The Church at Pergamum
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I want to welcome you again this morning.
First, to those joining us online, we are so thankful for our online technology that allows you to be a part of our church family today.
I also want to welcome those who may be joining us for the first time today. I hope your time with us today is encouraging and helpful, and I look forward to meeting you.
I would also say if you are new to our church today, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.
That being said, if you’re just joining us, we are just a few weeks into a new series called the “The Seven Letters”. A series that is based on the first three chapters of the book of Revelation.
And we’ve called it the seven letters because the book of Revelation was written to seven specific churches that existed at the end of the first century.
And it’s in the first three chapters of Revelation that Jesus personally addresses each of these churches. And that’s important for us for a few reasons:
First, as we’ve learned, the churches that Jesus addresses are meant to represent the universal church.
Which means, the book of Revelation wasn’t just written for those 7 churches, but for all churches of all time.
Second, while this letter was penned by the Apostle John, the resurrected Jesus is actually the one dictating this letter to John, which means what is written to the universal church and to us, is from Jesus Himself.
Finally, in addressing these churches, Jesus either addresses them as a church He is pleased with, unpleased with, or somewhat pleased with. And then based on the condition of each church, Jesus addresses them accordingly.
Which again is important for us because if we want to be a church that is pleasing to Jesus then we need to know what is and isn’t pleasing to Him.
So, what does Jesus have to say to these churches? Well, that’s what we are discovering each week.
So, if you haven’t been with us, I’d encourage you to download the app so you can listen to the previous messages leading up to today.
Last week we looked at the second church, the church in Smyrna, which is one of two churches that Jesus is actually pleased with.
Which means today we are going to look at the third church, a church located in the city of Pergamum.
So, what’s up with this church? Is this a church that Jesus is pleased with or displeased with?
Well, actually it’s a little of both. In fact, Pergamum is one of three churches that Jesus is somewhat pleased with.
In other words, they’re hitting the target in some areas but they are totally missing it in others. Which is probably what is true for most churches.
And so to help us better understand what is going on at the church in Pergamum, I have three goals this morning.
First, we are going to spend a few moments looking at what life was like in the city of Pergamum at the end of the 1st century.
This is important because it gives us the context of what the early Christians were facing in Pergamum.
Second, we are going to look at what Jesus liked and didn’t like about the church at Pergamum.
Finally, after looking at what Jesus has to say to this church, we are going to look at how His words apply to us and how we measure up to what Jesus is pleased with and unpleased with when it comes to this church..
In other words, we are going to ask ourselves, “How do we compare to the church at Pergamum?”
I think that’s a great question.
And so to get us started, I want to begin by painting of picture for you of what life was like in Pergamum.
And what we need to understand first, is that Pergamum was city that everyone in the Greek world wanted to visit. And that was largely due for three reasons:
First, Pergamum was home to one of the finest theatres in the ancient world. A theatre that was built into a hill and sat around 10,000 people.
Even today it is a wonder to look at as you can see from this image.
Show Picture of Theatre
As a result, people would travel all over from the known world to sit in this magnificent setting.
Second, Pergamum had one of the finest libraries in the ancient world with as many as 200,000 volumes that had been archived in the library. Which meant, if you wanted to study, Pergamum was the city to study in.
Third, along with this theatre and library, unlike any other city, Pergamum had a temple for every known Roman and Greek god. Which meant, in a way, the city of Pergamum was a pantheon, meaning that it was a city that housed all of the gods.
As a result, if you wanted to go somewhere where you could worship all the gods in a custom temple designed for each one, you would go to Pergamum.
So for example:
If you needed strength or power in your life, you would go to the temple of Zeus. Why Zeus? Well Zeus was known as the father of the greek gods and had gained the title king of kings.
He was also known as the god of thunder and lightning, of which he would use against his enemies.
So, if you needed power to overcome something or someone, you would go to the temple of Zeus where the King of Kings would give you the power to overcome your situation.
