As I've noted each week, the literary structure of the seven sermons in these two chapters creates what we call a chiasm.
Chiasm, meaning that the content of each sermon, it narrows in its scope and focus and then broadens back out again.
In fact, we may, do I have this, Becky, on the screen? Does it look like it has an X and maybe the different names of the churches?
There you go, there, now you can see it again.
You can see kind of the, so chiasm, as we talked about in that first message, chiasm comes from the Greek letter chi, which looks like an X.
And so it narrows in its scope of content and then it broadens back out again.
That's what's happening with these seven sermons and the way that they are organized for us.
And that's helpful to our understanding.
As we thought about Ephesus just a couple of weeks ago, the parallel to Ephesus would be Laodicea, which has very similar issues.
Last week we considered Smyrna, which has a parallel of the church in Philadelphia, which are the only two churches that do not have complaints from Jesus or corrections.
They're the only two healthy churches, we would assume, among the seven.
And now we get this morning to Pergamum, which initiates a section in the center of this chiasm that groups three churches together.
And these three churches, what we find as we read through them, are all at various stages of decline.
And their order seems to present a progression that moves from bad to worse to worst.
You can consider, you can read through the whole thing later this afternoon if you want, but let me just summarize it for you.
Pergamum has adopted a subtle or infant form of compromise.
It did not fully embrace error.
It did not fully embrace false teaching or immorality, but it was tolerating members in the church that did.
And what we find as we move through these three churches, the common sin is this sin of compromise.
So what we find in Pergamum is kind of this subtle infant compromise.
Then as we move to Thyatira, we find that they were much more blatant and open in their compromise.
So that the church as a whole generally was embracing false teaching and ungodliness.
Then we move to the third church in the grouping, that's Sardis.
And the condition of Sardis' compromise is such that Jesus just simply says that they are dead.
They're dead.
With the exception of just a few faithful members in the church who are remaining faithful to the Lord and to the gospel,
the church ultimately was full of unbelievers.
And we see this progression.
We're going to focus in on this thought and this progression over the next three weeks.
The commonality is compromised, but there's different levels of compromise in each church.
And what we find is that if in Pergamum, if we are a Pergamene type church and we don't repent of that and we don't move away from that subtle compromise,
ultimately we become a Thyatira church, which eventually is going to lead to a Sardis church, a dead church, an unbelieving church.
And so a Pergamene spirit will set a church very quickly on the trajectory of spiritual death.
And that's the warning that we heed as we come here.
Now, the sermon to Pergamum has an overall tone of judgment.
Jesus is the righteous judge here, and he is warning them that compromising truth and godliness
under pressure from the world or as a result of our sinful flesh will incur his righteous judgment.
So not only are we to remain faithful in belief in behavior,
but we must lovingly correct and discipline those who are not.
And so there's a very specific instruction that we begin to see unfold in this sermon to this church.
And as with every church, Jesus provides a promise so that the overall tone may be judgment, but it's not all judgment.
He provides in the conclusion a really wonderful promise here that we will get to,
that the benefits of being faithful to Christ far exceed anything that this world has to offer.
So then we are to be motivated then, not only by the reality of Christ's judgment as the righteous judge,
that great eschatological judge and king who will return to judge the world,
but we are to be motivated by the glorious promise that he gives to all who conquer,
to all who conquer in his name.
And just as a side, this should be the nature of our tone in evangelism.
Julie and I were, I don't know if it was, I don't know where she found it,
but she was watching this video of someone the other day that essentially,
I know what they were trying to say, but essentially they were condemning those who would come to Christ
merely out of a fear of going to hell.
Hell.
And I hate that.
And I hate it for this reason.
Because Jesus talks about hell so much.
He talks about judgment so much.
And the reason is because the judgment that is to come for unbelievers
is to motivate their repentance and their turning to Christ.
Now in our evangelism, if all we ever talk about is hell,
and we never talk about the goodness of God and the graciousness of Jesus
and the prize and the treasure that Jesus is, there's a problem in that.
But if we're always only emphasizing the treasure that is Jesus
and we never warn of hell, there's a problem in that as well.
There's a balance to it, isn't there?
We are motivated not only by the judgment of Christ,
we are motivated by the promise of Christ.
That's the full gospel.
And as we come to this particular sermon to the church at Pergamum,
we find this balance in the words of Jesus.
