Note: (Edited from a sermon preached in August 2022 at First Baptist Church, Chamois, MO)
Introduction: One reality few of us as believers want to admit is that first, we were born sinners. Paul wrote “All have sinned and come short of God’s Glory (Romans 3:23, paraphrased)” and none of us would have to look very far to see living proof of this! The second is that there are times when we sin, even after Jesus Christ has saved us from our sins. Some believers teach there is a place of “sinless perfection”—and, frankly, I wish it was true!—but for most of us, even believers, yes, we’re going to sin. David did it (oh, did he ever); Simon Peter did; and even James and John were guilty of sins. In a word, they blew it!
So, then, what happens when I blow it? Now, the text for this message does not really apply to a single individual; rather, it’s written to an entire church. Even so, there’s a message for each person who has become a believer in Jesus.
Text, Revelation 2:1-7, KJV: 1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
1 First step: recognize
Thoughts: We’d need to take a look at the Church in Ephesus before going any further. Acts 19 has the story how Paul came to Ephesus, teaching and preaching, and making many disciples. Later he wrote them a letter, giving them additional information and instructions. But by now, maybe a generation or so later, some things have changed—and not for the better.
And the Lord Jesus Christ didn’t pull any punches. He told them exactly what was wrong/
The Ephesians had done much good, and Jesus commends this, but the bad which had taken place outweighed the good. These believers had left their first love.
This is what the Lord condemned.
The question is, though, when and how did these Ephesians recognize what they had done wrong? Or did they ever figure it out? They hadn’t lapsed back into idolatry (and there were any number of idols in Ephesus), rejecting their new faith. The Old Testament, by the way, has almost too many times to count when Israel did this, turning their backs on God and worshiping idols of almost any and every variety. These Ephesian believers had not even fallen into loose living, as was the case in Corinth. They had, though, left or, as we might say, abandoned their first love, the love they had for Jesus at the beginning of their new lives as believers.
That was bad enough, and, they blew it.
So again, did they recognize it? There isn’t any mention of this in the Scriptures but some literature of a later period, such as the Epistles of Ignatius, hints at what did happen.
Now, besides these believers in Ephesus, other saints of Old and New Testaments alike, sinned and, yes, “blew it”! Some, like Simon Peter, knew immediately he’d blown it when he heard the rooster crow (see Matthew26:69-75, for example) after he had denied Jesus three times. Philip may never had realized he’d blown it when, as Chuck Swindoll mentions in one of his books, Jesus asked him where they would find food for the 5000 men listening to Jesus. Philip replied by guesstimating how much they would need. Maybe it came clear to him when Andrew brought the boy with the snack which was enough for everyone, and then some (John 6)!
No matter what, though, recognizing “I blew it” is only the first step. Some go only this far, and some don’t even get this far, but that’s not enough. There’s another step to go.
That step is repentance.
2 Second step: repent
Repentance, sadly, is one of the most misunderstood words in the Bible. The reality is that the word simply means “change your mind”—a change of mind, ideally, results in a change of actions or deeds! It’s not just “sorrow” or feeling sorry you were caught; no, it’s deeper. When the people of Israel, for example, were in trouble (and, oh, did that happen many times!), they cried out for deliverance to the God of Israel. The kicker is that Israel had rejected their God for any number of idols any number of times and, it seems, they cried out to the True God as a last resort, since the “gods” they had worshiped didn’t—and couldn’t—accomplish anything.
With this in mind, the Ephesian believers heard the Lord’s command to repent! For them, and I have no way to prove this, the Lord’s command for them to repent was to change their minds about all the work they were doing and re-focus on the love of Jesus that they had left. Paraphrasing Dr. J. Vernon McGee, in one of his works, he mentioned believers can be “as busy as termites” but unless the deeds are done with love, those deeds won’t amount to anything!
And it wasn’t only the believers in Ephesus who received this warning. The Lord gave a command to repent to believers in Pergamos/Pergamum, Sardis, and Laodicea, too and the words of the Lord to each church in Revelation 2 and 3 explain why.
Certainly, the commands were for the church to repent but the Lord knew, as do the believers then and now know, each church is made up of individuals. Unless each person repents, the church never will, and the downward spiral will continue.
It goes without saying that some believers need more time, or take more time, to recognize their need for repentance. Sadly, I wonder if some preachers and teachers even explain what repentance means or how important it is to truly repent. After all, the Lord Himself told the Laodiceans that everyone He loves, He rebukes and chastens (see Revelation 3:19) and commands everyone to repent!
The writer of Hebrews explained it this way: “If you aren’t being disciplined, you’re not one of God’s children (Hebrews 12:4-12, paraphrased).” Several preachers use this analysis: “God doesn’t spank the devil’s children”, so if someone isn’t being disciplined or chastened, there may be some doubt as to whether or not that person is a genuine child of God.
So now, I’ve recognized that I’ve done something wrong. I’ve also repented, and asked forgiveness for my sin/s. Is that enough? Or, isn’t that enough?
In one sense, yes, as our Lord’s forgiveness is immediate and complete. I love I John 1:9 because it’s a reminder that if (okay, when) I sin, our Lord Jesus Christ is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
But in another sense, just asking for forgiveness isn’t the end. Let’s see what else the Lord said to the Ephesian believers.
3 Third step: Return and re-do
Remember, it was bad enough that the Ephesian believers had left their first love, and it’s just as bad when any of us as believers sin against the Lord. Eventually, we’ll realize that yes, we’ve sinned, every last one of us, and we’ll be prompted to do something about it. Ideally, we’ll repent and get right with God; too often, believers don’t or won’t and they’ll receive (as I have) some discipline or chastening from the Lord/ Even so, He, our Lord, isn’t done with us yet.
Take a look at the last part of verse 5, where the Lord gives them a choice: after you repent, do the first works (as they had done after hearing Paul and others preach the Word) or the Lord will remove the lampstand (“candlestick”, KJV). That did happen, and there isn’t much of the Ephesus Paul knew. Few if any believers in Jesus are there today as well.
This tells me that even after I repent of my sin, I’m not done yet. The Lord wants me, just as He did the Ephesian believers, to do the “first works” again. Admittedly, for us in these days, we may not be asked to do exactly as they did, but there is still something for us to do too. If in doubt, ask the Lord and He will give you guidance, just as He did for me.
Take a look at Simon Peter, for example. True, he may have never seen Ephesus but he’s still one of the classic examples of how a believer can blow it but be restored. Remember, he denied at least three times he knew anything about Jesus, even cursing and swearing (Mark 14:71). He did weep after he remembered (Mark 14:72) and that tells me he was genuinely sorry for what he had done—in a word, he repented at that time.
But that wasn’t all. John 21 has the record of how the Lord, three times, gave Peter commands to take care of the Lord’s sheep. When Paul was still Saul of Tarsus, and after Saul had seen the Lord on the Damascus Road, the Lord showed Saul some of the things he was going to endure. Even though there is nothing I can find about these Ephesian believers repenting, indirect evidence shows they did, and a church stayed in existence here for hundreds of years. They recognized, they repented, and they did do the first works.
Now, the question is, what does this mean for me? I’ve shared how the Lord has gotten my attention, showing me what I did wrong. The sooner I repent and get back in a right relationship with Him, the better! But that’s still not enough.
Like all other believers, I’ll need to get back in the game, so to speak. After all, the Lord has given me a job to do and if I don’t do it, will it ever get done? May each one of us recognize what we did wrong, repent of that sin, and re-do the things we need to do. There are rewards for our service for the Lord—but that’s another message.
May the Lord bless and keep you all in the center of His will for you!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