But maybe you came to town to relax and have a good time. In that case you would go to the temple of Dionysus who was the god of wine and revelry. And it was in this temple that you could get drunk and participate in sexual acts of worship with a prostitute.
It would have been like going to Vegas, and what happens in the temple of Dionysus stays in the temple of Dionysus.
It’s also possible you came to Pergamum to seek medical attention for some sort of illness or disease. In that case you would go to the temple of Asklepios, also known as the god of healing.
Once in the temple you would be given Psychotropic drugs that would put you in a trance like state. The belief was once in a trance it would be easier to ascertain what had caused the illness.
From there you would be put in a dark room where snakes would be used to slither over your body in order to bring healing.
In fact, this is where the medical sign we see today comes from. You may recall it’s a rod with snakes wrapped around it. That symbol dates back to this temple.
Show Image
Or maybe it’s not healing you’re looking for, but wisdom. In that case you would go to the temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom where you could ascertain wisdom for an important financial or relational decision.
Or it could be you’re just a good Roman citizen, and so while in town you visit the temple of the imperial cult where you would affirm Caesar as the Lord of Lords.
At the end of the day, Pergamum contained a smorgashbord of gods that could provide you with anything and everything you needed to meet your needs.
As a result, it was more pagan than most cities, which made living in Pergamum a real challenge for Christians.
In fact, to be a Christian in Pergamum was a high risk venture because it threatened everything in your life from your friendships, social position, financial position, and even your physical life.
We know this because in His words to this church, Jesus will actually reference a Christian named Antipas that had been killed in Pergamum because of his faith.
And so just like in Smyrna, to live for Jesus in Pergamum came at a great cost. Because as a Christian in Pergamum, what you believed about Jesus flew in the face of what the city stood for.
I mean think about it, if Pergamum was the home for the gods, the place where all the gods lived, then to follow Jesus meant that these gods were irrelevant and unnecessary.
Because when it came to power, Jesus is the God of ultimate power. Remember, He holds the seven stars in his hand.
When it came to wisdom, Jesus is the God that knows all things. Remember, He is the beginning and the end.
When it came to healing, Jesus is the great healer. He’s Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals.
And the list goes on and on as Jesus matches the supposed abilities of all these false gods.
And so as you can imagine, to proclaim Jesus as Lord in Pergamum would have been dangerous. In fact, to make these claims about Jesus would have classified you as an atheist, as somebody that didn’t believe in the gods or Caesar. An accusation that could lead to your death.
Which leads us to what Jesus has to say to this church in Pergamum.
So, what does Jesus have to say? Let’s find out as Jesus addresses this church.
Picking up in verse 12 John writes:
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
We’re going to pause here for a moment because as Jesus addresses this church, He once again begins by introducing Himself by using one of the descriptions that John gave us of the resurrected Christ back in chapter 1. A description that highlights who Jesus is and what He represents.
And if you recall one of those descriptions John gave us involved a sword. So, to jog our memory, let’s go back to chapter 1 and look at how John described what he saw as Jesus appeared to him.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
John says as he witnesses the resurrected Jesus, he sees seven stars, which as we learned represent His ultimate power, but he also sees a sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth.
So, what was that all about.
Well, remember, the two edged sword is a sword of judgment.
And it’s a two edged sword because it’s a judgement of both the righteous and unrighteous. The idea being, that whether you are a believer or unbeliever, Jesus has the right to judge us.
And by judge I mean He has the right to point out areas of concern, disobedience, and needed repentance. And if repentance doesn’t take place, He has the right to administer punishment.
And so as Jesus comes to the church in Pergamum, He comes to them as the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.
So a great question would be, “Why does Jesus introduce Himself in this way?”
For a couple of reasons:
First, from a contextual standpoint, the image of a sword would have had great significance in Pergamum.
We know this because the Roman governor of the region had his office in Pergamum. And as the Roman governor, he held the “Right to the sword”.
What that meant is through his governorship and judgment, he had the right to fid people guilty and kill them.
