Sermon
# 4 Christ’s
Warnings To the Churches
Title: Christ’s
Letter To
The Church At Pergamos
Text: Revelation 2:12-17
Readings: Office:
Bobbie Estes Auditorium: Larry Criss
Subject: Perseverance
Date: Tuesday Evening - April 27, 1999[1]
Tape # V-25a[2]
Introduction:
Revelation
2:12-17 "And to the angel of the church in
Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two
edges; (13) I know thy works and
where thou dwellest, even where
Satan's seat is: and thou holdest
fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain
among you, where Satan dwelleth. (14) But
I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the
doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the
children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit
fornication. (15) So hast thou also
them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. (16) Repent; or else I will come unto
thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (17) He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to
eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a
new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
Pergamos
means “exalted, lofty, or elevated.” It was a city in Asia Minor which was
built on a huge rocky hill. The Romans made it the capital of the province. In
Pergamos Aesculapius, the god
of healing, was worshipped. The emblem of this god was a serpent, which to the
people of God is the very emblem and symbol of Satan. Therefore, our Lord
called Pergamos the place “where Satan’s
seat is.”
The great altar to the Greek
god Zeus was in this city
also, as were many other pagan altars to pagan gods. In addition to these
things, Pergamos was also the center of emperor worship. Temples were dedicated
to the worship of Caesar.
All men, including the disciples of Christ, were expected
to offer incense to the emperor’s image and say “Caesar is Lord.” Those who refused to do so suffered great
hardship and persecution for their fidelity to Christ. One example was a man
named Antipas, a faithful
man, who suffered martyrdom because he would not deny Christ.
The majority of those who were members
of the church in Pergamos were faithful. They held fast the name of
Christ and would not deny his faith. But there were a few, even there, who
tried to straddle the fence. Though they claimed to be Christians, they were
willing to compromise with the pagans.
They followed
the doctrine of Balaam. In order to avoid persecution they tried to remove the offense of the
cross by incorporating the worship of pagans into the worship of Christ. They
would offer incense to Caesar, eat meat in the temple of Aesculapius, pay
homage to Zeus, and then come to worship with the people of God on Sunday.
Others in the church went
beyond the doctrine of Balaam. They followed the licentious practices of the
Nicolaitanes. These Nicolaitanes were base antinomians. They openly
taught and practiced fornication and adultery, and shared their wives with one
another. In a word, they lived and acted like pagans, but called themselves
Christians.
Now notice the character under which our
Lord Jesus Christ presents himself to the church at Pergamos. “Those things saith he which hath the sharp
sword with two edges” (v. 12). Christ stands before the door of his church
with a sword drawn and ready to do battle. The sharp, double edged sword with
which the Son of God does battle is the Word of God. There are two reasons for
this picture.
1. Christ
will destroy those who defile his name.
He speaks to those in the church who hold the
doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, and says, “Repent; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (v. 16).
Notice he says, “I will fight
against them.” Not against my church, but against them who are in my church
but have forsaken me. There is a parallel passage in Matthew 3:12. John the Baptist tells us that Christ’s “fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly
purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Christ’s love for his church
is manifest by his judgment against the traitors within her walls. The Word of
God is a sword of judgment and destruction to hypocrites. By the preaching of
the Word, our Lord disciplines his church, separates the wheat from the chaff,
and binds up the tares for the burning (Matt. 13:30). He turns his sword
against those within the church who have no right to be there. Such a sight
should make every hypocrite tremble; but nothing makes hypocrites tremble!
2. Christ presents himself here as a man of war, with
his sword drawn, to comfort and defend his church.
He is saying to the
faithful, “I will defend you, I will fight off those who attack you, I will
destroy your enemies, and I will purge you of all those wicked men within who
would defile you.” Jesus is our Joshua. He will chase the enemy before us, and
lead us onward, conquering and to conquer.
Proposition: In this letter our Lord is encouraging us
to persevere in the faith of the gospel.
Divisions: I want to show you four things in this letter to
Pergamos:
1.
The name of Christ and the faith of Christ are one.
2.
There are many who deny the faith.
3.
True believers hold fast the name of Christ and will not deny his
faith.
4.
If we persevere in the faith and hold the name of Christ to the end we
shall be saved.
I.
First, this passage shows us that THE
NAME OF CHRIST AND THE FAITH OF CHRIST ARE ONE.