He is the righteous judge who will come
and he threatens judgment for all who do not follow him.
But he is also a gracious savior
who promises the hidden manna, eternal life and salvation
for all who do conquer through him.
And that's the balance of the sermon as we go.
Let's consider first the church identity and Christ title.
Look with me at verse 12.
To the angel of the church in Pergamum write,
the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
Many cities have a unique identity in the world.
If I were to mention your first thoughts
that maybe come to mind when I say Las Vegas, Nevada,
probably the first thing that comes to your mind
is not its proximity to the Grand Canyon or the Hoover Dam.
That might be in the mix,
but it's probably not your first thought.
Well, it comes to your mind.
Well, it's known as Sin City.
It's the place where many people go
to live out some sort of debauchery
that they hope doesn't follow them home.
And that's what we think about.
It's known for being an adult playground, so to speak.
Paris is the city of love.
Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world.
Salt Lake City would be the heart of Mormonism.
Many big cities like this, they have a personality.
They have an identity that people generally know them by.
Pergamum had such an identity.
In the Roman province of Asia, at this time in its history,
Pergamum was known for its pluralistic religion.
It was the religious capital of the region.
And if you lived there, in Asia that is, during the first century,
you would have most likely thought of Pergamum as a melting pot of religion.
That was what its identity was.
It contained a plethora of religious landmarks.
Civil life in the city was permeated by pagan ritualism.
And what I mean by that is that it would be impossible
to go about the routine task of life in Pergamum
without witnessing or engaging with pagan ritualism,
pagan forms of worship.
It really was constraining in their culture.
It went so deeply in their culture that it touched everything that they did.
And so we're going to come back to that in just a moment.
So let's just move on to the Christ title now.
Jesus refers to himself here as the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.
The sharp two-edged sword.
Now remember, this is not John's estimation of who Jesus is.
This is Jesus' self-revelation.
He tells John, write this to the pastor of the church in Pergamum.
Here's who I am to this church.
Here's how they should think of me at this point.
I am the one with the sharp two-edged sword.
The sword in that culture symbolized authority, power,
especially as it relates to punishment.
And the New Testament uses this imagery as a result.
Romans chapter 13, you'll remember Paul writing about
the Christian relationship to government.
He says, would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?
Then do what's good, and you will receive his approval.
For he's God's servant for your good.
But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.
So when this type of language was used,
it was automatically going to be associated with power,
authority, and pending punishment from that authority.
And that the sword is sharp and two-edged means that it is effective,
fully capable of inflicting swift and total punishment
by whoever it is that wields it.
And Jesus says, the way that I want Pergamum to think of me
is as the one who wields the sharp two-edged sword.
And early readers would have immediately recognized this
as a contrast to Rome.
And it's really what sets the tone for the rest of the sermon.
Rome carried a tremendous sort of power.
But in Jesus' words here, it was nothing compared to the authority of Christ.
Rome threatened a harsh judgment in this life,
but Jesus is that eschatological judge
before whom every man and woman and boy and girl
will have to stand in judgment.
And the fact that Jesus uses this title here
and in the consequence formula of verse 16
shows how serious of a matter
this issue of subtle compromise truly is.
This is the sin in the church.
And he says, now I want you to think of me
as the one with the sword.
And the question we are forced to ask at this point is,
which sword do we respect most?
The sword of Rome or the sword of Christ?
Either our fear of persecution will weaken our faith
and diminish our fear of God,
or our fear of God will strengthen our faith
and cause us to stand boldly in the face of hardship
for the name of Christ.
That's what's at play here.
This was a very serious issue.
This was confronting the church in Pergamum
every single day of their lives.
Will we fear most the sword of Rome
or the sword of God, the sword of Christ?
Of course, Jesus tells us in Matthew 10,
do not fear those who kill the body,
but cannot kill the soul.
Rather fear him who can destroy both soul
and body in hell.
So Jesus very clearly tells us what it is,
is the right decision in those moments.
And that's what he's gonna begin to work through here
in this sermon to Pergamum.
Well, that's the identity in Christ's title.
Let's consider now the commendation from Christ
in verse 13.
The commendation.
Read it with me.
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.
I know where you dwell, Jesus says.
I know, I know.
And this is in the context of commendation.
Have you ever suffered through a season of life
and felt the comfort of someone
who just simply acknowledged your struggle?
There was nothing really that they could offer you.
