The World in the Church-Thyatira

Revelation 2:18-29, "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the church shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many of you do not have the doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations-'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potters vessels'-I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'

Regression and the Remnant

The church at Ephesus left it's "first love." When we take our eyes and hearts off of Jesus dire consequences will follow. At Pergamos we saw the first consequence of leaving our "first love" is we lose our doctrine. If our eyes and hearts are not on Jesus, they will not be on His word. Here at Thyatira we see the results of the bible being taken from it's place of authority in our lives, the world and sin have not only come into the church(and a believers heart), but they are being taught. And Jesus has harsh words for this church.

He also has some words of praise, saying they have "love, service, faith and patience" in their works, and they are working now more than at the beginning. These words are directed to the remnant, the true believers who practice the "Greatest Commandment" but are in the minority in these particular churches. God always has a remnant of His people even where He's not being listened to or obeyed. Remember Elijah thought he was alone but God told him He had 7,000 men who had not bowed a knee to Baal, and were still faithful to Him. I believe in every church that has gone down the path of liberalism and apostasy God has a remnant. So the question is, what should this remnant do?

Sheep Don't Fight

The old preacher's saying is, "sheep don't fight." Most Christians are not comfortable with conflict in the church, and many take the position that what is going on around them is really none of their business, so they choose to ignore things God says are sin. Sadly, their is nothing biblical about taking this position. Jesus's life was full of conflict, as were the apostles lives. We must understand that we are to "stand" for God in all that we do, and sometimes that means dealing with the enemy, Satan, not the people, in our churches. Satan learned long ago the best way to attack the church is not from the outside, but from the inside. If Satan can get Christians to remove the truth of the bible and tolerate sin in our midst, he wins the battle in a church or a Christians life.

Jesus chased the money changers from the temple with a whip because they "profaned" His Father's house. He was constantly in conflict with the Pharisees who taught false doctrine and led people down the path to hell. The apostles were beaten, persecuted, jailed and eventually martyred for standing on the word of God and against Satan, false doctrine and sin. When we saw at the church at Smyrna their was often a cost to truly living for God, much of that conflict comes from us obeying God and standing for Him. If we are going to practice the "Greatest Commandment" in our lives, we must be willing to stand for God. The churches at Pergamos and here at Thyatira are examples of what happens when we do not.

The Cost of Backing Down

In the Old Testament it tells us that the "sins of the father will be passed down to the second and third generation." This does not mean that a child is held accountable for a parent's sin, but rather if a parent embraces sin in their lives, more than likely the child will do so in their lives. The child of an alcoholic, is far more likely to be a drunk than not. The child of a person who lives with someone before marriage, is far more likely to do so than one who comes from a married couple. At Thyatira this principle was being played out.

Verse 23 has God saying "I will kill her children with death..." God is not speaking of phyisical death here, but spiritual death. Because these children's parents had left the word of God and embraced sin, their children did so as well. As a result of the parents sin the children did not know sound doctrine, what the bible truly says about sin, and were deceived by Satan into believing what they were doing and how they were living was just fine. Satan was winning the battle here. The question is, what were the remnant, those who knew and practiced the truth in their lives, doing while this was going on?

Church Discipline

The consequencs of turning a blind eye to false doctrine and sin are grave. They are grave in a believers life and in our churches. Far to many of our fellow Christians simply ignore the things that are going on right around them, for fear of conflict. I cannot tell you how many parents I have spoken with whose children are sleeping or living with someone, drinking heavily, abusing drugs, etc. They feel powerless, but they are not. The same attitude prevails in our churches when we see brothers or sisters in Christ overtaken by sin. Friends, when we simply watch someone we claim to love live a life God says they cannot live, we do not show the love of God towards them, or practice the "Greatest Commandment." 1 Corinthians 13:6 tells us, "Love(Agape love, the love of God, the love we are told to show towards each other) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth." If we truly love someone the way the bible tells us too, we will have a burden in our hearts to see them repent of their sin and return to a right relationship with God.

The bible tells us how to go about this. We are told to deal with the backslidden person gently(Gal 6:1). In Matthew 18: 15-17 Jesus tells us the process that needs to occur: We speak to them one-on-one, then with 2-3 witnesses, then if necessary we are to bring them before the church. If the person is unwilling to turn to God and repent even after being confronted by the church, their fellowship is to be revoked. Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. Their is nothing easy about this. But it is essential for us as believers and our churches to maintain a holy witness to the world. When we allow sin into our lives and into our churches and it gains a foothold, their is no difference between God's people and the devil's. The object of this "discipline" is restoration of the believer. Discipline is not to punish, but to correct wrong behavior. In fact, even if the believer does not repent immediately, if the do repent eventually, they are to be restored to the fellowship of believers, the church. This is what happened with the brother who was removed from the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5. Later as we read, in 2 Corinthians 2, the brother repented and was restored.

The church at Thyatira was unwilling to return to the bible and deal with the sin in their midst. The results were catastrophic as the children raised in this church followed their parents into sin. Freinds, we fight a spiritual war, against a powerful enemy in Satan. The only defense we have is to allow God to fight the battle for us and through us, with His word and though us practicing what He asks of us. Their is nothing easy about this, but it is our calling in a life lived for God. So, what happens when a church or Christian, leaves their "first love," as the church at Ephesus. We lose our doctrine(Pergamos) and sin moves in(Thyatira). This is a dangerous regression, of which we will see the fruit of tomorrow. Until then, God bless and have a Jesus filled day.