We are in Revelation chapter 2. We begin chapter 2 this morning in verse 1. Revelation 2 verse 1. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks among the seven lampstands. I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance. Now you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love that you had at first. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. Yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Let's pray. Father, as we know what a blessing it is to have your Word. What a blessing it is to read your word, to study your word, to hear the voice of God through your word. And so we ask that now you would speak to us, speak to our own hearts and our own minds, and pray that you would sanctify us in the truth of your word. Show us what you would say to us this morning. Bless the preaching of your word, we pray, in the name of Christ, amen. So the question is, what is a Christian? What is it that makes a Christian? What is the makeup of a Christian? I think if you were to go around town and ask a hundred different people that question, you would probably get a hundred different variations of an answer. Some would say that a Christian is simply someone who goes to church, goes to church a lot. Someone maybe who is a good person is a Christian. Someone who is morally upright. Maybe it's someone who can be trusted. Perhaps they'll say that a Christian is someone who is openly religious and has a religious flair to their lives as they go about their daily lives at work and in the home and so forth. Maybe a Christian is someone who prays a lot about a lot of things and talks about praying a lot for people and for situations. What is a Christian? How would you answer the question? How would those that you know answer the question? The terminology of Christian, the term itself has become imprecise and hard to pinpoint what exactly it means. Francis Schaeffer once said, the meaning of the word Christian has been reduced to practically nothing. Because the word Christian as a symbol has been made to mean so little, it has come to mean everything and nothing at the same time. A recent study I was reading about, on the Washington Post shows that more and more nominal Christians in the U.S. are identifying as secular, nominal Christians, Christian in name only, but not in reality. There's a quote from that article on the website. In many ways, nominal believers who identified as Christians but were generally unengaged in church provided a cultural cushion for Christians. Nominals worked as a restraint on the advance of secularism. Even though they did not order their lives around Christian beliefs, nominals saw themselves on the same team as convictional Christians, who did order their lives around their religious faith. So nominal Christians tended to join with the more religious Christians in broader cultural decisions. As many nominals have become the religiously unaffiliated, they identify less and less with convictional believers. Quite frankly, in America, the church has hinged its influence on the bloated statistic that the majority of Americans are Christians. While we have enjoyed a few decades of what seems to be a biblical sense of morality, what we are learning is that that morality was not grounded in biblical conviction or biblical truth. And therefore more and more are figuring out that it is no longer taboo to be immoral. It is no longer taboo to identify yourself as non-Christian, an unbeliever, a secularist. And therefore more and more they are willing to move away from siding with Christian beliefs. Although identifying as a Christian seems to be something, from the world's perspective, that is either culturally convenient or inconvenient, and it will ebb and flow depending on whether or not it's convenient or not, Scripture is clear about what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian, according to Romans chapter 6, is to be united to Christ by faith. To be a Christian is to be justified by grace through faith according to Ephesians chapter 2 and Philippians chapter 3. We are saved solely based upon the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to us through faith According to 2 Corinthians 5 21, made him to be sin who knew no sin in order that we might become the righteousness of God in him. To be a Christian is to be united to God with Christ. And therefore it means to love Christ. To be a Christian is to have renounced, given up, denied all that we are for all that he is. to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Of course, the words of Christ ring true from John 14, 15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. That is what it means to be a Christian. It is to love Christ. With that in mind, we turn our attention to the first of the seven churches who will receive a letter directly from Christ in our study through Revelation. And what he has to say to this church is startling, shocking, maybe even unbelievable. But as we said in the vision of Christ in chapter one, the Lord of the church has something to say to his church. And to Ephesus, he says, you have lost your love. You have lost your love. This is a loveless church. What is it about this church? First, we see the recipients. Toady writes to the angel of the church in Ephesus. Remember from division in chapter one, these aren't angels in the angelic host sense. It's better to understand this as a messenger. More specifically, it's the pastor, the leader of the church in Ephesus. He gives this letter directly to the pastor himself. Of these churches, by the way, we know a lot about Ephesus in particular just from the biblical testimony about Ephesus. And I want you to get this, especially when you consider its humble beginnings in Acts chapter 18, close to the end of the chapter. Paul arrives in Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila, and he leaves them