They couldn't really change your circumstance.
But just in the way that they approached you
or talked with you or prayed with you
or whatever it may have been,
you just kind of felt seen
and a little bit understood.
And that was enough to kind of give you
a comforting pick-me-up
to continue on in your perseverance.
I hope you've experienced that before.
And can you imagine if that's the experience we have
when there is a human comfort in our lives
that God sends?
What kind of comfort must this be
to the church in Pergamon
when they hear from their Lord and Savior?
When he just says and he makes this statement,
I know, I know.
I've talked with Terry about this a number of times
in different circumstances that we face in life,
how comforting it is just sometimes to know
that Jesus knows.
He is aware of what we're facing.
He's aware of our struggle.
There's a sense of comfort that comes
just from those words.
And surely the church in Pergamon
felt that comfort from the Lord.
He was well aware of how difficult it was
to be a Christian in that city.
And he commended them on being faithful to the gospel,
even when facing extreme persecution.
The church had, as a whole,
held fast to the name of Jesus, he says,
and they refused to abandon the faith.
They are confronted day by day
with that question of the sword.
Will we follow Rome or will we follow Christ
when those two things conflict together?
And over and over, this church in Pergamon
had said, no, we will follow Christ.
We will not abandon the name of Christ.
We will be faithful.
And Jesus commends them.
Let's consider for just a moment
the magnitude of this perseverance in Pergamon.
The fact that Pergamon is the religious capital
or was the religious capital of Asia
is what merits this description
that it is the place where Satan's throne is.
Do you see it there in verse 13?
Again, I know where you dwell,
where Satan's throne is.
I mentioned there were a number
of religious landmarks in the city.
It was the home to the Asclepius Healing Center,
named after the Greek god of healing, Asclepius.
Mythology portrayed this god as a snake.
You will be familiar with his symbol
because it's still the symbol
used in the medical world today.
It's a staff with a serpent intertwined around it.
The heart of this type of mythological religion
was in Pergamon.
There was a healing center there.
People would travel from all over
to come and pray to this god.
They would go into this temple scenario
where snakes were kept
and they would lay
and snakes would come along them
and they would hope that
that some type of healing
would be transferred to them
through their worship to this god
as he passed on this healing property
through the elements connected to this temple.
Now, I don't care how sick I am.
I'm never gonna lay down
and let snakes crawl all over me.
I'd just rather die, I think.
But this is in Pergamon.
This place is right in the...
But it's not the only thing that's in Pergamon.
Also in Pergamon is an enormous altar to Zeus,
that great Greek god of gods.
It was massive.
It was known as the Zeus savior.
It was a place of pagan religion and worship
and everything that comes along with that
right there in the heart of Pergamon.
But perhaps the most important religious site
at the time was this temple
to the imperial cult of Rome,
the place where Romans would go
to actually worship their Caesars.
Now, we talked about last week in Smyrna,
Smyrna's loyalty to Rome
had actually granted it the possibility
of a temple of its own to the imperial cult,
but it was the second temple in the area.
The primary one was in Pergamon.
Why?
Because this is the religious capital.
If you were gonna set up a temple somewhere
for your religion in that day and age,
it would have been Pergamon.
So Pergamon, the city,
is somewhat of a microcosm
of the pluralistic ideas of Roman religion.
But there is a tremendous irony in all of this
because what Jesus goes on to say
is that in the midst of this pluralism,
this tolerance for multiple religions,
there is this intolerance for Christianity.
That's the irony, isn't it?
Romans didn't care who you worshiped.
They didn't care if you worship Jesus.
Their problem was the exclusivity claims of Christianity.
They didn't mind adding more and more gods
to their set of religions.
What they didn't tolerate
was to take away any gods from their set of religions.
And then Jesus and Christianity comes on the scene
and Christians begin to preach the gospel
that says there is only one God
and there is only one Lord
and it's not Caesar.
It's Jesus.
And unless you repent and believe in him,
you're gonna be judged by him
and you're gonna spend eternity in hell.
That was the message.
That was the intolerance.
So this ultimately religious tolerant society
is intolerant of intolerance.
Remember also that Roman religion
was not based in doctrine,
but ritual.
That's really what they cared about.
It wasn't so much what you believed.
They didn't care so much about your religious position.
They cared about your religious participation.
Participation.
