The Church That Compromised Its Calling

On the last Lord's Day, we continued our series on our Lord's letters to the 7 churches of Asia Minor entitled Strengthening the Foundations of the Church, with our look at the third church, Pergamum.

Pergamum was a very interesting place in within the pantheon of the Roman Empire and we see that expressed in the beginning of the letter written to them. For when you look at this city in its context you will discover that it was the capital of the Roman Empire in Asia, which had an impressive library with over 200,000 parchment scrolls, and it was the first city to have a statue erected for a living emperor in 29 BC for Caesar Augustus.

Jesus also commends them for what was right about this city. He commends them for holding fast his name and for refusing to renounce their faith in Christ Jesus all while they faced immense persecution.

Despite of all the commendations Jesus gives this church, he moves from what was right about the church to what was wrong about the church: They were found guilty of compromising the Word of God for the ways of Satan. They had allowed some in the church to practice Balaamism and of the Nicolaitans. All of this caused Jesus to tell them that they must strengthen the foundation of refusing to tolerate any and everything going in in God's church. We too must stand up and be willing to refuse to allow messy stuff to go on. Here is the sermon outline:

Text: Rev. 2:12-17

Thesis: we have been called to stand firm upon the truth of God's Word by refusing to tolerate the ways of the world

I. Commitment to Change

-verse 16...therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth
-an indication of regret for the pursued course resulting in a wiser view of the past and future
-there are consequences for our disobedience to the commands of the Lord...he will unleash the power of his Words on the church

II. Challenged to Conquer

-verse 17...he who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers
-to remain faithful, persevere, don's quit and finish the race even in the face of persecution
-Jesus cares not about how we start the race, but rather how we finish what we have started

III. Confidence in Christ

-verse 17...to the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it
-if we are victorious in this race, we are assured of a reward for our faithfulness

a. Source of Life - hidden manna
b. Special Liberties - white stone
c. Specific Lineage - new name

-verse 17