Good works or else !!

[Dave M]

To the Church in Ephesus Revelation 2-1,7

1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles.

3Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.

4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.

5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

6But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.



So Jesus commends these people for their hate of evil and for testing false teachers yet he says they have lost there First Love then goes right on to saying they out to repent and do the the good works they did at first, seems to be a very distinct relationship between doing good works and there first love here. As a matter of fact if they dont get back to doing good works he is going to remove there lamb stand. Seems to me good works here is bearing fruit, Seems to me removing there Lambstand might be there reward or place they have earned in heaven (not there salvation cant earn that) just my thought.

To me the churches Jesus is speaking to in Revelation represents people in the Church and there spiritual condition, I mean I bet most of us know someone who came to Christ that was fired up and doing good works, and now all though they still hate what is evil, they just keep to themselves and really dont bear any fruit doing good works the distractions of this world got them, I bet there are people like this in most churches.

 

[Sue D.]

There are a lot of churches that have gotten away From teaching God's Word. So the people In those churches might not even hate evil. May have gotten content with mediocratee in the Christian life. And That Would be sad.

 

[Dave M]

So the people In those churches might not even hate evil

I remember right here on TJ there one fellow who said he no problem with sin, did not hate it, because it did not exist, Jesus removed it from the world.

 

[Brother-Paul]

A few thoughts.....

THE CHURCH, Jesus is talking of to 'His Bride', the ekklesia and the spiritual stones. The ones He will return in Glory for.

What He is looking at, is the hearts of the ekklesia, The hearts of the saved souls, those who are His.

He is saying, I know YOUR deeds, YOUR labours etc. YOUR here being, both YOU as a group ekklesia and YOU as a spiritual stone part of the ekklesia, every spiritual stone in the ekklesia is being built up together, but all are at a different stages, the light of some have gone dim, and some have abandoned their first love, pulling others back with them.

YOU, the ekklesia, YOU the spiritual stone in the ekklesia, have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.

Each saved soul is responsible for their 'level of faith and position with God', are there spiritual stones in the church, the ekklesia, that are pulling you down, is the Light within diminishing due to overall falling away, liberalising The Word, abandoning YOUR first Love?

Jesus says, I have this against you, YOU the ekklesia, YOU the spiritual stones. We are all responsible for our part of the ekklesia, the group of believers who come together in My Name. When two or three come together in My Name, I am there in the midst of you, I know YOUR thought, YOUR deeds, what YOU have done right, but I have this against YOU...

YOU have abandoned YOUR first love

Abandoned, Not fallen away, He is saying, I KNOW, YOU have abandoned YOUR first Love

Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen.
Repent and perform the deeds you did at first.
But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

YOU, YOUR, is actually we. The warning is for those in the ekklesia that are condition of the church in Ephesus.

We are all to heed the warning, we are all to search ourselves, we are to make sure, our part in the Bride of Christ, our part in the ekklesia, the True Church, that we are right with God.

2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.
Test yourselves.
Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.