Beware creeping compromise of the Gospel

Hi guys, we're going to continue reading from Revelation chapter 2, starting at verse 12.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, the words of him who has the sharp

two-edged sword.

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.

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.

Therefore, repent.

If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

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.

Muted.

We can't pee, Dave, you need to unmute yourself.

okay hopefully that's better this time

the boys keep telling me what could go wrong when you're up the front preaching

and i always find something to go wrong anyway i'll say again good morning everyone it's nice

to be with you this morning continuing our series in revelation at the reset series so we've been

saying that revelation is a view of the world from god's perspective and what an eye-opener it was

to john when first revealed to him and still an eye-opener to us all these years later it's a real

eye-opener chapter 1 verse 90 20 to see jesus so focused and passionate about continuing to grow

and protect his church in the world it's a real eye-opener that jesus speaks so directly to his

church through these seven representative churches demanding that we reflect his passion and reflect

his commitment to his church it's a real eye-opener that the church in ephesus looks so good from the

outside taking all the boxes for a great church yet they were dangerously unwell on the inside

at some point they'd given their heart away jesus was no longer their validation their satisfaction

or their delight and it was a real eye-opener that the church in smyrna which looks so awful from the

outside staggering under endless persecution yet they were declared rich faithful healthy so single-minded

in their love for christ that they were willing to give up everything for him even life itself

now every one of these thoughts cause us to re-examine ourselves and if necessary reset do we have

the church as central in our purposes as christ has do we reflect christ's passion as we're involved in the

local church here at grace do we have our heart firmly attached to jesus or have we given it to somebody else

or something else what is our view of suffering do we walk away from it as though somehow or other it's not

compatible with the christian life so many things that we really need to examine and if necessary reset

so that we might be the faithful church and this morning christ's word to the community of christ in

pergamum is also a real eye-opener as he exposes their creeping compromise of the gospel

now verse 13 starts as with every other letter jesus opening words i know

both wonderfully comforting and totally confronting so jesus knows the challenge of our culture he knew

how difficult it was for the community of christians in pergamum now that's a real comfort

pergamum was a center of roman imperial power in asia the high official the pro consul literally lived

in a former palace and he presided over an administration which was openly indulgent

sexually immoral politically corrupt

as well as that it was a center of learning large library people coming from all over the world to

study and practice a huge array of life philosophies and the skyline was dominated by huge temples to the

major roman and greek gods various aspects of these religions saturated shaped and dominated the daily life of everyone in the city

