A Message to the Church #3: Have You Compromised?

In case you missed the first part of this series and want to read the articles in order, here are the links to each of the previous posts:  


A Message to the Church #1: Have You Left Your First Love?
A Message to the Church #2: Are You Fearlessly Faithful?

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make 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 him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’" ~Revelation 2:12-17 (NASB)



Symbolism

The One who has the sharp two-edged sword is Jesus (Revelation 1:16). Jesus is referred to as the Word of God (John 1:1), and in Hebrews 4:12 the Word is said to be "sharper than a double-edged sword."



What They're Doing Right


They hold fast to His name
They haven't denied the faith
Both of these in spite of dwelling where Satan's throne is and where Christians were martyred

What He Has Against Them

The church at Pergamum seemed to have allowed the false teaching of those like Balaam and the Nicolaitanes, who misled God's people for the purpose of dishonest gain (Numbers 22-24; 31:16; 1 Peter 5:1-3). In other words they had compromised God's Word, watering it down with false teaching to make it more acceptable to them.



What They Need To Do

The answer is summed up in one word: Repent. The believers in Pergamum needed to resist the false teachings of those in the church who wanted to compromise the message of the gospel and instead turn toward God. How can the gospel be compromised? These are the ways that come to my mind based on this particular passage, though I'm sure in this sinful world there are most likely other ways:


Accept an "anything goes" mentality in regards to morality. Just because God offers grace doesn't give us a license to sin (Galatians 5:1; Romans 6:1; Titus 2:11-12).
Any attempt to "add to" the gospel through a works-based salvation (Romans 3:19-20; Galatians 3:24; Isaiah 64:6; Luke 17:10; Ephesians 2:8-9).
Use the gospel as a means of personal gain (1Timothy 6:3-11; Philippians 1:15-18; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Corinthians 2:17).

The Warning

Jesus promises to go to war with those teaching and following a perversion of His gospel. Notice that the weapon He uses is the sword of His Word. Folks, the implication of this passage should be heeded by all of us. In this day and age of information and education, we have no excuse for not reading or not knowing our Bibles! Unfortunately, Satan makes it all too easy to compromise our beliefs with tempting heresies that make us feel better about ourselves.  Don't believe me? Take a look at all the people in our country who believe that we're all going to heaven, that all roads lead to God, and that the gospel is nothing more than a "name it and claim it theology." Watch out!!! Listen to (heed, take it to heart, obey) what the Spirit is saying!



The Reward  

One part of the reward is hidden manna. Most of us remember the story of how God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness by giving them manna, literally "What is it?", the bread of heaven. But we can't forget that Jesus is the bread of life, come down from Heaven, and broken for our transgressions. He is our spiritual sustenance, "hidden" from the world. He is our reward! He is sufficient to meet our needs!



The white stone was used in Biblical times for the following: 1)to acquit a man; 2)to free someone from guilt or slavery; 3)winning a race; and 4)to a victorious soldier returning from battle. This sends shivers up my spine. For those of us who overcome, we will receive that white stone of acquittal, freeing us from our guilt and sin slavery, to prove that we've won the race and arrived at home victorious. How do we overcome? Only through following Christ.



Throughout the Bible, God bestowed new names on people, to reveal a change in their identity. Abram became Abraham, the father of many. Jacob (deceiver) became Israel (he struggles with God). The list could go on and on. I believe with all my heart that as Christ-followers we have a new identity and a new name. And based on today's passage, I believe we are the only ones who will truly "know" and understand our new name, because we are the ones who have lived it.



Application

We must constantly be on guard against the subtlety of Satan and his false teachings. Remember how he works, tempting us to doubt God and His Word and to give in to the desires of our sinful nature. He talks a good game. He makes it sound good and right. The only way to keep ourselves pure in this regard is to maintain a close and active relationship with the Lord and His Spirit. We need to hold everything up to the light of God's Word. We need to constantly check ourselves to make sure we haven't compromised His gospel.



The question we need to ask ourselves is:




Have we compromised?


God in heaven, how grateful we are for Your gospel of good news and grace. Thank You that You understand how subtle Satan is and how he constantly tries to trip us up with his lies and trickery. Thank You that Your Spirit dwells within us, convicting us of sin and guiding us. Thank You for the example of the sinless life Jesus lived that we might have His steps to follow in. Shine Your Holy penetrating Light into our lives, Father, and reveal to us the areas in which we've compromised our faith with the false teaching of the world. Give us the strength to repent and turn back to You. Thank You that You've promised the Bread of Life and the white stone with a new name to those who overcome. Thank You for making our victory possible, not through anything we've done or deserved, but because of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.