“I’m a Christian. I don’t agree with homosexuality. I think it’s a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is.” Those words were spoken this week in an interview on ESPN by one of their NBA reporters named Chris Broussard. He made this statement after an NBA player had announced he was homosexual and the network wanted to know Chris’s personal opinion on homosexuality. After stating he thought it was sin, the interviewer then said something along the lines of, “But some practicing homosexuality claim to be Christians,” to which Chris responded:
Personally, I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or . . . premarital sex between heterosexuals, if you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that’s a sin. If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, adultery, fornication, premarital sex between heterosexuals, whatever it may be, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I do not think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian.
It was a bold and articulate response that we’re probably not too accustomed to hearing in such interviews. It provoked John Piper to tweet out: “Chris Broussard. This is solid steel in a world of cattails.” Moreover, Chris’s response was rightly compassionate, not singling out one practicing a homosexual lifestyle as the lone sinner, but noting numerous ways people sin and numerous sins of which people need to repent, including all sex outside of marriage.
However, as you might predict, the blowback from Chris’s interview was swift and vicious. Some immediately called for his firing. Others demanded an apology. He was called ignorant and bigoted and other things that shouldn’t be repeated. But the word that was probably thrown at him more than all others was – intolerant.
Tolerance seems to be the most prized and intolerance the most despised attribute in our day. The one evil that cannot be, well, tolerated in our culture is someone being intolerant. And tolerance has taken on a certain meaning to most. It does not refer, in most people’s eyes, to a willingness to treat with respect and kindness those who disagree with you. It does not refer to defending someone’s legal rights to life and liberty, though they might have different standards than you. Rather, in our culture, it seems that in most people’s eyes to be tolerant means that we must condone the actions of those with whom we disagree. Only when we say that what someone else is doing is right and good are we being “tolerant.” This is why Chris Broussard, though he argues for the right of athletes practicing homosexuality to play professional sports, engages them in interviews with the same respect and kindness as other players, and seeks to honor the Lord by then, his neighbors, as himself, is branded intolerant.
But I do not think it is too strong to say that the tolerance being spouted by many around us (i.e., saying that tolerance means condoning whatever others do as right and good) is a tolerance that Jesus hates. And the reason I think we can say that is because of the text we’re going to look at this morning – Revelation 2:18-29.
With the call for tolerance in our day, it is fitting and helpful for us to consider Jesus’ letter to the church at Thyatira. It is a church that Jesus, interestingly, rebukes for tolerating something (and someone) that they shouldn’t tolerate. They were unwilling to confront and rebuke where confrontation and rebuke were necessary. Therefore, he confronts them as the one whose eyes are like a flame of fire and rebukes them for a tolerance that he finds intolerable. And as he does this, he identifies things they shouldn’t be willing to tolerate, reveals the falsehood of ungodly tolerance, shows what he will not tolerate among his people, and reminds them of why this these issues are so utterly important.
First, Jesus reminds them (and us) that:
I believe this is a valid point to draw from this text for a couple of reasons. The first is that Jesus lists a number of good works the believers in Thyatira are doing prior to rebuking them. He introduces himself in verse 18 as the “Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze,” a description that I will address more as we go along. But right after that, he says in verse 19, “I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.” This is not some brief list. Simply consider the volume of things listed. They’re excelling in good works, love, faith, service, and patient endurance in the midst of a culture that isn’t pro-Christian. And if that’s not enough, they’re actually growing in their works. They’re loving more than they once did, serving more than they once did, exercising greater faith than they once did. They’re growing in sanctification steadily, reflecting Christ more and more clearly in these things. These are a people that you’d love to be around, a church that you’d probably be more than a little tempted to join, and a people who receive the kind of commendation that each of us would hope to receive.
However, the next verse begins, “But I have this against you.” This is a reminder that a number of good works doesn’t make the presence of a little sinful rebellion okay. For example, the fact that you may be evangelizing the lost, meeting the physical needs of your brothers and sisters in Christ, and giving yourself in prayer for the church doesn’t mean that your steady gossip is okay. It doesn’t lessen the fact that our greed and covetousness is idolatrous. Their abundance of good works didn’t mean that Jesus was willing to overlook this one area where they were rebelling against their Lord.
And there’s a second reason why I think this is a valid point to draw from these verses. Jesus goes on to speak about a woman whom he calls “Jezebel,” which is probably not this woman’s real name. Probably Jesus is calling her that because what she’s doing resembles the actions of Jezebel in the Old Testament. You’ll remember that Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab, and she made it her mission to bring pagan worship into the practices of the Israelites. She worshiped Baal and had a number of prophets of Baal. And you’ll also remember that when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to see whose God could send fire from heaven, that Elijah killed these false prophets after God alone could produce fire. This, of course, made Jezebel irate, and she promised to kill Elijah. However, the Lord ultimately judged her, as she was thrown out of a window and dogs ate most of her body.