To reinforce this, often when the Roman governor would travel through the streets, a soldier would go before him with a giant sword in the air that represented his judgment.
And so it’s with this same imagery that Jesus presents himself to this church. Which leads us the second reason Jesus introduces Himself this way.
Because Jesus coming as the one with a two-edged sword serves as a reminder to the church in Pergamum that Jesus is the ultimate judge. And that as the ultimate judge, Jesus is the one who administers ultimate judgment.
And that would have been an encouraging but sobering all at the same time.
Encouraging in that Jesus not Rome is the ultimate Judge.
Sobering though that regardless of their faith in Jesus, faith doesn’t preclude them from any sort of judgment for their actions and behavior.
And honestly, it’s a good reminder for any church that may have forgotten that Jesus is the ultimate Judge. And that even as believers we are accountable to the great judge.
Which means our actions and behaviors matter and have consequences. Because according to God’s Word, all will stand and be accountable before Jesus.
The Apostle Paul puts it like this:
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
So, like it or not, we will all stand before Jesus and be accountable for the life we lived. For reasons to be seen, the church at Pergamum needed to be reminded of this.
This now leads us to what Jesus has to say to this church, because after introducing Himself as the one who judges, Jesus goes on to say:
13 “ ‘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.
Just like the church in Smyrna, Jesus begins by acknowledging the challenges this church is facing. Challenges that have actually led to the death of a Christian named Antipas.
So, what challenges were they facing?
Well, the major challenge was coming from the pressure of living in a secularized culture. A pressure that had resulted in persecution and ostraization from society.
And we know this based on what Jesus says. Because he says He’s aware that they live where Satan’s throne is and where Satan dwells.
So, what does that mean? Is Jesus saying that Pergamum is the headquarters for Satan?
What Jesus is saying is that he knows Pergamum is the center for the worship of false gods, which means, it’s a city full of demonic activity. A place where darkness dwells. A place where it’s extremely hard to be a Christian.
And so Jesus says He recognizes that. And not only that, He recognizes the stand the church has taken against the culture, so much so that it’s led to the martyrdom of a believer named Antipas.
And this commendation by Jesus represents what this church is doing well. That for the most part they are standing against the pressure of a demonic culture. So, that’s good.
But unfortunately there’s a problem. And we know this based on what Jesus says next. Because He goes on to say:
Revelation 2:14 (ESV)
14 But I have a few things against you...
Jesus says despite your faithful stand against this demonic culture, there are a few things I’m not happy about.
And lets just be honest, that’s not good, right? I mean if Jesus has one thing against you, that’s bad enough, but a few things, that’s pretty concerning.
So, what does Jesus have against this seemingly faithful church? He tells us:
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.
Jesus begins by pointing to His number one concern, and it has to do with some individuals in the church who are holding to the teaching of Balaam.
So, a great question would be, “What’s the teaching of Balaam?”
The teaching of Balaam is a reference to a situation that took place in the OT as the Israelites were making their way to the Promise Land. And it involved an enemy king named Balak who hired a false prophet named Balaam to curse the people of Israel.
What’s interesting though is through a series of events God would not allow Balaam to curse the Israelites. So instead Balaam found a loop hole. And the loop hole involved some advice he gave King Balak. We read about this advice in Numbers as Moses makes reference to it. Moses writes:
16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.
While it doesn’t detail it here, the advice that Balaam gave King Balak was to send foreign women into Israel’s camp and entice them to commit sexual immorality which would then lead to the worship of false gods. And unfortunately the plan worked. Because in Numbers 25 we read about the unfolding of this plan. Moses writes:
1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
And so because of the advice given by Balaam, the people of Israel gave themselves to the worship of the false gods, specifically a false god called Baal. And as a result God brought judgment on the people of Israel by way of a plague that resulted in 24,000 Israelites dying. And we know this because in Numbers 25 we read Numbers 25:9
9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
And so this is the reference that Jesus is making when it comes to his number one concern against the church in Pergamum. Because Jesus says someone has brought the teaching of Balaam into the church.
