Question 1:
When has ignoring a warning been a mistake?
THE POINT
Purity in all things impacts
your service for Christ.
Warnings come to us in a variety of forms.
- Some fall in the category of obvious or unnecessary. Do we really need a printed warning telling us not to use a hair dryer in the shower?
- Some warnings come with a sigh of relief. You understand this one if, instead of a speeding ticket, a police officer ever let you go with a warning.
- Some warnings catch our attention immediately. When the highway sign says, “Bridge out ahead,” or the doctor tells you your current health habits are leading to heart disease, we certainly change direction—or at least we should.
How seriously we take such warnings can depend on who is giving us the warning. We may heed the warning from a neighbor about our health, but when it’s our doctor, we listen more carefully. When a warning comes from God, we should definitely take notice!
That was the experience of the church in Thyatira. They needed a course correction, and Jesus warned them what would happen if they failed to change.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Revelation 2:18-19
18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.”
Thyatira was not a large city in comparison with the other cities Jesus addressed in Revelation 2–3. It was poorly defended and often overrun, but what Thyatira had going for it was its variety of merchants and manufacturing trades. It was probably best known for its purple cloth—the same purple cloth that Lydia sold (Acts 16:14)—which is still produced and sold in that area. Like the city, the church in Thyatira may have been small, but it was an active church.
Jesus addressed this church by first identifying Himself as “the Son of God.” Jesus stressed His deity. Jesus also described Himself as a warrior “whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” As the Son of God, His eyes are able to pierce through any façade that people put up and get right to the heart of what is happening—and that’s what Jesus did in this letter. With feet . . . like burnished bronze—a term the local bronze workers would have identified with—He is able to trample any sin under His mighty foot.
Jesus commended the church in Thyatira for four specific things they were doing right—their “love and faith, your service and perseverance.” The church’s love wasn’t just the casual expression of love we often use to describe our love for certain foods. It was agape love, a selfless love that spoke highly of what these believers had for Christ and as a result was being lived out in their actions to those around them. Love was the motivation behind their service, just as their faithfulness was the motivation behind their endurance. Jesus told them their current works, those things they were doing to expand the kingdom of God, were “more than you did at first.” In other words, their love and faithfulness were growing, and their service and endurance were increasing! When we have that same kind of love for Christ these believers had, others will see it through our service to Him in every aspect of our lives. We would be wise to learn from this early church on the way they loved and served others.
Question 2:
How does our church exhibit love,
faithfulness, service, and endurance?
Revelation 2:20-23
20 “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”
Here was a church that was doing well in its love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. In fact, they were increasing in these things, yet Jesus still called them out. In spite of their love for Christ, they were tolerating immorality and idolatry in the church.
The key player behind these sins was a woman Jesus identified as Jezebel. Jezebel was likely not her name but a reflection of her character. This woman was behaving just like wicked Queen Jezebel in the Old Testament who actively promoted the worship of Baal among God’s people (1 Kings 16:31ff).
In His grace, Christ “have given her time to repent” (v. 21), but she refused to do so. Therefore, His judgment was coming against her—and it would be severe. But Jesus’ condemnation wasn’t just against the false prophetess Jezebel. His condemnation was also against those in the church at Thyatira who had tolerated her teachings. We are encouraged today to tolerate a lot of things that go against the clear teachings of God’s Word. Consequently, many churches today could be condemned for the same thing for which the church at Thyatira had been condemned. They allow teachings that contradict God’s Word when it comes to sexual immorality and idolatry. Many teach, for example, that homosexuality is OK. Others teach that wealth is a sign of God’s blessing, so it’s acceptable to chase after as many material possessions as possible. Many have tolerated the teachings of the world long enough that those teachings have now deceived many followers of Christ.
PURSUING PURITY
How would you respond if a friend made the following statements?
Choose one and record your answer in the space below.
“The world has moved on from the Bible’s old-fashioned views of sex and sexuality.”
“Whatever happens between consenting adults should always be OK.”
“Nobody has the right to tell another person what they should think about their own bodies.”
My response:
“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in,
that is really your God, your functional savior.”