there. And they are teaching and they are preaching the gospel. We know that because Paul is gone and Apollos shows up in Ephesus. This is in Acts 18, verse 24, Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man and competent in the scriptures. He knew his Old Testament, in other words. And he had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained him the way of God more accurately. He knew the gospel, he knew Christ, he knew of Jesus, but he only knew the baptism of John. And so Priscilla and Aquila take him aside and they teach him the way of God more accurately. These three laid the foundation for the founding of the church at Ephesus for Paul's return trip on his third missionary journey. He left them there on his second missionary journey. He comes back just a chapter later in Acts 19 on his third. He finds them there and he begins to build the church in Ephesus starting with a group of men also who had known only the baptism of John. He stays there for three years. Three years he establishes the church and builds up the church. Acts 19.10 tells us that all of Asia heard of the church that was established in Ephesus. The narrative stretches, this three years, stretches into Acts chapter 20 at the end of the three years when Paul is preparing to leave Ephesus. And he speaks to the Ephesian elders, warning them and teaching them and telling them about what will happen after his departure. in Ephesus at the beginning of Paul's ministry there. Mighty works and mighty miracles had been done. One of my favorite stories in Acts. This is where Paul is, by the way, and people are touching his robe and being healed and so forth. One of my favorite stories is the story of the itinerant Jewish exorcist undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over some evil spirits. And in verse 13 of Acts 19, they say, I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims. Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this, but the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you? I love this story, they wind up, the man in whom was the evil spirit leapt on them, mastered all of them, this is seven people, and overpowered them, so they fled out of the house naked and wounded. They get beat up, stripped, and flee. This became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon all. The name of the Lord was extolled." You keep reading in Acts, you read about a riot that took place because Demetrius, who made statues of the god Artemis, began losing business. And so were all the other idol makers. You say, why? Because the gospel was spreading and people were coming to faith. And they were giving up their idol worship. They were giving up the false god worship. The gospel was taking such a foothold that it was having not only social impact, not only cultural impact, it was having economic impact. These men were going out of business because the people had been so changed by the gospel of Christ. This church has a rich history at its founding. Miraculous history. at its founding. It's founded by the Apostle Paul himself, who ministered there for three years. Paul's there. Apollos, who's an excellent teacher, is there. Timothy is left there by Paul to be the pastor. And tradition even tells us that John, the one who is writing this book of Revelation, was the minister there when he was exiled. Consider all of that when you consider what is said to this church. Next we'll meet the writer. The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. All of the letters that are written in Revelation invoke a piece of the vision that is received in chapter one. It's no doubt who's writing this letter. Sure, John is the one writing it with his pen, but it is Christ Himself who writes this letter to His church. Some of you knew that because you use a red-letter Bible. That's cheating. We know this is Christ because this is the same person in the vision of chapter 1. And in chapter 1, He identifies Himself as Christ. The reminder here, He who holds the seven stars in His hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands, the reminder here is the one who is writing this letter is the Lord of the Church. And as I said, He has the right, therefore, to commend the Church. He has the right to condemn the Church. And He has the right to command the Church. So all of that sort of situates us into this letter. So let's get into it. First, we consider the positive that he has to say, the positive that he has to say to the church in Ephesus. There are things to commend in all of these, or most of these letters to these churches. And it is on the basis of those commendations that he calls them to repair what is at fault. There are some redeeming qualities. So what does he say in verse two? I know your works. It's an interesting word use here, by the way. I know your works. There's two ways to know something in the Greek. You can gnosko, know. Which means that you acquire knowledge, you acquire information, and you assimilate information. You learn things, and therefore you know them. Jesus does not, Gnosko, know their works. Instead, Ado knows their works. It means that he knows them fully. He knows them completely. He knows them intrinsically. He knows them because of who he is. He doesn't know them because he has looked at them and acquired information about them. He knows their works because he is the Lord of the Church. Eyes like a flame of fire, penetrating gaze. He can see right to the heart of the church, and he knows his church. So what does he say positively as he says, I know your works? The first positive thing he has to say about them is that they have endurance. They have endurance. Verses two and three, I know your works, your toil, your patient endurance. I know you're enduring patiently and bearing up for my namesake, and you have not grown weary. And they are, in a word, enduring. As we've mentioned a