Our Lord says, “Thou holdest fast my name, and hast not
denied my faith.” These two things are identical. They can never be
separated. The faith of the gospel has Christ for its center, Christ for its
circumference, and Christ for its substance. The name of Christ, that is his
Person, his character, his work, and his teachings, is the faith of the gospel.
The great doctrines of the gospel are all intimately
connected with the Lord Jesus Christ himself. They are the rays; and he is the
Sun. We never hold the faith of Christ, except as we hold Jesus Christ himself
as the center and object of that faith. In the faith of the gospel Jesus Christ
is all and in all.
·
Election is God’s choosing us in
Christ before the world was made.
·
Redemption is God purchasing his elect
out of the hands of his own law by the blood of Christ.
·
Regeneration is God giving dead sinners
life in Christ, and Christ living in us.
·
Forgiveness is God pardoning our sins
through the blood of Christ.
·
Justification is God clothing us with and
imputing to us the righteousness of Christ.
·
Sanctification is God forming Christ in
us, imparting his righteousness to us.
·
Resurrection is God raising us up by the
power of Christ.
·
Glorification is God conforming us to the
image of Christ, to which end we were predestinated in the eternal purpose of
his grace.
To the Jews the law was never in its proper place until it
was laid in the ark, and covered with the mercy seat. And it is still true with
us. We never see the law properly until we see it fulfilled in Christ.
The same is true of the gospel. The gospel is the golden
ring of our faith; but Christ is the diamond setting in the ring. Christ is the
author and finisher of our faith. He is the sum and the substance, the top and
the bottom, the Alpha and the Omega of the faith of the gospel. When we hold
fast the name of Christ we have not denied the faith.
II. But, secondly, our Lord
tells us that THERE ARE MANY WHO DO
DENY THE FAITH.
In Pergamos there were some
who held the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. And in
doing so they had both denied the name of Christ and the faith of the gospel.
This is a painful fact, but it is a fact, and one that we have to deal with. In every local church there are some who
will, for one reason or another, deny the faith. How is it that men and
women deny Christ and his faith?
A. Many let go of Christ’s name and deny his faith by
simply refusing to confess it.
Secret disciples are always
suspect disciples. Those who confess Christ and the faith of the gospel only
among his friends have, by their silence, denied him (Matt. 10:27, 32, 33).
Those who know the truth, but refuse to confess the truth in the teeth of
Christ’s enemies, deny the truth.
I know, people say, “I do not think we should offend
people, or try to shove anything down their throats. We must try to get along.”
Are you of that opinion? Hear the words of Christ to you:
“I came not to send
peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34). “He
that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth
abroad” (Matt. 12:30). “And whosoever
doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Lk.
14:27).
If we are Christ’s disciples, sooner or later, he will see
to it that we confess him before men, even before his enemies.
Examples:
Nicodemus - John 7:50-51
Joseph of Arimathaea - John
19:38
Peter - Acts 4
B. Others let go of Christ and deny his faith by
embracing false doctrine.
In Pergamos some had
embraced the doctrine of Balaam and others the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Neither was an open denial of the
gospel, but both were a practical denial of it.
The doctrine of Balaam was the acceptance of and compliance
with false religion. It was an attempt to say, “We do not have to denounce the
religions of men in order to hold to the truth of God” (Num. 25:1, 2; 31:16).
The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes said, “Faith in Christ
does not require godliness and obedience to Christ.”
How does this apply to us today? If we embrace error
regarding Christ’s person, work, or doctrine, if we believe what our Lord did
not teach or refuse to believe what he did teach, then we have denied his name
and his faith.
NOTE: People tell me all the time,
“Don, we have to preach practical Christianity, experimental religion, and
doctrinal truth.”
1. Christ is the Way we must
follow. That is practical Christianity.
2. Christ is the Truth we must
believe. That is doctrinal Christianity.
3. Christ is the Life we must
live. That is experimental Christianity.
It matters not whether you talk about practical godliness,
doctrinal truth, or experimental religion, all must be found in Christ, and all
must come from Christ. We cannot be right in any area, unless Christ is the sum
and substance of all.
Our religion is
Christ. Apart from this there is not true religion. Any doctrine
divorced from Christ is heresy. Any precept divorced from Christ is legalism.
Any religious experience divorced from Christ is fanaticism.
C. There are some who deny the faith by lives that are
contrary to the gospel.
Paul said to Timothy, “If any provide not for his own, and
especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse
than an infidel” (I Tim. 5:8).
Morality will never produce faith; but faith always
produces morality. This was the error of the Nicolaitanes. They held the truth
in creed, but denied it in life. It matters not what I say I believe, if my
manner of life is contrary to the gospel, I am an infidel, an unbeliever.