and verse 13 there's an image there it looked and felt like satan's home base

as if evil was enthroned

vice became virtue

and for all its religion it was a strongly anti the god of the christian city

anti the god of truth and righteousness

now in today's term we would say it was a cosmopolitan

permissive society a sydney a los angeles

one we recognize only too well living here in australia

but jesus also knows the danger of being seduced by our culture

and now his words become really confronting

now verse 13 and 14 and 15

they're unwavering faithfulness and loyalty in the past

and jesus concedes that recognizes that commends them for that

but that's now been undermined by a creeping compromise

and verses 14 and 15

two groups are identified

the first group is those who hold to the teaching of

balam

which is an old testament image

and the story is in numbers 22 to 31

and the king of moab

terrified by god's people heading his way en route to the promised land

was desperate to find a way to defeat them

they were too powerful to defeat militarily

so king balak asked balam

to pronounce a curse on them

god intervened and wouldn't allow that

however

it appears that balam

inferred a pathway of seduction and compromise

would have the same result

it would defeat god's people

and in numbers chapter 25 verses 1 to 4

Numbers 25:1–4

we have a description of how god's people became

increasingly drawn into the moral

spiritual and physical practices of pagan moabite society

so much so to the point that they were so compromised

it was a joke to call themselves god's holy

and that word means separated

or covenant people

there was no more separation

that was just integration

the second group

verse 15 are those

who hold to the teaching of the nicolaitans

now that was a new group

operating in the early church

and it appears it had similar

it was connected to that old

concept of balam

the name might actually be connected

but it seems like it was a similar group

but a tad more radical

as far as the scholars know

and historians know

this group promoted

and justified viewpoints

which allowed christians to take on

many of the social

and religious values

and religious practices

of their pagan society

without hesitation

or a sense of guilt

well it's all pagan nonsense

so it can't hurt us

now we need to understand

that society in that day

was really close-knit

very highly interconnected

interconnected relationally

and so daily life

was built around religious duty

religious feasts

on religious holidays

in honor of pagan gods

and all of it

all of it was designed

to keep the gods happy

so that life was successful

and prosperous

now it was all in

to keep the gods happy

so that means

if you refuse to participate

in the daily temple routines

prayers

religious feasts

or religious holidays

then effectively

you were condemning

your whole culture

offending your whole community

alienating family

and friends

and worst of all

threatening everyone's prosperity

by annoying the gods

and getting them offside

there was a lot at stake

but if you did go along

to the community festivals

even if you didn't

fully participate

then you would be associated

with everything that did happen

and not only would you risk

getting sucked in

more and more

but your association

would effectively

lose any integrity

or identity

you might have

as a Christian

it all sounds familiar

doesn't it

living and engaging

in culture

is tough

now the point here

in this passage

is that in this

pressure environment

it was easy

to miss

or turn a blind eye

to creeping compromise

now

we need to understand

really clearly here

that the problem

in the church

is not

outright rebellion

it's not

blatant disobedience

no no

it's actually much more subtle

much more nuanced

than that

it's more like

how we become

desensitized

to the things

of our culture

to the emptiness

of it

to the immorality

of it

and what happens

over a period of time

is that

things we used

to be shocked at

things we used

to turn our eyes from

things we used

to condemn

we now tolerate

we now accept

quietly

we now sometimes

even find ways

to justify

and approve

and make no mistake

unless we're

really careful

we won't even

notice it happens

that's the notion

of creeping

compromise

so friends

the question

for us this morning

is not

if we are being

seduced by our culture

but to what degree

are we being

seduced by our culture

now let's turn the question

around as we move forward

what does it mean then

to be Christ's faithful church

in our culture

well this is

again a call

to reset

our attitudes

our desires

our actions

individually

and

together

as one body

we need to remember

we must remember

Christ's call

to distinctiveness

the teaching

right across

the New Testament

is that Christians

and indeed the Old Testament

Christians are to be

in the world

but not

of the world

in Revelation

Revelation 1:6

chapter 1

verse 6

we're told there

that we have been

made told by Jesus

we've been made

a kingdom of priests

among other things

that means

we are

at God's hand

a distinct group

with the privilege

and responsibility

of speaking

his word

and modelling

his character

to our world

that is

our distinctiveness

again

in chapter 1

verse 12

and in chapter 1

verse 16

we're lampstands

we're stars

both are sources

of light

emitting

the light

of Jesus

in the darkness

of our world

and exposing

the empty way

of life

handed down

by our forefathers

to use the words

of Peter

in 1 Peter

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

now we're called

to this

individually

if you look

at verse 14

and 15

it's very clear

Jesus is very clear

there is some

in the church

a hold to these things

that is

not everyone

in the church

is guilty

of creeping

