A Familiar Verse…Until Now!:
A Familiar Verse…Until Now! A “free” city (in every sense of the word…) Home of the region’s Roman governor Wealthy trade center Temple of Artemis/Diana Pagan worshipped revolved around open sexuality & temple prostitution “Love” was culturally defined ( Phileo, Eros… ) v.2: you had to be on your guard as a Christian in Ephesus! Ephesus Imagine yourself living there… How would you survive in the midst of all that greed, immorality and unrighteous political leadership? Seem familiar?! Verse 4 I have always interpreted “First love” as meaning “JESUS” What if it also means something else, something more difficult ? What is LOVE anyway….? The Church
The Ephesian Problem:
The Ephesian Problem Perseverance & Endurance Tested all teaching Rejected false apostles Hated the deeds of the “Nicolatians” Early Gnostic group? Libertarians Search for “Secret knowledge” Obsession with spirits, angels and demons The Good News They had left their “first love” They weren’t “loving as they used to…” Loving who? Jesus Their NEIGHBORS Why not? JUDGEMENT… Matt.24:12 When the word becomes “lawless”, God’s people can become “loveless” Who could blame them?! The Bad News v.6 – A hint of the intent of Jesus’ exhortation There is a BIG difference between judging “deeds” and judging “people”
A Personal Example::
A Personal Example: A bold lie, told right to my face An opportunity to come clean, without negative consequences A refusal to accept the offer Another massive lie, that made me look like an idiot An explosion of anger from me! The Difficult Student Student came in late I was STILL angry from the day before I decided to employ “cold civility” to broadcast my displeasure Student was conversational, and friendly, as if nothing had happened, but I was having none of it... I had slipped from judging DEEDS , into judging PEOPLE I was showing favoritism… The Next Day…
James 2:1-10:
James 2:1-10 v3: “look favorably…” Favoritism = Epiblepsete Same phrase used by the father of the demon-possessed boy: “I beg you to look at my son…” The church was giving its attention, favor, kindness & care to those who were more: Influential? Popular? Successful? Clean? Acceptable? Like them …? What’s Going On? We use love like MONEY Think about the metaphors we use in describing relationships Value Trust Invest Priceless/Precious “Give and take” These are ECONOMIC metaphors! We treat love like a commodity Donald Miller “Blue Like Jazz” p180 p215 p218 Why Do We Do This?
What’s Going On With Us?:
What’s Going On With Us? We “pay out” love when there is something to be gained for us We gladly reward those who “add value” to us We withhold love in order to influence others We treat love as if it is a commodity to be traded We USE it for our own ends… Is this how Agape is supposed to work?
Rev.2:5 - How should we respond?:
Rev.2:5 - How should we respond? Repent Do Recall when you got saved Recall those moments when you were filled with love Recall times when you have judged or withheld love Introspection can be dangerous, unless it leads to….. Remember Love is NOT a commodity to be “traded” We are not allowed to withhold it from ANYONE, or even to dangle it as a carrot in order to influence others Love is…a verb! 1 Cor.13 Tune your radio to someone else’s station p221: There are TWO conversations going on…one with our words, and the other with our hearts. Both are communicating something important to the other person Matt 5:43