Revelation 2.1-7
Last week we took a look at Jesus’ commissioning John to be His prophet. Today, we begin to see what it is that John is to prophesy. John writes a letter. In this he is so very like the Apostle Paul. Both were commissioned by Jesus. Both wrote letters. So, it is helpful for us to view this letter to the church at Ephesus as not all that different from the letter that Paul wrote to the same church. Both are speaking at the command of Jesus to one of His churches. And just as we can study Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus with great benefit, we can also study John’s letter to the church at Ephesus. In both we come to see something of the Gospel and something of what Jesus is expecting of His churches. And when we see that we will have a better idea what He expects of us here at Faith Reformed. In this letter Jesus both commends and scolds His church. Let’s first look at what they are doing that Jesus approves of.
It’s not hard to see what it is that this church is doing well. Jesus commends them because they ‘cannot bear with those who are evil’. He has something in particular in mind here. He is speaking about those evil men who were false teachers. We see that when He says, ‘[you have] tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false’. [Revelation 2.2] So, what is it that Jesus commends this church for? He commends them for their zeal for the purity of the church when it comes to the things that are being taught. This church was zealous for doctrinal purity, doctrinal orthodoxy. We need to remember that since the first century there has been a running battle within the Church for the pure teaching of the Word. From that day to ours there have been those evil men and women who have been trying to teach what is false while claiming that it was in line with the Gospel. How often do we find the issue of false teaching come up in the letters of the New Testament? It’s everywhere! [See, for example: 2 Corinthians 11.13; 1 John 2.18-19; 4.1; 2 Peter 2.1.] And if you remember, Paul warned the first elders of this very church in Ephesus that false teachers would rise up from the church itself to lead some of the sheep away.
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Acts 20:29-30
Clearly, the elders of the church took Paul’s exhortation seriously. They worked diligently to protect the flock from evil men teaching twisted things. Jesus commends them for the zeal with which they pursued this task. He commends them for their toil and perseverance in this. He commends them for not quitting even though the task was wearying. And to top it off, He commends them for the intensity with which they approached the task. Did you hear Him when He said, ‘…hatethe works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate’? [Revelation 2:6] Jesus commends them for being like Him when it comes to what this heretical group was doing. The Ephesians hated what they were doing just like Jesus did.
This is a word that the Church needs to hear today. The vigorous pursuit of orthodox teaching in the Church is important, even commended. But so many in the Church don’t see this. ‘What difference does it make, as long as you believe in Jesus?’ From this text, and so many others with it, Jesus would disagree. Part of the problem is that too many Christians just don’t understand why such diligence is important. When someone speaks out against some popular teaching in the Church, there are many who don’t understand what the fuss is about. But consider again what Jesus said about the Nicolaitans. ‘… you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.’ What are the works of the Nicolaitans? What is the fruit of a false teaching like this one or any other? One fruit is ruined lives. Not long ago there was a debate within the Church at large called the ‘Lordship Debate’. The issue boiled down to this: does someone need to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, or is it enough just to receive Him as Savior? One response might be, ‘Who cares? In either case we’re agreeing that people need to believe in Jesus as their Savior. That’s all that’s really important.’ But what is the fruit of saying that a person need not submit to Jesus as Lord in order to be a Christian? You will have people who while claiming to be Christians are giving themselves to all sorts of sins and thinking nothing of it. ‘Do you want to live with your girlfriend and still be a Christian? It may not be a great idea but we can’t require you not to.’ ‘It’s okay if you don’t make weekly worship with the saints a habit. God doesn’t require that of you. You believe in Jesus. That’s enough.’ On the one hand, you’ll have those who will think that they are Christians on their way for heaven who really aren’t. They’ve been told, ‘All you need to do is say, “I believe in Jesus” and all is well with your soul.’ Believing what they have been taught they will one day wake up in hell. Then there will be those who truly are Christians whose lives will be filled with all sorts of troubles because they do not make obedience to the Laws of Christ the priority that they ought to be. After all, they are taught belief in Jesus is all that’s needed. And then take a stop back and look at the bigger picture. One other ugly result of this is the world looking on at these professing Christians and their sorry lives, and mocking the God of the Gospel.