D. And some let go of Christ and deny the faith by
actually forsaking Christ and the gospel (John 6:66; I John 2:19).
John 6:66 "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with
him."
1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were
not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not
all of us."
Some deliberately choose to forsake the gospel, while
others are gradually overcome by the deceitful charms of the world; but all who
forsake Christ, all who forsake the gospel of the grace of God, have denied the
faith. And by their actions they prove that their faith was false.
III. Thirdly, I want you to see
that ALL TRUE BELIEVERS HOLD FAST THE
NAME OF CHRIST AND WILL NOT DENY THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL.
It is true that some, like
Peter, fall at times and deny Christ for a season, but none of God’s elect do
so permanently and totally. In the
tenor of their lives, God’s people are faithful. All true believers
will persevere in the faith to the end. This is clearly the teaching of Holy
Scripture (Jer. 32:37-40; John 10:27-30).
Jeremiah
32:37-40 "Behold, I will gather them out of all
countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in
great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them
to dwell safely: (38) And they shall
be my people, and I will be their God:
(39) And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for
ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: (40) And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I
will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."
John
10:27-30 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me: (28) And I
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (30) I and my Father are one."
How do we hold fast the name of Christ and the faith of the
gospel? How is it that God’s elect persevere in the faith?
A. We must, in our hearts as well as in our heads, hold
fast the faith of the gospel.
The gospel is the message of God’s free grace to sinners in
Christ. It is the message of full atonement and free justification by the
obedience of Christ as the sinner’s Substitute. It is the message of salvation
by grace alone without the works of man. It includes electing grace, redeeming
grace, regenerating grace, and preserving grace. The grace of God in Christ is
sovereign, free, irresistible, effectual, and saving. This is the faith of the
gospel (Eph. 1:3-14; II Tim. 1:9-12).
1.
We hold the faith by the full consent of our minds.
God deals with the heart, but he does not by-pass the mind.
When Christ speaks our minds assent to what he says, and our hearts consent to
his revelation. Our motto is, “Let God be
true, and every man a liar.”
2.
But there is more, we not
only agree to the truth of the gospel, we have received the love of the truth. We hold the faith of the gospel in the
affections of our hearts (II Thess. 2:10-12).
2
Thessalonians 2:10-12 "And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that
they should believe a lie: (12) That
they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness."
Many acknowledge the truth, but few love the truth. God’s
people love the truth.
·
Divine Sovereignty
·
Covenant Love
·
Effectual Redemption
·
Imputed Righteousness
·
Almighty Grace
·
Blessed Security
3.
And we hold the faith when we hold forth the faith
of the gospel in the teeth of all opposition.
Those who believe the gospel do not hide their colors. They
raise the banner high. If men resist, we hold it higher still. If they oppose,
we hold it high and wave it in their faces. If I believe the gospel, I am not
ashamed to confess the gospel. Men may count me a fool. Men may ridicule me as
a fanatic. Men may denounce me as a instigator of strife. But I am honored to
be counted a fool, ridiculed, and despised by men for Christ’s sake.
Count the cost, my friend, if you are not willing to bear
the cross for Christ, go your way to your farm, your merchandise, or your wife.
But let me ask you one thing before you go, “What
shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
B. If we would hold the faith of Christ, we must hold
fast the name of Christ.
We must, like those
disciples to whom our Lord said, “Will ye
also go away?” reply, “Lord, to whom
shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure
that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God”(John 6:67-69).
1.
Ever hold fast the deity of Christ’s name.
We rejoice to know that our Savior is a man. but let us
never forget that that man is “the mighty
God” (Isa. 9:6). He is Immanuel, God with us, God in human flesh. When you
put the finger of faith into the nail print in his hand, always cry with the
heart of faith, “My Lord and my God!” (John
20:28).
2.
Ever hold fast the royalty of Christ’s name (Rom. 14:9).
Romans 14:9 "For to this end Christ both died, and
rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
Philippians
2:9-11 "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father."
Our Savior is THE LORD Jesus Christ. He
reigns as King over all things and must continue to reign as King of kings and
Lord of lords until he has put all of his enemies under his feet.
·
We bow in submissions to
Christ’s kingly throne.
·
We trust his kingly power.
·
We submit to his kingly will.
·
We obey his kingly rule.
3.
Ever hold fast the greatness and grandeur of
Christ’s name.
·
“His name is great in
Israel” (Ps.