That's what they really, really mattered to them
because to them, the culture
and the way that the city
and the culture would worship
had something to do with
how the God would treat the city as a whole.
Participation in their forms of worship
was important culturally for them.
And as I said earlier,
daily life in a place like Pergamum
was saturated with pagan practices.
A faithful Christian would stick out
like a sore thumb in that city.
It would not take very long
for you to draw attention.
Maybe not even necessarily
because of what you're doing
or what you're saying,
but because of what you're not doing
and what you're not saying.
And the context led to this devastating moment
in the church's history.
Jesus talks about Antipas,
the faithful witness.
We don't know much about him.
Tradition says that he was
a faithful Christian leader in Pergamum
who suffered an excruciatingly torturous death
because of his faith.
Like extremely torturous.
You can look it up on your own later.
And as we read in verse 13,
we get this idea
that Antipas' death
was not only shocking,
but it was perhaps sudden.
Maybe this was the first real martyrdom
that this church had experienced.
That he was killed,
as Jesus says,
among them where Satan dwells
indicates that perhaps
some of the people in the church
were present
at one of the specific
religious landmarks in the city.
And that's where Antipas
suddenly was taken
and executed before them.
Now, can you imagine
having to be a witness
to the torture and execution
of a beloved brother
or sister in Christ,
knowing
that all eyes are now set on you.
And that if you refuse
to do what they want,
as far as their pagan practices
are concerned,
you're the one that's going to have
to face that type of death next.
That's what Pergamum was up against.
That's what they're dealing with.
And Jesus commends them.
He says,
but you've held fast
to the name of Jesus.
You have not abandoned my faith.
He says,
and he commends them greatly on this.
Of course,
the religious irony of Pergamum
is just as prevalent today.
We live in a deeply pluralistic,
albeit secular,
culture
that is tolerant
of every possible belief
and behavior
except the one
that isn't tolerant.
And if you're going to live
as a faithful Christian
in this world
and if you're going to live
as a faithful Christian
in this city,
you're going to have to remain
steadfast in the faith
and there's no way
you're going to be able
to hide that.
You won't be able to hide it.
At some point,
you'll have to face
the same question
that the Pergamum people faced.
will we care more
about the sword of Christ
or the sword of Rome?
Let's consider the complaint here.
Verse 14,
I have a few things against you,
Jesus says.
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 may eat food,
sacrifice to idols,
and practice sexual immorality.
So also,
you have some
who hold the teaching
of the Nicolaitans.
So despite the commendation,
a serious problem
is developing in Pergamum here.
Though they had been faithful before,
they were beginning
to cultivate a subtle,
doctrinal,
and moral compromise.
Now the church as a whole
is not embracing
idolatry and immorality.
That's not at all
the indication that we get here.
It's not that they're all
participating in these things,
but they weren't shutting
the door to it either.
That was the problem.
They'd let their guard down,
and they'd let their guard down
by allowing some people
in the church
to adopt these sinful practices
and beliefs
without consequence.
So the issue,
the compromise there,
is not that the whole church
is erring,
it's that they are tolerating error
without confronting it
in the church itself.
Now we first hear
about the Nicolaitans
in Jesus' sermon
to the church in Ephesus.
There's not a lot
that we know about this group either,
but essentially,
their teaching was
seducing Christians
to participate in idolatry
and in sexual immorality
while also trying to maintain
a Christian identity.
Okay?
Now you can put two and two together
as to how we face this
even still today.
Here there's teaching
that's creeping its way
into the church,
into the Christian circles,
and it's saying
you can still be a Christian
and do this
and think this
and tolerate this.
That's the teaching
of the Nicolaitans essentially.
And there were some people
in Pergamum
who are beginning
to adopt this teaching.
They're beginning
to hold to it.
They're participating
in idolatry
and in sexual immorality
and they think it's fine.
And in the midst
of all of that,
they're trying to still
maintain a Christian identity.
And Jesus comes in
and he confronts this
and he says,
no, this isn't actually possible.
This is a sin.
This is a problem.
And this Old Testament illustration
that Jesus uses
for the Nicolaitans
is helpful to us.
You can read all about Balaam
and Balak
in the book of Numbers
this afternoon.
And I would encourage you
actually to do it.
It's a fascinating story.
Balaam was known
for being a pagan prophet.
People believe
that he had this ability
to speak to them
on behalf of the gods.
But he was a mercenary prophet.
