The Compromised Church

It’s not easy being a Christian in an upside down culture.

We really are a minority.

Our culture is moving at blazing speed further and further away from any resemblance to its Judeo-Christian foundation.

Every day, what we stand for and what we believe in is further from where the mainstream culture is.

It’s becoming harder to exist in this culture as a Christian.

Our beliefs are seen as antiquated, old-fashioned and out of style.

We are no longer welcome in the culture.

Our morals are not welcome.

In a recent Democratic Debate, held just a couple weeks ago, one of the candidates was asked what she would say to a hypothetical follower who said that he believed that marriage was between one man and one woman, as opposed to gay marriage.

She laughed it off, she’s fine with this hypothetical follower’s opinion, but good luck finding someone who shares his belief and follows her, implying he’s really not a welcome follower.

This kind of person doesn’t exist in her camp.

She doesn’t want to be associated with someone like us. (Warren)

In another recent debate, one of the candidates was asked, “Do you think religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities — should they lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?”

And without missing a beat, the candidate said, “Yes.” (Rourke).

The tide is changing.

Christianity, at least biblical Christianity is no longer welcome.

Those are just candidates, no laws have been made.

But they are saying those things for a reason, they are trying to win votes.

They are trying to win the crowd.

They are saying things that the culture wants to hear.

What does the culture want to hear?

Things opposite to the Bible, to God.

But the writing is on the wall.

The clock is ticking.

How will we hold to truth, when culture aggressively fights against us?

We will answer this question as we look at the third church in our journey through Christ’s letters to the churches of Asia Minor.

Please open your Bibles to .

Read .

I asked how do we hold to truth when culture aggressively fights against us, and this is something that Pergamum understood.

As far as the culture goes, I think that Pergamum was very much like ours, if not further along then our own culture.

Pergamum was a cultural epic center.

It was like what Los Angeles or Hollywood is to the West Coast.

It was like New York.

These cities set the cultural trends for the nation.

Pergamum led the way in shaping culture.

Pergamum was an intellectual hub.

It featured a library, that rivaled the Great Library of Alexandria.

It boasted over 200,000 volumes.

This was a lot in a day and age where books were handwritten.

There was no printing press, no mass production.

These had to be handmade.

Pergamum was a scholarly town.

It was the Ivy League city of Asia Minor.

Pergamum was also a religious town.

Like the other great cities we have looked at, it had its own hill that featured temples to their gods.

There was an altar to Zeus.

You hear altar and maybe you think of a small table where sacrifices were made.

This was no small altar.

This was gigantic.

There was a court around the altar in the shape of a horseshoe that was 120 by 112 feet.

The podium for the altar was 18 feet high.

There was a 446 foot base of the structure that featured art of the battle of the gods and the giants.

Zeus was called Zeus Soter, which means Zeus the Savior.

And who do Christians worship?

Jesus Christ.

What do we call Him?

Savior.

So you have an imitation Jesus.

Up on this hill of gods was another temple to Askelpios.

This was the god of healing.

If you needed a miracle, you went there.

Askelpios was connected to snakes.

They had a huge collection of snakes within this temple.

They associated Askelpios with healing.

This was the god of healing.

If you needed a miracle, you went there.

In fact, you can still see the affects of Askelpios on medical images today.

Have you ever seen a snake on a pole or a rod?

This is called the Rod of Askelpios.

I believe you even find it on the health insurance, Blue Shield’s logo.

And yet, who is the one who brings life?

It’s Jesus.

Certainly, not the serpent.

Like Smyrna, they loved the Emperor.

They participated in the cult of the Emperor.

They had the oldest temple to the Emperor in Asia Minor.

These gods weren’t just a part of the history of the town, they were fanatics about their gods.

You either acknowledge them or be killed.

In verse 13, we learn of a Christian in the town, Antipas, who was killed, for not participating in cultic worship.

This is where they live.

Verse 13, Jesus says, “I know where you dwell ...”

They dwell there.

They live there.

This is their home.

And what does Jesus call their city?

He says it is where Satan’s throne is.

I don’t think He calling Zeus’ altar Satan’s throne.

I don’t think He is saying Askelpios’ temple is Satan’s throne.