Well, as Jezebel tried to mix Baal worship into the Israelite practice, so it seems this woman (claiming to be a prophet) was trying to get some believers in the church to mix in some sinful practices as well. Specifically, Jesus says, “that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (v. 20).
Now, we may be tempted to think, “How in the world could a woman successfully convince professing believers in the church to practice sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols (which is probably a reference to joining in the feasts dedicated to false gods)?” After all, this seems like a big step, doesn’t it? But when you consider the economic makeup of Thyatira, you might very well see how this could be appealing.
Thyatira was made up of a number of guilds (something like labor unions), so that if you were in industry, you were almost certainly part of the guild. So, there would be guilds (as one commentator mentions) for tanners, potters, bakers, wool and linen workers, sellers of cloth, various metalworkers, etc. You may remember that Lydia, who was converted in the book of Acts, was someone who worked with dyes, and she was from Thyatira. Well, the way these guilds worked is that each of them would have their own patron god. So, they might gather at the weekly feast for their specific guild and say, “Now, let’s pay homage to our patron god.” And that could involve praying to this god, making offerings to this god, or perhaps engaging in other practices like sexual immorality – as an honor to this god.
Well, what do you do if you’re work making wood garments and everyone who is part of your industry is part of the guild? Do you attend this weekly feast? If you do, what do you do when they pray, make their sacrifices, or engage in immoral practices? And what if not doing these things meant you couldn’t make a living and provide for your family through your working with wool? You could see how the pressure to compromise might mount.
But let’s say that there’s a lady in the church who says, “You know, it’s really not a big deal to mix in these practices and still honor Christ”? What if she says something like, “If you really love the Lord with your heart, then engaging in these feasts can’t shake that. You’re fine. The Lord is concerned that you’re devoted to him in your heart. These feasts aren’t a big deal”? Do you see? Well, it seems that this lady, “Jezebel,” was spreading teaching perhaps along those lines, seducing some in the church to practice sexual immorality and engage in idol worship.
But Jesus stands against this. He is angered that her teaching is tolerated in this church. And the reason being that she is promoting a teaching as old as Jezebel in the Old Testament, a teaching which finds its source in Satan himself, a teaching that the Lord’s command to be holy is perfectly acceptable with a little compromise.
The reality, however, is that believers cannot tolerate any sinful rebellion in our lives. By this, I don’t mean that we must be or will be perfect, never sinning. Of course we struggle with sin. John tells us in 1 John 1:8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” So, I’m not saying we will never sin. However, we should never see sin as acceptable. Rather, we must always see it as something that needs to be repented of in our lives. Simply put: Christians must not be willing to tolerate any sinful rebellion in their lives.
In line with this truth, we also see in this text that:
Listen to what Jesus says of “Jezebel” and those who are following her in verses 21-23. Jesus says, “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.”
We can see a couple of notes here, but one of them is the first part of the point I want us to see from this text, namely, that Jesus is slow to anger. Notice that Jesus says that he gave this woman time to repent. And again, he says of her followers (i.e., those who commit adultery with her) that he will judged them unless they repent of her works. Do you see Jesus’ slowness to pour out judgment? He’s given time to repent, and now he’s giving opportunity for her followers to repent.
When he speaks of those committing adultery with her, he probably means those committing spiritual adultery through their idolatrous actions. This shows the wicked truth of what sin is. But even in light of that, if they’ll repent, they can escape judgment.
Consider this for a second. This morning, regardless of your rebellion that you’ve committed against the Lord (no matter how evil in quality or in quantity), the Lord Jesus Christ is eager to spare you from judgment, if you will simply repent. If you will confess your sin and turn from it this morning, looking to Christ’s life, death, and resurrection as your only hope for righteousness, you will be forgiven and spared from judgment. Isn’t this amazing news from our gracious Lord!
He is slow to anger. However, he is also unwillingly to tolerate impurity in his church. That is, if you profess faith in Christ and yet refuse to repent of sin, don’t think that you’ll escape his judgment forever. Jezebel had been given opportunity to repent, but she didn’t, and now it is too late. She would face great sickness. Those following in her path were also going to face death. Many in the church were going to face great tribulation should they not repent. The Lord is slow to anger, but his judgment is no empty threat and it will ultimately fall on the unrepentant.
And one reason the Lord brings judgment, as he is promising in Thyatira is because he refuses to tolerate impurity in his church. This is why he introduced himself as the one who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze. He is pure, holy, and able to discern our hearts. His judgments are perfect. As he says in verse 23, once he brings judgment against Jezebel and her followers, all the churches will know who he is – the one who searches mind and heart – the one who fights for the purity of his church.