He would speak
on behalf of whatever God's people
were paying him
at the precise moment.
You will recognize Balaam
probably not so much
for anything
that a god said through him,
but for what the god,
the one true god,
said through his donkey.
Remember Balaam's donkey.
And what's the point of that?
Well, the point of it,
what it tells us,
is that God can speak
through anybody.
He doesn't only speak
through believers.
He speaks through unbelievers.
He speaks through animals,
apparently.
He can speak through anything
that he wants to speak.
And then this story
begins to unfold
with Balaam and Balak,
who was the king of Moab.
Now, he's the king of Moab
during the wilderness
wandering years of Israel.
And Balak hired Balaam
specifically to pronounce a curse
on the nation of Israel.
He was terrified of them,
as everybody was.
And he promises Balaam
an exorbitant amount of money
and pleasure
if he would pronounce this curse.
And as the story unfolds,
it just doesn't work.
Every time Balaam
tries to pronounce a curse,
God changes it to a blessing.
And so Balak and Balaam
get frustrated.
They go to multiple places
and it doesn't work.
And so that's the end
of the story there
until Balaam comes up
with a different solution.
And he tells Balak,
here's what you need to do.
You need to get
the most beautiful women
in Moab
and you need to put them out front
and you need to send them
into the camp of Israel
to seduce the young men
of Israel.
And if they'll seduce
the young men,
they'll end up marrying
these women
and you will be able
to assimilate Israel
into your nation
and you will be king
over both.
You see, it's not so much
a blatant form of compromise
as it is a subtle one
in Balaam's plan here.
And it worked.
They put the most beautiful
Moabite women out there.
Many young men go,
according to the scripture,
using language of the scripture,
go whoring after them
and after their idols.
They begin to participate
in the sexual immorality
that comes along
with pagan worship of idols.
And as a result,
God judges the nation
and 24,000 men in Israel
are killed by a plague
that God sends.
It's a massive statement.
It's the same statement
that Jesus is making
to Pergamum
because the Nicolaitans
are doing the same thing
Balaam was doing.
They were seducing
with their teaching
Christians
to try to maintain
a Christian identity
while participating
in sexual immorality
and idolatry
in cultural worship.
And what Jesus is saying,
and we'll get to this again
in just a moment,
but what Jesus is saying
is I'm going to come
and those who are doing this
are going to be destroyed.
Just like the 24,000
in Israel were destroyed,
so will these people
be destroyed.
Jesus highlighted
two specific sins
that came from this teaching.
Eating food sacrificed
to idols
was a willing participation
in celebrations
and feasts
and family parties
that would take place
in these temple locations.
And these rituals,
these worship rituals,
even if it was just
for a birthday party,
there's plenty
of historical documentation
that these places would,
these things would take place
in the context
of a religious building
or in a religious worship,
and what would inevitably unfold
is all sorts of sexual sin.
And some elements
of the Nicolaitan teaching
were justifying Christian
participation in these things.
Now, whether it was
to avoid persecution
like Antipas,
or whether it was just
to satisfy their own
lustful desire,
some of these Christians
were beginning to capitulate
to these things.
And the problem
for the church
in Pergamum
was that they were
allowing it to happen.
They were allowing it
to happen.
They agreed
to disagree
on things
that we have no business
agreeing to disagree on.
They were compromising,
and Jesus was prepared
to judge the church
for the compromise.
Now, finding the modern parallel
to this is not hard.
Our culture worships
at the altar
of expressive individualism.
That, essentially,
I am my own God.
I determine my own identity.
I determine who I am,
what I'll worship,
what I'll do,
and how I'll live.
That is our cultural,
secular form of worship.
And it is always bound up
in some type of sexual sin.
And in our day,
it's bound up
in this sexual revolution
that is embodied
most notably
in the LGBTQ plus movement.
There's no denying that.
And to live
in the United States today,
in the month of June,
in Pride Month,
in the midst of Pride Week,
is really no different
than living in Pergamum.
They don't care
if you worship Jesus.
So long as your version
of Christianity
accommodates practices
that the Bible condemns.
They're fine with a church
that's Christian.
Just make sure you put
that rainbow flag out front.
It's really no different
than what's happening
in Pergamum.
But here's the thing
about this.
This compromise
is not just about
homosexual ideas
and activities.
And we are being foolish
and deceiving ourselves
when we mercilessly
make homosexuals
public enemy number one.
