Living as an Overcomer: Jesus’ Messages to the 7 Churches in RevelationSample

Day 4 – Viewing Sin God’s Way: The Church in Thyatira

When Jesus sends His next message to the church in Thyatira, He wants them to know that for them to live as overcomes, both on earth and for eternity, they must have a zero-tolerance mindset toward sin. They will need to never settle for their sins or the sins of others. Statements like “Boys will be boys" or “I’m only human” won’t be accepted as an excuse. And while there is some truth within those statements, they reflect a tolerant spirit that the Lord does not want us to have.

Far too many churches and believers today, however, have become tolerant in our contemporary culture, which is similar to the one in Thyatira, hoping to be popular, fill pews, or make people comfortable with their sinful views. Tolerance has turned into a cardinal virtue as an effort to increase church membership, bring in financial support, or grow an online presence with an extended base of followers. Yet God says tolerance of any sin is unacceptable. What is unacceptable to God ought to be unacceptable to everyone who calls themselves His followers.

The church of Jesus Christ is supposed to act as a hospital where spiritually sick people can find healing for their souls and emotional wounds. We are not supposed to be a hospice where we make people comfortable while they die. Yet it has become more of the norm for churches to want people to feel comfortable as they continue in unhealthy behavior and sin. They want people to feel good for a moment rather than healed for good.

How do we live out this right mindset toward sin that reflects God’s own? Let’s explore three ways we can do this.

1. Biblically Call Out Open Sin

Romans 11:22 reminds us that God is not just a God of rainbows and cupcakes. He’s a God who is kind but also severe. In this verse, Paul says, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”

God has two sides—one of love and blessing and one of wrath and severity. Unfortunately, most people want only the love side of God . . . the blessing side of God. But God is also a God of wrath and severity. One of the most loving things you can do for someone is to point out their sin to help them avoid the consequences of that sin. Truth and love must be kept together as you serve God as His kingdom disciple. You cannot give up the truth for love. Nor can you give up love for truth. You have to hold them simultaneously because that reflects God’s standard.

2. Address Personal Rebellion or Suffer the Consequences

Tolerating the rebellion of others, especially when it is being taught as truth under God’s name, is to dismiss God’s standard and become a participant in the ushering in of sin’s consequences. As we see in Jesus’ message, personal rebellion brings personal consequences. The consequences this Jezebel was bringing on herself would be severe—she would be thrown onto a bed of sickness and put into a time of great tribulation. Furthermore, the consequences wouldn’t stop with her. Jesus said her children would also suffer as a result of her rebellion.

3. Take a Stand

There must be a standard that those of us in the kingdom of God hold to and uphold. If we drift out of alignment under Christ, the church does not influence culture. We are the standard bearers of marriage, culture, relationships, integrity, grace, and more. Without this, we are no better than the church in Thyatira.

Our Reward

The message to this church planted in a difficult culture concludes with the following promises:

"He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star." (verses 26-28)

The church is told to expect some help in the here and now, but this as well: If they hold out and stay true by standing up for God’s standard in society and against false teachers of the faith, they will also get a reward in both this life and the life to come.

That reward is also ours whenever we make the divine standard of God the standard we hold to and proclaim at all costs, when we have conviction and the right mindset toward sin God expects.