Letters from the Lord, I
I really enjoy correspondence! Email is one of my favorite message mediums. In my office, I'm connected all day
long so I read messages as they arrive. Letters are even better!
Love letters... got any of the ones you wrote when you were young and dumb?
The letters that arrive in over-sized envelopes announcing in bold type; "You are the winner of the $10
million drawing" followed by very, very small type at the bottom of the envelope, "if your number is the
one drawn from the 72 million issued" are the ones I least like!
Now imagine getting a letter of recognition from Jesus Christ. Wouldn't that be great?
It might be. It also might
be embarrassing. Jesus is Truth. His letter would be truthful, piercing, and insightful!
In our text for today we read letters from Jesus!
He sent letters to each of the 7 churches that John was supervising in Asia
Minor.
In these letters, Jesus speaks directly to each church, using the same formula.
2 of the churches were commended. 2 were warned about their
spiritual condition of compromise, and 3 were corrected for their failures and
told that their sins threatened their very existence!
These were open letters. Each church read about itself and the sister churches in the region. These words should not be brushed off as belonging to another time. They are words for the Church today. They reveal to us what the Head of the Church desires from His Body. The commendations and corrections are challenging still!
Turn with me today to Revelation 2.
It's the last book in the Bible, easy to find.
This morning, I want to start to take a look at Jesus' letters to the churches.
We will read the letter to Ephesus today;
TEXT: Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These
are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among
the seven golden lampstands:
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.
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 lampstand from its place.
But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of
the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
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.
The Church of Loveless Orthodoxy
The Ephesian church was the leading church in the province and it was located in the largest city of Asia Minor. Ancient Ephesus was a city of 250,000; a wealthy trade city that was a seaport as well as the converging place for three major trade highways. Ephesus was home to a huge temple dedicated to the worship of the fertility goddess, Artemis, sometimes called Diana.
 | The temple was the work of 220 years; built of shining marble; 342 feet long by 164 feet broad; supported by a forest of columns, each 56 feet high; a sacred museum of masterpieces of sculpture and painting. At the center, hidden by curtains, within a gorgeous shrine, stood the very ancient image of the goddess, on wood or ebony reputed to have fallen from the sky. Behind the shrine was a treasury, where, as in 'the safest bank in Asia,' nations and kings stored their most precious things. The temple, as St. Paul saw it, existed until 262, when it was ruined by the Goths" (1) |
The church in the city was founded by Paul about 40 years prior to the writing of Revelation. He spent 3 years ministering there, establishing a strong base for Christianity in the region.
Jesus identifies himself as the One "who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands." This reminds the Ephesians that he is present with them, not a god far removed. Just as the city prided itself on the goddess being 'at home' among them, Jesus reminds the church, HE is with them. But He is no silent god, not statue hidden away behind curtains. "I know..." He says.
For what does He commend this church?
They held to the truth. They tested and rejected false teachers who came to them claiming apostolic authority. They had stood up to hardship and remained steadfast. In a city devoted to a false god , they pursued the Living Lord. Likely the worship of Artemis/Diana was so pervasive that the church early on, committed to careful study and attention to maintaining the Truth entrusted to them.
Sound doctrine and steadfast holiness are admirable qualities. Maintaining a good understanding of the Bible and a life that is worthy of the name of Christ is indeed a notable thing. This church was no 'fad of the year' gathering. This was no church like the one in Corinth that was full of sexual sin. This was a rock solid congregation of good Christians.
What does He note as needing correction in this church?
"Yet I hold this against you...." With these words, Jesus Christ puts them on notice of a failing that was threatening their very existence. "You have forsaken your first love." Their founding Pastor had written these words to them some 25-35 years prior: Ephesians 3:17-19 ..... I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Their very strength was turned against them. In their defense of the true faith and their intolerance for false doctrine, they had become loveless. Where once they had been a loving and accepting church, they were now cold, rigid defenders of the faith!
You may be saying, "But, Jerry, I thought this was about turning from Jesus to other loves." In a way that is true,
but it is not the best understanding of this passage. This church was commended for perseverance and
steadfastness which would indicate that they still loved the Lord, but that love was being crippled by growing
coldness in their relationships with one another.
In their desire to root out 'wicked men' and false teachers, they
had become judgmental, rigid, and rule-bound.
This legalism is a constant danger for churches committed to holy lives that honor their Savior and Lord. The world is full of wounded people that Christians rejected in a time of spiritual need by churches deeply committed to sound doctrine and personal holiness!
For example:
The Bible is quite clear that God hates the sin of homosexuality. We cannot approve what God condemns. However, too often in our defense of holiness, we err by hating the sinner who needs
our love and help to escape the claws of sins that have gripped his life so tightly. We cannot
minister to a homosexual while spouting condemnation and hatred, telling 'queer' jokes, or waving
placards in public rallies.
America is full of social sins that are found with distressing regularity inside the Church!
|
| Abortion on demand practiced as an emergency form of birth control is a blight that raises a stench in the nostrils of God. |
|
| Pornography dehumanizes people and demeans the beautiful sacredness of sexuality. |
|
| Greed, that makes no place for human dignity, is an epidemic in our nation. |
|
| Consumerism and materialism are run rampant, to the extent that most of us sitting here today are caught up in lives of striving for more, bigger, and better. |
How does the Church respond to these sins and the sinners?
Too often with blasting broadsides that reveal none of the loving heart of our Lord.
The result is that either Christians suffer silently without help to deal with their besetting sins or people who are most needy are driven farthest away from the very source of their restoration.
