“Peace, Unity, and Purity”
Revelation
2:12-17
At their ordination and installation every minister, elder, and deacon
in the Presbyterian Church (USA) promises to further the peace, unity, and
purity of the church. Keeping this
promise isn’t always easy. In our
sinfulness we often disrupt the peace and unity of the church by our efforts to
guarantee its purity. There are also
those occasions when, in an effort to maintain peace and unity, we are willing
to tolerate or ignore teachings and behaviors that damage the church’s purity.
The
good and the bad news in all this is that, short of heaven, neither the peace,
the unity, nor the purity of the church will ever be perfected. The bad news is that this is one of the harsh
realities of being sinful people living in a fallen world. The good news is that we are all in the same
boat. There are no perfect members,
officers, congregations, or sessions in our denomination. The better news is that we are saved, not by
our perfection, but by the grace of God made manifest in Jesus Christ.
The
church in
The
Christians in
Christians
have no Lord but Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the one and only living
God. Ours is a passionate God, a jealous
God, who will not tolerate the worship of any other deity. This often brings us into conflict with the
world, for in the world there are many gods clamoring for our attention. Sometimes these gods are given such a
cultural or political sanction that worshiping them is necessary if we are to
be thought of as loyal citizens.
No
matter what the cost those Pergamum Christians would not worship the emperor. Their only Lord was Jesus. In a city where the very throne of Satan was
located – where the emperor cult was strong – this led to extreme
persecution. At least one of the
Pergamum Christians, a man named Antipas, was martyred for the faith. Still they would not yield. They stood firm. The mighty
Their risen Lord commended them for their faithfulness in the face of
persecution. He who wielded the
two-edged sword – the very Word of God – was mightier than the emperor. Those of his followers who were faithful to
him even unto death were promised a seat at his victory banquet in the realized
This was a message of grace and comfort that they needed to hear in
their time of tribulation. The emperor
could persecute them. The community
could revile them. They might even die
the death of martyrdom. But ultimately
they would share in their Savior’s victory, not only over the emperor but also
over Satan himself.
They needed to hear that.
Unfortunately they also needed hear our Lord’s words of judgment. For all their faithfulness – for all their
steadfastness in the face of persecution – they had a blind spot. They couldn’t see that their toleration of
heresy and immorality within the church was damaging its life and witness.
How could such faithful, steadfast Christians tolerate the false
teachings and immoral behaviors of the Balaamites and Nicolaitans? Why were they willing to allow this libertine
Gnosticism to be taught and practiced in the church?
Who knows? Maybe they were
afraid of the conflict that would ensue if they confronted the sinfulness of
these people. Already fighting a battle
with the external forces of Satan, maybe they thought that they didn’t have the
spiritual resources to deal with an internal struggle. Or maybe they were simply too nice and polite
to exercise church discipline. Whatever,
by their unwillingness to risk conflict, they were disrupting the peace, unity,
and purity of the church.
And Jesus said, “Stop it. Quit indulging these sinners and their
behaviors. Don’t surrender to them. Confront them. Speak the truth in love, even the hard
truth. Don’t be rude or nasty. Do be firm.
Demand that they repent of their explicit sinfulness even as I’m
demanding that you repent of the implicit sinfulness of tolerating them. Not only will this be good for the church and
its witness. It will also be an act of
grace toward those who are sinning. For
if they will not repent, I will come and destroy them.” Thus says the Lord!
Thus says the Lord. Not only to
them but also to us. Why do we modern
Christians tolerate blatant sinfulness within their church? Why do we avoid the hard but necessary work
of church discipline? Why do we commit
the implicit sin of complicity with explicit sin? Why do we allow individuals and even entire
families to disrupt the peace, unity, and purity of the church? What is it that causes us to put up with
blatant hypocrisy?
Sometimes it’s a very real fear of the conflict that will result from
speaking the truth in love. Conflict is
painful. Nobody wants to be on the receiving
end of a sinful brother or sister’s hostility.
Nor do we want to tangle with their friends and relatives. The attitude becomes one of letting sleeping
dogs lie or going along to get along.
Sometimes it’s a matter of being too nice. We worry about hurting the feelings of those
who love the sinner in question. Who
wants to tell the beloved matriarch that her son or daughter is an adulterer or
thief or addict? Who wants to bring out
into the open a painful truth that will hurt an innocent spouse or child? It’s commendable that we want to protect the
innocent. But are we really protecting
them? Usually not.
Sometimes we don’t want to hurt the sinner. There are some who don’t realize that what
they’re doing is a sin. There are some
who are in deep, deep denial of their own spiritual and moral bankruptcy. Often these are basically good people, maybe
even people who contribute significantly to the work of the church. Whatever, their behavior is still destructive
to themselves and others. It is also
damaging to the church’s witness in the surrounding community. The truth must be spoken in love,
compassionately but also firmly. The
sinner’s short-term hurt or embarrassment is a small price to pay for a
restored relationship with his or her Savior.
It is also necessary for the church’s long-term witness.
Sometimes we fear the loss of members.
Sometimes we’re afraid to do something that might cause people to take
their significant financial contribution to that church down the street. Sometimes we overestimate our dependence on certain
people or families. Sometimes we’re
overly respectful of a significant last name, willing to tolerate the behavior
of one generation because of the greatness of a generation past.
Whatever the reason, it’s wrong.
We cannot allow the church’s peace, unity, or purity to be disrupted by sinful
behaviors. We cannot let certain behaviors
and attitudes destroy the church’s witness.
We cannot afford the luxury of complicity with sinfulness. Satan’s threat to the church from the outside
is great enough. We cannot allow him to
gain a significant foothold on the inside.
Our modern day Balaamites and Nicolaitans must be confronted. Sometimes we must do this with extreme tact
and sensitivity, never forgetting that we too are sinners. And never, ever ignoring some sins while confronting
others. Enmity, strife, jealousy, and
self-righteousness must be taken just as seriously as are the sins of the
flesh.
There are times when we have no choice but to be blunt, forthrightly speaking
the truth in love but we always speaking the whole truth. We shouldn’t be rude. Nor should we be arrogant or self-righteous. But we don’t have to apologize or
rationalize. Our Lord never did. Not during his earthly ministry. Not after the resurrection. Today’s text is vivid proof of that.
The peace, unity, and purity of the church have never come easily or
cheap. Not in ancient