Knowing the Church Series Part 15
My dear readers, how we interact with the church indicates our spiritual discernment and concern for Jesus Christ. When we compromise Christ's will for the sake of devotion to a wayward church, we elevate leaders and ourselves and devalue God. God's word must have the final say. To overlook Christ's commands, warnings, and blessings to the churches by the Apostle John in Revelation 2 and 3 is the height of foolishness.
What the Church Needs To Know About What Christ Reveals About Her
Christ sends a message to the seven Churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Five of the seven are wayward and in danger of being lost, and to minimize the significance of Christ's warnings is not wise. Jesus says nothing negative about the two churches; they are persecuted and faithful unto death.
Authentic disciples, according to Jesus, are these. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself (refuse to associate with the old self), and take up his cross (the means of death to self) and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Matthew 16:24, 25.
Three elements are always necessary for eternal life: 1) The Holy Spirit regenerates a soul, and the light of truth arises in a person's heart, 2) Faith in, 3) God's Word 2 Peter 1:19-21).
The Church You Need To Know is Comprised of those who Overcome the Waywardness of their Church
Five out of seven Churches possess believers who must overcome empty and deceptive waywardness as proper to receive eternal life.
The Church at Ephesus You Need To Know
Most people in a church like Ephesus need to "...repent and do the deeds you did at first..." "To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God." Eternal life is for the overcomer who returns to Christ.
The Church at Smyrna You Need To Know
"The first and the last, who was dead and has come to life..." "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." True disciples are faithful to death in a persecuted church; this church is not asked to repent of waywardness from Christ.
The Church at Pergamum You Need To Know
"Therefore repent, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will war against them with the sword of My mouth." "To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna..." Overcoming results in the bread of life. What do you think not repenting means?
The Church at Thyatira You Need To Know
"The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire..." "'I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality." 'But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.' 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations...' and I will give him the morning star.' The morning star is Christ through regeneration, the 2 Peter reference. Overcoming begins with doctrine and ends in obedient behavior.
The Church at Sardis You Need To Know
"...you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead." "So remember what you have received and heard, keep it, and repent.' 'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 'He who overcomes '...I will not erase his name from the Book of Life..." This church is so defiled that most people do not possess eternal life.
The Church at Philadelphia You Need To Know
"...I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you." "...hold fast what you have so that no one will take your crown. 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God ...I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God..." Overcoming for them is holding fast to what they do - practice self-denial. This promise includes both the millennial kingdom and the eternal. Neither is this Church instructed to repent because they are in a state of humble repentance.
The Church at Laodicea You Need To Know
"...therefore be zealous and repent. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. "...He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." The indifference and lack of acknowledgment of God's existence are so bad in this church that there is an appeal for salvation. Jesus overcame the death of sinners and made them saints. He asks us to give up our lives so that we might live for Him.
The Church you need to know is humble enough to repent from indulging in pretentious worship, hypocritical Christianity, nonauthentic experiences, and minds with inflated knowledge.
Churches are responsible for what they do with the light they receive. God will reject him who rejects the light of Christ, but to him who overcomes the deceptions of false teachers that come from Satan, God will exalt. To hate God is evil, but he who is indifferent toward Him does not even acknowledge His existence. Such behavior is the cornerstone of unbelief, the height of religious arrogance.
The only churches not needing repentance are persecuted. Present-day persecuted Churches are in the East, not the West - think about it.
I would imagine that everyone reading this post in the West believes themselves to be in a good church.
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