76:1).
·
I will “praise thy great and terrible
name, for it is holy” (Ps. 99:3).
·
“There is none like unto
thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might” (Jer. 10:6).
·
“I am a great King, saith
the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen” (Mal. 1:14).
I cannot, for the life of me, understand why, but in this
day many who claim to be the servants of Christ have become contentious, saying
that we make too much of Christ and preach too much about Christ. Have they
forgotten that Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, and that he is all and in
all?
a. The whole Bible was written
to set forth his name (Lk. 24:27).
b. The covenant of grace was
ordered in his name
c. All the promises of God are
yea and amen in his name.
d. All the blessings of grace
are received through his name.
e. We are saved by faith in his
name (Acts 4:12; Rom. 10:13).
f. We prevail in prayer through
his name.
g. We are sent to preach his
name.
h. We find all comfort in his
name.
Jesus, the name that charms
our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease,
`Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
`Tis life, and health, and
peace.
4.
In the name of Christ, only in the name of Christ,
we have a confident hope of victory (Rom. 7:24-25; 8:35-39).
Romans
7:24-25 "O wretched man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death?
(25) I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I
myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."
Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written, For thy sake we
are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. (37) Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. (38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord."
Constantine once had a dream in which he imagined that God
showed him the cross of Christ, and he took it as his emblem, with this motto,
“By the cross I conquer!” We care nothing for Constantine, nor for his
superstitious idolizing of the sign of the cross. But we hold forth and hold
fast the doctrine of the cross, the doctrine of the gospel and the name of
Christ in it, and we say, “By Christ we conquer!”
IV. I have one more thing to
show you - IF WE PERSEVERE IN THE
FAITH AND HOLD FAST THE NAME OF CHRIST FIRM UNTO THE END WE SHALL BE SAVED (Matt.
10:22; Col. 1:21-23; Heb. 3:6, 14,; 10:35-39).
Matthew
10:22 "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that
endureth to the end shall be saved."
Colossians
1:21-23 "And you, that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled (22) In
the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and
unreproveable in his sight: (23) If
ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard,
and which was preached to every
creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;"
Hebrews 3:6 "But Christ as a son over his own house;
whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the
hope firm unto the end."
Hebrews
3:14 "For we are made partakers of Christ, if
we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end."
Hebrews
10:35-39 "Cast not away therefore your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. (36) For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the
will of God, ye might receive the promise.
(37) For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not
tarry. (38) Now the just shall live
by faith: but if any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
(39) But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that
believe to the saving of the soul."
This is our
Savior’s promise: “To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white
stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that
receiveth it” (v. 17). This is what that means -- “If in the midst of much
opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil you hold fast my name and
depart not from the faith of the gospel, you shall overcome your enemies and I
will receive you into my heavenly kingdom.”
A. The hidden manna which Christ will give us to eat
forever is the very manna which we now eat by faith - It is Christ himself (John 6:32-35).
As today we live by feasting upon the merits of Christ’s
righteousness and shed blood (John 6:54), even so in heaven our souls shall
live forever, feasting upon him.
B. The white stone which Christ will give us is the
stone of complete absolution in the day of judgment (Jer.
50:20).
Jeremiah
50:20 "In those days, and in that time, saith
the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be
found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve."
The allusion here is to the common practice of the Romans
in judgment. After a man had been tried for a crime, if he was found guilty,
the judges would cast a black stone into an urn, which meant condemnation. If
he were found innocent, they would cast in a white stone, which signified that
he had been acquitted and absolved of all guilt.
C. The new name which Christ will give us, which no man
can know but those who receive it, is “The
Lord our Righteousness” (Jer.
23:6; 33:16).
Jeremiah
23:6 "In his days Judah shall be saved, and
Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his
name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Jeremiah
33:16 "In those days shall Judah be saved, and
Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is
the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness."
We have been made so perfectly righteous and holy by the
imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us that our everlasting name shall be “Jehovah our Righteousness!” (Isa. 56:5;
62:2).
Isaiah 56:5 "Even unto them will I give in mine
house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of
daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut
off."
Isaiah 62:2 "And the Gentiles shall see thy
righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name,
which the mouth of the LORD shall name."
Application:
1. Now I urge you to believe on
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. And I want to encourage you
who do believe to hold fast the name of Christ and the faith of the gospel.
·
If you give up the faith, what will you get in exchange?
·
If you deny Christ, to whom shall you go?
Illustration: Voltaire’s Dying Son
“There’s nothing to hang on to!”