To the Church in Ephesus 1-7
To the Church in Smyrna 8-11
To the Church in Pergamum 12-17
Revelation 2:1-17
Intro Questions
- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
Jesus challenged the saints of ancient Smyrna to be faithful unto death if they hoped to receive the crown of life (Rev. 2:10). There are four areas in which this sacred charge is applicable to us today.
I. There is the personal component. Every Christian must be faithful unto death We must be faithful to Christ our savior and lord (Rom. 10:9-10). We must be faithful to the Bible which is his teaching. We must be faithful to his church for which gave his life (Acts 20:28). Our personal faithfulness will be demonstrated in the way we live our lives (Tit. 2:12-13), and in our commitment to his church. A faithful disciple will stand up for Christ and his cause when they are attacked by His enemies. Faithfulness is a very personal thing. It will not count for me that my parents, my mate or my children were faithful. To receive the crown, I must be faithful!
II. There is the congregational component. It was to a congregation that Jesus said, "Be thou faithful unto death." A congregation is a band of Christians, collectively serving God in a particular community. Congregations can be corrupted like that in Corinth, dead like the one in Sardis (Rev. 3:1) or lukewarm and disgusting like the one in Laodicea (Rev. 3:15-16). A faithful church will be true to Christ by making every effort to conform to his teaching. Each disciple should seek a faithful church with which to worship!
III. There is a doctrinal component. Both individual saints and congregations have a responsibility to be careful to know and obey the instructions given us by the Savior (Matt. 28:20). There is a pattern of spiritual truths about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, worship, the polity of the church and other sacred themes (2 Tim.1:13). This pattern we must honor. From the beginning, there have always been disciples who wanted to go onward and not abide in the teaching of Christ (2 John 9-10). Christ expects us to avoid false teachers with their false doctrine. Paul warns, "Let no man beguile you" (2 Thess. 2:3).
IV. There
is a practical component. We must faithfully worship as Christ has ordained. We
must be faithful in fulfilling his Great Commission by teaching the lost the
Savior's way of salvation (Matt. 28:19-20). We must be faithful in helping our
fellow Christians who are discouraged and overcome by sins (Gal. 6:1-2). We
must assist our brothers and sisters in growing up in all things unto Christ
(Eph. 4:11-15). We must be considerate and helpful to those around us who are
weak, ill or suffering (Gal. 2:10; James 1:27). To fail to meet these
expectations will leave us among the unfaithful who have no promise of reward.
Are you a
faithful follower of the Lord Jesus?