Because here's the problem
of compromising
the Christian church
in the United States today.
We have been compromising
on sexual sin
long before the LGBTQ plus
movement became a thing.
What we see now
is the fruit
of the church
tolerating sex
outside of marriage
for years.
Tolerating drunkenness.
Tolerating errant views
of divorce
and remarriage.
tolerating pornographic media.
Not even in some type
of pornographic subscription.
But simply in thinking
that it's okay
to entertain ourselves
night by night
by watching explicit nudity
and sex unfold
on the TV
in front of us.
We have compromised
in this
far, far longer
before any type
of homosexual activity
became prevalent
in our churches
or in our society.
And that's certainly
a part of it.
And it's the major note
of our day
in the cultural movement
that is before us.
But it is not just about
the major cultural notes.
There are serious problems
of compromise
that are much different
than the homosexual agenda
in Christian churches today.
And there are plenty
of churches
in our area
and around
and around our world
who are not
participating in things
but they're beginning
to tolerate it
in the church.
They're agreeing
to disagree
on things
that we have
no business
agreeing to disagree on.
We are blatantly
compromising the truth
that Jesus has made
abundantly clear.
That's what Pergamum
is beginning to do.
And Jesus says
because of this toleration
not because of
what you're doing
but because of
your toleration
you need to see me now
as the one
with the sharp
two-edged sword
that is going to come
and is going to judge
all of those
who are against me.
And when we begin
to tolerate
these ideas
and practices
in our church
even if we aren't
ourselves embracing them
we forsake the truth
we abandon
the lordship of Jesus
and we invite
the judgment of God.
It doesn't mean
that we don't show
kindness and love
and even welcoming
to our events
and to our services
to people
who disagree with us.
But there is a difference
between doing that
and pretending
as if this is not
an issue at all
and welcoming
into membership
anybody who just
simply says
that they want
to be a Christian
despite whatever
their life may say.
That's what Jesus
is confronting
here in Pergamum.
Now let's look
at his correction
and his consequence
verse 16.
What's the solution?
Not culture war.
That's not the solution.
The solution
therefore
repent
if not
I will come
to you soon
and war against
them with the sword
of my mouth.
Now remember
at this point
Jesus' complaint
is that they are
tolerating people
in the congregation
that are participating
in idolatry
and immorality.
The repentance
then that Jesus
is calling the church
to
is to
discipline
those
in the church
who are holding
Nicolaitan teaching.
This is so very important
because this dynamic
of church discipline
is so absent
in churches today.
Jesus commanded it
in part
because sin
will spread
like gangrene
through a church
without it.
If we become
tolerant
of ideas
in the church
eventually
it's going to
take over.
Within a generation
or less
a passive
congregation
that is generally
faithful
will totally
abandon
the gospel
itself.
And the progression
of these three churches
is what proves it.
A Pergamum-like
church
that doesn't
repent
and discipline
wayward members
will inevitably
become a
lifeless
dead
Sardis
gospel-less
church.
Why should we
care about
this kind
of discipline?
Because if we
don't
we lose
the purity
of the church
and if we
lose the purity
of the church
we lose
the church.
The second
thing though
Jesus commands
church discipline
as a means
of pursuing
and loving
wayward
Christians
or even
the culture
at large.
When he
taught that
process of
discipline
in Matthew
chapter 18
Jesus links
it with that
famous story
of the shepherd
who leaves
the 99
and goes
to the 100.
what is that
story about?
It's about
the pursuit
of a sinner.
It's the
pursuit
lovingly
to restore
someone
who has
left
the fold.
Church
discipline
is an
act of
love
and verse
16 shows
that very
clearly.
Look at the
difference in
the pronouns
used here.
Jesus says
he will
come to
you
the church
that second
second person
plural
he will
come to
you the
church
but he
will
war
against
them
he will
war
against
them
he'll
come
to
you
but
he'll
war
against
them
those
who
are
holding
the
Nicolaitan
teaching
and it's
in this
context
that he
says that
they are
to repent
what is it
exactly
that Jesus
wants them
to do?