few times in our study of Revelation, this is a time of immense trial for the church in general. The church is hurting, the church in this area is being martyred, they are being imprisoned, they are being mistreated, they are being persecuted, they are being marginalized. He reminds Smyrda in verse 10 of chapter 2 that the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and for 10 days you'll have tribulation but be faithful and I will give you the crown of life. To Philadelphia also, He mentions their patient endurance as well, and that He will keep them from the hour of trial, and therefore hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. And He says the same thing about the church in Ephesus. You have endurance. Endurance is a part of the Christian life. Endurance in the faith is a part of Christian life. And don't misunderstand what endurance for the Christian is. Endurance, biblical endurance, isn't simply trudging through life and making it through the hard times and coming out of the other side by the grit of your teeth and by the sweat of your brow and by pulling up your bootstraps and manning up, if you will. That's not what true endurance is. Biblical endurance is maintaining your rock-solid faith in God even in the midst of trials. That's what endurance is. It's not simply coming out the other side alive and well. It is maintaining faith in the midst of the trial, in the midst of the tribulation. James reminds us in chapter 1, verse 2, to count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, the multicolored trials that will face you in this life. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be complete and perfect, lacking in nothing. Endurance. Hebrews 10.36 reminds us you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. Endurance. is essential for the Christian life. Paul prays for the Colossians that they would be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for what? All endurance and patience with joy. And he tells the Romans in chapter 12, verse 12, rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Endure. Keep the faith is another way to say it. Don't lose heart. Don't lose faith. Stay strong in the faith. Depend on Him and He will get you through. The church in Ephesus isn't a church that needs these types of words of command for endurance because they are a church that is enduring in the midst of trial. Instead of a word of condemnation about their endurance, they receive a word of commendation for their endurance. There's another thing that they're doing well. Not only are they enduring, not only do they have endurance, but they have discernment. They have discernment. Verse 2, end of verse 2. You can't bear those who are evil, and have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. This is known as discernment. To know the difference between truth and error. To know the difference between what God's Word teaches, and what the words of man teach. Notice, they have tested those who call themselves apostles. It means to examine or to try. They have examined these apostles. They have examined the words of these apostles. They're like the Bereans that are mentioned in Acts 17, who tested the teaching of Paul against Scripture to see if Scripture taught that these things were truly so. Not only are the Bereans mentioned, but Luke calls them noble. They are the noble Bereans who tested everything against the truth of Scripture, and so too are the Ephesians. They have examined these apostles. They have tried these apostles. The word for test there is the same word that's translated elsewhere as tempted. Like in Jesus' temptation. It wasn't a temptation, it was a trial. That's the connotation of the word. It was an examining. It was a proving of His righteousness for the world to see. This Ephesian church has tried the teaching of these so-called apostles, and they have discerned for themselves that what they teach does not accord with the truth of God's Word. By the way, Paul had warned the Ephesian elders of this. I mentioned Acts 20 is where he leaves Ephesus, and he speaks to the elders prior to when he leaves. And he tells them in verse 29, I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own cells will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. They're going to come in and poison the church. And they're going to rise up from within and poison the church. And so he tells them, Be alert. Remember that for three years I did not cease night and day to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. He commends them to the Word of God. This is how you'll know. When they come in teaching twisted things, and when they rise up out of you teaching twisted things, you will know because of the word of His grace. That is what is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified. Later, he'll write the letter to the Ephesians, and he reminds them of this again in chapter four, verse 11. He gave the apostles and the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and the teachers. Why? To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up of the body of Christ. Until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And what's the point of all of that? So that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. You see what he's saying? God has raised up pastors and apostles and prophets and evangelists and shepherds and teachers to equip the church and to preach the Word so that everyone can mature up into Christian maturity and not be like children who are tossed everywhere by every wind of doctrine. This has been with them since the beginning of the church, and they have kept it well. They are doctrinally sound to the point that they know error. And not only do they know error, they can't stand it when error is in their midst. They don't put up with it. They cannot, as the scripture says, bear with those who are evil, but have