The Letter to the Church in Pergamum: Truth

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1 1 "The Letter to the Church in Pergamum: Truth" Sermon Series on the 7 Letters to the Church in Revelation Pastor Amy Holloway May 18, 2014 (Rev. 2:12-17) Christ calls us to be passionate about the Truth of Jesus Christ within the church. I have a confession to make. I was hoping that the first time I got to preach after returning from maternity leave, I d get to preach on something like how God s love is stronger than a mother s love, or how God is our ultimate parent. I m experiencing parenthood for the first time so I thought it would be a good topic for my first time back in the saddle. Plus, it would give me an excuse to show pictures of Susannah for a reason, not just because I wanted to. When I found out that we d be preaching through Revelation, my first reaction was, What?! Revelation? No! Then I found out that I would be preaching on truth, and I got nervous. I was hoping to share a feel-good message about how God loves us like a parent, and show adorable pictures of my kid that everyone would delight in. What I got was a message that has the potential to be misunderstood, abused, and make people upset. And it was then, through the contrast of what I wanted and what I got, that the Spirit convicted me that my shadow mission is a lot like the church in Pergamum s shadow mission. It s a shadow mission that is so compelling in our contemporary culture that we need to be aware of it and armed against it. Let s turn to the church in Pergamum and discover what that shadow mission is. Historical background of Pergamum Historical Background Pergamum was located 50 miles north of Smyrna. It s the next city in the geographic semicircle that the letters are being delivered in. Pergamum was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. John refers to it as Satan s throne and the place where Satan lives. The city was set on a high hill that overlooked a valley and at the top of the hill were a number of towering pagan temples. Visually, it could be taken for a throne. But the likely reason that Pergamum is associated with Satan is that the city was the first to receive permission from Rome to build a temple to worship the emperor. Pergamum was a center for the imperial cult, in which people burned incense for Caesar and declared him as Lord.

2 2 The Commendation Christ commends them for remaining true to his name, despite the environment they lived in. The pressure that the believers in Pergamum felt to worship the emperor must have been strong. It was strong enough that one of the believers, Antipas, gave his life for standing for Christ. We don t know anything else about Antipas from Scripture except that he was one of the first martyrs for Christ. Pergamum s stance for Christ seems stellar to me. They are so in love with Jesus that they are willing to give their lives. That committed to and in love with Christ, could anything be wrong? Yes. The Complaint Nevertheless, said Christ: 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. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. There were professed believers within the Pergamum church that held to heretical teaching, heretical meaning off-base or wrong. The first heretical group that Christ mentions is the teaching of Balaam. If you grew up going to Sunday school, the first thing you might think of is the story of Balaam and his donkey. It was a favorite Old Testament story in my Sunday school classes because we got a kick out of a talking donkey. Here s the main story: Balaam appears on the scene as the Israelites are making their trek from Egypt to the land God promised them, conquering people along the way. When Israelites got close to Moab, the people of Moab and their King Balak got nervous. They were afraid they will be conquered next. So King Balak hired Balaam, a prophet for hire, to curse the Israelites. Before doing any cursing, Balaam sought the Lord s will, and ended up blessing the Israelites instead of cursing them, much to King Balak s displeasure. King Balak was foiled, right? Nope. In Numbers 25, right after the Balaam s blessings, we find out that Israelite men hooked up with the Moabite women, and then the women enticed the men to sacrifice to their idols. Because they turned away from God, God got angry with the Israelites and a plague broke out among them. Balak and the Moabites were able to infiltrate the Israelites after all, but instead of through an outright curse, they got at them through enticing the Israelites to sin which in turn weakened their devotion to the Lord. A couple chapters after this is recorded in the book of Numbers, we find out that it was Balaam who suggested this tactic to the Moabites. He wasn t able to curse the Israelites, but he taught them a way to get the Israelites to implode: get them to disobey God s ways which started them down the slippery slope to turn away from God. The second heretical group that Christ names in His letter to Pergamum is the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Most scholars think the Nicolaitans were a

