No Compromise

Our world thinks Christianity is too strict. They believe our values are old-fashioned, our truths are too rigid, and our way of life is too limiting. So, our world is constantly telling us to get with the times, to lighten up, and be more permissive to what our culture considers normal behavior. What our world really wants is for us to compromise our values, our truths and our Christlike way of life so that our witness will no longer confront them with their immoral and ungodly ways.

And unfortunately, many churches in America have been listening. The Gospel has been watered down, Jesus is rarely preached, immoral behavior is often tolerated, and discipline toward sin is rarely practiced. Not, only that, but as John MacArthur so clearly articulates, many worship services have become sinner friendly, not God honoring. He says, “Leery of offending anyone, worship services have begun to emphasize physical and emotional experiences, not spiritual worship; superficial affirmation, not conviction; sentimentality, not theology; entertainment, not edification; and frivolity, not solemnity.”

This however is nothing new to the church today. It was this desire to not offend anyone, and their willingness to slowly drift away from their moral foundations and a gradually tolerate behaviors they once rejected, that led Jesus to confront His Church in Pergamum with their willingness to compromise to the culture of the day.

In fact, this kind of compromise is a danger to any church today. For when God’s people begin relaxing our godly values to the values of the culture around us, we are not only at risk of losing our Christlike distinctiveness but the power of our gospel witness before an unbelieving world. So, we need Christ’s message to Pergamum as much today as much as they did then. So, let me encourage you to find Christ’s message to His Church by turning in your Bibles to Revelation 2:12-17, where Jesus not only helps us see how we are susceptible to compromising our values, but also how we can get back on track and experience victory as His people. But first, before Jesus speaks to this problem of compromise, He wants this church to know that not all was bad. They were doing one thing very well. And so, we begin by seeing how…

1. Jesus Commends Faithfulness
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. Revelation 2:12 Now, just a little background on this church. If Ephesus was the New York or Vegas of Asia, then Pergamum was its Washington, DC, for there the Roman imperial power had its seat of government. Pliny called it “by far the most distinguished city in Asia Minor.” It had a library of 200,000 volumes. It had temples dedicated to Dionysus, Athena, Asclepius (the god of healing symbolized by a serpent entwined around a staff), and Demeter. The great altar to Zeus, one of the wonders of the ancient world, was also there. Pergamum was steeped in pagan religion. It was a city tight with Rome. It was the official center for worship and the state. In fact, it boasted of three temples dedicated to the emperor, and in 29 BC it was the first city in Asia to receive permission to build a temple dedicated to the worship of a living emperor. For this reason, Pergamum was also the city most devoted to the Roman Imperial cult and the place where Christians were most likely to be persecuted for refusing to worship Caeser as God.

So, Jesus says to this church was surrounded by paganism and Imperial worship, 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, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Revelation 2:13 Satan’s throne was the throne of Caesar. Pergamum was obsessed with a love of the state. And their patriotism had crossed the line into idolatry. It was so intense, that anyone who failed to join in worshiping Caesar was considered dangerous and must be opposed. However, Christians were allowed to follow Jesus, but they were not to let their faith get in the way of their duty to obey Rome. Privatized faith was fine. But any kind of faith apart from worshiping Caesar was not welcome. Sound familiar?

And yet, Jesus saw how they remained faithful to Him. He commends their faith saying, “you remain true to my name.” They would not renounce Jesus’ name, even on the pain of death. Why? There’s power in the name of Jesus (John 17:11), there is life in the name of Jesus (John 20:31), there’s salvation in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12), forgiveness in the name of Jesus, (Acts 2:38), healing in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:10), authority in the name of Jesus (Phil. 2:10), hope in the name of Jesus. (Matt. 12:21), and answered prayer in the name of Jesus (John 14:14). They remained true to the name of Jesus, in a culture steeped in worshiping Caesar as Lord. This pleased Christ.

But they didn’t just remain true to His name: Jesus also says, “you did not renounce your faith in me.” They did not bow to Caesar as Lord, nor deny the deity of Christ, nor the doctrine of salvation through faith alone. They were fiercely loyal to Jesus, even in the days of Antipas, Christ’s symbol of the faithfulness, who was martyred for his faith in this city. His name means “against all” which perhaps symbolizes that he may have stood alone against the forces of evil in that city and was faithful even unto death. So, yes, Christ followers were opposed and persecuted regularly in this city.