So, what does that mean? It means that somebody or a group of somebodies is encouraging people within the church at Pergamum to give in to the culture. How would they give in? It could come in a number of ways.
At it worst, there would be some in the church encouraging believers to participate in the false worship of the city.
Teaching them that it’s ok to worship not only Jesus, but in order to fit in, it’s also ok to worship the false gods of the city.
That it’s ok to go and eat food sacrificed to idols.
That it’s ok to go to the sex temple and have sex with a prostitute.
That it’s ok to participate in the day to day temple worship.
It could also have been something not as blatant. Maybe something that involved a small compromise.
Maybe it was a marriage situation. Maybe somebody in the church wanted to get married to somebody that wasn’t a Christian. Somebody who worshiped the false gods. And some in the church were saying it was permissible. That it would be permissible to yoke yourself with an unbeliever.
Maybe it was of a financial nature. Maybe somebody in the church was at risk of losing their business, so they were considering taking on a non Christian partner. Somebody who wasn’t a Christian. Somebody that would have access to buying and selling since Christians didn’t have access.
You might ask, “What’s the problem those types of partnerships?”
The problem is when you partner with the world, whether in marriage or finances, you open the door for the world to have influence on you.
This is what happened to the Israelites as they joined with the Midianite women.
In doing so they compromised their faith. This is why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians:
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Paul isn’t just talking about relational partnerships here, he’s also talking about business partnerships.
All that to say, apparently there are some in the church at Pergamum who are yoking themselves with the world in a way that’s causing them to compromise their faith and their relationship with Jesus.
Why would they do it? They’re tired of being different.
They’re tired of the danger of following Christ.
They’re tired of the negative association.
They’re tired of being left out.
Yes, they wanted to follow Jesus, but they wondered if there could be a way to follow Jesus and still participate in the world and its ways.
As a result, some of the Christians started to sneaking back into temple worship. Some started mixing with the culture while at the same time trying to maintain their Christianity.
And Jesus says, “You can’t do that.”
But Jesus’s displeasure with this church doesn’t end there. Because He goes on to say:
15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Jesus now references a group of people known as the Nicolaitans.
You may recall we referenced this group a few weeks back. Basically this was a sect in the church that had adopted a new form of Christianity. A form of Christianity that said the body didn’t matter and that only the state of the soul was important.
As a result, this group taught that if a person wanted to indulge in sinful activity with the body, it would have no direct consequence for their soul since what the body didn’t matter.
What that meant then is as long as you believed in Jesus you could live how you wanted. Just make sure you show up for church on Sunday and you’ll be good.
All that to say, along with the teaching of Balaam, there are individuals in the church at Pergamum who have adopted the teachings of the Nicolaitans.
And so what we basically have here is a divided church.
We have some in the church who are 100% faithful to Jesus and 100% against the culture they live in. So faithful that they would even die for their faith.
But then we have a group of people who have given themselves to the teaching of Balaam, which means they have combined their faith with the worship of false gods or in some way have mixed their faith with the world. They’ve compromised.
And then finally we have a group of people who have given themselves to the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which basically means they’ve adopted Christianity as a religion and not a relationship.
And for Jesus this is a real problem. Because a divided church not only equates to an ungodly church, but an ineffective church. And so based on that, here’s the warning that Jesus gives this church:
16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
Jesus says to this church, “Listen, you need to address what’s happening in your church, otherwise I’m going to get involved.”
And I’m going to tell you right now, you don’t want Jesus taking care of this problem.
You might ask, “Why, what’s going to happen?”
Simply put, if Jesus gets involved, judgement comes for all. Because remember, he’s the judge and it’s a two edged sword. And if Jesus has to get involved, he’s going to hold even the righteous accountable. Why? Because they failed to deal with it.
You say, “Pastor, how do you know that?”
We know based on the story of Balaam.