3 3 contemporary version of Balaam s teaching which included worshipping other gods along with Christ and immoral behavior. From the example of Balaam and the Nicolaitans it seems that there were professed believers in the Pergamum church who lived out two heretical teachings: syncretism and spiritual liberty (antinomianism). Syncretism is the mixing of different beliefs. It makes me think of the chef s surprise we used to have for dinner at summer camp. On the last day of camp, the cook would take all the leftovers from the week, throw them in a bowl, put mashed potatoes on top and call it a surprise. It was a mix of everything. Some were doing the same in the Pergamum church. They confessed Christ as Lord but also participated in other cult religions. In Pergamum s culture participating in ritual meals where food sacrificed to idols was a normal part of life. These ritual meals were the business lunches and dinner parties of culture. It s quite likely that there were a number of Christians who were participating in these meals and didn t think that it was a big deal. It was Jesus, plus a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But that s not the gospel. The gospel says that Jesus, and Jesus alone, is able to save us. It is Jesus alone who is worthy of our worship and devotion. Syncretism is a lie, and was the first heretical teaching present in Pergamum. The second heretical teaching present in Complaint Pergamum was spiritual liberty (the fancy word is antinomianism). There were those in the church that 1. Syncretism believed that since the gospel proclaims we are saved by 2. Spiritual liberty grace and not by what we do, that gave them license to live however they wanted. For these folks, it didn t matter how they used their body or the gifts that God had given them, and that led them into immoral behavior. It is true that God has saved us by grace. We do not earn our salvation by what we do or don t do. But that is not the whole of the gospel message. The gospel says that by grace we are forgiven and welcomed into a new relationship in which we are free to follow Jesus and His ways. Grace isn t meant to free us from living for God, but free us to live for God. Our behavior matters. The Command Syncretism and spiritual liberty were the two heretical teachings present in Pergamum. It s key to notice how Christ begins his letter to Pergamum and who he commands to repent. He doesn t begin his letter to those practicing heretical teaching in Pergamum. And Christ s command to repent isn t just for those practicing syncretism and spiritual liberty. His complaint and command are for the whole church. As Eugene Peterson words it, Christ s complaint against the church is that they are indifferent to the heresy in their community. 1 They either accepted or turned a blind eye to those who held misguided beliefs. What led Pergamum to stand strong for Christ in the face of persecution, but ignore the heretical teaching within their community? As we study each of the seven churches in Revelation, we ve been trying to discern what their shadow mission, a term coined by John Ortberg. Each individual and church has an 1 Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder

4 4 authentic mission that Christ has given them and a shadow mission. A shadow mission is pretty close to the authentic mission, but has veered off course slightly. But that slight shift is enough to make the shadow mission dangerous because it no longer follows and honors Christ. I think Pergamum s shadow mission was to be the loving church where everyone got along. I don t think my own shadow mission is far off of Pergamum s. I find that it can be difficult to proclaim the truth of Christ in front of people I don t know. But I find it s even more difficult to proclaim the truth of Christ with people in my own community, that I know and love and that I want to like me. Sometimes, it can feel like speaking the truth will cause conflict that could preclude love even when that it not the case. Yet Christ commands them and me to repent of this shadow mission. We find out why he wants the church to repent in the promise at the end of the letter. 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. Scholars have a number of good ideas about what the hidden manna and the white stone mean. But the bottom line of each metaphor is that they represent eternal life with the Lord. Christ absolutely wants the people to love each other, as we saw in his letter to the church in Ephesus. But love without truth is not love at all. It doesn t lead to relationship of depth between people. And it doesn t lead people to life with Jesus. Shadow Mission To be a loving church where everyone gets along Love without truth is not love at all The meaning for us today. What does Christ want us to learn from the Pergamum church? There are at least three lessons for us to take away. The first is that we are called to be passionate about the truth Truth has a bad rap in our culture. Truth has been relegated to the personal sphere, so that what you believe is true for you and what I believe is true for me. Claiming that there is ultimate truth that stands apart from personal belief is equated with bigotry, and intolerance (of being lumped into the same category as NBA owner Donald Sterling). But before making the leap that ultimate truth leads to intolerance, let s consider the concept of tolerance. Dallas Willard, a philosopher and theologian, made a great observation about tolerance. He rightly observed that tolerance itself is based in absolute truth. 2 Tolerance comes from the truth that every person is worthy of respect and consideration. Based in that ultimate truth, tolerance means that you can say to someone that what they believe is wrong, but that you still respect them and their right to be wrong. Claiming that there is no absolute truth that stands outside of personal option is not intolerant. It s relativism. 2 Dallas Willard;