This kind of persecution is happening right now somewhere in the world. Somewhere Christians are dying for Jesus. Christian women are being raped. Children are being sold into slavery. Christian brothers and sisters are being imprisoned, persecuted and tortured. In the Global War on Christians, respected journalist John Allen notes that “80% of all acts of religious discrimination in the world are directed at Christians. These include: Social discrimination, Institutional discrimination, Employment discrimination, legal discrimination, violence against individual Christians, suppression of Christian missions, forced conversions from Christianity and more. When it comes to deaths, “90% of all people killed on the basis of their religious beliefs in the world today are Christians. Depending on who is counting, there are some 100,000 to 150,000 new Christian martyrs every year. Remaining true to Jesus comes at a cost in our world today. In China, North Korea, the Sudan, India, Indonesia… Christians are being persecuted and even martyred for believing in Jesus. So, may the example of the church of Pergamum encourages us today: to never be ashamed of the name of Jesus.

Their faith in Him, was the shining light of this church. But even as great as their faith in Him was… Jesus was not happy with how they had compromised their values to the ungodly values of the Roman culture. So, what we see next is how

Jesus Confronts Compromise He says, Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Revelation 2:14 So what was this teaching of Balaam? When we look back at Balaam’s strategy of destroying God’s people, what happened was this: the Israelites were advancing through the wilderness near Moab, and Balak the king of Moab sought to destroy them by having Balaam declare a curse over them. However, this failed because whenever Balaam began cursing Israel, the Holy Spirit came upon him and changed his curses into blessings. Balaam realized that persecution was only making God’s people stronger, so he changed tactics. He then “put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel.” This is what he did: Balaam sent the daughters of Moab into the Israelite camp to lure men into sexual sin and have them worship the idols of Moab In this way, these women seduced Israel into compromising their faith in Yahweh.

That kind of thing was happening with Christians in Pergamum. There were many pagan feasts held in this city, honoring the emperor or other false gods. In addition to these, there were specific trade guilds (exclusive closed societies around a common vocation: bakers, musicians, blacksmiths, etc.). And for every guild or vocation there was patron god specifically devoted to that trade. So, there were trade guild festivals involving the celebration of these patron deities. At these feasts, food was sacrificed to these gods and then eaten. Then the partying associated with this worship would lead to sexual immorality. In Pergamum there was a ton of societal pressure to compromise and engage in this illicit form of worship. It you refused to participate in these feasts, you would become an outcast! So, teachers in the church were condoning participating in these feasts, which led this church to compromising their morality & diluting their witness for Christ.

So, Jesus’ rebuke to them was, Don’t compromise your morality You see, this church gradually embraced their culture’s values toward sex, money and power. They compromised their purity; they loved money more than Jesus and wanted the approval of man more than the approval of Jesus. The same thing can happen to us. Our culture is constantly seducing us to loosen our standards and tolerate theirs. In fact, compromise is one of Satan’s most effective weapons. This is how compromise works:
1) Compromise never occurs quickly, so you hardly notice any change. 2) It always lowers the original standards you once held important. 3) It is seldom offensive because it is perceived as loving. 4) It eventually leads you to accept what you once rejected and even thought repulsive. It has been said that what one generation tolerates, the next will accept; and what that generation accepts, the next generation will celebrate.

So, Jesus rebukes this church. He wants them to stop compromising their morality. But he also wants them to stop listening to false teachers: Don’t compromise your theology Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Revelation 2:15 The Nicolaitans were false teachers that were antinomian. In other words, they wanted these believers to have nothing to do with the law. Instead, they taught that Christians had freedom to do anything they wanted. To them, doctrine mattered little, and behavior mattered less. As a result, they compromised their Christlike lifestyles so as not to offend their neighbors, so much so that their lifestyles and the lifestyles of their pagans became indistinguishable.

Again, Richard Phillips speaks to the effect of how this Nicolaitan spirit can negatively impact the church today. He says, “The Nicolaitan spirit tells us not to be rigorous in teaching or practicing God’s Word.” In other words, this spirit avoids teaching about sin and its negative consequences. This teaching promotes tolerance of those who live openly immoral lives, all in the name of love. This spirit avoids any topic that might appear controversial or offensive. So, we see the Nicolaitan spirit today in churches who have accepted homosexuality as normal, who embrace LGBTQ values, Where everything is now permissible, all in the name of love. And we see this spirit in our desire to get along with everyone, to not offend anyone, and have all people think well of us. But let us remember these words of Jesus: “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” Luke 6:26

In other words, one of the dangers to the church today, is to compromise our witness by trying to be no different from the people in our world. And if we are doing that, this is what Jesus says to us: Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Revelation 2:16 These are pretty strong words. Jesus warns, that if they don’t stop compromising and change their ways, He will come quickly and fight against them with the sword of His mouth.”

