Jesus’ performance evaluation of the church of Thyatira was alarming! There is much to learn from Jesus’ response!
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,
‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Revelation 2: 18-21
The scripture tells us that while Jesus gave Jezebel time to repent, she chose not to.
Why didn’t she repent? Was she comfortable because she had a following? Just because a group is in agreement with each other, or someone has a following, does not mean that God is pleased.
First and foremost, our agreement should be with the Lord and His word, and only secondarily with others. If our priority is to remain in unity and agreement with others apart from the Truth, we will find ourselves in a pitiful position!
The truth is that the longer we stay in sin, the more calloused and hardened we become in our hearts towards the Lord! It is good to be convicted of sin. When we can easily commit sin or justify it without any conviction, we should be alarmed!
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:13
Jesus called us to be salt and light to the world, but He also said that if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
In this day and age, we see a lot of false teaching, including the encouragement of sexual immorality within the so-called “church.” Some promote this in the name of compassion. Others do so because they themselves want to live as they please. There is a group that believes the church should reflect the culture, and as a result, they are trying to stay relevant and open-minded about these issues. Denominations are being split over such matters, and everyone is quoting the Bible to support their stance! But the bottom line is this: when we compromise the word of God, we may gain an audience and a following, but in the process, the church will lose its saltiness.
We should not have to argue or disagree with our brothers and sisters in Christ about what constitutes sexual immorality. The Bible is very clear on this issue. Our struggle should be to help unbelievers find healing and understand the heart and will of God regarding their sexuality, identity, and purpose in life.
If the church loses its saltiness and fails to preserve the culture from heading in the wrong direction, the church will lose its mission, its message, and its power to be God’s agent of change on earth!
Jezebel had a following, but Jesus wasn’t pleased and was ready to punish her and those who followed her.
Are we staying salty by allowing ourselves to be preserved through the word of God, ensuring we do not lose our saltiness? Are we willing to be preservers of what is true in the sphere God has given us? Are we willing to bring the seasoning of truth where there is partial truth? Do the things around us that grieve our spirits draw us to prayer and intercession?
How did what happened in the church of Thyatira happen now? There is much we can learn from this church. I will continue with this topic in the next devotional.