Letter 4: Tolerating Sin
Sermon Notes
“The 4th Letter: Tolerating Sin”
Intro:
Hey my name’s Louis I’m the lead pastor here at City Awakening. Welcome to those of you onsite and to those of you watching online, we’re glad you’re joining us online. At this time let’s dismiss our children to children’s church, and if you didn’t get to check your child in, please see our children’s ministry leaders in the back and they can assist you with that...Today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Revelation. It’s a series about finding peace in a world of chaos. Revelation is a book of the bible that addresses past, present, and future events in history. But it’s also a book that can help us find peace for every chaotic event in history. It can help us find peace for every chaotic event in our lives. The text we’re studying today is about something that can rob us of peace, which is being tolerant of sin. I mean if you want your life to change for the better, you can’t keep doing the same things that are destructive to your life. If you want your relationship with your spouse, your family, your friends to change for the better, you can’t keep doing the same things that are destructive to those relationships. Today’s text can help us with this, because it’s about not tolerating sins that are destructive to our lives and relationships. So let’s turn to Revelation 2 and get into it. You’ll find Revelation in the back of the bible, it’s the very last book of the bible, and we’ll be in Revelation 2:18-29. Title of the message is The 4th Letter: Tolerating Sin. The big idea is it isn’t loving to tolerate sins, that are destructive to our lives and relationships...It isn’t loving to tolerate sins, that are destructive to our lives and relationships...
Context:
Here’s your context. The book of revelation is about the 2nd coming of Jesus, and what will happen at the end of history when he returns. We’ve broken the entire book down into four major visions, and right now we’re studying the 1stvision, which is where Jesus tells John the author to write 7 letters to 7 churches in Asia Minor. These letters are intended to encourage John and these 1st Century Christians to keep their faith, as they’re facing afflictions from the Roman Empire. The letter we’re about to study is the 4th letter, which is written to the church in Thyatira. Like Alex said last week each of these letters follows a similar pattern, except for the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia. Those are the only two churches that don’t receive any criticism or correction from Jesus, instead they receive celebration and encouragement. So I’m using the same breakdown I used when we studied the 1st letter to the Ephesian church. We’ll learn about the Celebration, Criticism, and Correction. It's the celebration of things they did well, the criticism of things they didn’t do well, and the correction Jesus gives to realign their lives with him again. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Revelation 2:18-29 states, “Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira...” Jesus is telling John the author what to say to the church in Thyatira, and historically we know Thyatira was located roughly 45 miles east of Pergamum which we studied last week. It was a tough little city full of working-class people, mostly known for producing clothing, dyed materials, and bronze. They had very established labor and trade unions, and so you had to be a part of a union to work or run a business there. This created a lot of problems for Christians living there, because each of these unions had their own gods they’d worship, make sacrifices too, and have seasonal festivals filled with sexual immorality. So the dilemma these 1st century Christians were facing is they either had to sacrifice their faith and join the union so they could work to put food on their table, or they keep their faith, refuse to join the union, and struggle to put food on their table. What would you do?...What would you do, if you were in this situation?...Would you sacrifice your faith, join the union, worship other gods, engage in their sexually immoral festivities so you can put food on your table, or would you keep your faith, refuse to join the union, and struggle to put food on your table?...Would you sacrifice your faith to feed you and your family, or would you keep your faith and struggle to feed you and your family?...What would you do, if you were in this situation?...