And I don’t think He is saying the Emperor’s temple is Satan’s throne.

The whole city is Satan’s throne.

It exists in opposition to Christ.

This is where these Christians call home.

Verse 13, Jesus says, “I know where you dwell ...”

They dwell there.

They live there.

This is their home.

He’s not condemning them for living there.

I wouldn’t condemn a Christian for living in Hollywood.

Jesus is showing sympathy for those who live there.

It’s hard to survive when the culture is opposed to you.

These are the streets they walk down.

Their children are raised here.

These are what their neighbors are like.

It’s hard to not be affected by this because it’s where they live.

But Jesus demands that they remain distinct.

And Jesus demands that you remain distinct.

Culture is not an excuse to compromise.

You don’t get to say, “I believe this way because it’s all I’ve ever known.”

Look at verse 12, this is Jesus’ introduction to Pergamum.

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”

Hopefully, you notice that each of these letters follows a similar format.

There’s an introduction.

A commendation.

A warning.

And a prize.

Though they follow the same format, each one is different.

How does Jesus approach Pergamum?

With a sword.

“The words of him who has a sharp two-edged sword.”

Jesus introduces Himself with a weapon.

Think of a police officer.

You ever see them in a store?

Sometimes, I go to a coffee shop, and there will be a couple of deputies getting themselves a cup of coffee.

I can stand in line next them with no problem, no hesitancy.

But suppose that police officer, introduced himself to me with a weapon, with his gun.

That’s a different story.

If I see an officer with his gun pointed at me, what am I going to do?

I’m going to put my hands up.

He’s got a weapon.

And you only draw your weapon if you intend to use it.

Jesus introduces Himself with a weapon.

One is fearful.

Later on, in verse 16, we learn that this weapon is the sword of his mouth.

The sword is mentioned a few times in Revelation.

The first time back in chapter 1.

Then we read about it here.

And again in .

Each time, it’s the sword of his mouth.

This sword comes from His mouth, and its a weapon.

Remember, when a police officer draws his weapon, it means he intends to use it.

And the sword from Jesus is mouth is His spoken word.

And when He speaks, things happen.

It was with a word that creation was formed.

It was with a word that Lazarus came out of the tomb.

And with a word He brings judgment.

What He’s about to say to the church in Pergamum is to be listened to.

It’s for all churches for all time.

He does not bear the sword in vain.

The first thing he says, if you are going to be a Christian in an upside down culture, Hold onto what belongs to Christ.

That happens to be the first point, “Hold onto what belongs to Christ.”

Verse 13, there are 2 things that belong to Jesus.

“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.”

We hold onto His name.

Jesus commends the Christians in Pergamum for holding to his name.

When you become a Christian you change, your identity changes, your allegiance changes, your place in this world changes.

Back in September, Randy and I were able to witness about 50 people become US citizens.

There is an oath and in the oath, they renounce their former allegiances.

So they once were German, and French, and Spanish, and Mexican, and Canadian.

They renounced their former national identity, and they became Americans, citizens of the United States of America.

When you become a Christian, you renounce your former allegiance.

What was your former allegiance?

You were a part of the world.

says that you were servants of the Prince of the power of the air.

Those in Pergamum, worshipped at Satan’s throne.

They would have participated in Emperor worship, Zeus worship, and Askelpios worship.

But when you are converted, all of that changes, you leave it behind.

says, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Our allegiance changes.

Our identity changes.

We are no longer in the domain of darkness, the kingdom of Satan, and we have been transferred to the kingdom of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the one with the sword.

Now we live in this world -

We are still in Murrieta.

We are still in Temecula

We are still in Menifee.

We are still in Wildomar.

But we live in this world as representatives of Him.

I don’t live as a representative of the people around me, or even the nation I live in.

I live as a representative of Christ.

If you are in Christ, you live as a representative of Him first.

says that we are ambassadors for Christ.

This means the world around you can do whatever the world wants to do.

But you live differently.

Why, because you have Christ’s name.

When a US Soldier puts on his uniform, it’s got a US flag on it.

This means as he goes abroad into foreign lands, he represents this nation.

And as you go throughout this world, you have Christ’s name, you represent Jesus.

Holding His name means what we do says something about Jesus.

