The compromising Church
The book of Revelations states,
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
“These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.
Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelations 2:12-17.
As I have said in previous blogs many scholars say that the churches in Revelations can be taken several ways. They can represent symbolically, various churches or denominations throughout history and even today. They can also be seen as speaking to individuals.
Here Christ realizes that the Pergamum church “where Satan has his throne”. That they did not renounce their faith even when Antipas a member of their congregation was put to death.
Still this church has a problem they had people in their midst that believed the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans both heretical groups.
As believers in Christ Jesus we cannot compromise our beliefs. We must live by what the scriptures teach. Not what we or anyone else wants them to say.
Today in the twenty-first century the Nicolaitans and believers in Balaam are not much of a threat to the church. They are however symbolic of false teachings that have entered the church quietly. As someone once said,
“Satan is not fighting churches; he is joining them. He does more harm by sowing tares than by pulling up wheat. He accomplishes more by imitation than by outright opposition.” Author unknown
It is the duty of church leaders to make sure false teaching does not continue in the church. To speak out against false teaching. The apostle Paul stating.
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12,13
I firmly believe we are in the time the apostle Paul warned against when he wrote to Timothy saying.
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
It is very easy to use the Bible to say what you want it to say. To take things out of context which is what the Nicolaitans were doing.
The call of Jesus to the church at Pergamum and to any who would call themselves followers of Christ Jesus is to turn away from false teaching. To as the apostle Paul said,
“expel the wicked from among you.”
To stand firm on the teachings of the scriptures, of the apostles and of Jesus. To heed the warning of Jesus who said,
“Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Thus the questions for all those who would call themselves believers in Jesus Christ is:
Am I listening to false teachers?
Am I standing up to them?
Are we expelling false teachers from among us?
Please think about it.
The book of Revelations states,
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
“These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.
Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelations 2:12-17.
As I have said in previous blogs many scholars say that the churches in Revelations can be taken several ways. They can represent symbolically, various churches or denominations throughout history and even today. They can also be seen as speaking to individuals.
Here Christ realizes that the Pergamum church “where Satan has his throne”. That they did not renounce their faith even when Antipas a member of their congregation was put to death.
Still this church has a problem they had people in their midst that believed the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans both heretical groups.
As believers in Christ Jesus we cannot compromise our beliefs. We must live by what the scriptures teach. Not what we or anyone else wants them to say.
Today in the twenty-first century the Nicolaitans and believers in Balaam are not much of a threat to the church. They are however symbolic of false teachings that have entered the church quietly. As someone once said,
“Satan is not fighting churches; he is joining them. He does more harm by sowing tares than by pulling up wheat. He accomplishes more by imitation than by outright opposition.” Author unknown
It is the duty of church leaders to make sure false teaching does not continue in the church. To speak out against false teaching. The apostle Paul stating.
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12,13
I firmly believe we are in the time the apostle Paul warned against when he wrote to Timothy saying.
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
It is very easy to use the Bible to say what you want it to say. To take things out of context which is what the Nicolaitans were doing.
The call of Jesus to the church at Pergamum and to any who would call themselves followers of Christ Jesus is to turn away from false teaching. To as the apostle Paul said,
“expel the wicked from among you.”
To stand firm on the teachings of the scriptures, of the apostles and of Jesus. To heed the warning of Jesus who said,
“Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Thus the questions for all those who would call themselves believers in Jesus Christ is:
Am I listening to false teachers?
Am I standing up to them?
Are we expelling false teachers from among us?
Please think about it.
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