What is the sword of His mouth? It’s His Word. His Word and only His Word sets the standard for how God would have us live in the world today. He doesn’t want us to compromise our lifestyle. He wants us to be salt and light in our world. He wants us to be known as holy people, people who love mercy, people who treat others with dignity, people who love the sinner but don’t love their sin. He doesn’t want us to compromise our witness. But if you have, then Jesus says to you as He says to this Church: Confess your sins and change your ways Agree with Jesus, that you’ve strayed. Agree with Jesus that you’ve sinned. Stop compromising your way of life to the ways of the world and come back to the truth. Get into God’s Word and let God’s Word get into you and change you. For when you do, rather than face opposition from Jesus, you will receive grace from Jesus. And that’s what we see next, as …

Jesus Confers Blessings Jesus makes this promise to all who repent: Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17 To all who conquer compromise and return to His Word as their standard for living, Jesus promises to give them three rich blessings. First, Jesus promises to give them

Hidden Manna What is hidden manna? Manna refers to the supernatural food that fell from heaven during the exodus, that fed God’s people and gave them the strength to follow His leading in the desert. God gave them manna from heaven to sustain them and satisfy their hunger.

Now, the fact that this particular manna is “hidden” tells us that this manna is spiritual food given to us from Jesus. In other words, Jesus is saying to us…if you will trust in me alone, if you will feed on my Word, then I will nourish, sustain, and satisfy you.

But here’s the reality of this promise: Before this manna can be satisfying, you have to eat it. In other words, If you want to experience satisfaction in Jesus, then you need to dine on His Word. Remember how Jesus introduced himself to this Church? He introduced Himself as the Word of God. He said, These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. This is how the book of Hebrews describes God’s Word: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Here Jesus reveals a third priority for His Church: Jesus want us to be a people of the Word! He wants us to be nourished by His Word, to let God’s Word renew our minds, and transform our hearts – so we’ll live differently from the world. Jesus wants His Word to satisfy our souls. But we’ve got to eat it. That’s the first blessing He gives us: hidden manna! His spiritual food that satisfies us. Here’s the second blessing He gives:

A White Stone: Jesus says, “I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it” What does this mean? In that culture when people were accused of a crime they could be brought before a jury. Jurists were given two stones: a white stone and a black stone. If you were considered guilty, you were given a black stone. If you were considered innocent, you’d be given a white stone. Here’s the good news: The moment you put your trust in Jesus, He gives you the white stone and declares you innocent. Here’s why He can do that: It’s because he took your black stone on the cross – He took your sin upon Himself, so that when you put your trust in Him, he gives you this white stone.

That’s the victory Jesus gives: Jesus gives you a white stone declaring you innocent in God’s eyes. So now, if you are in Christ, you are acceptable to God forever. That’s the second blessing Jesus gives. Here’s the final one. He gives you

A New Name GK Beale explains the significance of the new name saying: “In the ancient world and the Old Testament, to know someone’s name, especially that of God, often meant to enter into an intimate relationship with that person and to share in the person’s character or power. To be given a new name was an indication of a new status before God.”

In other words, when Jesus gives you a new name, He gives you a new identity. Beale goes on to explain the significance of this new identity in Christ saying: “The new name is a mark of genuine membership in the community of the redeemed, without which entry into the eternal “city of God” is impossible.” In other words, the new name Jesus writes on your stone is His name, signifying you belong to Him for all eternity.
So then, these are the blessing Jesus gives those who overcome… these are the blessings for those who refuses to compromise…
Jesus will give you soul satisfaction
Jesus will give you complete acceptance
Jesus will give you a new identity
and membership into the community of the redeemed forever.

So, Jesus concludes by saying: Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Jesus wants a church of no compromise. He wants a faithful Church. He wants a church who remains true to His name. A church that doesn’t compromise His values, nor compromise His teaching. He wants His church to be distinctive, to be salt and light, to be the hope of the world, not friends with the world. He wants a church who rests in His grace and who find their satisfaction in Him. Can we be this kind of church? Yes, if we listen to the Spirit and reject the ways of the world.