A lesson from Pergamos

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. – Revelation 2.12-16

The believers in Pegamos were in a tough place. ‘You live in Satan’s seat,’ Jesus said, ‘and I know all about your works and how you hold fast to My name and how you have not denied the faith even when Antipas was martyred for his faith.’

But on the other hand they had some serious problems. There were some in the church who held on the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. These folks were antinomian in their beliefs. Basically they believed that because of our liberty in Christ they could do whatever they wanted. Since our salvation is secure they believed they could just do whatever they wanted. That included an connection with idolatry and open fornication. It was all okay because believers had liberty to do what they wanted.

Hopefully none of us live with a Nicolaitan spirit. Or at least we don’t think we do, but there are times when we do choose to take an attitude that we would rather do what we want than what God wants. We know it is not going to send us to hell so we give in to our whims and just do it anyway.

Sin is nothing to be trifled with. If we are dabbling with a spirit that says it is acceptable to carry on in sin and at the same time claim to be faithful to Christ we need to examine our hearts and our spirit, but most of all it is time to repent.