Well Jesus
doesn't war
against his
own people
that's one
of the
promises
we have
he doesn't
have to
but the
one with
the
two-edged
sword
will
indeed
judge
those
who
are
not
his
true
people
and
discipline
is an
attempt
to restore
someone
to
faithfulness
so that
when Jesus
returns
they will
not be
his enemy
he will
not be
at war
with them
that's
really
that's
the spirit
of
discipline
it's
not to
take
this
posture
of
superiority
over
someone
or to
lord
over
someone
else's
life
true
church
discipline
and the
way
that we
confront
people
that we
love
is an
act
of
love
it is
a
pursuing
of
them
so that
when the
lord
does
come
he will
not be
at war
with
them
that's
the
point
of
it
and
what's
Jesus
telling
the
program
church
to do
repent
by dealing
with the
people
in the
congregation
confront
them
in their
sin
confront
them
so that
when I
come
to
you
I
will
not
be
at war
with
!
Jim
Hamilton
says
the
process
of
discipline
is
motivated
by a
desire
to keep
Jesus
from making
war on
those
who are
holding
to false
teaching
we call
people to
repent
because we
love them
and we
want to
keep them
from
judgment
and if
they do
not
repent
we're
to follow
the steps
prescribed
in Matthew
18
because we
love
them
and want
to keep
them
from
judgment
that we
need to
be
careful
that in
the way
that we
deal
with the
people
that we
love
inside
and outside
of the
church
that our
love is
expressed
in loving
discipline
not in
subtle
compromise
we don't
call people
to repent
because we
hate them
and if
your overall
attitude
is arrogant
and hateful
almost you
know the
people that
they're almost
happy to
tell someone
they almost
take joy
in the fact
that someone
is lost
and is facing
God's wrath
I was talking
to a man
several years
ago
he's actually
dead now
but this
man several
years ago
he's talking
about going
soul winning
and he was
offended
that a person
on a doorstep
wasn't very
kind to him
and his
response to
the man
was fine
go to hell
then
so that
that's the
kind of
discipline
that Jesus
is not
encouraging
here
that's
actually
if that's
your spirit
when it
comes to
our world
and it
comes to
discipline
in the
church
you're
actually
the one
that needs
to be
disciplined
that's not
what Jesus
is dealing
with here
he's talking
about a
loving
pursuit
we discipline
because we
love them
and to
tolerate
idolatrous
and immoral
ideas
will be a
death sentence
for our
church
and the
people who
have turned
away from
the truth
because the
fact is
Jesus
is coming
and he
is coming
soon
and I
don't want
him to be
at war
with me
and I
don't want
him to be
at war
with you
either
so what
do we
do
we preach
the gospel
we bring
it back
to the
word
we love
people
through
that
let's
finish
with the
call and
conquer
verse 17
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
I
will
give
him
a
white
stone
with a
new
name
written
on
that
stone
no one
knows
except
the
one
who
receives
it
unfortunately
Jesus
never
ends
these
messages
with a
threat
he
always
concludes
with a
promise
a
promise
for the
one
who
conquers
to
conquer
is to
persevere
in
faith
not
because
you're
just
so
strong
you
persevere
in
faith
through
the
ultimate
conqueror
Jesus
he
conquers
on
your
behalf
that's
what
he
does
that's
the
measure
of
his
grace
and
in
the
context
of
Pergamum
conquering
involves
holding
fast
to
the
name
of
Jesus
and
not
abandoning
the
gospel
despite
being
immersed
in a
culture
that is
completely
opposed
to
him
it's
to
remain
faithful
to
the
Lord
remain
faithful
to
our
Savior
rather
than
finding
easy
forms
of
compromise
now
let's
look at
the
blessing
two
things
they're
kind
of
enigmatic
aren't
they
he
says
that
to
the
one
who
conquers
they
will
receive
the
hidden
manna
of
course
was
the
food
God
supernaturally
sustained
Israel
with
during
the
40
years
they
wandered
in
the
wilderness
what
does
that
mean
for
us
God's
not
dropping
honey
flakes
from
the
sky
today
what
does
that
mean
well
Jesus
tells
us
what
it
means
in
John
chapter
6
Jesus
says
to
them
truly
I
say
to
you
it
was
not
Moses
who
gave
you
the
bread
from
heaven
but
my
father
gives
you
the
true
bread
from
heaven
for
the
bread
of
God
is
he
who
comes
down
from
heaven
and
gives
life
to
the
world
and
they
said
sir
give
us
this
bread
always
and
Jesus
said
I
am
the
bread
of
life
whoever
comes
to
me
shall
not
hunger
whoever
believes
in
me
shall
not
thirst
what
does
Jesus
mean
when
he
says
to
the
one
who
conquers
I
will
give
the
hidden
manna
he
means
he
gives
himself
to
those
who
come
to
him
he
is
the
bread
of
life
you
will
never
thirst
!
