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Calling All Contenders - Mike Muzzerall

He That Hath An Ear, Let Him Hear - Part II

 April 2019

Last month we started off looking at the letter to the church of Pergamos. We looked at who it was written to, where the church was situated, and who the author of the letter was. Jesus commended them for holding fast to the name of Jesus and to the faith of Jesus. There is no name as precious as the name of Jesus Christ! We saw that the faith of Jesus Christ deals with the doctrine of Jesus. It speaks of faith in the completed work of Calvary. Let’s continue and listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the church: “He that hath an ear, let him hear.”

But I Have A Few Things Against Thee
Everything was great until they read in the letter the words of Jesus: “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. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate” (Rev. 2:14-15).

Their hearts must have sank. They had been commended for living for Jesus in the midst of the throne of Satan, but now they had to hear what needed to be addressed.

Compromise
The church compromised. They held the name of Jesus, but at the same time, they allowed those in their midst who held “the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” (Rev. 2:14). Balaam could not curse the children of Israel, so he did the next thing. He got them to compromise. This compromise led them into a life of idolatry and immorality. The church of Pergamos was doing the same thing. They were compromising by allowing the followers of the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans to come into their church services and influence the people. They believed it was okay to have one foot in the church and one foot in the world.

Call To Repentance
The Devil could not successfully get the church in Pergamos to deny the name of Christ or the faith of Christ, so he used on them the same method he used through Balaam on the children of Israel. He got them to compromise their walk. When the church compromises, there will always be a call to repent. There will always be call to restore proper fellowship with God.

“Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Rev. 2:16). The word repent is an aorist active imperative in the Greek. The imperative mood is a command and not a suggestion. There is an urgency to this command to repent just as there was an immanency in the judgment if they chose not to repent.

Who was to repent? Those who held the doctrine of Balaam—the Nicolaitans—and of course the church needed to repent for compromising.

Have We Compromised?
Is the church today guilty of compromise? Have we accommodated our beliefs for the sake of unity at all cost? Have we attempted to receive beliefs and lifestyles into our midst which God has condemned? Toleration is the word of the day. Many have tried to twist Scripture in order to open the doors for all people to be considered “brothers and sisters.” However, can we have true fellowship without first meeting at the Cross?

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 2:17).


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