Because if we go back to the story of Balaam, that’s why judgment in the form of a plague had come and killed 24,000 people. Why? Because initially nobody did anything about the sin in the camp. Which then led to God getting involved.
The good news though is, eventually somebody stepped up.
So, what did they do? Check this out:
6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped.
The writer says as the plague carried on, one of the men of Israel blatantly brought a Midianite women into the camp and took her into his tent to have sexual relations with her. And it so bothered a man named Phinehas, that he picked up a spear and followed them into the tent.
And I don’t want to get to graphic here, but in the midst of this man and woman's ungodly passion, Phinehas drove his spear through both of them. And as soon as he did that, the plague stopped.
You might be thinking, “Wow Pastor, that’s a little graphic and extreme!”
You’re right, it is. And what it illustrates is how God wants us to deal with sin. He wants us to kill it.
And so by referencing this OT story, what Jesus is saying to the church in Pergamum is, “It’s time for the compromise to stop. I need a Phinehas to rise up and deal with the sin and compromise in your church. Because if you don’t deal with it, I will.”
The point is, Jesus means business here. He’s not going to tolerate sin and compromise in His church. And if the righteous won’t do something about it, He will.
You see, the problem in Pergamum wasn’t that the church was in Pergamum, the problem was that too much of Pergamum was in the church. And Jesus says, “It’s enough. Time to clean house.”
The question now is, “How does this apply to us?”
I hate to say it, but it applies in the same way.
Because just like there was too much of Pergamum in the church in Pergamum, unfortunately there’s too much of the secular in the church today. Which has led to three different types of Christians in the American church today.
The first type is what I would call a “Biblical Christian”.
And what I mean by Biblical Christian is a person that has fully committed their life to Jesus.
In other words, their 100% bought into a relationship with Jesus. To this person Jesus would say:
13 “ ‘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.
The second type is what I would call a “Compromising Christian”. Which is an oxy moron.
This is the Christian who wants to live for Jesus but doesn’t want to give up some of the habits, behaviors, and action of their life before Jesus.
They want to be a Christian, but they want to keep sleeping with their girlfriend or boyfriend.
They want to live for Jesus, but they want to keep getting wasted on the weekend.
They want to live for Jesus, but they don’t want to be seen as one of those narrow minded Christians.
They want to live for Jesus, but they can’t let go of the world.
As a result, they’ve bought into the lie that a Christian can live for Jesus but still live in sin.
But Jesus says, “You can’t do that. You can’t live in both.”
The Apostle John puts it like this:
6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
John says you’re either living for Jesus or you’re living for the devil. John says there’s no in between. And Jesus would agree. Jesus says you can’t live for me and practice the teaching of Balaam.
And then there’s what I would call the “Religious Christian”.
This is the Christian who has adopted Jesus in name only. For this Christian Jesus is just a religious icon. He’s a get out of jail free card.
And for the person whose adopted this form of Christianity, as long as they show up for church, as long as they’ve been confirmed, as long as they practice the ritual, as long as they put in the time, they can live how they want with no consequence.
But they’ve bought into a lie. A lie that is leading them straight to hell.
The Apostle Paul addresses this warped view of Christianity in Romans 6. He writes:
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Paul says you can’t use Jesus as a license to sin. You can’t presume that the grace of God will cover your intentional sin, because it won’t.
You see what we need to understand is that the Grace of God isn’t for people who keep on sinning. It’s for people who repent and discontinue the sin.
So Jesus says, “You can’t practice the teachings of the Nicolaitans and follow me.”
And just like the church in Pergamum, Jesus has the same warning for the American Church today. And the warning is:
16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
You see what we need to understand is that Jesus isn’t pleased with a compromising church. And He’s especially not pleased with a church that tolerates people who call themselves Christians but live like the world. To that church He says, “You need to take care of the problem, or I will.”
Now, you might be thinking, “Wow pastor, I’m not sure what I think about that. Are you saying Jesus is looking for a perfect church, a sinless church?”
