ways the Church had thoroughly compromised. Weather it involves our personal Christian convictions, or a congregations of Christians, compromise is dangerous territory for the believer. Charles Spurgeon nailed it when he said, “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

The seduction is surprisingly easy. It does not take pace as an obvious frontal assault from rival religious or philosophical beliefs. If that were the case we could easily resist their attack. Instead, the seduction comes from the constant pressure on the believer’s life to adopt society’s course and custom as the church’s agenda: To adopt society’s means and schemes for success as the church’s pattern for success.

There are even those believers who encourage the church to compromise the moral mandates of the bible in order to become more appealing to a degenerate society.

This is the great sin of the church at Pergamum — compromise with a fallen society. Let’s look at Christ’s message to this church.

I. THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM WAS A CHURCH WHICH HAD BEEN FAITHFUL AT GREAT COST

“I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.” (Revelation 2:13, NIV84)

1. it was difficult being a Christian in Pergamum

2. two reasons why it was difficult

A. THE DEMANDS OF THE STATE SOMETIMES MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO BE A CHRISTIAN

1. Pergamum was one of the very first cities of Asia to openly and eagerly embrace worship of the Roman Emperor

a. two decades before Christ was born, the city fathers at Pergamum had dedicated a temple to Caesar Augustus and Roma, the goddess of Rome

b. to be a good citizen meant giving your loyalty and worship to Cesar and Rome’s patron goddess

2. by the time a church had been established in Pergamum, emperor worship had become a test of good and loyal citizenship

a. refusal to take part in the official cult was considered high treason

b. to be a true believer in Pergamum meant that you had to be willing to defy the state

c. the Christian cannot serve two masters

1) Jesus is very explicit about this

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. ... .” (Luke 16:13, NASB95)

d. the problem is that a fallen world does not recognize our Master, it does not recognize God’s agenda, nor does not understand our commitment to the Lordship of Christ

3. in a country which was founded by Pilgrims searching for religious freedom, the increasing secularization of the state and our courts is making it more and more difficult to be a Christian in the public arena

ILLUS. One of the biggest clubs states and communities are using against Christians these days are Public-accommodation Laws. Theses are laws, primarily aimed at businesses, that preclude a business owner’s discrimination against customers. These are the laws being used to force Christian business owners such as bakers and florists to participate in same-sex weddings even though doing so conflicts with the business owner’s religious convictions about marriage. Public-accommodations laws serve important purposes. However, they — like other laws — must yield to the individual freedoms that the First Amendment guarantees. That includes the freedom not to participate in ceremonies that violate one’s religious beliefs.

4. the demands of the state sometimes make it difficult to be a faithful Christian

a. be a faithful Christian anyway

B. THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE CULTURE SOMETIMES MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO BE A CHRISTIAN

1. Pergamum was not a great commercial center like Ephesus or Smyrna

2. it was, however, a seat of higher learning

a. the city was well known for its school of medicine and its great library which contained over 200,000 books

b. it was a city of culture, refinement and intellectualism

3. and if you don’t know it, culture, refinement and intellectualism are often hostile to the Christian faith

ILLUS. A. W. Tozer writes, “ ... the sons of this world nevertheless manage to make it tough for the children of God in a thousand cruel ways.”

a. you don’t believe that to be true?

1) just stand up for traditional marriage in a Miss USA pageant and see if the sons of this world don’t make it tough on you

b. you don’t believe that to be true?

1) just stand up for chastity and sexual purity in almost any college lecture hall, and see if the sons of this world don’t make it tough on you

4. we live in a society which has adopted “tolerance” as its most sacred virtue

a. and yet, because of our insistence on biblical morality and ethics we are often labeled as “intolerant”

1) the cultured of our society say that almost any kind of sexual deviance, and sexual licence must be tolerated as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone

2) the intelligentsia of our society tell us that homosexuality is normal and a healthy expression of sexuality and should not disqualify a gay man or woman from serving as pastors or ministers

3) the sophisticated or our society tell us that faith is fine as long as it is personal and does not carry over into the public arena of life

b. if these are the sort of things we must accept in order to be considered “tolerant” then label me as intolerant!

5. the deceitfulness of the culture sometimes makes it difficult to be a Christian

a. be faithful anyway

C. JESUS COMMENDS THE CHRISTIANS AT PERGAMUM FOR THEIR PAST FAITHFULNESS

“I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, ... .” (Revelation 2:13, NIV84)

1. in spite of the circumstances the believers at Pergamum had remained true to the name of Jesus

a. even after the martyrdom of Antipas

2. undoubtedly the pressure upon these believers to abandon Christ and turn back to their pagan ways was severe

a. they remained true by not “renouncing their faith” even when persecution erupted and one of the church’s member was martyred

3. in spite of all they had suffered as a church, they had not surrendered one article of fundamental truth and had not deviated from the faith

4. the church at Pergamum was unshaken and unshakable

a. these believers were dependable and loyal to their convictions

b. faithfulness is a virtue Christ commends us for

5. The Church at Pergamum Was a Church Which Had Been Faithful at Great Cost

II. THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM WAS A CHURCH WHICH HAD GROWN FAINT-HEARTED IN ITS STAND AGAINST IMMORALITY

“Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.” (Revelation 2:14, NIV84)

1. although the Pergamum Christians had held fast to Jesus’ name and did not renounce their faith in him even under the pressure of threatened persecution, they allowed cultural mores to influence them

a. here is the great threat facing the church today ... that the world will influence us more than we will influence the world

ILLUS. Tony Campolo is exactly right ... “Compromise with the culture has always had more potential for annihilating true faith than has intellectual skepticism or the threat of being thrown to the lions.”

