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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Revelation 2:3:
Revelation 2:1-7
Excerpted from: Eternal Security in the ChurchThis is where that 71% comes back in. There is a five in seven chance—71%—that we fall within the attitudes, tendencies, and behaviors about which the Head of the church says to repent. Those odds remind us that there is never a time to let down in our calling.
In Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7), Jesus commends the people for some really positive traits. But His controversy with them is that they have left their first love, their most important love. They have the form but not the substance. Christ does not mention major sins here as He does in other letters, but rather, He indicates the relationship with Him has deteriorated. He is the foremost or primary love they have left.
Now, notice His threat in verse 5. I don’t mean a threat like you sometimes hear parents use, where the child has learned there is a chance the parent is lying and won’t actually do what he says. There are no idle threats with God. He is faithful to everything He says. If He says He will remove their lampstand from its place unless they repent, we should have the utmost confidence that He will carry through if there is not repentance.
The lampstand is what gives light. It can symbolize the witness that is made before men. But that witness is fueled by Christ’s activity in the life of the group or the person. The symbol of a lampstand in the early chapters of Revelation points more to groups, but Matthew 5:14-16 shows there is an individual responsibility to let one’s light shine so God is glorified. So, as mentioned, the most rigorous way to look at this is personally.
The critical point is that Christ is the source of the fuel that enables the lamp to burn. But if Christ is being neglected, as this letter shows, there won’t be oil for the lampstand, and its light will be so feeble that it is basically useless, or it will go out altogether. The group or person no longer represents Christ as He wants to be represented, and the lamp is removed.
What is interesting about the Ephesus condition is that there can still be rudimentary spiritual activity. There can still be prayer and Bible study and other things that make up the basic form of a true disciple’s life, but this can also give a false sense of security.
The searing way God asks His question penetrates to the core and lays bare all pretense. The people were doing a good work in terms of fasting, but God’s searching and lingering question exposes that it was essentially an empty gesture because He was not the true focus. The people undoubtedly would have claimed that of course they did it for Him, yet His question rhetorically signifies that He was not really the object of what they did.
Let’s fit ourselves into this scenario. We, too, can pray and study out of habit. Those are good and necessary habits, and yet we could be checking a daily box rather than really drawing closer to God. We can keep the Sabbath and go to the Feast, and yet not honor Him with our observances. We can serve our brethren and show kindness to our neighbors, and yet these things may not truly be for Him—not really for Him. Many good and necessary spiritual works can be performed out of self-interest.
Jesus denounced the Pharisees as hypocrites because much of what they did was calculated for how it would appear to others. He did not criticize them for giving alms, but for acting with the thought of how it enhanced their image or standing instead of serving God and man with pure hearts. Similarly, Paul tells the Philippians that some were preaching out of selfish ambition. They weren’t doing it for Christ—not really for Him.
Back to Revelation 2 and the letter to Ephesus. The critical part in this letter is that Christ is no longer truly prioritized or sought. He is no longer truly top of mind. Maybe what took His place was the world. Maybe it was an offense, or perhaps a pet doctrine, or any number of things that interfere with a … . . .
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