MARTIN LUTHER
It’s interesting that the Lord links sexual immorality with idolatry. He does so because one ultimately and unfailingly leads to the other. Whatever it is you are living for becomes your god. Those who choose to engage in sexual immorality are making the choice not to follow God, and as a result they become idolaters.
When God’s judgment comes against such sins—and it will!—it sends a clear message to the other churches. “Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (v. 23).
We belong wholly to God, who is a just God. He is the one who will judge our minds as well as our hearts. He is the one who knows everything we think and sees everything we do. It is by our discernment and choices that we will receive our rewards or our condemnation. As followers of Christ, we must not allow immorality or idolatry anywhere near the church.
Question 3:
What are some characteristics of
a person who lives a pure life?
24 “Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ 26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Cults and mystery religions flourished in the first century. A common feature was the promise that after a person was initiated, they would gain “deep secrets” or “special wisdom.” The irony was that Jezebel claimed to be God’s prophetess and claimed to bring a word from God, but all she supplied was knowledge and lies from hell. So, these “deeper secrets” for those special enough to receive them were nothing more than “Satan’s so-called deep secrets” (v. 24).
Question 4:
What are some ways our church is like the
church at Thyatira?
Thankfully, not everyone in Thyatira had been deceived by the teachings of Jezebel or captivated by her evil secrets. To these faithful believers, Jesus gave them only one charge: “Hold on to what you have until I come” (v. 25). These believers were encouraged to hold on to the truths they learned from God’s Word.
How do we avoid the deception of a Jezebel? We must stick to the gospel. We must “keep our noses” in God’s Word. His Word is truth, and by it we can discern what is not true. I mean more than just casually reading Scripture; we need to be diligent in our study to ensure we are “correctly [handling] the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Satan is the master deceiver, and although his lies can sound believable, anything that veers the slightest from God’s Word is not from God.
To the church in Thyatira, Jesus promised two things to those who stay the course, holding on to the truth in Christ: authority over the nations and the morning star. Jesus is the morning star and He has promised us all authority as we follow Him. Nothing is greater than a personal relationship with Christ.
Question 5:
How can our group help one another remain
faithful to the gospel?
LIVE IT OUT
How can we remain pure in Christ? Choose one of the following applications:
Commit. As you wake every day, even before you get out of bed, pray and ask the Lord to give you the strength to live for Him and by His standards as you go through the day.
Contrast. Make a list of things the world says are perfectly OK to do. Contrast those things with what the Bible says about them. Dig into the Scripture and find verses that address those things.
Witness. If you have a friend who has embraced the world’s practices of idolatry and immorality, schedule time to visit. Prayerfully share with this friend the truth of the gospel and the benefits it offers over sin’s deceptiveness.
The church in Thyatira had great faith and they kept on growing in that faith. Let’s strive to grow in our faith and service as well.
Teacher Notes:
Everyone faces
challenges in life. Whether our struggles are financial, vocational,
relational, or physical, we can be certain that nobody is exempt. Fortunately,
we serve a God who is both interested in our problems and able to take care of
them.
I don’t remember most of Autumn, because I lost my mind late in
the summer and for a long time after that, I wasn’t in my body. I was a
lightbulb buzzing somewhere far.
After the doctor told me I was dying, and after the man I married
said he didn’t love me anymore, I chased a miracle in California and sixteen
weeks later, I got it. The cancer was gone.
But when my brain caught up with it all, something broke. I
later found out that all the tragedy at once had caused a physical head trauma,
and my brain was sending false signals of excruciating pain and panic.
I spent three months propped against the wall. On nights that I
could not sleep, I laid in the tub like an insect, staring at my reflection in
the shower knob. I vomited until I was hollow. I rolled up under my robe on the
tile.
The bathroom floor became my place to hide, where I could scream
and be ugly; where I could sob and spit and eventually doze off, happy to be
asleep, even with my head on the toilet.
I have had cancer three times now, and I have barely passed
thirty. There are times when I wonder what I must have done to deserve such a
story.
I fear sometimes that when I die and meet with God, that He will
say I disappointed Him, or offended Him, or failed Him. Maybe He’ll say I just
never learned the lesson, or that I wasn’t grateful enough.
But one thing I know for sure is this: He can never say
that He did not know me.