No, what I’m saying is He’s looking for a church that’s committed to living for Him and not the world. A church that’s committed to confronting sin, and especially sin within the church.
Now, at this point, this is where inevitably somebody will say, “Yeah pastor, but it’s not our job to judge.”
And that’s true...when it comes to unbelievers.
But it’s not true when it comes to people who say they are Christians but are living like the world. To those, Jesus says we have a right and responsibility to judge.
You might say, “I’m Not sure where you’re getting that pastor.”
Well, for one, I’m getting it from Jesus who just said, “Deal with it or I will.” But if you need more proof, we also see it throughout scripture.
For example, to the church in Corinth that was steeped in compromise, Paul says this:
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
Paul says stop letting sin take place in the church.
The idea here being that it’s God’s job to judge the outsider and it’s our our job to hold those on the inside accountable.
Now, some might say, “But pastor, isn’t there a scripture that says that we aren’t supposed to judge others?”
Yes, there is. It’s found in Matthew 7, and here’s what Jesus says:
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
What I want you to notice is why Jesus says not to judge, it’s based on a stipulation. And the stipulation is that before you challenge your brother or sister in Christ for their sin, that you first nee to take an account of your own sin.
And so when it comes to addressing the sin of other Christians in the church, we need to follow the process that Jesus has given us, and it involves 5 steps:
Step #1 - Before you address the sin of others, deal with your own sin first.
That’s what Jesus means when He says to take the log out of your own eye first. In other words, before you point out somebody else’s downfall, address your own first.
So, how do you do that?
First, you ask God to point it out. Because if anybody sees it, He does.
Second, ask those closest to you if they see anything in your life that doesn’t represent Christ. Somebody like your spouse or a close friend.
Finally, be open when somebody points something out and you didn’t ask them too. In that moment don’t say, “Who are you to judge?!” Instead, if they’re right, say, “Thank you for pointing that out. I didn’t see it.”
And the reason this step is so important is because until you’re willing to confront your own sin, you have no business confronting someone else's.
Step #2 - When first addressing the sin of a fellow Christian, keep it private.
Jesus talks about this in Matthew 18 as He gives us instructions on how to address sin with a fellow believer. He says:
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
Jesus says if a brother or sister is in sin, you need to go to them, and them alone. Which means, this isn’t something you discuss with a group of friends first. This isn’t something you share at your connect group prayer time. “Well everybody be praying for me, I need to talk to Bob about his drinking problem.”
No, you go to them alone before you involve anybody else.
Step #3 - If they refuse to listen or repent, then involve a few trusted Christians.
Jesus puts it like this:
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Jesus says if they won’t listen to you, then bring others to try and help them see the error of their ways. This is like an intervention. And the goal isn’t condemnation, it’s redemption.
But if that doesn’t work. if they still won’t repent:
Step #4 - If they still won’t repent, involve the church.
Jesus puts it like this:
Matthew 18:17 (ESV)
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.
Jesus says if the confrontation of a few doesn’t sway the person to repentance, then you make the church aware of it.
Why would you do that? That almost sounds gossipy. No, it’s meant to be redemptive. Because at that point you’ve done everything you can to try and help this fellow believer come to repentance. Now the church as a whole needs to get involved. And the hope is that this person will repent.
But if that doesn’t work, and believe it or not, sometimes it doesn’t:
Step #5 - If they still won’t repent, you turn them over to Jesus.
Here’s how Jesus puts it:
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Jesus says after all this, if the person won’t repent, then you are to treat them as a tax collector or sinner.
In other words, you treat them like an unbeliever, which means, you let Jesus deal with them.
Does that mean they can’t attend the church any longer? The truth is, from my experience, at this point they won’t want to attend any longer. Because by refusing to repent, they will have chosen to walk away from their faith.
And I’m going to tell you right now, that’s the worst case scenario for that person because Jesus loves them enough to discipline them. And His discipline isn’t always pleasant.