Is it important to teach that part of being a real Christian is submitting to the Lordship of Christ? Is it important for a church to be careful that true doctrine is taught? Should a church rigorously test what is being taught and, out of a hatred for the works of false teaching, reject what is wrong? Well, do we want to see solid conversions leading to holy lives that are more than just pleasing to the people but actually bring honor to our God? Bear in mind, what you think determines how you live. Teaching the true doctrine leads to right thinking which bears the fruit of God-honoring lives. Jesus knew what He was doing when He commended the church in Ephesus for its laborious care in watching over the teaching that was going on in the church.
However, there is a valid problem that people have with some churches that are rigorously orthodox. And here, we can say that it is a valid accusation because Jesus has the same problem. Now, we consider what Jesus rebukes in this church.
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Revelation 2:4
What is the problem that many have with those churches that are careful to test the teaching? They seem so harsh, so severe. They seem so unloving. Now, such churches will respond, ‘But true love shows in holding to the truth of the Word. We are the one’s who are really loving! We’re being orthodox!’ But Jesus shows that there was at least one church that was so very careful at being orthodox, careful to ‘hold to the truth of the Word’ and yet was faltering when it came to love. And as we will see in a bit, this is not just a little difficulty. For Jesus, it was as important as being carefully orthodox.
What is it that Jesus wanted from this church? Well, let’s go back to Jesus’ statement about hating the works of the Nicolaitans. The hatred that Jesus commended included an emotional response based on a knowledge of the truth. This church saw the damage done by these false teachers. They understood what was going on. And there was a visceral reaction to it. They hated it. Jesus wants a similar kind of response when it comes to love: something that includes an emotional response based on a knowledge of the truth. There are many men who dutifully take out the garbage because their wives ask them to. And yet, dutifully doing things for your wife is not the same as loving your wife. Love includes the affections of the heart as well. Have you ever read the Song of Solomon?
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine… Song 1:2
What is this but the expression of the affections of the heart. This is part of what the Bible means when it talks about love. And it is this that Jesus was expecting from the church at Ephesus. They used to have this love. But by the time that this letter is written something happened. It was no longer there.
This speaks loudly to our day. There are a ton of very orthodox churches that are just loveless. They are precise, careful to work hard to understand the Scripture, striving to teach the truth. And yet, they are cold as winter in Erie – and Jesus is not at allhappy with them. They pursue having the right doctrine but why? It is not out of love for the saints or for the Lord. Contrast that with the Apostle Paul.
Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. Acts 20:31
Now, understand what Paul is saying. ‘I admonished you.’ What is that? ‘I told you where you were off base, where you were sinning in thought and life. I scolded you.’ There is Paul’s zeal for Godly living based on the truth. But then he adds, ‘… with tears.’ Paul was as orthodox as they get. He could write a hot letter to bring up short erring saints. But he did it with tears in his eyes. He understood what was at stake. And it wasn’t just maintaining some standard of being theologically pure. Lives were at stake! The honor of Christ was at stake! So, with deep concern that Jesus be honored, with deep concern for the people, with deep affection and care for their lives now and later, he confronted them, sometimes very sharply. Out of love, Paul corrected wandering saints. That’s what Jesus wanted from Ephesus – and wasn’t getting it.
What is needed today is not merely a church that demands pure doctrine. What is needed today is not merely a church that promises to be loving. What is needed today is a church that, out of deep and sincere love for Christ and His saints, demands pure doctrine. Jesus demands both rigorous purity and heartfelt love. And He isn’t happy unless He gets both.