One reason the Lord will bring discipline against us if we refuse to repent of our sin is because his purposes are bigger than any one of us. He wants his church to bear witness to holiness in the world, and he wants to bear witness to his own holiness through his dealing with unholiness in his church. That’s what verse 23 is showing us.
Therefore, should you find yourself holding to unrepentant sin this morning, then consider the kindness and severity of God, as Paul says in Romans 11:22. Consider his kindness in that if you will simply repent, you can know mercy and forgiveness. Therefore, turn from your sin and taste of the mercy of the Lord. And consider his severity in that if you will not repent, he will judge each according to what he deserves, even as he was bringing suffering and death to Jezebel and her followers. Therefore, turn from your sin and flee from the judgment of the Lamb. Jesus is slow to anger, but he will not ultimately tolerate impurity in his church.
Yet you probably have noticed (even as we saw with the church in Pergamum from last week), that Jesus rebukes the church for its stance toward Jezebel. He declares in verse 20, “But I have this against you [the church], that you tolerate that woman Jezebel.”
The church was unwilling to confront and rebuke Jezebel for her false teaching and leading others into sin. And this brings us to another truth we need to say, namely, that:
Now, I say specifically that this is unloving because this may very well be why some in the church had been willing to tolerate Jezebel. Perhaps many would say it is unloving to be intolerant of someone’s teaching, actions, and lifestyle. But consider the end of her actions. Letting her go unconfronted, unrebuked, and undisciplined has paved the way for her destruction. She’s about to face the Lord’s judgment. Besides that, tolerating her has led to the potential destruction of others in the church. Her followers are now facing the possibility of judgment from the Lord as well, if they don’t repent.
Do you see what happens when we are willing to tolerate and condone the sinful falsehood of someone’s teaching and lifestyle in the church? It opens the door for Satan to come in and devour people. It allows the person to seduce others to practice these things as well.
In direct contradiction to the Lord’s demand for holiness, every time we allow unrepentance to run rampant in the church, we are sending the message to others that this is a safe path to follow. Jesus hates a tolerance that says we cannot calls sin what it is and confront those walking in sin unrepentantly. This kind of tolerance is intolerable because it destroys the church. It even allows for the destruction of that person. This is no doubt why Jesus calls us not to tolerate our enemies, but to love them, which requires calling them to repentance and showing them that there is hope for forgiveness and life through faith in Jesus Christ.
And I know this is hard. I know it’s specifically hard in our culture. I know for Chris Broussard this past week, he probably calculated that he may well be making a decision to get fired. That’s why I want to give one exhortation to go along with what I’ve wanted us to see to this point. It is this:
There were apparently some who hadn’t bought into the falsehood Jezebel was spouting. Perhaps they had even called her out, since Jesus lays nothing more upon them. Jesus simply says in verses 24-25, “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.”
They’d not been seduced by these supposed “deep things” that were nothing short of Satanic. Therefore, Jesus tells them simply to keep holding fast. Keep enduring in obedience until he comes.
But let’s ask this question. What if enduring in obedience costs them money because it’s hard to get income for making wool if you’re not part of the local guild? What if obeying Christ and holding fast until he comes cost them and their family much? How do they continue to hold fast when others are telling them to give in and they can look around and see many who are giving in places of authority and blessing in the city?
Well, I think Christ’s answer is that they should keep eternity in mind. You see, Jesus promises them something if they hold fast in obedience. He says in verses 26-29, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken to pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
I think this answers why it is that Jesus introduces himself as the Son of God in this letter. In Psalm 2, God promised that one day he would raise up a King who would be his Son, and this one would rule over all the earth with the rod of iron. He would crush his enemies. Jesus is saying at the opening of this letter, “I am that one. I am God’s Son.” And as such, he reigns over the earth. But to the one who endures in obedience and faith, Jesus will let you share in his reign. If you’re being crushed because of your faithfulness to Christ in this world, hold fast because you’ll one day rule over the nations with Christ. The balance will not continue as is forever.
Moreover, he’ll give the morning star. But what is that? Well, back in Numbers 24, when the Lord made Balaam speak words of blessing, he prophesied of a star coming from Jacob, arising out of Israel, who would rule over all the nations. This is a prophecy of the coming Christ. Therefore, if this is what is intended by Jesus’ reference to the morning star, then it is a reference to himself. Jesus is saying to his people, “You will have me.” That is, we will reign over the nations because we will have and be united with the one who reigns over all.
Therefore, fight sin, knowing that no area of sinful rebellion can be tolerated in our lives. Repent of sin, knowing that Christ’s judgment is not an empty threat. Fight for the holiness of others, even if that means lovingly rebuking them for unrepentant sin. And hold fast in obedience, even when it costs you much, keeping your eyes on eternity, where the Lamb, who died and rose, gives us himself so that we might reign with him. May that day, may our Lord, come quickly. Amen.