2. the early Christians had one great advantage over us

a. back then it was clear that the surrounding culture was groping in the darkness of paganism

b. but today we have grown accustomed to thinking of ourselves as a part of the "Christian West," living in a "Christian nation"

ILLUS. Dr. Al Mohler recently said in an on-line interview that the vestiges of cultural Christianity are so ingrained in our society that it has had an inoculating affect upon many who simply assume that they are Christian even though there is no spiritual evidence in their life that they are. The result is that 80% of Americans profess Christianity as their religion even though they’ve never confessed Christ as their Savior.

c. the consequence is a moral life, among most Americans, that is more pagan than biblical

3. the specific problem in Pergamum was that, “You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam.”

a. I encourage you to go back and read the story of Balaam in Numbers, chapter 22-24

ILLUS. The gist of the story is this: The ruler of Moab, King Balak was intent on seeing the Israelites cursed, and so he paid top money to get the best curser in the kingdom. His name was Balaam. Yet, because God is sovereign, even over our speech, every time Balaam opened his mouth to utter a curse against Israel, a blessing came out instead. Faced with the rising wrath of King Balak, and fear of losing his reputation as a highly successful caster of curses, Balaam came up with a plan. He told Balak, “If we cannot curse these people, then we will corrupt them.” He told the king to have the single young women of his kingdom entice the young men of Israel to commit sexual immorality, and invite them to participate in idolatrous festivals.

4. the Doctrine of Balaam in Rev. 2:14 is when the people of God presume that their entanglement with the immorality of the culture will not affect them spiritually

a. the Doctrine of Balaam is an attack upon the standards of separation and sanctification God expects His people to maintain

b. they compromised their faith for the pleasures of the world

A. CHRISTIANS COMPROMISE THEIR FAITH WHEN THEY ACCEPT A PAGAN MORALITY

1. the problems in Pergamum were 1st, spiritual adultery

a. certain members were participating in pagan worship practices which had the potential of leading them into idol worship

2. 2nd, there was sexual immorality

a. in the culture of that day sexual laxity was not considered a serious sin by the Greeks or Romans

b. incest, homosexuality, fornication, and adultery were regular practices which aroused little concern among the masses

1) hmmm ... sounds suspiciously familiar, doesn’t it?

2. sexual immorality remains a serious issue in the Body of Christ, and many — too many believers — young, and old have yielded to its temptations in a culture where every kind of sexual wickedness and perversion arouses little concern among the masses

a. the Bride of Christ must neither participate in, condone nor ignore such behavior among its members

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” (Ephesians 4:17–19, NIV84)

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22–24, NIV84)

3. Israel’s great sin in the Old Testament was that she “went after other lovers”

a. in the sight of God, His people were guilty of spiritual adultery

4. the situation at the church in Pergamum teaches us that Christians can be as equally guilty of spiritual adultery

a. we find ourselves, first being enticed by the world, only to adopt its standards

ILLUS. In the books of Colossians and Philemon we find Paul mentioning a faithful co-worker named Demas. Here was a Christian who had faithfully labored with one of Christendom’s finest Christians and greatest missionaries. Yet, in 2 Timothy we find the Apostle Paul lamenting, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;... .” (2 Timothy 4:10, KJV 1900)

b. Jesus was clear, we cannot love two masters

5. the Scriptures are very explicit about the believer’s moral life

"Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? ... 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:14-18, NASB95)

III. THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM TEACHES US IMPORTANT LESSONS FOR TODAY

1. how can the church be relevant in today’s society?

A. GOD’S WORD IS THE CHURCH’S FINAL AUTHORITY

“ ... These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.” (Revelation 2:12, NIV84)

1. the primary weapon of a Roman soldier was his gladius — a twenty-four inch long double-edged sword

a. in the New Testament era Rome was master of the Mediterranean world, and the gladius had become a symbol of Roman power and authority

b. Rome claimed the right to the sword which meant that the state declared that the final judgment for matters of life and death rested solely in the hands of Rome

2. when Jesus describes himself as “the one who has the sword, the double-edged one, the sharp one” — which is literally how the passage reads — he is reminding the Christians at Pergamum that he is actually the one who has final say in all matters of life and death

a. he even has final authority over Rome!

b. never believe for a moment that the State is the final authority in your life!

