SEVEN CHURCHES #3

#1 · January 29, 2007, 1:39 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on January 29, 2007, 1:39 pm
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
SEVEN CHURCHES #3

FOCUS

January 21, 2007

TEXT: Revelation 2:1-7

I have used the past two Sundays to introduce this series on the messages to the seven churches in Revelation and to present an overview of the era and the culture in which these churches existed. This morning, I begin to focus in on the letters to the individual churches. Our first is the church in Ephesus.

Ephesus, as you may recall, was a great city in the Roman Empire. It was a city of distinction. It was a center of cultural melting pot, full of pagan superstition, and the center for some of the primary temples for Roman gods and goddesses. In the midst of such, as we call it today, religious pluralism, those early Christians had to take strong stands to keep from being overrun by cultures and religions that were contrary to the Christian faith. And this they did. I know your deeds, , your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. (2:2-3)

The Christians in Ephesus were praised for their discernment and their perseverance. In fact, Christ commends them especially for opposing one particular group, as noted in verse 6. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Since Christ made this specific reference to them, it benefits us to know something about them.

The Bible does not tell us what the Nicolaitans practiced. Through other studies from the Biblical period of history, Bible scholars are able to make some educated guesses about their practices. It is thought that the Nicolaitans believed that a persons spirit is inherently good and that a persons flesh is inherently bad. Their belief in this form of dualism, which contradicts Biblical teaching, led to some strange practices. They argued, then, that it did not matter what one did in the flesh because sin in the flesh had not effect on the spirit. Again, that is completely contradictory to Biblical teaching. Jesus warned the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead mens bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Jesus makes his warning to the Pharisees on the observation of the opposite condition about which he confronted the Nicolaitans. The Pharisees tried to appear righteous to others on the outside, while the Nicolaitans thought they could sin in the flesh. What Jesus made clear to the Pharisees was that their fleshly condition could not be separated from their spiritual condition and vice versa. This applies to the Nicolaitans as well. Their behavior in the flesh did effect their spiritual condition. We cannot separate the two. In I Corinthians 6:19-20, addressed to a church that was having immorality problems big time, Paul was led to write, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

The Nicolaitans, however, took the freedom that God gives us by His divine forgiveness of sins as a license to sin. Since our sins are washed away by the grace of God through the blood of the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ, then we are free to sin as much as we want. That was the twisted thinking of these Nicolaitans. To the Galatian church, Paul wrote, You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve on another in love. (Gal. 5:13) Significant difference.

What was so devious about the Nicolaitan falsehoods was that they were trying to corrupt the Church from within. This was a group that carried on like they were members of the Church, and that, therefore, it was all right for Christians to engage in sinful activities. Jesus hated that.

Unfortunately, we face similar challenges in our very day. There may not be a group known as Nicolaitans, but their practices still persist. Since today marks the start of the sanctity of human life week, I am going to highlight abortion as one of those practices we must be on guard against.

Like the Nicolaitans, there are unfortunately members of churches who support abortion and oppose any limitations to it. In fact, clergy leadership from some churches and denominations lead the charge for abortion. One of the ballot issues in South Dakota was a vote to repeal South Dakota's Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act, which banned all medical and surgical abortions in the state. The American Life League reported before the election that Planned Parenthood saw these plans come to fruition on Tuesday when a small group of pastors from five denominations held a press conference in Sioux Falls to publicly announce their opposition to South Dakota's Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act. (www.all.org/article.php?id=10859&search=south%20dakota)

Sadly, that is only the tip of this Nicolaitan-type iceberg. I ran across this organization and its mission while doing some research on the subject: The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice brings the moral power of religious communities to ensure reproductive choice through education and advocacy. The Coalition seeks to give clear voice to the reproductive issues of people of color, those living in poverty, and other underserved populations. RCRC was founded in 1973 to safeguard the newly won constitutional right to abortion. The Coalition founders were clergy and lay leaders from mainstream religions, many of whom had provided women with referrals to safe abortion services before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade. The founders believed that there would be at most a ten-year struggle to secure the right to choose. In fact the struggle is far from over. It has changed and intensified, and the stakes are growing.

