By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sermon Series: Jesus’ Message to the Churches
Sermon Text: Revelation 2:1-7
Sermon Theme
Jesus speaks to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was the most important commercial and cultural center in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. The church there had a great tradition of pastoral leaders including Paul, Timothy and John. Jesus commends the church for resisting false teaching both from within and outside the church. Yet in its focus on maintaining the truth, the church had lost its original sense of love without which nothing else matters (I Corinthians 13:1-3). There is a balance that must be maintained. Christ commends the church for hating what he also hates. But it must also love what he loves. Everything we do and say must flow from the genuine love of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Sermon Outline
- False. The Ephesians were very clear that Christian faith is a matter of truth (Eph. 4:21). Teaching is essential to the life of faith (Matt. 28:20). Christian faith requires a personal relationship to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Faith includes emotion, service and dedication. However these are of no value if they are pursued apart from the truth of the gospel and the word of God. The Ephesians knew that church doctrine was not an abstract interest but something that was absolutely vital to the spiritual health of a congregation. The apostle Paul did not believe in religious pluralism or open ended tolerance (Acts 14:8-17). Neither did the Ephesians and neither can we.
- First. The risen Jesus Christ, having commended them for their faithful endurance, nonetheless has a serious charge against them. Jesus confronts them with the fact that they have abandoned the love they had at first (Rev. 2:4). As important as it is to maintain the truth of the faith and to expose false teaching and false belief, it is more important to show the love of Christ. Paul warns them against being “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). Yet he adds they are to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). This is no simple task. It is easy either to give up on truth (so we don’t offend anyone) or to sound harsh and rigid (because so much depends on the truth). The essential reality is that the gospel is good news because it is about the love of God in Christ (Rom. 5:8). Without that primary emphasis there is no gospel. This matter is serious enough that Jesus warns he may take the church’s witness away from them in spite of their faithful defense of the truth (Rev. 2:5).
- Firm. Jesus’ closing words to this church reminds us how important it is to maintain a firm balance and not fall into an extreme on one side or the other. Jesus maintains that he hates certain things and he commends the Ephesians for hating what he hates. We have to be clear about the love of God. This love is not an indulgent sentimentality which accepts anything and everything. People often want to ask how could a loving God condemn sinners. The Biblical answer is that a loving God in fact also hates sin (Pss. 45:7; 97:10; Prov. 8:13; Rom. 12:9). The critical point here is that Jesus hates “the works of the Nicolaitans,” not the Nicolaitans. Jesus came to call sinners (Matt. 9:13). We must however be clear that we are to hate what God hates (Zech. 8:17; Rev. 2:6). This requires an important balance in our spiritual lives. We must be firm in our understanding that we are to hate what Christ hates and love what he loves. We know that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one (I John 5:19). But we also know that God loves the world and sent his Son, not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:16-17; 4:42; l John 4:14).
Questions for Us
- Why do you think so many Christians today are not knowledgeable when it comes to Christian doctrine? How do we effectively train people in church teaching?
- Many people perceive Christians as being loveless. Why do you think this is so?
- How can we learn to hate what Jesus hates and love what he loves?
