110418 Don't Be Corrupted

Don’t Be Corrupted By Res Spears Some of you know that Annette and I celebrated our anniversary yesterday. Seventeen years. It seems like so much longer. OK, so that’s my favorite joke. Annette has been hearing it for 17 years, and I think she’d be the first to tell you that it never gets old. Right, honey? Well, the truth is that our time together has probably seemed a lot longer for her than it has for me. I’m the one who got the great deal in this arrangement. She got the factory reject. But she’s always loved me. In fact, she has been steadfast in loving me through the times when it was very hard for her to do so. She loved me when I didn’t deserve to be loved, and she held onto what we had, even when it didn’t seem to be worth doing so. She has been steadfast and true, faithful and resolved that she would stick with me to the bitter end. That last part doesn’t sound so romantic, but it is what it is. And as I was struggling with this week’s message, I realized that the key to the passage we’re studying today is steadfast commitment. To be sure, the steadfast commitment we’re called to have is for someone far more worthy than Res Spears, and as with all metaphors and illustrations we attempt to use to describe Jesus Christ, this one breaks down quickly. We just can’t contain any of the three persons of the infinite and eternal God in metaphors that are tied to our finite and temporal existence. But steadfastness is the key — the key to both a good marriage and to our relationship with Christ. Today, as we continue our study of the letters of Jesus Christ to His churches, as related in the Book of Revelation, we’re going to take a look at the church in Thyatira. You’ll recall that Ephesus was the Loveless Church, the one that was great at holding fast to pure doctrine; that Smyrna was the Persecuted Church, the one that was called to persevere through persecution; and that Pergamum was the Compromising Church, the one that had allowed its pagan culture to infiltrate without disciplining those who brought ungodliness into its ranks.i Thyatira can be seen as the Corrupt Church. In this fourth of the seven letters to the churches, we see some of Jesus’ strongest commendation and some of his harshest condemnation. While you’re turning to Rev 2:18-29, let me tell you a little about this place. Thyatira was located 30 miles SE of Pergamum. Jesus, speaking to the Apostle John through the Holy Spirit, was addressing these letters to churches in Asia in a geographic progression proceeding in a clockwise direction from Ephesus to Smyrna to Pergamum and now to Thyatira. Thyatira was a place with a large military detachment from Rome, and it was the hometown of Lydia, the seller of purple fabrics who had been saved in Philippi, when Paul and Silas, along with Luke and Timothy, traveled to that city to preach the Gospel at the urging of the Holy Spirit. We don’t know whether Lydia was the one who had brought the Gospel to her town, but it seems a safe conclusion, because Thyatira was well known for its trade in dyed fabrics, and Lydia could well have returned to her home with the Good News after a trade visit to Philippi. Whatever the case, the Gospel had taken root in Thyatira, and a church had been formed. As we’ll see, this was a church that was doing a lot of things right, but what it had done wrong, it had done very wrong. And in allowing the wrong things to continue unabated, this had become a corrupted church. READ REV 2:18-29 The first thing I want to draw your attention to is Christ’s description of Himself. This is the only of the seven letters in which He describes Himself as the Son of God, and, in the context of what follows, it seems likely that Jesus intended His audience to recognize the authority He had been given as God’s only begotten Son. His reference to having “eyes like a flame of fire” suggests the perfect knowledge He has of all things — in other words, His omniscience. The reference to “feet like burnished bronze,” on the other hand, reminds us of his power, his omnipotence. He sees all, and He will pursue all that is evil and then tread it down.ii Matthew Henry puts it this way: “As he judges with perfect wisdom, so he acts with perfect strength and steadiness.”iii READ V. 19 As we have suggested, there was corruption within this church, but our Savior, in His perfect grace, first wants the church in Thyatira to know that His perfect vision has noticed that which is good and acceptable before He points out the corruption. The love He describes here connects with the church’s service, and the faith connects to its perseverance or steadfastness. If we have love within the church, it will manifest itself in works of service, both within the church and in its community. And if we have faith within the church, it will manifest itself in a steadfast commitment to Jesus Christ, who built and continues to build His church. And notice what Jesus says about this church’s deeds. Of late, they were greater than they were at first. Recall that as it had struggled against false teachers the church at Ephesus had lost its love. Here in Thyatira, the love had grown stronger. Unfortunately, this church had tolerated false teachers and evil. “No amount of loving and sacrificial works can compensate for tolerance of evil.”iv We see this principle at work in the life of Jehu, one of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel after that nation was divided into Judah and Israel. Whereas at least some of the kings of Judah sought after the things of God, the northern kingdom was ruled by an unbroken string of idolators. Jehu was a good example of what happens when we fail to pursue God with all our hearts. We read in the Book of 2 Kings that Jehu tore down the house of Baal in Israel and then turned it into a latrine and that he then destroyed all of those who worshiped this false god. But then the historian tells us this about him: However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. (2 Kings 10:29) And then this: But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin. In those days the Lord began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel” (2 Kings 10:31-32) God describes Himself in Scripture as a jealous God. He is Creator of everything, and everything, therefore, belongs to Him. He is sovereign over all and, therefore, has the right to expect us to worship Him exclusively. When we choose to corrupt that worship by mixing false gods into it, we dishonor Him, and we endanger ourselves and others. And even as the church in Thyatira grew in its love, it was dishonoring God by allowing corruption to infiltrate its worship. READ V. 20 This reference to Jezebel is probably not to a specific person, but rather to a group of people who were