The church at Pergamum

The church at Pergamum

The book of Revelations states,

"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 

"These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.  

I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.  

Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  

Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." Revelations 2:12-17.

Here Christ realizes that the Pergamum church is "where Satan has his throne". That they did not renounce their faith even when Antipas a member of their congregation was put to death.

Still this church has a problem they had people in their midst that believed the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans both heretical groups.

As believers in Christ Jesus we cannot compromise our beliefs. We must live by what the scriptures teach. Not what we or anyone else wants them to say.

As someone once said,

"Satan is not fighting churches; he is joining them. He does more harm by sowing tares than by pulling up wheat. He accomplishes more by imitation than by outright opposition." Author unknown

It is the duty of church leaders to make sure false teaching does not continue in the church. To speak out against false teaching. The apostle Paul stating.

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12,13

I firmly believe we are in the time the apostle Paul warned against when he wrote to Timothy saying.

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2Timothy 4:3,4.

It is very easy to use the bible to say what you want it to say. To take things out of context which is what the Nicolaitans were doing. 

The call of Jesus to the church at Pergamum and to any who would call themselves followers of Christ Jesus is to turn away from false teaching and turn back to God

To heed the warning to the church in Pergamum,"Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."

Thus the questions for all those who would call themselves believers in Jesus Christ is:

Am I listening to false teachers? 

Am I standing up to them? 

Are we expelling false teachers from among us?

                               OR

are we allowing false teachers to remain in our midst?

Please think about it.

Ready to repent?

  Ready to repent?

In Johns gospel we read,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  

       In him was life, and that life was the light of men....

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. " John 1:1-4,14.

Here John clearly states that Jesus whom he refers to as “the word” is God incarnate. John and the other apostles truly believed that Jesus was God in the flesh sent down to show mankind the way to heaven.

The apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost said,

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:36-39.

The question I pose to you today is do you believe this?

If so are you willing to admit you are a sinner and turn to Christ?

Please think about it.

Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, naked?

  Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked?

In the book of Revelations we read,

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.  

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.  

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Revelations 3:14-21.

The Laodicean church was according to Jesus lukewarm. He tells them He wished that they were one or the other. You never really know what a lukewarm person truly believes.

The Laodiceans however think they are rich. When in fact they are poor. 

Jesus tells them to turn to Him and buy from him gold refined in the fire, white robes the symbol of holiness. He calls them to put salve on their eyes so they can truly see what is of God.

He calls them to repent. Telling them that he rebukes and disciplines those He loves.

He reminds them that He is knocking at the door of their heart. That if they will only hear Him and open that door He will come into their life.

Today we have many Churches, evangelist and pastors who think they are rich, and many in a material sense are rich but that is not what God wants. Because many who are rich in a material sense do not rely on God.

Matthew records Jesus as saying,

"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24.

Additionally there is a false doctrine that is here in North America where I live that states if you are not materially rich you are doing something wrong. The so called prosperity doctrine. 

Such teaching is wrong. 

We as believers in the twenty-first century need to look at our life. We need to ask ourselves am I a lukewarm believer. Or am I on fire for God. 

Am I rich spiritually in Christ Jesus, or am I “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked”.

Where do you stand?

Please think about it.

Evildoers

  Evildoers

Jesus said,

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  

"Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"Matthew 7:21-23.

Now I write these blogs several weeks in advance. That being said, as I write this there is an outcry that will not go away nor should it go away soon. It’s about what amounts to genocide conducted by the Roman Catholic church here in Canada. 

This is a church organization that claims to be Christian. With a Pope who is known for his good works among the poor. Yet it will not offer a sincere apology or reach into it’s coffers and live up to the agreement they made to pay indigenous people compensation for what happened.

All that aside one has to wonder about the teacher, men and women who directly run those schools. Are these people truly Christian? From their actions I think not. 

I also think unless those who are still alive and committed these atrocities fail to repent, they will ultimately be judged by God and hear the words “away from me you evildoers”. 

Please think about it.

Christians sin

 Christians sin.

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:  

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  

I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14.

Do you humble yourself before God. Are you like the Pharisee in the above parable or like the tax collector?

The apostle Paul tells us,

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23.

Even Christians sin. As someone has said, “Christians are not perfect just progressing”

The apostle John reminds us,

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." 1John 1:9-10.

Thus my question to anyone claiming to be a believer in Christ Jesus is;

When was the last time you confessed your sin to God?

Please think about it.