A Warning to Seven Pastors
Within the Pastoral Epistles is an assurance of Divine Authorship, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). While this passage has become a truism, a staple among lists of memory verses, nothing rang truer of that assurance than with the resonance of another recent passage of study by a completely different writer from Paul, and that would be the beloved John in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation.
While at first blush these passages would seem wholly unrelated, we must remember the same Author, the Holy Spirit, is behind all. Synthesis is a term for the recognition that, as the same Author has inspired all scripture, there is of necessity agreement across the entire Bible. In short, there are no contradictions. It is reasonable then that one may be in a passage of study when the Holy Spirit recalls to mind a seemingly disparate passage from some time in the past.
Such was the case in reading and studying the Pastoral Epistles. Paul is writing to relatively new leadership in the persons of Timothy and Titus. His letters address, in part, structure, pit-falls and encouragement in sound doctrine and governance. It is remarkable to note that the seven churches in Revelation were thriving even amid persecution, and more house churches were cropping up regularly, while today, these areas in Turkey are predominantly Muslim where Christians are regularly tortured and slaughtered.
What happened? Did these churches heed Paul's advice, and if so, for a time only? At the end of the first chapter of Revelation we see something remarkable that is lost on many. Jesus Christ himself has just appeared to John and given him a vision of himself moving among seven lampstands. Then Jesus offers John an explanation of what he has seen beginning verse 19:
Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
So John now knows that the vision given him involves seven churches and seven “angels.” We see Jesus told John “write therefore.” What follows in the next two chapters are seven letters that John is writing by direct dictation from Jesus Christ himself! Think about that! We do not typically think of the seven letters to the churches in this way, but they are in fact The Epistles of Jesus Christ. Seven letters John takes down by dictation word for word from our Lord. While all other Scriptures we have that quote Christ have been stirred from the memories of the witnesses who wrote them by the Holy Spirit, this is the first and only time we have Jesus himself saying, “Write this down.”
Now, some have concluded that the seven angels mean that there have been angelic beings assigned to each of these churches. But because of the context of the following two chapters we reject that notion, logically. For why would Jesus need John to write on parchment something for beings that exist in our Lord's realm? And why would angelic beings be scolded on five of these occasions? No, it is beyond likely that the ἀγγέλλω 'aggellō' as a general translation simply means “messengers” referring to the pastors of those churches
To each of these seven churches in Turkey Jesus presents himself in different ways. Paul, in writing to Timothy and Titus did the same. To Timothy. Paul presented himself as an authority, an apostle. However, to Titus, Paul presented himself as a servant. In our various relationships and depending upon how we wish to couch our message, we present ourselves by proverbially wearing different hats. What humorously comes to mind is an old episode of “I Love Lucy” wherein the cast find themselves stranded in a small Podunk town. The hotel is run by Mr. Willoughby who switches out five different hats depending upon how he presents himself to the Ricardos and the Mertzes, proprietor, sheriff, fire marshal, judge, etc.
As parents we may address our children similarly. Sometimes we address them as friends and playmates. Other times we may be parent, judge and jury. You get the idea. And Jesus in chapters two and three of Revelation is doing the same.
To Ephesus Jesus is the man in the vision moving among the churches. To Smyrna, the church under persecution, he is the first and the last who died but came to life, assuring them the same is true of them. To Pergamum, steeped in paganism, he is the Living Word with the Two Edged sword of the word of God. To Thyatira Jesus is Judge with eyes of fire and feet of bronze. To Sardis Jesus is again as unto the church at Ephesus, walking and moving among the churches. To Philadelphia, the awakened church, Jesus is holy, true and holding the keys, promising them they will “escape the judgment coming upon the whole world” (the rapture). And finally to Laodicea, the false church, living a lie, Jesus is the Amen, the true witness, the Creator, standing at the door and knocking to be let in. He is on the outside and is not even in that church.
And then among the praises and commendations we see similar as to what things Paul instructed Timothy and Titus to encourage among the saints. We see good works, laboring (which is hard work), patience even among trials and standing up against false teachers. We see service, faith and patience as virtues to be praised. There is the counsel to remember our first love, and expect to see, though not fear, suffering, repentance, holding fast, watching and strengthening others and also perseverance.
Within the rebukes Jesus gave to five of the seven churches, we see what are perhaps the results that may come from not following the worthy instructions and cautions Paul gave in the Pastoral Epistles. Another point often overlooked, however, is that these dictated letters from Jesus are not addressed to the members of each congregation; oh no. As with Paul's personal admonitions to Timothy and Titus, Jesus' epistles to the seven churches are rather addressed to the pastors.
