False Teachers Giving Permission to Sin

Revelation 2:12-13 ESV

 

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

 

“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.’

 

We read in Hebrews 4:12 that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” These are the words of Jesus, for Jesus/God is the author of the Scriptures, the living word of God. They cut to the heart and they pierce through the soul in conviction of truth to our consciences and to our hearts.

 

He knows where we live, every last one of us. And Satan’s throne is on this earth. And so this may be speaking to some of us here on this earth who do hold fast the name of Jesus Christ, and who do not deny the faith that is in Christ Jesus, that is authored and perfected by Christ, and is gifted to us by God, and which is not of our own doing. And some of us may be among those who are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and yet we still have not denied the Lord, but we have continued to remain faithful.

 

Revelation 2:14-15 ESV

 

“’But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.’

 

Now this is speaking to all believers in Jesus Christ in a particular city. So, this covers a large swath of Christians, and since they did not meet in large buildings back then like is customary in our world today, they probably did not all meet together, but they were spread out over multiple locations, how many I do not know. So, it could be that these referenced here who hold to the teachings of Balaam were in only one location or only in a few, but that they were in the minority, hopefully.

 

But they existed, and this was a problem, because there were those who were accepting false teaching which was granting some Christians permission to do what was sinful. So, the church as a whole over the whole city was being charged with wrongdoing in this matter for they were allowing this to go on and they were not exercising proper church discipline to stop it from taking place.

 

Now this would be a lot like if the Lord wrote a letter to all Christians collectively in whatever city you live in, and he said something similar. The indication would be that, no matter what fellowship you are a part of, you are still responsible for the spiritual condition of the church in your city, as a whole. For that is how they operated back then, but it is certainly different in our day and time.

 

So, how can we apply to this to our world today? Certainly if we know of false teaching that is going on within our cities we have an obligation collectively as the body of Christ to speak out against the false teaching and to warn other believers in Jesus to not get caught up in the false teaching. We should be verbal about this. We should not ignore the false teaching that is going on, for many people are being led astray by it.

 

So, we should do everything within our realm of influence to make people aware of the lies that are being taught and then to proclaim to them the truth in order to save human lives from hell. For many people these days are making false professions of faith in Jesus Christ based off these false teachings, and they are being promised full forgiveness of sin and heaven as their eternal destiny, but they are not being demanded to part from their sins and to follow Jesus in obedience. And so many of them are living in sexual immorality and in other habitual and deliberate sins.

 

Revelation 2:16-17 ESV

 

“’Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’”

 

Now, again, the way the church is operated in our day and time, at least here in America, is not the same as it was back then, so I think the only way we can repent of what other congregations are doing, that we have absolutely no say over, is again to be verbal in speaking out against the lies that are being taught in the name of Jesus, exposing them for the lies that they are, and then proclaiming the truth of the gospel to all who will listen in as many places as we have the freedom to share the truth.

 

And I do believe God is visiting the church in judgment presently because so much of what is called “church” today is following after the ways of man and of the flesh and not after the ways of the Lord Jesus. And so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are living not much differently from those who make no profession of faith in Christ. And we have so many charlatans and wolves in sheep’s clothing in our pulpits who are feeding the people lies, and people are flocking to them by the masses.

 

So, we need to be conquerors. We need to be those who are believing and who are living the truth, and who are not following after the lies. And then we need to be exposing the lies and spreading the truth so that the eyes of the spiritually blind may be opened to the truth, and so they will turn from their sins to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways. And we will be blessed of God in our doing and we will be richly rewarded one day in heaven.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

The Prayer

 

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,

Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

 

I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go

And help us to be wise

In times when we don't know

 

Let this be our prayer

When we lose our way

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

 

I pray we'll find your light

And hold it in our hearts

When the stars go out each night

Remind us where you are.

 

Let this be our prayer

When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqFCbtRz1Z0

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P.S. This is not an endorsement of the singers other than as musicians