(www.rcrc.org/about/index.cfm).

Indeed, the stakes are certainly growing whenever we have a body of clergy and laity within churches actively and intentionally distorting the love of Jesus Christ in this manner. It is beyond me why any caring person can turn his or her back on the most vulnerable among us, but it really befuddles me how clergy and active Christian laity can be so deceived. Yet there are those who have been part of the movement to not only defend abortion, but to expand its availability to all seeking the procedure in any phase of fetal development. How long will it be before mothers or fathers are allowed to drown their born children and be able to label it an abortion?

No wonder Jesus hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. They were insidious. They were deceptive. They were sinful. And they had the intention of seducing others in the Church into their evil lifestyle. The church in Ephesus witnessed it, recognized it, and opposed it. For that, Jesus was pleased. We, too, need to be as on guard as our Ephesian brothers and sisters were.

We also need to be just as aware of the warning Jesus sent them. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. (vs. 4-5)

The Christians in Ephesus needed to regain their focus. Having to maintain doctrinal integrity over and over and over takes its toll. It is possible to slip from grace into legalism. It is possible to forget that Jesus suffered so that all have an opportunity to live with him. It is not up to us to decide who enters the kingdom gates through Jesus. Even when standing up for moral, ethical, and doctrinal purity, we are to remain like our Master: ever watching for the opportunity to welcome the other into the fold. The preferred purpose of spiritual discipline is not to block people from the Church, but to share the path to restoration. This is a difficult challenge to meet, because we are not responsible for anothers decision, and that other person must bear the consequences for his or her actions. At the same time, we are always to act like our Lord who wants everyone to be saved. As we will learn from our further studies in Revelation 2 and 3, there were other churches that were confronted for their pride in their wealth and power. In spite of all they did to identify false prophets, or perhaps because of it, the church in Ephesus were apparently guilty of spiritual pride. Jesus did not allow it in his church in Ephesus. Nor does he allow it in his church today. We must always be on guard against anything that would prevent us from keeping our steady focus upon Jesus, our Savior.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (vs. 7)

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

SEVEN CHURCHES #3

FOCUS

January 21, 2007

TEXT: Revelation 2:1-7

I have used the past two Sundays to introduce this series on the messages to the seven churches in Revelation and to present an overview of the era and the culture in which these churches existed. This morning, I begin to focus in on the letters to the individual churches. Our first is the church in Ephesus.

Ephesus, as you may recall, was a great city in the Roman Empire. It was a city of distinction. It was a center of cultural melting pot, full of pagan superstition, and the center for some of the primary temples for Roman gods and goddesses. In the midst of such, as we call it today, religious pluralism, those early Christians had to take strong stands to keep from being overrun by cultures and religions that were contrary to the Christian faith. And this they did. I know your deeds, , your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. (2:2-3)

The Christians in Ephesus were praised for their discernment and their perseverance. In fact, Christ commends them especially for opposing one particular group, as noted in verse 6. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Since Christ made this specific reference to them, it benefits us to know something about them.

The Bible does not tell us what the Nicolaitans practiced. Through other studies from the Biblical period of history, Bible scholars are able to make some educated guesses about their practices. It is thought that the Nicolaitans believed that a persons spirit is inherently good and that a persons flesh is inherently bad. Their belief in this form of dualism, which contradicts Biblical teaching, led to some strange practices. They argued, then, that it did not matter what one did in the flesh because sin in the flesh had not effect on the spirit. Again, that is completely contradictory to Biblical teaching. Jesus warned the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead mens bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Jesus makes his warning to the Pharisees on the observation of the opposite condition about which he confronted the Nicolaitans. The Pharisees tried to appear righteous to others on the outside, while the Nicolaitans thought they could sin in the flesh. What Jesus made clear to the Pharisees was that their fleshly condition could not be separated from their spiritual condition and vice versa. This applies to the Nicolaitans as well. Their behavior in the flesh did effect their spiritual condition. We cannot separate the two. In I Corinthians 6:19-20, addressed to a church that was having immorality problems big time, Paul was led to write, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

The Nicolaitans, however, took the freedom that God gives us by His divine forgiveness of sins as a license to sin. Since our sins are washed away by the grace of God through the blood of the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ, then we are free to sin as much as we want. That was the twisted thinking of these Nicolaitans. To the Galatian church, Paul wrote, You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve on another in love. (Gal. 5:13) Significant difference.

