Moral Truth

Wandering in the Wilderness: Moral Truth

Sunday, July 26, 2020   

Revelation 2:12-17

Introduction

           This letter is overflowing with truth for then, now, and the future. The Church at Pergamum withstood the temptation to align with the Greco-Roman worldview, which is an entirely humanistic system of government and culture. However, Pergamum Christians struggled with temptations of a different sort.

Churches often stand with one voice against corrupt societal norms even while corruption is tolerated within their subculture. This was a problem for the Church at Ephesus, despite being praised for overcoming the Nicolaitan heresies, they went too far and became legalistic. Their conservatism barred some in their faith community from acceptance based on self-righteous sanctimony.  

Pergamum Christians appear to have erred on the side of liberality. Too much tolerance of un-Christian, immoral activity renders grace irrelevant, and too much legalism robs the Church of Grace. God’s grace through Christ and experienced in the Holy Spirit, is balanced as each born-again Christian is freed from the power of sin and is empowered to live in and with Grace.

            Pergamum was a city with temples to Greek, Roman, and Egyptian gods/goddesses and the city was also the center for the Imperial cult - emperor worship. Specifically, it seems to have been a center for the worship of Asclepius, a god of medicine. Many travelers visited the city to make sacrifices to this god for their health and the health of others. There was also a temple to the Egyptian god, Serapis, who was associated with healing.

 

The Enemy Within

           When the Lord referred to Balak and Balaam He harkened back to the wilderness wanderings of His people in the Book of Numbers. Balak hired a pagan holy man, Balaam to put a curse upon the people of God so Balak could defeat them. This did not work, so Balaam advised the Balak and the Moabites to entrap the Israelites in idolatry and immorality (Numbers 31:16; 25:1-2; 31:8; Joshua 13:22). This did have a negative impact. When the people of God, then, now, and in the future put their faith in God there is no enemy who can defeat them with a frontal attack. Therefore, the dedicated enemy has no choice but to corrupt them from within.

             Peter and Paul both admonished Christians not to blend pagan culture with the true Christian faith (2 Peter 2:15; 1 Corinthians 10:7-8) Food sacrificed to idols is just food if one eats it for sustenance (see 1 Corinthians 10:28). If one does so in agreement that it will serve a false god or pagan belief, then it is sin. It is the mixing of pagan idolatry with Christian faith in God’s grace through Christ that is an abomination.

           Every time the Israelites in the wilderness were punished by God it was because they tried to fit God into the humanist/pagan worldview of their oppressors. It was true in for Pergamum Christians before and it is still true today. Have you witnessed the blending of humanist culture with Christ’s intended culture in a local church? How were the outcomes similar to those experienced by the Israelites and the Pergamum Christians?

 

Conclusion

           Jesus promised hidden manna, or food that comes from God like the Israelites were given daily with no effort from the recipients. In Christian times, it is God’s grace, given through now effort from its recipients. It’s Christ’s Word of grace and justice. When repentantly accepted, God’s grace through Christ assures us of a new name in God’s book of eternal life.