No Compromise
6 min read
13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Revelation 2:13-15
Considering that Jesus is the One speaking, there is a lot to digest here. Jesus states that Satan’s lived in Pergamum and his throne was there. It doesn’t make sense that Jesus would be speaking metaphorically on these matters.
All prominent Greco-Roman cities promoted emperor worship. But the presence of Satan in Pergamum resulted in the intense persecution of the Christians and their martyrdom because of their faith in God alone—Father, Son, and Spirit.
Jesus commends the Christians of Pergamum for holding on to their witness, but it seems that some of them compromised their faith and participated in idol worship as well. They had one foot in the kingdom of Christ and one foot in the kingdom of Satan.
Jesus warns them to return wholly into His kingdom, or else they would caught up on the wrong side of His judgment.
Christians tend to be strong during periods of persecution, but we also tend to compromise our faith during times of prosperity and peace.
For the sake of prosperity and status, Christians will call on the name of Jesus and also call on the name of idols. The reasoning is that as long as we are calling on the name of Jesus, we should be OK. His grace is sufficient for us, right?
That is why so much of South America practices Santeria, a mixture of Catholicism and pagan religion. Religions like Santeria sprouted in many places that Catholic missionaries went. In a way, Universalism is a product of this mixing of religions.
Combining Christian religion with pagan religion might seem like a good idea as long as it promotes peace and prosperity. But when Jesus comes (and He could come at any time), we don’t want to be found with one foot on the wrong side of His judgment. We won’t just lose a foot but our entire souls.
Christians in the developed nations tend to overlook the compromising of our faith because we don’t literally worship idols and other gods. But we do put many things before Christ. We do put our hopes in many things other than Christ. All those things before Christ and other than Christ are idols.
We need to have both our feet firmly planted in the kingdom of Christ.
Father, so many idols draw us away from You and distract us from worshipping You alone. Forgive us. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand and differentiate the holy from the profane. May our worship and our lives be purely devoted to You and bless Your heart. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
