To the One Who Conquers: 50 Daily Meditations on the Seven Letters of Revelation 2-3 by Sam Storms

Author:Sam Storms [Storms, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Jesus; The Gospels & Acts, Biblical Meditations, New Testament, General, Religion, Biblical Studies
ISBN: 9781433521829
Google: GJumElJoF_QC
Amazon: 1433501384
Barnesnoble: 1433501384
Goodreads: 2620819
Publisher: Crossway
Published: 2008-08-04T00:00:00+00:00

26

Spiritual Osteoporosis

Revelation 2:24–25

“To the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.”

Much of the church today is suffering from an advanced case of what I call spiritual osteoporosis. It’s not widespread throughout the body of Christ but is concentrated along the spine. What I have in mind is the church’s loss of its theological backbone.

We see this in any number of ways. For example, some have begun to fudge on the ethical status of homosexuality. Fearful of being labeled homophobic, they’ve adopted a “live and let live” approach to the issue. Others, not wanting to appear elitist or exclusivistic, no longer insist on personal faith in Christ as essential for salvation. Then there are those who’ve gone soft on the very concept of doctrine itself, believing that theological orthodoxy is both elusive and divisive and should be minimized for the sake of some ethereal and ill-defined unity.

I’m certainly no fan of angry sectarianism or the sort of dogmatic arrogance that judges and separates over secondary issues. At the same time, there are standards of truth to uphold and principles of behavior on which we must insist.

It’s good to know that, notwithstanding the problems in ancient Thyatira, there were some in the church who refused to compromise or cut corners. Jesus describes them and delivers a special word of encouragement in verses 24–25 of Revelation 2: “But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.”

There are four things here worthy of our attention. First, they are described as those “who do not hold this teaching,” i.e., the teaching of Jezebel. Not only do they not embrace the doctrines she espouses but neither do they practice her wicked ways.

In other words, these are folks who refused to take the easy path by looking the other way. They were neither gullible nor easily persuaded by the novel and deceptive concepts circulating in Thyatira. These were people who weren’t afraid of calling heresy heresy! The men and women Jesus addresses here knew that sometimes discrimination can be a virtue. They believed in the existence of absolute truth and unyielding ethical principles and were prepared to identify deviations from it. These were people who refused to embrace theological relativism, as if what one believes is less important than the sincerity and fervency with which one believes it.

Second, they are described as those “who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan.” This intriguing phrase calls for explanation. Some believe it to be a sarcastic reversal of the claims of Jezebel and “her children.” They claim to

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