Again vs. 1, “Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame, and whose feet are like fine bronze. 19 I know your works, your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.” There’s The Celebration...Jesus is celebrating things these Thyatiran Christians are doing well. He’s specifically celebrating their works, meaning their good deeds, their loving andfaithful acts of service, but also their continual growth in these things. He’s celebrating that they’re doing even greater works and deeds than when they first came to faith. Growing in doing good works and deeds is a great goal for us to have, and Jesus is celebrating these Thyatiran Christians for doing that. He’s like, “You’ve done food drives to help people who are struggling to eat. You’ve cared for people in your small group. You’ve cared for your neighbor who’s hurting. You’ve showed up to serve in children’s ministry, serve in student ministry, serve both in and outside the church.” Jesus celebrates all these things, and wants us to keep growing in good works, good deeds, loving acts of service to him and to others. One of our codes, one of our core values here at City Awakening is to love the few, so we can love the many, meaning we want to love a few people so well that they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives, and then send them out to do the same. We want to love the few, so we can love the many. Are you doing that?...Are you loving a few people so well, that they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives?...What would Jesus say about your works, your good deeds, your loving service to the people in your home, to the people in our church, to the people in our city?...Would Jesus celebrate your works?...Jesus is celebrating the good works and good deeds of these Thyatiran Christians, but he’s about to give them a criticism.
Vs. 20, “But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat meat sacrificed to idols.” There’s The Criticism...Jesus celebrates things these Thyatiran Christians were doing well, but now he’s criticizing things they aren’t doing well. He’s criticizing them for tolerating false teachings and practices. The issue for the Ephesian Christians was that they loved theology, but stopped loving Jesus and others. The issue for the Thyatiran Christians is they loved Jesus and others, but stopped loving theology. Jesus is teaching us we need to have both truth and love. He’s speaking both loving celebratory words, and truthful corrective words to them. He’s specifically criticizing them for tolerating the false teachings and practices of a woman named Jezebel. Several hundred years before the Thyatiran church existed, Israel had a queen named Jezebel who was considered the most evil queen in Israel’s history. She was married to King Ahab, but she was the real power behind the throne. One day she used her power and authority to kill Israel’s religious leaders, and led people away from the Lord to worship a pagan god named Baal.
So what Jesus is referring to here is a different woman who’s evil like Queen Jezebel. She’s a very smart, manipulative, influential, evil prophetess who’s convincing many people in the Thyatiran Church to compromise on their faith in Jesus. She’s like, “I know you’re struggling to find work, to put food on the table for you and your family. But Jesus taught that he loves you, so he’ll understand if you join the unions to feed you and your family. Some people will call it compromise, but I call it loving, because Jesus wouldn’t want you to suffer like that. So join the unions, worship their gods, eat their food sacrificed to idols, engage in their Thyatiran Gone Wild Festivals, because Jesus loves you and wants you to be happy. It isn’t compromise, it’s loving.” But Jesus is criticizing, not compromising. He’s criticizing them for tolerating false teachings and practices. He wants us to trust his teachings, not compromise on his teachings. He wants us to trust his infinite wisdom is greater than our finite wisdom, and his teachings will always change us for the better not the worse. Jesus doesn’t want us to be deceived by false teachings, so be careful of the people, podcasts, professors you’re listening to, because not every speaker is speaking the truth. Who are you listening to?...What people, podcasts, professors are you listening too?...Is it possible you’re being deceived by their teachings?...Don’t be deceived, like the Thyatiran Christians.
Vs. 21, “I gave her time to repent, but she doesn’t want to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Look, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction. Unless they repent of her works, 23 I will strike her children dead...” There’s The Correction... Jesus celebrated them, criticized them, and now he’s correcting them. It’s a corrective plan on how to align their lives with him before it's too late, and the 1st thing he tells them is to repent. In fact he warns Jezebel and her followers if they don’t repent, they’ll experience great afflictions. When he says he’ll strike her children dead, he’s talking about her spiritual children, meaning her followers. Jesus is warning that great suffering is coming for them if they don’t repent of their sins, and I know some people think Jesus should just save everybody and let everybody go to heaven. But some people don’t want saving, they don’t want to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus, and Jezebel is an example of that. Jesus gave her time to repent, but she didn’t want to repent. So Jesus is drawing the line because he doesn’t want her teachings and sinful practices to keep destroying his spiritual children. If Jesus doesn’t step in to protect his spiritual children, then he isn’t being loving to his spiritual children, to his own family. I’ll give you an example of what I’m talking about.
