A multiple gold medal winner from the Summer Olympics was recently arrested for drunk driving. When I heard the news I wondered why someone with a stellar sports career and million dollar endorsements would jeopardize all that for a little late night partying? The answer is compromise. When that athlete compromised his strict training rules by drinking alcohol, one thing led to the next jeopardizing everything he had worked so hard to attain.
Although we may not have a stellar sports career that promises to bring millions into our bank accounts, we Christians do have an awesome future ahead of us. A couple of weeks ago we heard about the crown of life that awaits us in heaven. Jesus tells us more about this crown in his letter to the Christians in Thyatira. He says that this crown comes with real authority. “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end” Jesus said, “I will give authority over the nations— 27 ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father” (Rev. 2:26, 27). Unfortunately the Christians in Thyatira had jeopardized their reign with Christ. Some had done this through compromise with sin, while others tolerated impenitent sinners. Since Jesus doesn’t want that to happen to us, he will teach us this morning how to safeguard our reign with him.
Thyatira, a city located a little inland from the Aegean Sea, was famous for its textile industry. It was here they extracted a famous purple dye from a plant that grew in the area and used it to make expensive clothing. You may remember that Lydia, one of the first converts at Philippi, was from Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The textile industry, like many other industries, was arranged into guilds. The purpose of these guilds was to provide mutual support for business owners. To build a common bond between its members, these guilds encouraged, even demanded participation in pagan worship rituals. These rituals were often nothing more than raucous sex-parties meant to honour local idols.
You would think it obvious to any Christian that to participate in such activities was sinful. But there was one member of the church in Thyatira that not only thought it was O.K., she encouraged participation. Jesus called that woman, Jezebel and said of her: “…she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols” (Rev. 2:20b). Jezebel probably wasn’t the woman’s real name. Jesus called her this because it would remind the members of the church of the Jezebel in the Old Testament. That Jezebel had married King Ahab of Israel and succeeded in turning most of the country against the worship of the true God.
How was it that a member of the church would think that engaging in worship of pagan idols through sexual immorality was O.K.? It probably all started with a compromise. If Jezebel herself was a textile owner or worker, she may have thought that she needed to participate in the guild’s activities to fit in. She may have thought that if she didn’t do this, she would lose all of her business contacts. She may have even made herself believe that once the guild members got to know her, she could tell them about the true God.
What did Jesus think about her compromise with sin? Jesus said: “I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (Rev. 2:21-23). Jesus hated what Jezebel was doing and although he had called her to repent, she ignored Jesus. Now Jesus was ready to take the next step and throw Jezebel onto a bed of suffering. We don’t know exactly what this bed of suffering was. It probably was some disease she would get from her sexual promiscuity. If she and her followers still wouldn’t repent, they would be struck down. What does Jesus think about compromise with sin? He doesn’t take it lightly, nor should we.
What compromises have we made with sin? Have we compromised in the company that we keep? Do we hang out with people that are not good influences on us and excuse this by saying if we don’t hang out with them, we won’t have friends or we won’t get ahead at work? Have we given into our pet sins thinking that they aren’t as “dangerous” as some other sins? That’s probably what Judas thought when he started pilfering money from the disciples’ treasury, yet look where it led. His love for money grew and grew until Judas thought nothing of betraying his Saviour for a measly sum. Friends, don’t compromise with sin. Repeated compromise leads to impenitence, and impenitence leads to judgment.
While compromise with sin leads to God’s judgment so can toleration of impenitent sinners. If you listened carefully to our text, you noticed that Jesus did not address the letter to Jezebel but to the members of the congregation who had not participated in her sin. Jesus said: “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel” (Rev. 2:19, 20a).
Apparently these members thought that as long as they weren’t involved in Jezebel’s sin, God was happy with them, especially since they were so active in doing other church work. Or maybe they thought that the “loving” thing to do was to welcome Jezebel with open arms even though she had no intention of giving up her sin. Tolerating impenitent sinners, however, is not the loving thing to do. When we see a fellow brother or sister caught in a sin we are to call them to repentance. The Apostle James put it this way: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19, 20).
But what if the individual doesn’t listen to our rebuke? Do we ignore that person’s sin and hope that it will clear up on its own? Do we think that it’s better not to say anything so they keep coming to church and hear the Word? That’s not the way God wants us to handle things. Jesus said that those who refuse to repent of their sins are to be removed from church membership. We need to make it plain to impenitent sinners that as long as they remain impenitent, they shut themselves out of the kingdom of God (Matthew 18). Carrying out church discipline is a way for us to show our love for the Lord, his Word, and for the impenitent. We carry out church discipline so that the impenitent sinner will see that sin has dire consequences and turn away from it.
While it’s easy to understand, even believe the theology of church discipline, it’s not so easy to carry it out. Satan will still try to get us to think that it’s an unloving thing to do. He’ll say that there are so many other things that we could be doing with our time than pointing out sin in one another’s lives. But look at what happened to the church at Thyatira because they refused to carry out church discipline on Jezebel. Other members were led astray by her sin and their reign with Christ was in jeopardy. Friends, safeguard your reign with Christ and the reign of others by treating impenitent sinners the way God wants them to be treated.
Jesus’ words must have made the Christians at Thyatira squirm. It makes me squirm. His blazing eyes see all that we do and fail to do, and no one can stop his bronze feet from carrying out his judgment against our sin. Who can stand before him? Well the one who sees our sin is also the one who absorbed it on the cross. That’s why Jesus says to hold on to him. Hold on to him so that God’s anger at your sin passes through you and is transferred to Jesus.
Those who hold on to Jesus will receive the morning star (Rev. 2:28). That’s what Jesus says at the end of our text. We’re not really sure what he means by that but it seems to be a reference to Jesus himself because at the end of Revelation he calls himself the “bright Morning Star” (Rev. 22:16). This we do know. All those who hold on to Jesus in faith will see him in all of his glory and will rule with him come Judgment Day. We won’t just be sitting on the sidelines watching Jesus do his thing; we will be given positions of authority! Don’t jeopardize that reign through compromise with sin or toleration of impenitent sinners. Amen.