We bring glory to Him when we hold His name.

They were commended for holding to His name, and not going back to their old lifestyle.

If you are going to survive in an upside down culture, you need to say goodbye to your former life.

The second thing that we hold is His faith.

Jesus commends the Christians in Pergamum for not denying the faith.

At this time, under Domitian’s rule, he was the current Emperor, Caesar worship was mandatory.

It wasn’t optional.

And especially in a city like Pergamum.

They were very proud of their temple to the Caesar.

So when the time came for a person to worship Caesar, you had to make your sacrifice and say “Caesar is Lord”.

To refuse those words was a death sentence.

Church tradition has it that Antipas, the one we see mentioned in verse 13, was called forward to confess Caesar as Lord.

He refused, he did not deny the faith, instead he clung to the confession that Jesus is Lord.

Tradition has it that he was put into a bronze bull.

These were Roman torture and execution devices.

It was a hollowed bronze bull.

A person would be put into it, and it was heated up and the person inside was roasted alive.

They had it designed so that the screams of the person inside could be heard.

They found amusement in the torturous screams of the mooing bronze bull.

This is how Antipas died.

He did not deny the faith.

Christianity is more than just believing that Jesus existed, it’s believing something about Jesus.

says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Saying, “Jesus is Lord” is not a magical phrase.

You don’t just say the words three times and your transported to heaven like Dorothy in Oz.

It’s a statement that those in Pergamum understood, because it meant life or death.

You couldn’t casually say those words.

Confessing Jesus is Lord is rejecting Caesar as Lord.

It’s rejecting anything that rises in opposition to God.

It is saying that He is Lord.

And it is affirming all that the Scripture says about Him, regardless, and despite what the culture around us says.

Christ is calling for us to be different.

There is never an excuse to compromise.

We are the underdogs of our culture.

The Spirit will not let you.

We are the minority.

And how do we live?

By holding to Christ’s name.

By affirming the faith as it’s been revealed to us in the Bible.

Even when the world calls us fools, and mocks us, we stand convinced that His Word is true.

Let me go a step further.

We believe these things because God’s Word says it’s true.

This brings us to the second point to being a Christian in an upside down world, Hold onto Holiness.

In verses 14-15 Jesus rebukes the Christian’s in Pergamum.

“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. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

To understand this we need to go back to the Old Testament, and learn about Balaam.

Balaam is one of those great Sunday School stories.

It’s fun to teach because it involves an angel and a talking donkey.

It’s fun to teach this to children.

Unfortunately, we never quite go all the way when teaching it.

Most people read about Balaam and end up thinking that he was a good guy, who feared the Lord.

That’s actually not true.

He’s a villain.

And the rest of the Bible describes him as a villain.

You can read about this in 4.

Balaam was a Gentile prophet for hire.

People would hire him to bless or curse people and nations.

He’s probably more like a witch or a sorcerer.

One day, the king of Moab, a man named Balak came to Balaam and hired him to curse Israel.

Israel had recently come out of Egypt, they were getting quite the name for themselves, and the surrounding nations were getting fearful.

Balak wanted a curse to stop them.

So he hires Balaam to curse them.

Surprisingly, God reveals Himself to Balaam and won’t let him curse Israel.

God said to Balaam, “You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

I’m telling this the super fast way.

Balaam ends up going with Balak, and Balak thinks that Balaam will curse the Israelites.

He doesn’t know that God has forbidden Balaam from cursing them.

3 times Balaam goes out to curse the Israelites, and 3 times he blesses them instead.

This is usually where the Sunday school lesson ends.

Balaam is taught to be a faithful prophet.

Sadly, that’s not the case.

Balaam isn’t a hero.

God had commanded Israel to be holy.

They were given strange laws.

Because they were not supposed to live like the nations around them.

You read about these laws in Leviticus.

God told them how to worship.

They weren’t to worship Him like the nations around them.

They weren’t to worship the gods that the nations around them worshipped.

They weren’t even to marry the women around them.

They were a holy people to God, completely different from the surrounding nations.

After the chapters with Balaam, Israel fell into gross sin.

Knowing that, what Balaam did is absolutely heinous.

They started worshipping Baal and having sex with the women of Moab.

What happened?