I have a lot of kids in my neighborhood who like to play football in my yard. They all think they’re Christian McCaffery or Patrick Mahomes, and so there’s a lot of trash talking. But let’s say there’s one kid who repeatedly takes it too far, and he keeps punching kids. The next day he comes back, and he punches kids again. The next day, it’s the same thing. He’s punching your kids, other kids, and the yard isn’t a safe place for kids to have fun anymore. The loving thing to do isn’t to tolerate that kid’s sinful actions, it’s to address it. The loving thing is to protect my kids and the other kids, but also to correct him and give him a chance to change saying, “I want you to play and have fun in my yard. But if you keep punching kids, you won’t be able to play in my yard anymore.” This is what Jesus does with Jezebel and her spiritual children. He gives them a chance to repent so they can play in his heavenly yard, but they refused to repent. Jesus is giving those who don’t know him a chance to repent and turn to him right now, but if they don’t repent the time will come when he’ll have to send them to eternal hell. It isn’t that Jesus doesn’t love them, it’s that they don’t love Jesus. If Jesus didn’t love them he wouldn’t be giving them a chance to repent. So people who go to hell aren’t there because Jesus doesn’t love them, it’s because they don’t love Jesus and don’t want to spend eternity with Jesus. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “I willingly believe that the damned are successful rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are locked from the inside.”
Vs. 24, “I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who don’t hold this teaching, who haven’t known the so-called secretsof Satan. I’m not putting any other burden on you. 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I’ll give him authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule, them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery,, 28 just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.” Okay so the 1st part of the corrective plan is to repent, which is directed to those following the teachings of Jezebel. But the 2nd part of the corrective plan is to hold on, which is directed to those following the teachings of Jesus. He’s telling them to hold on to him and his teachings. He says they’ll be a great reward for those who repent and hold on. He promises them the morning star, which is the very presence of Jesus. They don’t have to fear the burden of eternal hell, instead they can look forward to a joyful eternal life in heaven with him. If they repent and hold on to him and his teachings, then a great reward is coming. But the people in the Thyatiran Church didn’t listen, and as a result that church no longer exists today. Historical records tell us they kept doing the same destructive things, they kept compromising, and they started following other false teachers. So Jesus closed their doors by the end of the 2nd century, and that church no longer exists today.
Vs. 29, “Let anyone who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” The word churches is plural, so this is something he wants every church to hear, including churches today. He says let anyone who has ears, listen to what’s being said to the Thyatiran church, because it’s still relevant for our lives and churches today. It’s relevant because we’re living in a culture today that really pushes for tolerance, and expects Christians to be tolerant of everybody’s beliefs. So let me give you 2 things to keep in mind, when it comes to our culture’s push for tolerance.
#1 Everybody has a tolerance line - Everybody has a tolerance line where they’ll say, “I can’t tolerate that belief or action.” You might believe it’s okay to drink alcohol, but you’ll draw a tolerance line against somebody drinking and driving a school bus...You might believe it’s okay to have somebody watch your kids, but you’ll draw a tolerance line against a stranger watching your kids...Some of you have a pro-life or pro-choice line, a two gender or fluid gender line, a no vaccine or pro-vaccine line, and the list goes on...because everybody has a tolerance line...It isn’t just Christians who have a tolerance line, everybody has a tolerance line. Since everybody has a tolerance line, it's hypocritical to say Christians can’t have a tolerance line. It's hypocritical for people in our culture to say we should be tolerant when they express their beliefs, but they can be intolerant against us when we express our beliefs. My point is both skeptics and believers need to admit, that everybody has a tolerance line. But what we’re facing in our culture today is a tolerance line against Christianity, especially when it comes to people’s sexuality. Like the teachings of Jezebel our culture wants us to be tolerant of everybody’s sexuality, and we’re attacked if we aren’t. In the past few decades the Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and United Methodist Churches have crack under the culture pressures, compromising on the issue of sexuality to the point of denominational splits. But the issue of sexuality is just a symptom of a greater issue, which is a relativistic view of scripture where people highlight the parts of the bible they like, and change the parts they don’t like. It’s what Jezebel and her followers were doing, and it’s what Jesus tells us not to do. He tells us to hold on to his teachings, not to change his teachings. He tells us to transform our culture with his teachings, not to conform his teachings to our culture. Author Kelly Monroe Kullberg states, “Truth yields life. If we are sailors lost at sea, we need true north...It seems our American culture in its present condition, is politics, marketing schemes, politically correct slogans of professors, politicians, and media that often leads to the death of the soul. Lies lead to death and a culture of death, but the truth sets people free for life.” Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He’s the true north to our souls. He’s the one whose teachings can guide us through life, and into a more joyful eternal life. We need to hold onto his teachings.
