Jump Start # 583

Revelation 2:16 “Therefore repent;  or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.”

We are taking a special look at what Jesus told each of the seven churches of Asia to do to be right with Him. These are stern words, but they are solutions to problems. Following Satan, we always get in a mess, every time. God must help us get out.

Our verse today is addressed to the church at Pergamum. They were facing tough circumstances. They dwelled where Satan’s throne is and one of their members, Antipas, was killed for the faith. The situation at Pergamum had led some to tolerate things that are wrong. It is often easier to compromise, look the other way, than it is to deal with things that are false. Some were tolerating the compromising teachings of Balak and the Nicolaitans. Interesting, the church at Ephesus had been exposed to the teachings of the Nicolaitans, as well. At Ephesus they hated it, but at Pergamum they were accepting it and embracing it. Two congregations both facing the same poison of error. One rejected and the other accepted. That happened then and it happens today.

Often, those that reject the error are condemned for judging. The loving spirit of Jesus is thought to be all that is needed. Yet in closing the eyes to what is wrong, Satan gets a foot hold within a congregation. Gone is the one mind, one voice and one heart that God wants brethren to have. Gone is contending for the one faith. Now, because of tolerance, there prevails two ideas, two ways, and two forms of thinking. Can both be right? Does love compel us to just accept and do nothing? Does the fear of judging keep our mouths closed? That is the reaction from many today. Satan is glad to hear that. He dances to such thoughts. Abe Lincoln once said, “To say nothing, is to be a coward.”

God hates error. God hates the teachings of the Nicolaitans. Revelation 2:6 specifically states that. How can anyone embrace what God hates and think that is the loving thing to do? God didn’t accept it. God didn’t say leave it alone.

Some folks have manufactured a spineless Jesus that would never say anything is wrong for fear of hurting their feelings. Maybe it’s time to look at the real Jesus, the one the Bible gives to us.

Our verse today is Jesus’ solution to the Nicolaitan problem. He said Repent. Best stop accepting. Better get back to the word of God. Leave Satan. Mixing truth with error doesn’t make strong churches, strong families or strong members. It confuses, dilutes and opens the door for more and more error. Believing wrong always leads to doing wrong.

So repent. That’s Jesus’ words. He adds, if you don’t, “I’ll make war against them…” The “them” must be those that are teaching crooked things. It has to include those on the sidelines who are doing nothing against it. The false teachers best supporter is the one who will tolerate. How will Jesus make war against them? With the sword of His mouth. He will attack, expose and destroy error not with a host of angels, not by opening up the earth and swallowing them, not by sending fire upon them—those are ways God has dealt with wrong in the past. This time, by the sword of Jesus’ mouth. Interesting, Hebrews calls the word of God a two edged sword. Jesus will make war by exposing their error and defeating it with the truth, His word. His words always stand. His words are always right. His words win, every time.

The Pergamum situation isn’t a study in history. It’s happening today. There are congregations today that have tolerated error. They do so because to take a stand is messy, hard, and may involve hurting the feelings of some and may lead to some leaving. So they do nothing. So they hope it will just go away. The class ends and nothing is said. No follow up. No corrective teaching. Just nothing. Other times, the one who is pushing the envelope is a favorite. People like this person and because of that they close their ears and eyes to what he is saying. They give him some latitude and with that he takes it. He pushes his unbalanced ideas more and more. Some begin to rethink things. Some accept what he is saying. Soon a church is divided over this. A small mess has become a major mess and now it’s difficult to contain. Just like an oil spill. The damage is done. Clean up is expensive, hard and taxing—whether we talk about oil or error.

Shepherds throughout this land need to get back to leading spiritually and be alert to what is being taught. Some don’t recognize error when they hear it. Shame on them. Too many are interested in expanding the parking lot more than they are purity of God’s word being taught.

Those that want to hear the theories of the Nicoliatans need go else where. Those that want to teach it, won’t be allowed to teach. Those that keep at it must repent or face a coming war. Hard words. God is serious about His church. It’s not our’s. We’d do anything to save our families. We need to do the same for our congregations. If someone down the street was trying to offer one of our children dope, we’d call the cops and before they got there we’d chase him down the street with a ball bat. I know we would. It’s our kids he’s trying to poison.

Why don’t we have the same spirit when it comes to someone trying to poison the minds of our church family? I’ve told a few in the past that there is something interesting about every church building I’ve been in, and I have been in many. Small ones, big ones. City and country. They all have a front door. If a person isn’t content to stay with Jesus, then they need to go out that door.

The Psalmist declared that he loved the law of the Lord. God’s word is amazing. It shows us the amazing Jesus. Don’t twist it, change it or alter it. Keep it the way it is. Become Biblical. Stand with God. Stand for His word. Refuse to give error a minute of your time. Draw a line in the sand and stand with Jesus.

Can you do this? It’s not easy. It gets messy sometimes. Folks will accept the wrong and point fingers at you and accuse you of being wrong. They’ll say you’re not acting like a Christian. They’ll say that Jesus wouldn’t do that. They’ll say you are judging. My answer to all of that is simply read our verse today. Enough said!

There is a war going on and I’ve cast my lot with Jesus! How about you?

Roger