tested them and found them to be false. So they have endurance, they have discernment, Thirdly, they have purity. They have purity. If you skip down to verse 6, this you have, you know, he makes a little condemnation sandwich here, right? Two positives and a negative in the middle. Verse 6, this you have, you hate the work of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Now there's a lot of disagreement, by the way, and a lot of different theories on who the Nicolaitans are. If you skip down to the letter to the church in Pergamum, they are connected in verse 14. I have these against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the Jews. So, verse 15, also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. This apparently connects the teaching of the Nicolaitans to Balaam. And what did Balaam do? It seems to indicate there's sexual immorality and false god and eating food sacrificed to idols and practicing of sexual immorality is a part of this teaching of the Nicolaitans. Also, by the way, just an interesting point, in the writings of the early church fathers, what they taught and linked to is this teaching known as the Nicolaitans. The reason it gets that name is because it is connected to the disciple, Nicholas, who in Acts chapter six is one of the first six appointed as a deacon. whenever they had the controversy. They indicate it was believed that he was believed to be a false convert who eventually became apostate. And when he did, because of his influence in the church, he brought many with him. And so this teaching became known as the Nicolaitans. But either way, it's clear That what is associated with it, as far as the teaching, is sexual immorality and leading others astray through that and astray from the truth. Food sacrificed to idols and so forth. Some see in this a teaching of overblown Christian liberty. You know, we're free in Christ, right? But we can exaggerate that to the point of sin. An exaggerated understanding of Christian liberty that falls well outside the clear bounds of what Scripture teaches Christian liberty to be. So Christ sees them and He says, you hate that. You hate the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Which means they've maintained their purity. They don't allow sin in their midst. They don't allow these false teachings and sexual immorality and so forth, like the Corinthians did, or like some of these other churches did. They don't allow it into their fellowship, like Pergamum. They've maintained their purity. So the positives are their endurance, their discernment, and their purity. is a church that's got it. They've got it. Externally, if I moved into Ephesus and I visited this church and searching for a church, I'm joining this church. Their teaching is right. Their endurance is right. Their purity is right. The problem in this church is the exact opposite problem of many churches in America, where it's been said that the theology is a mile wide and an inch deep. It's like peanut butter slathered over everything, but it's not worth anything. This is a deep church. It's a knowledgeable church. But there is a problem with the church. And when you consider all the good that he outlines here, the problem is, as I said, shocking. So what's the problem? The problem is verse 4, I have this against you, you have abandoned the love that you had at first. How can a church that has all of the doctrinal I's dotted and all of the doctrinal T's crossed, How can a church that is enduring and how can a church that can discern truth from error, how can a church like this be a loveless church? What does it mean that they've left their first love? It could mean that they've lost their love for God. It could mean that they've lost their love for each other. It could mean that they've lost their love for people. But in reality, if they've lost their love for each other, and if they've lost their love for people, they've lost their love for God. And if they've lost their love for God, then all of the others will flow as well. It's just simply a church that has lost its love. They're doctrinally pure, as I said, and they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. But that obedience is no longer flowing out of love for Christ. Instead, it's become mechanical. This is a church that still gets together, and they sing all the songs, and they listen to all the preaching, and they do all the teaching, and they're training up their children in the Word of Christ. But it's all mechanical. It's a going through the motions religion. Going through the motions obedience. Second John 1 6 reminds us, this is love that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. What we learn here is that love for Christ results in obedience to Christ, but obedience to Christ does not equate love for Christ. Love results in obedience, but obedience does not mean that you love Him. Obedience is one indication that you love Him, but it is not the only indication that you love Him. Israel, we read of Israel over and over again in the Old Testament, losing its love for God, its King, Ezekiel 16 verse 8, I passed by you again and saw you behold you were at the age for love and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrist and a chain on your neck. I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver and your clothing was a fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. Your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed upon you, declares the Lord. but you trusted in your beauty. Played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passer-by. Your beauty became His. Everything that God had given to them to make them beautiful, they turned around and poured it onto someone else. They lost their love for God. Isaiah 29, 13, which Jesus mentions, people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips while their hearts are far from me. Their