3. Jesus is the Living Word who’s words are revealed in the Written Word, and his words are truth and power for his Church

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12, NIV84)

4. the issue of authority is not something new to us; the issue of authority is as old as the Garden of Eden

a. the first question raised in the Bible is a question of doubting God’s absolute authority

b. the Serpent said to the Woman, “Did God say? God didn’t mean what he said, don’t trust him”

1) and the earth has felt the consequences ever since

5. Jesus tells this congregation, “I am the final authority, and truth is found in my Word”

ILLUS. The 16th century reformer, Martin Luther, told his congregation, “If you want to hear God speak, read the Bible.” Burk Parsons, a Presbyterian minister, and editor of Tabletalk magazine, takes Luther’s statement a step further, and writes: “If you want to hear God speak, read the Bible. If you want to hear God speak audibly, read it out loud.”

B. FAITHFULNESS IS NOT ALWAYS EASY — BE FAITHFUL ANYWAY

“know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.” (Revelation 2:13, NIV84)

1. the Christians at Pergamum were trying to live out their faith in a culture that was becoming increasingly hostile to the Gospel

a. Jesus acknowledged the challenging environment in which these believers found themselves

1) he describes the city as where Satan has his throne

2. just as the state is not our final authority, neither is the state our chief enemy

a. it is Satan — who will often use the state as a means to his end

ILLUS. The Bible does not tell us anything about Antipas except his martyrdom, but church history gives us a little more information. He was a protégé of the Apostle John and a Pastor in the Pergamum church. The pagan priests demanded that Antipas stop preaching the gospel which was turning the people away from their ancestral gods. When he refused he was condemned. Antipas was sentenced to death at a Temple called The Altar of Zeus. Most of that altar still survives today, and can be found in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, Germany. The Alter of Zeus sat atop a high acropolis at the apex of the city, and as travelers approached Pergamum, they claimed it looked like a “giant throne” atop the city. The Pergamum acropolis, with all of its various temples to pagan gods, is most likely what Satan’s throne is a reference to. At the top of the Altar of Zeus was a hollow bronze bull, designed for human sacrifice. They would take the victim, and place him inside the bull, tied up. Then they would light a fire under the bull, and as the fire heated the bronze, the person inside of the bull would slowly roast to death. As the victim would begin to moan and to cry out in pain, his cries would echo through the head of the bull so it seemed to make the bull come alive. This was how Antipas died — roasted alive in a hollow life-size bull, because he refused to renounce his faith in Christ Jesus.

3. we are also trying to live out our faith in a culture that is becoming increasingly hostile to the Gospel

a. we live at a time when the Gospel is considered foolishness, and the Cross is considered an offense

1) most of us don’t see it because we live in that part of America that is dominated by a small-town, nuclear family, religiously-oriented, ethnically homogeneous worldview that remains politically conservative, and ostensibly Christian

b. but there is a fundamental schism in America

1) the closer you get to either coast, the closer you get to a metropolitan area, the closer you get to a major university the more politically liberal, and religiously disconnected is the population

2) and the more hostility toward the Gospel you’ll encounter

5. if there is any one group we need to earnestly pray for, it’s the Christian high school graduate heading off to a state college or university — they are heading into the most anti-Christian environment in the world

C. THE CHURCH MUST GUARD ITS ORTHODOXY AGAINST ITS OWN MEMBERS WHO WOULD PROMOTE COMPROMISE WITH IDOLATRY AND IMMORALITY

1. the church has been too willing to accommodate the message of the Bible to appease the masses of contemporary culture

a. our culture is hostile to authentic Christianity

b. therefore large segments of the Church have acquiesced to the culture

ILLUS. In January of this year, the historic 155 year old Calvary Baptist Church in downtown Washington D.C. named a lesbian couple as co-pastors. The chairman of the search committee was quoted as saying, “We look for the best people in the world and that’s who they were. We’re very excited.”

1) there is no kind way to say it ... this is a church that has compromised the orthodoxy of the Scripture and accepted the way of Sodom and Gomorrah

2) they have turned the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denied the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 4)

2. there has always been those inside the church who would soften the message of the church so as to be less offensive

a. it’s a methodology that says, “If we’re not offensive in our message, the world will listen to us.”

b. folks, the Gospel is an offence ... the preaching of the cross will always offend sinners because it reminds them that they are sinners in need of a Savior, who calls them to repentance and faith

3. Jesus tells this church to immediately repent

a. in fact, he promises judgment if they do not

It is certain that when we allow worldly and unscriptural beliefs or practices to infiltrate our lives or our church, the purity of our devotion to Christ is affected. That’s what has happened to the Church at Pergamum. Trying to live in both worlds is a dangerous way to live. It weakens the allegiance of our hearts, souls and minds to Christ, and results in an ineffective witness for the Gospel.

In a day in which the church is classified as irrelevant, let us be diligent to use our influence, our "salt" and "light", to make a difference in our world.