Now, I said before that this demand for love is not just a secondary matter. Let me explain now where I get that. Listen again to Jesus.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2:5
This is a warning shot across the bow. Jesus is being quite straightforward here. ‘You had better return to that first love or I will remove you from being one of My churches.’ If this church didn’t heed Jesus’ warning, there would be a big change. Instead of Jesus standing among the sevenlampstands we would see Him among six, since there would only be six churches. Ephesus would be removed. Jesus quite is serious about His churches toeing the line. The call to discipleship is not a half-hearted proposition. He expects wholehearted obedience. If that isn’t there, there will be consequences.
Now, notice that Jesus doesn’t just remove them on the spot. He warns them of what they are doing and urges them to repent. And then, He’ll wait to see their response. Here we see His kind and gentle patience. Jesus is not a harsh taskmaster who smacks us every time we slip up. He is patient and merciful. He warns and then gives us an opportunity to heed that warning. But we must never presume upon His patience with us. We must never try to abuse that patience, and thus put off obedience and excuse our sin. Jesus is being kind, forbearing and patient.
But there is a goal for all of this. Repentance. ‘… repent and do the works you did at first.’ [Revelation 2.5] And the repentance doesn’t have to be perfect, not even close to perfect. But it does have to be sincere. There needs to be an honest desire to turn from our sins and to do what Jesus calls for. The church at Ephesus needed to really want to love as it did at first. I’m sure that their first attempts at change – assuming they heeded Jesus’ call – were nowhere near perfect. But that’s okay as long as there was the true desire to change expressed by some motion in the right direction. Our Lord is so very patient with us. But it needs to be said that if this church didn’t heed Jesus’ call, then they were removed as one of His churches. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the group ceased to exist. There are many religious groups today that still call themselves a Christian church even though Jesus has long ago removed their lampstand. The threat was real. And it still is. Those churches that ignore it will face ‘the wrath of the Lamb’. [Revelation 6.16]
But also note that there isn’t just the threat. Jesus also makes a promise to His church.
To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' Revelation 2:7
There were obstacles that the church needed to overcome, to conquer. The language of conquering, the language of warfare, is apt. Dealing with these things isn’t easy. It’s a battle. But the promise is there to encourage the church. ‘If you do conquer, if you heed My words and work at obedience then you’ willenjoy the tree of life.’ This is the tree that we first see in the Garden of Eden. It was a sacrament just as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Enjoying the fruit of this tree meant receiving the promise of eternal life. Jesus calls to His church. ‘Listen, fighting the battle to become the kind of church that I expect is worth it. At the end of it all you’ll gain real life. Hang in there. Keep at it. It’s worth it. I promise. I’ll make it worth it for you.’ Jesus doesn’t use only threat to motivate His churches. He holds before them great and precious promises. He rewards faithful striving toward obedience.
The things that Jesus expected of the church at Ephesus He expects of us. In our text we hear the call to the demanding work of holding to true doctrine. And it is demanding work! Jesus expects His church to be careful to pursue the truth. We live in a time when this demand of the Savior is not being heeded very well. But that is no excuse for us. In all that we do as a church, as well as families, we need to be asking, ‘Is this based on truth of the Scriptures? Are we following the truth here?’ Jesus expects no less.
But at the same time, Jesus demands that His Church love. There needs to be that expression of real affection, first to Christ and then to all the saints. And that love, if it is there, will show itself. It will show in how we worship our Savior. Our corporate worship will not be like that husband who, merely out of sense of duty, takes out the garbage for his wife. There will be true affection motivating what we do. And the love that Jesus requires will also show in how we relate to each other. Out of real affection and concern we reach out to each other, trying our best to encourage each other to be faithful to Christ.
We’ve taken a look at this letter to the church at Ephesus and we’ve found that it is also a letter written to us. So, we also need to heed its message. Jesus’ warning is a warning to us. Jesus’ promise is to us. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
No comments:
Post a Comment