Shepherd's Conference 2018 Session 5 Notes

Session 5

Phil Johnson

“The Mark of a Healthy Church”

Revelation 2:1-7

 

What are the marks of a true church?

That question did not make sense to many before the Reformation.

Medieval Christianity had become a religion full of precepts such as do not taste, do not handle, do not touch.

They had lost the simplicity of the gospel.

The gospel was buried under a landfill of ecclesiastical traditions.

By a purely biblical standard, the whole priestly system was at odds with the teaching of Christ.

 

Augsburg Confession

2 things:

The gospel is rightly taught and the sacrament’s are administered.

Scottish confession added church discipline to the Augsburg two.

Belgic Confession lists the same 3 marks.

Anglican 39 articles has the 2 of Augsburg.

Calvin agreed on preaching and sacraments in the Institutes .

He also later added discipline and perhaps the formal ordination of church officers.

Reformers see 3 marks almost uniformly: gospel, sacraments, and discipline.

And since discipline can be tied to the Lord’s Supper, those who saw only 2 marks are not saying anything different.

 

What is the one infallible mark of a true and healthy church?

Love for Christ.

If you have a church that is distinguished by genuine love for the true Christ, you have a great church, regardless of the size.

 

You can have all the other standard marks of a true church, but if you lack love for Christ, you are in trouble.

Love for Christ is the starting point for all true religion.

Love of God is mandated by the greatest commandments.

Love for God is part of salvation.

Love for Christ separates true believers from unbelievers.

Love for Christ is the very essence of saving faith.

That takes away any lordship controversy.

 

Revelation 2 and 3 contain 7 short letters from Christ to churches in Asia minor.

Ephesus is one.

This church is very well known in the New Testament.

Paul was a missionary there.

Timothy, Apollos, and John all served there.

 

Spent a time discussing Paul’s ministry in Ephesus.

He covered missionary journeys of Paul in Acts.

Paul spent 2 years’ time in Ephesus in Acts 19.

By the time that Paul moves on from Ephesus, the church is established and has elders.

Paul sent Timothy to pastor in Ephesus (cf. 1 Timothy 1).

In Acts 20, Paul bids farewell to the Ephesian elders, believing that he would never return there.

Acts 20:29, fierce wolves are going to come in.

Men from among even the elders will speak twisted things.

Paul constantly told Timothy to watch out, because difficult times were coming.

Timothy may have been martyred in Ephesus around AD 80.

After Timothy, John the apostle may have pastored in Ephesus.

Ephesus has a tomb claiming to be the tomb of the virgin Mary.

Polycarp was in Ephesus.

Irenaeus recorded Polycarp stories.

 

Ephesians church was founded around AD 54.

Within 40 years, they receive a stinging rebuke from Jesus.

Even though they had been served by Paul, Apollos, Timothy, and John.

Revelation 2:1-7

Letter to the messenger, the preaching pastor of the church.

The whole church is to hear this message.

It is uniquely suited to the needs of the church to which it is addressed.

And there is clearly truth for us too, as God kept it in the canon.

 

There was much for which to commend the Ephesian church.

They had good doctrine.

They did not grow weary in doing good.

They hated the practices of a wicked and licentious cult.

They knew what to do when false teachers of false doctrines show up.

The Ephesians had zero tolerance for false teaching.

They were the kind of church that discernment-minded people want to go.

 

Ephesus was a true church inn accord with the 3 marks.

They preached the word.

They celebrated the sacraments.

They practiced discipline.

 

In verse 5, Jesus threatens to remove the church lampstand.

The failure of the church in verse 4 is terribly sad.

They have no real heart for Christ.

They looked like the Pharisees in some way.

They looked clean on the outside.

Their hearts were rotten.

 

Removing the lampstand is to excommunicate the local congregation.

This is not unheard of.

We have seen many churches, less than 75 years old, that have left behind the word of God and the gospel.

Apostacy is not hard to find.

 

Love for Christ is what the Ephesians lacked.

John 8:42, if God is your Father, you love the Lord.

Matthew 10:37

When Peter denied Christ, Jesus asked about Peter’s love.

 

True believers cannot lose their love for Christ completely.

But the warmth of our love can diminish.

In Ephesus, it may be that a passion for orthodoxy got in the way.

You can end up with a dead orthodoxy.

 

How do you solve the problem?

Remember, repent, and return.

Remember your early love and zeal for Christ.

Remember your gratitude for salvation.

Remember your love of serving the Savior.

Fill your heart with the truths of the gospel.

 

Repent

It is a sin not to love the Lord Jesus.

This is a sin we need to ponder and repent of.

We may need to repent here daily.

 

Return

Serve God.

Obey what you know is right.

 

 

This is no call not to love doctrine and go deep.

But a love for Christ should not be eclipsed by your study.

Foster and fortify your love for Christ.

The more you love Jesus, the more other doctrines and truths will fall into place.

 

Churches that love Christ preach Christ, not Hollywood.

They worship Christ, not raw emotionalism.

 

Pastors, if you think this is hard for you, realize how much harder it is for the flock who are living and working in a difficult world.

Preach Christ.

Preach the gospel.

Keep Jesus at the center.

Get rid of gimmickry and topical nonsense.

Preach Jesus and put him first in all things.