Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:15-26; Revelation 2:1-29
“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan ... I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come.” (Revelation 2:24-2)
What treasures there are in the seven letters in Revelation 2 and 3! We live in a world where others keep putting burdens on our churches. No doubt, they mean well. But, how ready they are to tell us — without any knowledge of our church's situation — that we must do more than “hold fast to what you have till He comes.” We are told that matters of doctrine should not absorb our time and energy. The church should really move on to matters more important, we are told, like the mission of the church. Yet, by this many do not mean doctrine, but numbers. “Are your pews more filled today than they were yesterday? Is there more in the offering plate? No? Your church must be dying! You must be dying! You're not doing enough! Get with it! We're not happy with you!” Oh, what a burden for you and your pastor.
I find it odd that in none of the letters to the churches in Revelation does Jesus lay such a burden on any church. Yes, He does lay burdens on them all. But, nowhere does He lay the burden of their survival on them. That burden always remains with Him: with His Word, doctrine and teaching. That saves the church. That saves you. And that grows you and the church!
Still, I've been told our doctrine is not the problem — it's how we package our doctrine. That is why so much of the focus today is not on the Word, but on us. Is your church creative, dynamic and winsome enough for God to save others? To save you? I hope not. I pray it is faithful. For once doctrine becomes just information, then how we present that information becomes more important than the information itself. When our joy and unity in doctrine is given a back seat, it won't be long until we lose all our unity in the Word. Then who can be saved?
No, the best thing the church can do is to fall in love again with doctrine (Revelation 2:4-6). That is, to fall in love again with Jesus. For that is how Jesus presents Himself to us (2 John 8-11). Thus, only as the Word of the Lord grows does the church grow (Acts 6:7, 12:24, 19:20). Let God worry about numbers. Let us hold fast what He has given us (1 Timothy 4:15-16).
“The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:1-5). We get our word “hygienic” from the word for “sound”. That is, sound doctrine is good hygiene for us and the church. It makes us alive. It gets into us, grows in us, unites us, and gives us all one voice to the world: the Savior's voice. That Voice is what the church, and world, needs most.