:16 tells us a little more information.

Balaam couldn’t curse Israel.

He couldn’t say the words.

But what he could incite Israel to sin, he could encourage them to sin.

So instead of cursing Israel to sin, he lead them into sin.

He taught them to worship Baal.

He encouraged them to have sex and procreate with the Moabite women.

Balaam was teaching Israel to be just like the nations around them.

That’s worse than a curse.

It brought on the wrath of God.

A plague his Israel and over 24,000 people were killed in that plague.

That’s what was going on in Pergamum.

Some of the Christians were doing well.

They held to Christ’s name.

They didn’t deny Christ as Lord.

But there were others, in the church, who were just like the city around them.

They had been influenced by the culture.

Jesus gives two specific sins.

He says that they were eating food sacrificed to idols, and practicing sexual immorality.

Some of you might be familiar with the meat sacrificed to idols in .

This is not the same situation.

In Corinth the meat sacrificed to idols was basically food that was sacrificed to idols, and then sold in the market to eat.

You could eat it and it was just food.

In Pergamum, the meat would be sacrificed in a temple, those who ate it would enter into the temple and participate in the religious ceremony.

They weren’t just eating food.

They were participating in idolatry.

The other sin is that they were participating in sexual sin.

It really seems like nothing has changed.

There are those who claim to be a part of the church, but they look just like the world around us.

Currently, there is lots of debate regarding sexual immorality.

You are watching the main stream denominations crumble as they give into the sexual revolution and embrace the LGBTQ movement.

It’s been said that people who claim to be Christians participate in pornography just as much as nonChristians.

And what is this?

It’s the church losing her distinction.

It’s trying to get kudos from the world, at the cost of their soul.

Many Christians have been seduced by the world, seduced by culture, and refuse to say or believe anything that might be offensive to the culture.

Sin is not spoken of.

And when it is spoken of, it’s reduced from rebellion and hatred of God, something that earns damnation, instead, as one pastor infamously called sin, “Hurts, habits, and hang-ups”.

The church is pandering for a pat on the back from the culture.

As if to say, “Culture gets it right.”

Culture doesn’t get to dictate what is right.

In fact, you never want culture to do that.

Because culture changes like the wind.

60 years ago what was the culture regarding smoking?

Doctors recommended you smoke.

70 years ago if you were in Germany, culture said Jews were the problem.

Until the 1800’s our culture said it was okay to kidnap people from West Africa, bring them across the Atlantic, then sell them to people like an animal.

Don’t take your queues from culture, let God tell you what is good, lovely and perfect.

Don’t try to gain culture's approval at the cost of disobeying God.

That’s not a compliment.

says, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

There are many so called churches that have made the standard the world’s approval and not Christ’s approval.

In the process they become enemies of God.

How should we look compared to culture?

Completely different.

says, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

We walk in Christ.

We refuse to be taken captive, or wooed by the culture around us.

Why?

Because Jesus is Lord.

This brings us to the third point to being a Christian in an upside down world is to Hold onto Purity.

Jesus has a sword, and He is speaking to the church.

He is speaking to a church that has people who have compromised.

Some of the people in Pergamum are being obedient.

They are doing well.

And He commends them.

Repent.

And others are compromising.

They are in sin.

What does He say?

Repent.

But who does He say repent to?

To the church.

Not just those in sin.

It’s the church, it’s those who are being obedient.

Christ loves His bride, He desires for her to be spotless.

Jesus, with His sword is talking to the whole church.

This is a church wide problem.

There is an expectation that the whole church deal with the sin in the church.

He says, “Repent church. Deal with the sin within you.”

We need to take sin so seriously, that we expect it to be dealt with and removed from among us.

We are to fight for the purity of the local church.

If there is someone who identifies with one of us.

He or she is a Christian, and says that he is a member of this church.

But this person is in unrepentant sin, he or she is our problem.

And we need to practice church discipline.

Christ’s words aren’t just for Pergamum, they are for all Christians of all time.

Love the church, because Christ loves the Church.

Today might be your last day in the class.

Take care of the church.

As you wind down your class think about this.

Not just physically, but spiritually.

This is something that everyone here needs to hear.

If you are going to become a member at Southwest, you need to understand we will fight for purity.