I am God’s downstairs neighbor, banging on the ceiling with a
broomstick. I show up at His door every day.
Sometimes with songs, sometimes with curses.
Sometimes apologies, gifts, questions, demands.
Sometimes I use my key under the mat to let myself in. Other
times, I sulk outside until He opens the door to me Himself.
I have called Him a cheat and a liar, and I meant it.
I have told Him I wanted to die, and I meant it.
Tears have become the only prayer I know. Prayers roll over my
nostrils and drip down my forearms. They fall to the ground as I reach for Him.
These are the prayers I repeat night and day; sunrise, sunset.
Call me bitter if you want to—that’s fair. Count me among the
angry, the cynical, the offended, the hardened. But count me also among
the friends of God.
For I have seen Him in rare form. I have felt His exhale, laid
in His shadow, squinted to read the message He wrote for me in the grout: “I’m
sad too.”
If an explanation would help, He would write me one—I know it.
But maybe an explanation would only start an argument between us—and I don’t
want to argue with God. I want to lay in a hammock with Him and trace the veins
in His arms.
I remind myself that I’m praying to the God who let the
Israelites stay lost for decades. They begged to arrive in the Promised Land,
but instead He let them wander, answering prayers they didn’t pray. For
forty years, their shoes didn’t wear out. Fire lit their path each night. Every
morning, He sent them mercy-bread from heaven.
I look hard for the answers to the prayers that I didn’t pray. I
look for the mercy-bread that He promised to bake fresh for me each morning.
The Israelites called it manna, which means “what is it?”
That’s the same question I’m asking—again, and again. There’s
mercy here somewhere—but what is it? What is it? What is it?
I see mercy in the dusty sunlight that outlines the trees, in my
mother’s crooked hands, in the blanket my friend left for me, in the harmony of
the wind chimes.
It’s not the mercy that I asked for, but it is mercy
nonetheless.
And I learn a new prayer: thank you. It’s a prayer
I don’t mean yet, but will repeat until I do.
Call me cursed, call me lost, call me scorned. But that’s not
all. Call me chosen, blessed, sought-after. Call me the one who God whispers
His secrets to. I am the one whose belly is filled with loaves of
mercy that were hidden for me.
Even on days when I’m not so sick, sometimes I go lay on the mat
in the afternoon light to listen for Him.
I know it sounds crazy, and I can’t really explain it, but God
is in there—even now.
I have heard it said that some people can’t see God because they
won’t look low enough, and it’s true. Look lower.
God is on the bathroom floor.
Video: AGT - Nightbirde
I am so much more than
the bad things that happen to me.
You can’t wait until
life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
Strong in Purity
The Passage: Revelation
2:18-29
Point: Purity
in all things impacts your service for Christ.
Revelation 2:18-19
18 “To the angel of the
church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are
like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your
deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now
doing more than you did at first.”
Revelation 2:20-23
20 “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”
Revelation 2:24-29
24 “Now I say to the
rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not
learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on
you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ 26 To the one who is
victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the
nations—27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to
pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I
will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The Lord desires a church
that is not influenced by the culture, but rather a church that influences the
culture. This sermon calls us to be salt and light in a world that is marked
and marred by corruption and darkness.
Impurity in our lives and in our churches has a tendency to spread like
cancer which damages—and can ultimately kill—the body. It must be examined
and excavated. Our impurities must be revealed and removed.
What is in our hearts
will determine what becomes our habits. What we think will drive how we live.
It is imperative that we have the proper doctrine so we can live with the proper
devotion. It is imperative that think biblically so we can live biblically.
Icebreaker
·
When is purity
especially important?
Revelation 2:18-19
·
What are some ways we
measure a church’s spiritual growth?
Revelation 2:20-23
·
How should believers
respond to immorality by others in the church?
·
How can we increase in
our love of others without becoming tolerant of immorality?
Revelation 2:24-29
·
What are some things
that may lead us away from Christ?
·
What are some things
that we can do to strengthen our faith and live a pure life, so we are not led
astray by deception?
Is
Church Discipline a Thing of the Past?
Lynn Pryor - Pastor
During a recent sermon,
I ventured into turbulent waters—twice. I seemed determined to find something
to upset one or two people.
