The second church that Jesus addresses is the church at Pergamos. This was a very wicked city. In describing it, Jesus said that Satan's seat was there. Yet, in the middle of all this evil, there was a church faithfully living for God. It was very difficult to live right in such a city, and Jesus commended them for it. Yet, in this church Jesus saw some of the affects of the evil culture creeping into the church. There was immorality and false doctrine in the church. They evidently had not kept themselves pure from the filth that was all around them. In addition, they failed to remove the erring members of the church and Christ had some harsh words for them.
It's very similar in our day. We live in a world where evil and crime are commonplace and even glorified. If we're not careful, it can rub off on us. We can begin to think that sin is not so bad. We can even begin to tolerate it in our church, but if we do that, it will spread through the church like a cancer. Before long, our church will no longer be a bastion of holiness. Instead it will be a stronghold of the devil where people feel good because they think they are Christians. But instead, they are deceived and lulled into a sleep of death. Let's work hard to maintain the holiness of the church through the power of Jesus Christ. With Him on our side, we will always win!
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