fear of me is a commandment taught by men. That's the testimony of this church in Ephesus. They're doing everything right externally. They've got everything down externally, but they've ceased to do it out of love. And it's a stern warning, isn't it? It's a stern warning. This is a church that I have thought about many times through the years here at Shiloh. I know I've always been concerned about expository preaching and teaching the Bible as we do here and making sure that we together as a church know the truth of Scripture. and not only know the truth of Scripture, but can discern error when error rises up. But the danger in that is to become puffed up in our knowledge. Forget the reason that we learn more of Scripture is to learn more of God. And the reason that we learn more of God is to love Him more. or we become people who have a zeal for God that doesn't accord with true knowledge. You know, we aren't here on Sundays for a lecture on what the Scripture says. We are here for worship of the God who is revealed to us in what Scripture says. And when we lose sight of that, we are in danger of becoming just like the Ephesians. We show up because we're supposed to. We listen because in our own pride and in our own arrogance, we love the assimilation of new knowledge and new factoids. Maybe we even love to get another little bullet in our gun to argue with our friends in our lives. We aren't here to learn how to win an argument. We're here to love Christ and to worship Him. Having all the doctrine, having all the discernment, having all the endurance and staying pure from sin. That's what Ephesus is like and yet all of it is worthless. If we lose our love for Christ. You say worthless? Surely it's worth something. be doctrinally pure and having no sin or having purity, focusing on purity, enduring through hard times, surely it's worth something. Surely you're using hyperbole to say it's worth nothing to be that way if we've lost our love. It's not hyperbole because Christ threatens to remove their lampstand for this. What does it mean that He's threatening to remove their lampstand? It means He's threatening to remove their blessing as a true church of the body. In essence, what He's saying is, if you continue down this path, you are no longer a church. Get together all you want, you're a social club. You're no longer a church. You're no longer fit for the kingdom. You're no longer part of the body. You're done. It's stern. It's harsh. And it's penetrating. But it can happen. Even to the most doctrinally pure, enduring churches that have lost their love. But He doesn't leave them there with the problem. He gives them a prescription for it. This is so easy. What's the prescription? You've got the positive, you've got the problem, and then you've got the prescription. It comes in three parts. The first part is to remember, verse 5, remember therefore. Remember from where you've fallen. Forgetting who we are in Christ is the first step in spiritual decline. Right? No one ever falls into spiritual decline because they're thinking about who they are in Christ. They fall into spiritual decline when they forget who they are in Christ, and lose the awe and the wonder of His love for me. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. We lose the awe, we lose the wonder, and we forget who we are. First step, remember. Second step, repent. They need to repent. Remember from where you have fallen, and therefore, see how far you've truly fallen. And once you've seen that, repent of it. Of course, you know repentance is a change of the mind, a turning away from sin, and a turning back toward Christ. This is not a simple mistake that this church has made. This is no small issue that this church has found themselves in. This has been around about four decades of spiritual decline that has led to a sinful loss of love for Christ. And He tells them to repent. Repent. Because this is sin. And just as all sin is, this is a grievous sin against Christ. So remember, repent and then return. Do the works that you did at first. In other words, return to the love that you had at first. Notice that in one sense, they are doing the works that they did at first. They were always enduring, and they were always discerning, and they were always telling truth from error, and focusing on maintaining the purity of the body. They are still serving, and they are still being obedient to what Christ had commanded them. But it's not the same works, because it's no longer flowing out of love for Christ. So when He tells them to do what you did at first, He doesn't mean the actions, He means the heart behind the actions. Do what you did at first. Love Me. Remember your past, repent of your present, and return in the future to what you did at first. And that's a pretty simple prescription, right? It's simple, but it's not easy. Self-examination is never easy. All of us should know that in one way or another, but true self-examination is necessary as we grow in Christ. You say, well, is it worth it? What good will it do? What does it matter? Well, that's why he concludes the way that he does. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." Does that make it worth it? You conquer this, you return to me in your love for me, and you will eat of the tree of life in paradise. That's worth it to me. I hope it's worth it to you. Let's pray. Father, we do pray that the warnings of this letter written to this church in this time, the warning of a church that can have everything seemingly right and yet grow cold in its love for you, penetrate us here this morning. Keep us from being loveless. Keep us from being loveless for you, loveless for each other, and loveless for those outside of this church who desperately need Christ. Give us the love of Christ. May we may passionately and boldly proclaim the truth of Christ. In all this we ask in His name, amen.