again
this
promise
is
far
superior
to
even
the
threat
of
the
sword
of
judgment
it
is
wonderfully
promising
to
whoever
will
come
to
Jesus
no
matter
what
their
perspective
has
been
up
to
this
point
no
matter
what
their
sin
is
at
this
point
he
will
receive
them
and
he
will
give
them
the
bread
of
life
he
is
the
hidden
manna
that
will
sustain
his
people
for
all
of
eternity
not
for
40
years
in
a
desert
place
but
forever
and
ever
what
about
this
white
stone
then
well
this
one's
harder
a
white
stone
with
a
new
name
most
likely
refers
to
a
cultural
practice
that
would
award
athletes
or maybe
important
people
for
different
gatherings
and
celebrations
with a
token
and the
token
was a
small
white
stone
and it
would
have
the
inscription
of
a
winning
athlete's
name
on it
which
meant
that
no
one
could
have
access
to
this
banquet
unless
their
name
matched
the
token
that
they
had
only
that
person
could
use
it
was
their
access
that's
most
likely
what
this
white
stone
is a
reference
to
and the
name
here
is not
some
secret
code
it's
not
that
when
you
get
to
heaven
if
you're
a
believer
you're
going
to
have
like
this
super
funky
name
that
you
could
never
imagine
and
that
only
you're
going
to
know
what
it
truly
is
that's
not
what
this
is
the
name
here
is
the
name
of
Christ
the
true
victor
who
is
only
truly
known
by
those
who
believe
and
follow
him
because
it
is
upon
his
victory
through
the
cross
and
the
resurrection
that
we
gain
access
to
this
heavenly
banquet
that
is
the
marriage
supper
of
the
lamb
do
you
see
that
token
you
receive
comes
from
Jesus
and
it
doesn't
have
your
banquet
and
only
those
who
present
the
token
of
Christ's
name
are
the
ones
who
will
have
access
to
the
banquet
to
that
great
heavenly
banquet
that
John's
going
to
go
further
in
the
book
of
revelation
to
unfold
before
us
a
wonderful
promise
what
is
this
all
about
what
is
this
promise
the
bottom
line
is
this
the
world
may
offer
you
comfort
now
it
may
offer
you
significant
pleasure
now
because
sin
is
always
pleasurable
for a
season
it
will
offer
you
access
to
its
feast
and
to
its
celebrations
here
but
Jesus
the
great
and
righteous
judge
offers
you
something
far
greater
than
that
the
hard
thing
is
what
Jesus
offers
will
cost
you
everything
it'll
cost
you
everything
it's
not
that
you
have
to
pay
him
or
it's
not
that
you
have
to
fulfill
!
a
list
of
things
to
do
but
in
that
favorite
parable
of
mine
Jesus
says
that
his
gospel
the
kingdom
he
himself
is
like
that
treasure
hidden
in
a
field
and
the
person
stumbles
upon
the
treasure
and
immediately
they
see
such
value
in
it
that
they
sell
everything
that
they
have
in
order
to
buy
that
field
and
he's
like
the
merchant
who
comes
and
upon
finding
a
pearl
of
great
price
pearl
and
Jesus
says
I'm
the
treasure
I'm
the
pearl
and
to
conquer
what
Jesus
is
saying
here
and
this
dynamic
of
what
the
world
offers
versus
what
Jesus
offers
to
embrace
the
gospel
is
the
same
as
abandoning
everything
else
in
heart
in
order
to
follow
Jesus
supremely
it
will
cost
you
everything
it
may
cost
you
your
life
it
certainly
going
to
cost
you
the
sinful
pleasure
of
this
world
because
Jesus
calls
us
to
faith
and
repentance
it
will
cost
you
everything
but
look
what
is
gained
not
a
temporary
satisfaction
an
immeasurable
blessing
of
eternity
trust
in
Christ
he
is
the
hidden
manor
he
is
the
white
stone
and
he
will
be
yours
if
you
will
just
turn
repent
and
follow
him
he
who
has
an
ear
let
him
hear
what
the
spirit
says
to
the
churches