[Revelation] To the Church, Part 2预览

Worldly Church

Pergamum means “married to.” How curious it is, in Revelation 2, to read of a church that was supposed to marry the Lord Jesus Christ, but instead decided to marry the world’s religious system. To keep their social status, Christians during the fourth century worshipped Jesus and the Roman Emperor at the same time. They merged both religious beliefs and adapted to the social, political, and religious system of the time.

Caesar was worshipped as the only god, Zeus was worshipped as the greatest god, and Christians tolerated this idolatry, thereby compromising their faith. Jesus reprimanded this church for accepting false teachers, following idolatrous practices, and committing sexual immorality. The church of Pergamum was a worldly church.

Idolatry is a personal matter where one chooses to lift up a belief or another person higher than God. The approval of a wife, husband, or child can become more important than God in our lives. Work, financial success, and achievements can also take precedence over our Lord and God. 

Idolatry is a matter of priorities. It is certainly a matter of the heart and how much we have consecrated our lives and desires to our Lord Jesus. In a practical sense, idolatry is a matter of how much time we devote to our jobs, family, leisure, and social life. It is also a matter of how our service and communion with our Lord take any space in our loaded agendas, and of how true we are being to the Lord and to our faith.  

Check your agenda to see how many hours and resources you devote to God. Take a serious look. You will easily be able to determine whether your priorities are aligned with those in the Bible. Honesty requires acknowledging those areas in our lives that take the place of God. If Jesus is on the throne, we must be on the cross. If we are on the throne, we have not surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ and are denying His lordship. Are you crucified with Christ, or are you the lord of your life?