Letters To 7 Churches?

Q: What are the "Letters To 7 Churches." I heard someone preaching about them on the radio the other day and was not familiar with them. The guy on the radio said they're in the Bible?

A: John, the author of the book of Revelation (the last book in the Christian Bible) included in that book letters to seven different churches that were all located in what was then known as the province of Asia. They were in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These were simply cities in that province and the letters were simply addressing the Christian church located in each city.

The significance of the letters - or perhaps their relevance in our modern day culture - is that each church displayed a certain set of behaviors. Some were godly and some were not. Each letter addressed the strength of the church to which it was written. But each letter also addressed the weakness of the church to which each particular letter was written.

If you read the letters (Revelation 2 & 3) you'll see that the nature and character of those church congregations was very common to what we might find in American churches today. So the challenge is then to look at my own church and see what it has in common with any or all of those seven (7) churches. Would Jesus have any different perspective or point to make with my church than He did with those churches? Definitely not!

The letters to those seven churches back then were meant to motivate those churches to make changes. They're there for us to read today for exactly the same reason. We should read them and be motivated to make changes!

Good Christian?

Q: What is a true Christian? I mean, what is the definition of a true Christian, or a good Christian? We hear the term used so loosely, but how many people really have a proper understanding of what being a Christian is about?

A: Common dictionaries define a Christian as someone who believes in Jesus as the Messiah. Or they might define a Christian as someone who follows the teachings of Jesus. But the problem identified in the question here is that the definition of a true or good Christian is just to ambiguous. The earliest Christians that history records are found in the New Testament church. They’re written about in the New Testament book of Acts. They were called Christians because their behaviors, actions and speech were like those of Christ Himself. Translated from the original language, the word Christian means “part of Christ.”

So that’s a good place to start to define a Christian. People often say that they believe in God or believe in Jesus, and they think that makes them a Christian. Sadly, even the demons believe in God or believe in Jesus. What Christians do is believe in a certain definition of God that is quite unlike the definition any other religion gives its god. Our god is defined as the triune Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is three in one. So if you want to be a true Christian, let’s get your definition of God right in the first place.

Now many people will have their definition of God right, but they still won’t be a good Christian. They may be going to church regularly, tithing, serving, etc. But they may still not be a good Christian. Why would that be? Consider that a number of the New Testament authors identified themselves as “slaves” of Jesus Christ. What do slaves do? How do slaves live? For those of you who may not be familiar with slavery, slaves do whatever their master tells them to. Slaves live however their master tells them to. They only do what they have specific permission to do. And the notion of disobedience or failure to obey is never an option for a slave.

Therefore, the true definition of a good Christian is someone who is in slavery to Jesus Christ. They follow Him anywhere. They do only what they have His explicit permission to do. They treat Him as their master, and obediently submit to him daily in aspects of their life. Christians are not their own. They belong to Jesus Christ. They are His chattel, His property. And He can spend them however He might wish.

Hypocrisy

Dear Victorious,

So many of the Christians I see look like such hypocrites. I realize nobody is perfect and that Christians are still sinners. But it disgusts me and makes me want to stay away from them - and the churches they go to. What should I do?

Earl T. - Santa Fe, N.M.

Dear Earl,

You sound frustrated. That's pretty normal. It would put you on par with Jesus, the Apostle Paul and others who found hypocrisy among the religious. To be sure, hypocrisy is disgusting. But rather than turn away from it, I think you should become a student of it. Examine it, study it and understand its dynamics. When you do, I suspect you will then know what to do with it. (It is difficult to respond effectively to anything with which we are not familiar.)

What is hypocrisy? It is knowing the truth, but not obeying it. People can say that they believe in Jesus, but then not obey Him. Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him. (Perhaps the hypocrites miss that point!) Hypocrisy is living a self-serving life. Even those who serve or give generously can be doing so for self-serving reasons - instead of out of genuine love for God and others. Hypocrisy reduces faith to rigid rules. People can end up worshipping their church or their religion (denomination) more than they worship God. Hypocrisy is outward conformity without inner reality. Said another way, hypocrisy can often only be seen if we could see the whole person.

To be sure, hypocrisy in any form is sin. What are we to do with such sin in ourselves and others? Confess it to God. Confess it to one another. Pray for each other to be healed of it. And of course forgive it. But beyond that, we are not to be deceived by it. Many people look at the hypocrisy of so-called Christians and then use that as an excuse to stay away from God and the church. The irony in that is when they do this, they themselves are revealing their own hypocrisy!

So in answer to your question, my advice to you about hypocrisy is to understand it and resolve to respond to it in God-honoring ways. Then pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as you work to respond to it that way. Finally, expect God to provide that leading and expect yourself to be more successful at confessing your own hypocrisy to God and someone else, forgiving the hypocrisy of others, and to help you - in community - to turn from hypocrisy toward righteousness and obedience.

As you engage this way, hypocrisy will still be ugly and disgusting, but I doubt very much that it will continue to have such power over you as to control your behaviors towards God and others.