promoting immorality and false worship within the church. They may have had some connection to the business community there People joined the trade guilds or unions of Thyatira in order to do commerce. The tradesmen, artisans and craftsmen joined in order to buy and sell their goods, But pagan religious activities were common. Immoral sexual activity and eating things sacrificed to idols would have been part of the program there, and those who were part of the guild would have been expected to participate. Perhaps these people Jesus is talking about had been convinced that it was OK to participate in these things and still call themselves Christians. After all, they couldn’t really be expected to give up their livelihoods to follow Jesus, could they? Of course, we recall that Jesus told the rich young ruler that he would have to go and sell all his possessions and give to the poor in order to follow Him. The lesson is that we cannot hold onto anything more dearly than Christ. It seems that’s what set the apostate believers in Thyatira onto the wrong course. Those who were inciting people within the church toward corruption were doing the same thing that their namesake, Jezebel, had done in the nation of Israel. There’s a connection here to Jehu. You see, Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, one of the worst kings Israel ever had. She incited the people of Israel to worship Baal, and she’s the one who had the temple built and who tried to kill the prophet Elijah. You might remember that Elijah finally challenged the prophets of Baal to a showdown, where Baal was proven to be worthless and Yahweh, the one true God, sent down fire to consume not just the sacrifice but the water Elijah had poured around it and even the stones on which it was laid. But the connection goes deeper. Jehu comes into the history of Israel some time later and fulfills a prophecy concerning the House of Ahab, killing all of the wicked king’s descendants and cutting off his line forever and taking the throne for himself. Then he kills Jezebel for her harlotry with Baal. But he never turned to Yahweh. He never turned to the one true God. He never eradicated the unholy altars and golden calves that had been built in Israel. And he paid the price for his own spiritual adultery. And in this letter to the church at Thyatira, we hear Jesus make a similar threat to those who were mixing false worship in with worship of God. But notice in the next verse that even this justice was tempered with His grace. READ VERSE 21 He gave the apostates time to repent from their sins. But since they did not, His justice would be complete. READ VERSE 22-23 The people had sinned in beds of pleasure. The leaders of this idolatrous movement in the church would die in beds of sickness, and their children — the ones who had followed them wholeheartedly — would be punished with pestilence. Those who had not been completely turned to idolatry would be given a chance to repent of her deeds. They had abandoned their good works for the evil works of Jezebel. If they did not repent, they would suffer greatly. Notice that one of the results of this punishment would be that the other churches would be put on notice. A church with internal problems is a church causing external problems. Our sins never affect only ourselves. But there were some in Thyatira who had remained faithful to Christ, even if they had not taken the steps they should have taken to rid the church of the immorality of false worship. To those people, Jesus promises no extra burden. READ VERSES 24-25 As we try to understand this Scripture within a modern context, let me point out that anybody who promises to reveal some secret of Scripture is doing what has been done since the first-century church, when the Gnostics and the Nicolaitans were telling Christians that they had received some special secrets from God. We still see that happening today — in the Mormon church, in the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and in the Masonic Lodge. Wherever we see promises of eternal secrets to be revealed, we need to be alert to the false gods that are behind those secrets. God has left some things as mysteries to us, but He has revealed everything we need to know for our salvation through His Word and through His Son. His perfect Son Jesus was sent to die on a cross for our sins and now stands in His resurrected body by His Father’s throne in heaven, where He awaits the day of His return for the true church. And the true church at Thyatira was told to wait for that day. Note that Jesus tells them to hold fast — to persevere, to be steadfast — until He comes. That suggests that this church will remain until Christ returns, even if those who were peddling idolatry and immorality within the church were removed from it. And the promise for those who are steadfast is wonderful. READ VERSES 26-28 In contrast to those who do the evil deeds of Jezebel, those who do MY deeds, Jesus says, will have authority with Him in the Millennial Reign. We who follow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will also reign with Him. But this word that’s translated “reign” is actually closer to “shepherd.” We will be called to shepherd the nations. “The rule over the nations is to be strong, but it is to be loving also. To those who obey it, it will be a shepherding; only those who resist it will be dashed in pieces.”v “All the promises to the overcomers so far could be summarized as various metaphors for eternal life. To the Ephesian overcomers the symbol was eating from the tree of life; for the Smyrnans, it was receiving a crown of life; to the ones in Pergamum it was receiving hidden manna and a white stone. Now for the Thyatirans, there is some indication of what overcomers will be doing as they enjoy eternal life.”vi In other words, we will have work to do in the Millennial Kingdom, and it will be good work. And then, Jesus gives the best promise of all. Those who overcome will receive the morning star, Jesus Christ Himself, the Bright and Morning Star. The message for us today is an important one. We cannot be like the church at Ephesus, which was great at orthodoxy and terrible at love. Nor can we be like the church at Thyatira, which was great at love and terrible at rooting out false doctrine. We must pursue both truth AND love. There is no middle ground. And we must remain steadfast in both truth AND love. If we remain faithful to Jesus Christ, even through the dark night of this lost culture — if we make it our business to love those who are lost AND to keep ourselves pure from those things that would corrupt us — if we do those things, then we will see the Morning Star light up the dark night before the dawn of His arrival. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.