- Many Christians drink alcohol. I don’t.
- Many Christians think homosexuality is OK.
I don’t.
Both of my views fall
in the categories of a “non-negotiable,” but for different reasons.
My choice not to
consume alcohol is a personal decision, my own personal conviction. But the
operative word is “personal.” I don’t drink, yet I have no qualms about those
who do—so long as (1) they are not letting the alcohol take over (i.e., get
drunk, which is wrong according to Scripture [Eph. 5:18]) and (2) they are not
compromising their own convictions.
My stance on
homosexuality is a non-negotiable for a wholly different reason: it’s spelled
out in Scripture. People can attempt all the bad hermeneutics they want to
justify their support of homosexuality, but they don’t succeed. Scripture
condemns the act of homosexuality, and therefore, my stance on the matter is
non-negotiable.
Of course, Scripture
also condemns a lot of other actions. One of the most oft-quoted Scriptures
condemning the act of homosexuality is Romans 1:26-27, and in the verses that
immediately follow, others sins are also listed: envy, strife, gossip, and
disobedience to parents. (No one in the church ever talks about the #1
sin among Christians: gluttony.)
But let’s not make the
sole focus of the Bible to be a list of things God is against. Let’s focus on
what God is for: He is for us. He created us to live an incredible life with
Him, and even when we rebelled, He took action through Jesus Christ to restore
us back to that life. Any prohibitions are for our benefit. Do you want
to enjoy life—I mean, really enjoy life? Follow these
instructions.
So let’s get to the
conversation my wife and I had on the way home after the sermon. Mary asked a
valid question: What do we do when someone wants to join the church who
is a homosexual?
That depends.
1.
Is this a believer who struggles with the pull
of homosexuality?
2.
Is this a person who proudly identifies himself
as gay and thinks the act of homosexuality is perfectly OK for a Christian?
Let’s consider the
first guy, but in the place of “homosexuality” insert any other sin: the pull
of recreational drugs … pornography … anger … gluttony … a bitter spirit. We
all struggle with sins and habits, and hopefully, we are gaining victory over
those as we grow in Christ. And there are many homosexual believers who
struggle. Do we push these struggling believers away?
I wouldn’t put such a
person in a position of leadership, but neither would I ask someone to lead a
small group who has a violent temper. However, I would encourage their
participation with other Christians. The accountability and support of the body
of Christ is a key factor for all of us to resist temptation, overcome sinful
habits, and grow in our faith.
It’s a whole different
issue with the person who believes his homosexual behavior is perfectly
acceptable, and therefore, he will continue in it. Or the person who goes on a
bender every Friday night but wants to be seen as a respected member of the
church. We’re talking about continual sinful behavior with no
reservations about it.
Paul had something to
say about this:
“It is actually
reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual
immorality that is not even tolerated among the Gentiles — a man is sleeping
with his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Shouldn’t you be filled
with grief and remove from your congregation the one who did this?” (1 Cor.
5:1-2).
Paul’s choice of words
shows this man and woman were living this lifestyle continually (and even
worse, the church seemed to be OK with it). Paul’s response was to remove them
from the fellowship of the church until repentance was evident.
As Mary and I drove
home, our conversation landed on the issue of church discipline.
- At what point do you tell a person
he’s not welcome in the church, or he can no longer have a leadership
role?
- What sins call for church discipline,
and what sins do we give a pass to?
- Do we make a blanket rule about a
particular sin, or do we make it a case-by-case matter?
These are hard
questions to answer (which is why most churches don’t deal with it). But I
think churches need to consider how they will respond, since culture’s
unbiblical view of sin is creeping into the church. Three principles need to
guide the process:
1.
Stand your ground on biblical teaching.
2.
Stand your ground in love.
3.
Discipline with the goal of being redemptive.
Seek to bring the person away from sin and into a life lived under the lordship
of Christ.
Now it’s your turn.
- How do you think the church should
respond to sin? (And if you want to discuss a particular sin, go for it.)
- Where do you draw the line at what
sins call for church discipline and what sins don’t?
- How have you seen church discipline
bring healing to a person’s spiritual life?
