Published on June 17, 2024, 12:48 am

Image source: Fox News

In the current era peppered with various interpretations and dilutions of religious thought, a longing for authentic Christian faith is increasingly being expressed. A parallel can be drawn to when one attends a church where everything operates in a completely biblical and godly way – a “Pure” church. Though elusive, such experiences etch deep impressions in the minds of believers, often leaving them yearning for similar holiness in subsequent congregations.

While it is challenging to leave a church so steeped in scripture and love for fellow members; what proves even more difficult is finding another congregation that precisely mimics its purity. Such experiences lead us to ponder on Martin Luther’s words: “Farewell to those who want an entirely pure and purified church. This is plainly wanting no church at all.”

The discourse takes us back to Jesus’ admonitions to Pergamum and Thyatira churches mentioned in Revelation 2. In spite of Pergamum’s commendable resilience against the surrounding pagan cultures, they were rebuked by the Lord for tolerating members who perpetuated doctrines antithetical to Christian teachings.

Similarly, despite their laudable works, love, service, and patient endurance lauded by Christ himself, Thyatira was rebuked for tolerating heinous heresies within their fold. The important lesson these episodes bring home is Christ’s demand for purity within His Church body – He demands repentance from wrongful teachings.

Reflecting on this truth, Christian author Vance Havner fundamentally emphasized that it isn’t unchristian to oppose heresy but rather unchristian not to. Our churches today are permeated with an array of worldly doctrines; some alarmingly heretic which we tolerate under alleged soundness as demonstrated through our doctrinal statements.

Yet how different does this make us from those admonished Churchill’s – Pergamum or Thyatira? These congregations too were commended for their hold on Christian doctrines and love, only to be commanded to repent of their threatening tolerance eventually.

One must realize that there is no end to the stratagems Satan employs to infiltrate our churches with detrimental heresies – a phenomenon we see in abundance today. Lately, the devil seems to have masqueraded his false teachings as tolerable through popular external media platforms which are often regarded trustworthy due to the ‘Christian’ tag they carry.

Owing to this potential threat, not only do we need to systematically scrutinize everything in the light of God’s Word but also willingly expose falsehoods tolerated within our congregations. As Havner rightly puts it, our solitary responsibility lies in upholding faith against all odds till Jesus returns.

Today’s breaking news holds a pertinent lesson – expecting perfect purity within churches is unrealistic. But what we should yearn for is more loyalty towards Lord Jesus and intolerance to errors He disproves. This is no ‘heresy hunting’ but merely being faithful Christians who take religion seriously and fervently hope that real news carrying trusted news about godly discipline finds residence in every believer’s heart with a robust Christian worldview.