A compassionate Church is a beautiful and healing church. She knows how to extend acceptance to those who hurt and struggle, yet how to call those who sin to change by the power of the Spirit.
Craig Keener writes:
In the Name of Christ, "we have marginalized people by careless thinking - for example, in our biblically correct
opposition to divorce we have condemned faithful spouses abandoned and divorced against their will. When they
leave our church we feel confirmed in our suspicion that they must have been unspiritual to begin with! Even when
dealing with clear cases of sin and error, does not the Scripture call us to offer correction with loving grace?" (2)
Another writes penned this insightful and timely word years ago,
"Zeal for Christian truth can obliterate the one truth that matters most, that God is love. Nothing is more appalling or dangerous than a religion prompted more by hatred than by love." (3)
If you want to see what zeal without love looks like, look no further than the twisted expression of Islam that caused 19 young men, in the prime of life, to fly airplanes full of people into the Pentagon and the World Trade towers killing more than 3000 people in the name of Allah!
- Or if you know history, go to the Spanish Inquisition, that 15th century institution combining the powers of the Church and the State to force those who differed with the Roman Church's doctrine to recant or die!
- Look to the the Crusades of the Middle Ages when thousands of Europe's young knights set off to 'liberate' the Holy Land from the Muslims, often murdering Jews, while on the way.
Killing to advance the kingdom of Love! What a travesty! However, that is logical end of Christianity that becomes pre-occupied with doctrine at the expense of love.
This was the direction in which the Ephesian church was drifting.
Revelation 2:4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
It is a direction that many, many American churches are traveling today.
When Christians feel threatened, when it seems that sin is rising like a flood threatening to engulf our church, our family, our very lives.... we often become fearful. In fear, we begin to condemn; to strike out, to hate! What we must do is run to the Savior. In His love we are secure. In deep, deep love and devotion to Him we are made strong and we can survive the surges of sinfulness while remaining loving people EVEN AT THE COST OF OUR LIVES! John in another letter reminds us of a truth that only the Spirit can drive home in our minds:
- 1 John 4:16-21
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.
Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. We love each other as a result of his loving us first.
If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.
If you're troubled by this letter, wondering about compromise, hang with me. When we open the letters to Pergamum and Thyatira we will find balancing truth. For today, let the Spirit shine the light of His truth on any unloving, hateful responses towards sin and sinners that have found footing in your heart.
What was the Lord's corrective word?
A. Remember the heights from which you have fallen!
B. Repent.
C. Do First things again.
I can only imagine the response of the elders in Ephesus when they read this letter for the first time.
|
|
"How can we be in need of repentance? We are the protectors of the faith, the bastion of Truth. We are mature, grounded, pure, and holy." |
Perhaps, it was then that one of the oldest members stood up and said,
|
|
"But remember when we spent a lot of time together? Remember our love feasts that celebrated our new-found community in Christ? Remember when people of the city wanted to join us because they found acceptance, hope, and love here that they couldn't find anywhere else? Remember when we still laughed at ourselves, and celebrated our small victories as we grew in Christ? Now we're serious, somber, and rigid. We haven't seen nearly as many converts. I think we need to do those things again!" |
Have we here at Washington Assembly of God lost the ability to laugh at ourselves?
Do we celebrate our little victories as loving people do?
Do we forgive each other's offenses as loving people do?
Do we speak honestly, but always lovingly, to each other as Christ would have us to do?
Christ's letter to the Ephesian church demands that they change. If they do not return to loving Him and loving each other, he said he would withdraw His blessings and the church in Ephesus would cease to exist. "I will come and remove your lampstand from its place."
A loveless church dies twice! First inwardly, and then outwardly. The life of the Spirit is lost in a legalistic, judgmental assembly, but the people will continue to gather out of habit, out of duty -- but when they die, that church dies with them!
Keener observes: "Some churches die from lack of outreach, some from lack of planning for the next generation, some from lack of courtesy and hospitality. Some like Ephesus, may risk simply themselves off by how they come to treat others!" (4)
Remember first love and don't ever let the wonder of it escape you.
If it has, then - Repent -- turn around.
Start doing those caring, loving things you did when you first met Jesus.
The Promise - There is a great promise at the close of His letter to those who listen to His words. Revelation 2:7
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.
What is He holding out to them? The assurance of eternal life and fellowship with God. The Christian who
becomes critical of others, who fears the storms of sin, turns his focus from Christ to self. He increasingly works
to save himself by religious works, self-denying acts, and withdrawal from the world. He attempts the impossible
and builds barriers to the Kingdom of God for others in the process.
How does Paul say it? Titus 3:4-7 NLT ...God our Savior showed us his kindness and love.
He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave
us a new life through the Holy Spirit.
He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did.
He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life.
Jesus Christ reminds them of the salvation He alone can provide and that He alone can assure- "I will give the
right..."
Have you lost the first love for Christ and His people that characterized another time in your life?
Are you critical and cynical, demanding and condemning of those who do not meet your specifications for being a
'good Christian?'
- Then this is Christ's challenge to you. Change or die spiritually!
If you're a believer still in love with the Lord and others who love Him, this is a word of warning. Do not let that wonderful blessing escape. Continue to be a lover of God and His people with the joy and excitement that is characteristic of those newly in love.
Amen.
1. Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary.
2. The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, Zondervan
3. Commentary on Revelation, G. B. Caird, Harper and Row, 1966
4. The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, pg 113, Zondervan
Jerry D. Scott © 2002 all rights reserved