Pergamum was practicing church discipline.

If they were he wouldn’t have said, “you have some there who hold the teachings of Balaam ...”

Jesus told them to repent.

Those who are doing this, need to be dealt with.

So if you have been at Southwest for a long time, the call is for you to repent.

Expect and encourage church discipline.

We have a pretty big group of people in the Membership Class.

You are starting off fresh.

You too, should enter into fellowship with us, expecting and encouraging church discipline.

I say church discipline, and I know that scares people.

Remember when we were looking through Galatians, I said, think of church discipline as restoration.

It’s helping a person through sin and restoring them to Christ.

Church discipline might be scary, but you know what’s scarier than church discipline?

Jesus saying, “I will come to you soon and wage war against them with the sword of my mouth.”

We look forward to Christ returning.

But those in sin, should tremble at the thought.

Failure to hold onto purity, damns people.

And the final point to being a Christian in an upside down world is Hold onto the Promise.

The end of each letter comes with a promise.

These promises are for all Christians, for all times.

Verse 17 gives us Christ’s promise to Pergamum, “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.”

We live in a world where we are the underdogs.

The culture hates us.

First He says that

And it’s difficult.

To the person who:

Holds fast to Christ.

Does not deny Him.

Holds onto holiness.

And fights for purity.

Jesus says this person conquers.

And the person who conquers receives hidden manna and a white stone.

What is the manna?

It’s Christ.

Back in , Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

He is the hidden manna.

To the one who conquers to the end, to the one who perseveres to the end, He receives Christ.

Let me make this special to you and show you what it means to have Christ.

Flip in your Bible back to .

At the very end, Christ will return.

There will be a 7 year Tribulation.

He receives eternal life.

But after that 7 year tribulation, Christ will usher in a literal 1000 year kingdom.

And right before that kingdom will be a marriage feast.

Look at this passage.

This hidden manna is having Christ for all time.

It’s knowing Him for all eternity.

We also will receive a white stone.

This also has to do with a meal.

In the ancient world, when an athlete won, he didn’t win a cheap plastic trophy, he would receive a white stone with his name inscribed on it.

After receiving his white stone, there would be a banquet for the winners.

This white stone served as his ticket into the banquet.

Only those with the stones were allowed in.

Christ is guaranteeing us a banquet.

This is an eternity of ruling with Him.

He has something prepared for us.

He will give us a stone, with a new name that will allow us to enter into the banquet.

We will receive a new name.

Everyone wants to know, what is the new name?

You know what the answer is?

You see it in verse 17, “no one knows except the one who receives it.”

I don’t know.

We will find out.

Let me make this special to you and show you what it means to have the hidden manna or this white stone.

Flip in your Bible back to .

At the very end, Christ will return.

There will be a 7 year Tribulation.

After a 7 year tribulation, Christ will usher in a literal 1000 year kingdom.

And right before that kingdom will be a marriage feast.

Look at this passage.

This hidden manna is having Christ for all time.

Read .

This is a marriage of Christ and His bride.

Where we are now, we are living on faith.

We have the Spirit.

We have His Words in the Bible.

But none of you have seen Christ, face to face.

You have not met your bridegroom.

But to the uncompromising church, those who endure to the end in an upside down world, you can look forward to Christ’s return.

And He won’t come to you with that sword drawn.

But in love.

And you will receive a stone, with a new name, and feast with Christ for eternity, in eternal life.

This text is a reminder that Christ wants more than church attendance.

You will receive entrance into eternity with Him through receiving Christ.

Coming to church won’t save you.

If you attend church but don’t know Christ, when He returns He won’t give you:

Christ is your admission into heaven.

The hidden manna.

Or the white stone.

Or an entrance into the banquet.

He’ll give you the same punishment that awaits the world outside of Christ.

The sword of His mouth.

What will save you?

Knowing Christ.

Him knowing you.

I don’t want us to be the compromising church.

I want Southwest Christian Church to be the Uncompromising Church.

Hold to what belongs to Christ.

His name, His faith.

Hold onto holiness

Don’t compromise to the culture.

Hold onto purity.

Expect and encourage the saints to run well.

And always remember the prize.

Christ and an eternity with Him.