5 5 In a world of relativism anything goes and there is no basis for judging anything as wrong, even horrible atrocities. No one who wants to live in a world where humans are respected and valued wants relativism to reign. The existence of absolute truth is a good thing. As Christians, we believe that the world is most clearly explained in the absolute truths defined by God, revealed in Jesus Christ. (If you aren t convinced of this, I d encourage you to explore. Tim Keller s book The Reason for God is a great start). Think of the truth of Christ that we get to share: that God created us in His image; that God pursued us even though we turned away from him; that Jesus Christ came to die for us; that Jesus rose from the dead conquering our death; that we have been invited into a living relationship with God and are freed to live out the good values of His kingdom here on earth. These truths aren t exclusively ours they are truths that God asks us to share with all people. The truths themselves lead us to share, not out of anger or spite, not with sledgehammers and intolerance, but with grace and respect. Let s be passionate about sharing the truth of Jesus Christ, always with grace and love, but without fear. The second lesson we learn from Christ s letter to the church in Pergamum is to be on guard against the false teachings in the church of syncretism and spiritual liberty.our struggles haven t changed much in 2000 years. We need to be wary of syncretism claiming to believe in Jesus, but taking a little bit of this and that as well. The Christians at Pergamum did it by eating food sacrificed to idols. Our culture s idols are different, but we ve got them. We take Jesus but also place our trust in our finances, our education, our ability to work hard and get ahead, our social connections, or even taking beliefs from other religions. But I think the greatest way we are tempted with syncretism is to say yes to Jesus but also hold to our culture s idea that truth is personal preference and nothing more. The result of that chef s surprise is Christians who say Jesus is cool for me, but you can believe what you want and that s valid too. But that is not the gospel. Jesus didn t claim to be one of the ways to be friends with God. He said that he was the way, the truth, and the life. We are also tempted like the Pergamum church, to turn grace into spiritual liberty, to say I m forgiven so I can do what I d like with my body and my resources. Neither is that gospel. The Gospel frees us to live for God, not live for ourselves. Through Christ s example and through Scripture, God has shared with us the ways he wants us to live: to be generous, to forgive, to serve, to reserve sexual intimacy for marriage, to honor our parents, to quit gossiping, to pray for our enemies. Even when we don t understand the reasons behind how God has asked us to live, we can trust that His ways are for our own good and the good of others. Our behavior doesn t merit our salvation, but our behavior matters. Behavior is part of the gospel, and God wants to transform it.

6 In essentials unity, in non-essentials Liberty, in all things charity 6 The final lesson that we learn from the church in Pergamum is that we are called to proclaim the truth to one another in the church. We proclaim it in love, but we proclaim it; even when it s difficult, unpopular, or awkward. Some of you may be thinking: But authentic Christians and denominations believe different things. That is true this is where a great quote from the Reformation is helpful: In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity. I picture this quote as concentric circles. In the middle are the essentials - those core truths that make a Christian a Christian. They are few, but they are vital. Among other essentials, in that circle for First Presbyterian are the truths we have already talked about: the centrality of Christ and the truth that grace sets us free to live for God. Then there are truths outside of this circle that are really important, but not essential. One of those beliefs that is near and dear to my heart is that God has gifted men and women for leadership. Some of my brothers and sisters in Christ read the Bible and believe that God only wants men in leadership. We believe something different, and yet, it s not a core belief and so we respect our differences. What s vital is that we are unified in the core, that we proclaim the truths of the core and that we are always gracious with one another when we disagree. While we are called to proclaim the truth to one another in the church, that doesn t mean that the church is a fenced community where people are kept out. There are some people here who aren t sure that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. If that describes you, you are welcome here. Jesus says to you come and explore. There are others here who are sure about Jesus, but not certain about God s commands to live life in a certain way. If that describes you, this is your community. Jesus says come and belong. We believe in calling people to the core of what it means to be followers of Jesus what mere Christianity is and does and not fixate on the boundaries There is a different expectation when it comes to leadership though. The elders and deacons you will elect are required to hold to the core. All people are welcome, but at the same time the leadership of the church is going to be faithful in proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ and inviting people to follow Him. Last fall the congregation voted to join ECO, and one of ECO s values is center-focused spirituality, and it words this well: We believe in calling people to the core of what it means to be followers of Jesus what mere Christianity is and does and not fixate on the boundaries. Calling people to the core of what it means to follow Jesus = that s what proclaiming truth is all about. I said that I was bummed when I first heard I would be preaching on Revelation because I wanted to have a reason to show pictures of Susannah. But as I worked through this text, I realized that the message of the letter to Pergamum is about her. I want my little girl to grow up knowing that God made her and loves her. I want her to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus died for her sins and rose to life so that she could live forever. I want her to be certain that she is saved by grace and not by her striving. I want her to desire to please God and serve other because she has been freed to do so.

7 If want her to know that these beliefs aren t personal preferences that she can only wish for, but that they are foundational truths that lie outside of herself that she can rely on. The way she will know these truths is if we as a church cling to them and proclaim them. As I deeply desire that for my little girl, our Father God desires it for all His children for you and for me. He wants us to know that His love is not our wishful preference, but truth that we can trust. Let s be a church that proclaims that truth with passion. 7