James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.“ Sobering words! On the subject of the seriousness of the matter, Scott T. Brown, pastor at Hope Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC and the director of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches notes:
The requirement to rebuke must be regarded with utmost seriousness. The gravity of handling the matter properly is identified by an unusually sober warning, "I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality." It should startle us that nothing less than God, the Lord Jesus Christ and His holy angels are watching how churches deal with sin in their midst. These matters are spectacles to the heavenly hosts. This is why John Calvin underscored the seriousness of this issue, declaring that to ignore this is to "promote the entire dissolution of the church." He said, "As the saving doctrine of Christ is the soul of the church, so discipline forms ligaments which connect the members together, and keep each in its proper place. Whoever, therefore, either desires the abolition of all discipline, or obstructs its restoration, whether they act from design or inadvertency, they certainly promote the entire dissolution of the Church." Baptist theologian, John Dagg expressed this same sentiment in these words,, "When discipline leaves a church, Christ goes with it." 1
The phrase, “To the angels of the church” ought to serve as a reminder to every pastor that though an angel he may not be, an angel he should strive to be. Woe is me that I should fail my King, for there are indeed harsh words for pastors who fail to take heed. To the pastor who lost his first love he stands to lose his lampstand, his church. For the pastor who follows paganism with blatant disregard for God's Word, he finds himself under judgment as with the others. And though a true believer may not find himself under eternal judgment, our Heavenly Father is well prepared to mete out painful discipline.
Hebrews 13:17 tells us, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Any who would wade too boldly into the calling of a pastor would do well to consider, “as those who will have to give an account.” Including the portion that tells us, “Let them do this with joy and not with groaning.” In the Greek that means to sigh, murmur, pray inaudibly: - with grief, groan, grudge, sigh.
In my current ministry I am well aware how taxing people often are. Especially with today's Entitlement Mentality. It is almost impossible to not groan begrudgingly and sigh or murmur. In such instances it is best to remember the extent to which the Savior has forgiven we ourselves. For who are we to sigh and complain of hardship caused by another as though we deserve better; We who have been forgiven so much?
There are two stories Jesus tells that are personal favorites, both for similar reasons:
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” -Luke 7
In Matthew we have the other side of the same coin. The parable is in chapter eighteen:
23 One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. 24 As he was doing this, one official was brought in who owed him fifty million silver coins. 25 But he didn’t have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt.
26 The official got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!” 27 The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.
28 As the official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him a hundred silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, “Pay me what you owe!”
29 The man got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you back.” 30 But the first official refused to have pity. Instead, he went and had the other official put in jail until he could pay what he owed.
31 When some other officials found out what had happened, they felt sorry for the man who had been put in jail. Then they told the king what had happened. 32 The king called the first official back in and said, “You’re an evil man! When you begged for mercy, I said you did not have to pay back a cent. 33 Don’t you think you should show pity to someone else, as I did to you?” 34 The king was so angry that he ordered the official to be tortured until he could pay back everything he owed. 35 That is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don’t forgive each of my followers with all your heart.
From Luke we learn he who is forgiven much will love much. From Matthew we learn to what extent we ought to be forgiven and why.
Often we wonder as we pray, why God does not lay bare His plans before us. But we are a forgetful people. Not only are we prone to forget for what we are forgiven, and in the forgetting forget how much we ought to love, we forget our own weaknesses. For it is often a mercy that our Heavenly Father does not permit us to survey the land and the journey ahead. How many of us would take that first step if we knew the sorrows that await us? If we knew the casualties of friends, brothers and sisters in the battle ahead in our warfare, would we travel there? Or would we rather huddle in the comfort of the home and the menial job? Ministry is not for wimps. People marry and part. They live then they die, sometimes horribly. Often they die painfully and lingering. But it is upon the assurances in which we are tasked, to deliver comfort in the Word, where otherwise there is no comfort.
The only hope we have in remaining faithful is in allowing the Lord to have that perfect work of sanctification in us. “Allowing?” Oh, indeed! As God at the beginning by permission allowed sin rather than create robots, puppets who can not really love but rather follow a programmed routine, we are granted to resist the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, if we so wrongly choose. For example:
Acts 7:51 - "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 - Do not quench the Spirit;
Galatians 5:17 - For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Ephesians 4:30, 31 - Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Rather, the command we have is found in the next chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians:
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
The Greek word for the phrase “be filled” is passive. It means to let the Holy Spirit do that work in you He desires. “Be filled” is the same term we see when we speak of how the wind filled the sails. And what happens when the wind fills the sails of a ship? So, dear believer, unfurl your sails! Let the Holy Spirit have that perfect work in you. It is our only hope in pushing forward toward Christ and running from the flesh.
Three things we must do always. Pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17) for it is how we communicate our praises, confessions and needs to God. Keep in the perfect Word of God (Heb. 4:12) for it is God's way of speaking to us (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:3). Also we are to mentor or disciple others (2 Tim. 2:2; Titus 2:1ff).
In Paul's final words to Timothy (2 Timothy 4) he exhorts him to preach the word, stay at the ready (Biblical prepping), reprove (admonish), rebuke (forbid), exhort (tear down then build up). Further he instructs Timothy that he should should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given him. And may we all be able to say as did Paul in verse seven, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” Amen.