compromise

in that sense

of being involved

in those things

in fact

verse 13

says

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

were Satan

dwells

at some point

in the past

one of the local

Christians

Antipas

had been killed

now we're not told

why but presumably

in the context

it was because

he refused

to give in

to the pressure

to conform

to society

he refused

to play

by local rules

but notice

how he's described

by Jesus

he's described

as

my faithful

witness

the word

the word there

is martyr

my faithful

martyr

my faithful

witness

and the point

is that Jesus

readily

and warmly

identifies with

and approves

the uncompromising

gospel life

of Antipas

even though

it led

to his death

now

here's the challenge

our so-called

permissive society

shows itself

to be ruthlessly

intolerant

when someone

refuses to play

by its rules

and in the end

our world

really only

often offers

two options

either

seduction

and compromise

or

alienation

persecution

perhaps even

death

so

which one

will you

choose

it's a

fairly simple

equation

that may help

you work it

out

if your

starting point

is to think

of outcomes

that is

what will

keep you

safe

what will

give you

a hassle

free life

what will

make you

happy

what will

bring

greatest

acceptance

in the

world

you

operate

in

then

you're

likely

to say

to yourself

well

I really

need

to get

involved

in the

world

and so

the question

then is

how much

can I

indulge

in the

pleasures

of Australian

culture

before

calling myself

a Christian

becomes a

joke

do you

hear the

attitude

in that

now most

likely

if that's

your

framework

then you

will be

widely

accepted

by your

mates

but you'll

also be

irrelevant

as a witness

to Christ

and worse

totally

offensive

to

but if

your starting

point is to

think of

values and

identity

that is

who am I

as a

Christian

what does

that mean

for me

what is

important

in life

then you're

likely to

ask what

will most

honour

Jesus

what will

most reflect

his character

to those

around me

and most

likely

you will

suffer

dearly

for your

distinctive

stand

but I tell

you this

it will be

the most

clear and

compelling

witness to

Christ

and the

changing

power of

the gospel

and we

need to

remember

that the

best

witness

is

distinctiveness

not

likeness

now

we're also

called to

distinctiveness

as a whole

body

look at

verse 16

and there

might be some

discussion around

this but I

think this is

what track

we're going

down here

verse 16

Jesus says

therefore

repent

if not

I will

come to

you soon

and war

against

them

with the

sword

of my

mouth

as he

has been

doing right

through the

letter

Jesus is

speaking to

the church

as a

whole

and here

in verse

16

he called

the church

community

as a

whole

group

to repent

now

does that

seem strange

to you

why would

he do

that

well I

think it

goes like

this

while not

all are

guilty of

actual

compromise

Jesus

holds the

whole

community

responsible

for not

dealing

with those

who were

the verses

are very

clear

you have

some

among you

the idea

there is

that they're

there and

you're not

doing anything

about it

and so

what happens

is this

that their

failure or

willingness

to act

for the

spiritual

good of

their brothers

and sisters

caught up

in this

compromise

by challenging

them

actually

endanger the

spiritual

health of

the whole

church

and I

take it

that's why

Christ says

that in

verse 16

that if they

don't do

something about

it then

he'll have

to come

if they

don't repent

and take

action

then he'll

have to

come and

take them

on tackle

them

now that

possibility

is downright

terrifying

giving the

imagery in

verse 12

so go back

to verse 12

and also

back in

chapter 1

verse 16

the same

imagery

it's the

imagery

of the

short

sharp

two-edged

sword

now let me

give you a

little bit of

background

Roman soldiers

were feared

in battle

because of

the new

technology

they used

in their

phalanx

fighting

form

it was

a new

technology

of a

short

two-edged

sword

and it

was

incredibly

effective

in close

up combat

Jesus is

warning his

church

that if

they do

not wield

the sword

of his

word

chapter 1

verse 16

the sword

of his

word

was coming

out of

his mouth

they do

not wield

the sword

of his

word

to challenge

and correct

those sliding

into compromise

and loss

of distinctive

us as

people

then he

will come

and open

them up

quite literally

he will open

them up

now that

picks up an

image from

Hebrews 4

he will open

them up

his word

will expose

their inner

thoughts and

desires

or worse

still

Jesus may be

threatening to

take them

out completely

both

those guilty

of compromise

and

those guilty

of not

doing anything

about it

friends

this is so

contrary to

how we

think in

our

individualistic

Australian

culture

but it

comes down

to this

each of

us

has

responsibility

to guard

against

compromise

in our

whole

church

community

not enough

just to

look after

yourself

and say

well others

can look

after

themselves

not enough

to make

sure your

own heart

is right

your own

pathway

is right

and turn

a blind

eye to

others

who are

on the

pathway

of compromise

but again

here's the

problem

we are so

individualistic

that either

we won't

accept such

challenge when

others bring

it to us

or we

just ignore

compromise

when we

say it

for the

sake of

peace and

quiet

it's not

my

problem

what a

huge call

to reset

our

attitudes

and actions

this

letter is

but it

finishes on a

really promising

and positive

note as do

all the

letters

remember

Christ's

promises

for

distinctiveness

verse 17

holds two

promises

he who is

in the

ear let