But for the church, they’ve been faithful and they’ve done all they can do.
This is what Jesus is challenging the church in Pergamum to do. To deal with the sin in the church, otherwise He’ll get involved.
And like it or not, it’s what He’s still calling the church to do today.
But let’s be honest, to do this runs against the grain of what our culture says is appropriate.
Because according to our culture, a person has a right to live how they want. According to our culture nobody has a right to tell you how to live. According to our culture you can’t judge me. And unfortunately, and to the churches demise, we’ve adopted that thinking in the church.
But according to Jesus, if you’re going to all yourself a Christian, He doesn’t care what the secular culture says. Because He says your accountable. He says we’re accountable. He says deal with sin in the church or He will.
And let me be clear, when I say that, I’m not talking about people who haven’t made a commitment to follow Jesus. I’m talking about people who have.
The question then is, “Where do we go from here?”
As we close this morning, I’d like to suggest that we ask two questions in order to move forward from here.
Quesiton #1 - Are we like the church in Pergamaum?
I would say to some degree we are.
In fact I would say all three types of Christians we just talked about reside in our church. We have Biblical, Compromising, and religious Christians. All are represented.
The question you have to be willing to ask yourself though is, “Which one are you?”
That might be one of the most important questions you could ever ask yourself and answer. Because the answer to that quesiton determines where you stand with Jesus.
So, where do you stand?
Are you a Biblical Christian committed to a daily walk with Jesus?
Are you a compromising Christian who continues to sin even though you know it’s wrong?
Are you a religious Christian who uses your faith as a license to sin?
Which one are you?
Question # 2 - Are we willing to embrace the warning that Jesus gives us?
In other words, based on the type of Christian you are, are you willing to repent and do what Jesus asks you to do?
If you’re a committed believer, are you willing to address sin in the church when you see it, starting with your own sin?
If you’re a Christian living in compromise, are you willing give up your sin and get serious about your faith?
If you’re the religious Christian, are you ready to stop pretending and start living for Jesus?
So, what’s your answer?
Because depending on your answer, there’s only one of two outcomes.
If you choose to disregard the word’s of Jesus, then the outcome is judgment. A judgment that could result in devestating consequences not only in our church and your life, but in the life to come. Because Jesus isn’t messing around.
I know we all have this idea that Jesus is a God that’s all grace and no punishemnt, but you’d be wrong in thinking that.
Because at the end of the day, Jesus isn’t going to tolerate a church that tolerates sin, and He’s not going to tolerate a person who calls themself a Christian and lives like a non-Christian.
In fact Peter says if that’s you, it would have been better for you if you had never believed to begin with. He writes:
21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
Peter says, it won’t go well if you continue to live in your sin.
However, if you choose to listen to Jesus’s words to repent, He makes us a promise. What’s the promise? I’ll let Him tell you:
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.’
In his closing statement, Jesus promises a reward for those who repent.
First, He promises manna from heaven.
This is a reference to the OT provision that God provided the Israelites in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.
This is a significant promise for NT believers because it’s a promise for this life. A promise that if we repent and live for Jesus, he will provide everything we need for the journey ahead. That He will be our daily provider.
The second promise is a white stone with a new name written on the stone that nobody knows except the one who receives it.
You might wonder, “What’s that all about?”
In the ancient world, invitations to festivals and festivities were given on white piece of marble. And on those personal invitations your name would be engraved.
But for the true believers in Pergamum, they never recieved such invitations. Why? Because they had been excluded from society. For them there was no white stone invitation.
So jesus says, for those who repent and remain faithful, I will give you a personal invitation to my festival. To my marriage supper. I won’t exclude you. Because on that stone is a name that only those who are invited receive. It’s my name. It’s the name Jesus.
And with my name engraved on your personal invitation, when you die, you will be welcomed into eternity where you will feast with me.
What an amazing promise Jesus gives those who repent.
So, I ask you again, what will you do? Will you heed the words of Jesus this morning?
Let’s Pray