What was so devious about the Nicolaitan falsehoods was that they were trying to corrupt the Church from within. This was a group that carried on like they were members of the Church, and that, therefore, it was all right for Christians to engage in sinful activities. Jesus hated that.

Unfortunately, we face similar challenges in our very day. There may not be a group known as Nicolaitans, but their practices still persist. Since today marks the start of the sanctity of human life week, I am going to highlight abortion as one of those practices we must be on guard against.

Like the Nicolaitans, there are unfortunately members of churches who support abortion and oppose any limitations to it. In fact, clergy leadership from some churches and denominations lead the charge for abortion. One of the ballot issues in South Dakota was a vote to repeal South Dakota's Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act, which banned all medical and surgical abortions in the state. The American Life League reported before the election that Planned Parenthood saw these plans come to fruition on Tuesday when a small group of pastors from five denominations held a press conference in Sioux Falls to publicly announce their opposition to South Dakota's Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act. (http://www.all.org/article.php?id=10859&search=south%20dakota)

Sadly, that is only the tip of this Nicolaitan-type iceberg. I ran across this organization and its mission while doing some research on the subject: The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice brings the moral power of religious communities to ensure reproductive choice through education and advocacy. The Coalition seeks to give clear voice to the reproductive issues of people of color, those living in poverty, and other underserved populations. RCRC was founded in 1973 to safeguard the newly won constitutional right to abortion. The Coalition founders were clergy and lay leaders from mainstream religions, many of whom had provided women with referrals to safe abortion services before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade. The founders believed that there would be at most a ten-year struggle to secure the right to choose. In fact the struggle is far from over. It has changed and intensified, and the stakes are growing.

(http://www.rcrc.org/about/index.cfm).

Indeed, the stakes are certainly growing whenever we have a body of clergy and laity within churches actively and intentionally distorting the love of Jesus Christ in this manner. It is beyond me why any caring person can turn his or her back on the most vulnerable among us, but it really befuddles me how clergy and active Christian laity can be so deceived. Yet there are those who have been part of the movement to not only defend abortion, but to expand its availability to all seeking the procedure in any phase of fetal development. How long will it be before mothers or fathers are allowed to drown their born children and be able to label it an abortion?

No wonder Jesus hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. They were insidious. They were deceptive. They were sinful. And they had the intention of seducing others in the Church into their evil lifestyle. The church in Ephesus witnessed it, recognized it, and opposed it. For that, Jesus was pleased. We, too, need to be as on guard as our Ephesian brothers and sisters were.

We also need to be just as aware of the warning Jesus sent them. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. (vs. 4-5)

The Christians in Ephesus needed to regain their focus. Having to maintain doctrinal integrity over and over and over takes its toll. It is possible to slip from grace into legalism. It is possible to forget that Jesus suffered so that all have an opportunity to live with him. It is not up to us to decide who enters the kingdom gates through Jesus. Even when standing up for moral, ethical, and doctrinal purity, we are to remain like our Master: ever watching for the opportunity to welcome the other into the fold. The preferred purpose of spiritual discipline is not to block people from the Church, but to share the path to restoration. This is a difficult challenge to meet, because we are not responsible for anothers decision, and that other person must bear the consequences for his or her actions. At the same time, we are always to act like our Lord who wants everyone to be saved. As we will learn from our further studies in Revelation 2 and 3, there were other churches that were confronted for their pride in their wealth and power. In spite of all they did to identify false prophets, or perhaps because of it, the church in Ephesus were apparently guilty of spiritual pride. Jesus did not allow it in his church in Ephesus. Nor does he allow it in his church today. We must always be on guard against anything that would prevent us from keeping our steady focus upon Jesus, our Savior.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (vs. 7)

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org