him hear

what the

spirit says

to the

churches

to the

one who

conquers

or struggles

through

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

first the

promise of

hidden

manna

what's that

a picture

of

well

it's an

old testament

picture from

the exodus

as many

pictures in

revelation

are

and it

goes like

this I

think

just as

God

provided

for his

people

even when

they were

thinking that

more

satisfaction

would be

found back

in Egypt

remember that

they were in

the wilderness

and they

said well

better back

in Egypt

eating onions

than out

here with

the Lord

even at

that point

God

provided them

total satisfaction

and manna

so Jesus

the bread

of life

is complete

satisfaction

for hungry

people

practically

what it

means is

this

don't look

to the

world

no matter

how pleasurable

how appealing

how showy

its indulgences

seem

it can't

and won't

satisfy

but there is

hidden satisfaction

in Jesus

remember the

manna was

something that

God's people

could see

that others

couldn't see

there is

hidden satisfaction

in Jesus

something Christians

can see

and indulge

in but those

around them

can't see

or benefit

from and

just think

we are

crazy as

Christians

they don't

know the

hidden satisfaction

that is ours

in Jesus

so why

compromise

why go to

somewhere else

that can't

and won't

satisfy

the promise

is that

God's people

will not

miss out

there's so

many things

in our

culture

that look

so appealing

and it's

easy for us

to start

thinking that

we'll miss

out

if we don't

have them

we don't

experience

them

that's the

start of

compromise

the attitude

of compromise

Christ says

to his people

you have no

need to fear

the consequences

of being loyal

and faithful

to me

you will

not miss

out

you will

have full

satisfaction

you will

dine on the

richest

of fair

the second

promise

is the

promise

of a white

stone

with a special

name written

on it

and that

seems really

weird to us

but it

wouldn't have

been at all

weird to people

living in

Pergamum

because what it

is it's an

invitation

so in Roman

society

the proconsul

or other

high officials

invited

invited

invited

special guests

to important

events

using a

square white

stone

actually a

piece of

clay

it was a

square white

piece of

clay

with the

person's

name

engraved

on it

in modern

terms

I think

it's something

equivalent

of having

access

all areas

past

to the

white

house

you can

just

wander in

there

because

it's

your

place

it's

your

domain

you have

a right

to be

there

you're

welcome

there

Jesus

is promising

that those

who stay

loyal to

him

who may

well

experience

the rejection

of their

society

or family

will never

be rejected

by him

in fact

he will

treat them

as his

special guest

in heaven

where he

and again

the temple

imagery comes

in here

where he

as the

temple

remember

revelation

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22

the true

temple

he is the

temple

will dwarf

anything

the skyline

of

Pergamum

can boast

remember

what the

temple was

the temple

was where

you would

meet

God

the temple

was where

your success

and prosperity

and security

in life

was found

forgiveness

and acceptance

well Jesus

says

don't be

looking at

your skyline

here in

Pergamum

look to

me

come to

me in

heaven

we'll see

me the

true temple

and you

will know

forgiveness

and acceptance

with the

father

and you

will see

how ridiculous

all this

other stuff

was that

seemed so

appealing

so convincing

so much

the basis

of society

is just

so nothing

here on earth

you might look

like just

another person

being abused

or killed

but from

the perspective

of heaven

it is

taking up

your pre-booked

seat in

heaven

with the

Lord forever

so the

final question

is

whose

invitation

do you

desire

more

whose

invitation

do you

value

more

whose

invitation

do you

get more

excited

about

is it

the invitation

to be

welcomed

and accepted

by the

world

represented

by your

non-Christian

family

your friends

your neighbours

those in

your workplace

those in

your sporting

team

or when

they offer

those invitations

is that what

gets you excited

is that what

takes your

tweaks your

interest

or is it

the invitation

that the world

offers generally

the vast array

of pleasures

and distractions

that our

culture offers

we see it on the

TV all the time

that's advertising

come and enjoy

this you haven't

lived until you

experienced that

you can be this

sort of person

in that sort of

place

and it

messes with

our heads

well this

messes with

my head

anyway

what invitation

excites you

what invitation

do you desire

what invitation

do you long

for

is it that

that comes

from the

world

in myriad

forms

or is it

the invitation

from Jesus

you can't

accept

both

invitations

let me

pray

Lord again

you've spoken

both words

of terrific

comfort

you do

know our

situations

in great

detail

but Lord

your words

of comfort

become words

of confrontation

when you see

into our

hearts

you know

Lord

our attitudes

and when

those attitudes

are not

aligned

with what

is becoming

for us

your people

Lord help

us

to hear

your word

help us

to use

your word

and your

spirits

working within

us

to dig

deep

into

our own

hearts

to use

the sword

of your

word

to divide

our thoughts

and our

passions

right down

to our

innermost

being

so we

can see

what's

really

happening

on the

inside

and Lord

take action

to correct

that which

is wrong

help us

Lord

to avoid

that creeping

compromise

that loses

our identity

and loses

our witness

to you

help us

to think

about this

as a church

collectively

as well

as individually

in Jesus name

I pray

Amen