#2 We should strive to grow in love, without compromising truth - We should strive to grow in love like the Thyatiran Christians were growing in love, but we shouldn’t compromise on truth like they did. Jesus celebrated their love, not their compromise. But we should strive to grow in love, including our love for those we disagree with saying, “I can’t compromise on my faith in Jesus or his teachings, but I can still love you even though I disagree with you.” Jesus gave Jezebel and her followers a chance to repent as an act of love. But he never compromised on truth, because he knew it isn’t loving to tolerate beliefs and sinful actions that are destroying people’s lives and relationships. Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors, he doesn’t teach us we have to agree with our neighbors. If you truly want to love others well, then you can’t be tolerant of beliefs and sinful practices that are hurting the very people and relationships you love. But that doesn’t me we should be antagonistic or degrade people we disagree with. We should be creating bridges to the gospel not barricades, and the way we do that is by loving people and pursuing the well-being of our city without compromising truth. Jeremiah 29:7 says, “Pursue the well-being of the city where I have sent you...Pray to the Lord on its behalf...” Our greatest example on how to love people in our city like this is Jesus. John 1:14 says he lived a life full of grace and truth! He lived a life that was loving, but not tolerant of everyone’s beliefs. He shared meals with tax collectors, prostitutes, people alienated in society, had a thief cry out to him for salvation on the cross. He loved all kinds of people so well, that they often felt safe exposing their hearts to him. We should love people so well, that they feel safe exposing their hearts to us. We should love, serve, become friends with people who have different beliefs than us. We should be loving like Jesus, without compromising on truth, or tolerating beliefs and sinful actions that are destroying the very people we love.
The Big Idea:
The big idea of the message is that it isn’t loving to tolerate sins, that are destructive to our lives and relationships...Both skeptics and believers want their lives and relationships to get better, they want to have peace and joy in their lives and relationships, but that can’t happen if you keep doing the same things that are destructive to your life and relationships. So if you’re a skeptic, do you want your life and relationships to change?...Do you want to have an eternally joyful life in heaven with Jesus?...Like Jezebel, he’s giving you a chance to repent and turn to him...
If you’re a believer, do you need to repent for compromising on Jesus and his teachings?... Do you need to repent for being more tolerant than Jesus, when it comes to your own sins?...Be careful of drawing a tolerance line against other people’s sins, but then ignoring the tolerance line when it comes to your own sins. What are those sins for you? What are those sins you’ve been tolerating in your life, that you need to repent for?...Jesus loves us too much to keep tolerating sins that are destroying our lives and relationships. He loves us too much to sit back and do nothing while sin destroys our lives, which is why he died on the cross for our sins to save and restore our lives. Our response to what he did for us on the cross is to repent and hold on. It isn’t too late for any of us to repent for our sins and hold on to him. He won’t tolerate your sins forever, but he will love you and forgive you if you ask him to. So let’s pray, let’s repent...and hold on to him...