Occasionally when reading the words of Christ we come across some
jarring statements. For instance, in Revelation 2:6 Jesus says to the church in
Ephesus, “You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” Sentences
like that should slow us down to consider the powerful concern motivating such
strong language. Think of it, “hatred” in this case was praised as godly when
directed toward the behavior of a group of false teachers making the rounds in
Asia Minor. These Nicolaitans had already made inroads in the church of
Pergamum just 75 miles away. Like Balaam of the Old Testament, the Nicolaitans,
under the banner of “Christianity”, were persuading God’s people throughout the
region that mirroring the culture’s values and indulgent practices was no big
deal (Revelation 2:14-15). You can almost hear them, “It’s no big compromise.”
“God is forgiving.” “He understands.” “We don’t live under the law.” “Don’t get
so uptight about holiness and righteous living.” “Don’t be such a legalist.” As
Jude had previously warned, this kind of distortion is insidious – and
regrettably it’s been effective. “For certain people have crept in unnoticed…
ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality” (Jude 4). Of
course, we are called to be civil and gracious, but when it comes to this kind
of Scripture twisting we need to remember that Christ hates it and so should
we.
For more sermons and devotionals on Scripture Twisting, please go to the Focal Point Ministries website at www.focalpointministries.org.
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