THE LIFEBOAT STATION, by Theodore Wedel
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, and a group of devoted members who kept a constant watch over the sea. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became popular. Soon it grew by many more people joining the work of this life station.
Eventually, some of the members of the lifesaving station desired to update the building and replace outdated and old equipment. They also felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and enlarged the building and decorated it beautifully and furnished it. Now the lifesaving station became a wonderful gathering place for its members. Yet, fewer members were willing to participate in the lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work.
About this time, a large ship wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and destitute. The beautiful new life station was now getting dirty, so the property committee immediately had a temporary shower house built outside where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting there was a split in the mission of the lighthouse. A group of the members wanted to stop bringing the ship wrecked people inside the building. And other members insisted that lifesaving was the building’s purpose and pointed out that they were still called a “lifesaving station.” The people who wanted to do anything that it took to help those lost at sea were voted down. So they began their own lifesaving station down the coast.
As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred as in the past. It evolved into a place that was not welcome to those lost at sea, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, and many of the people who sail on those ill-fated ships still drown.
Could the attitude of the church at Ephesus be similar? They left their first love, their purpose of being a church. The purpose for a church is for believers to learn and worship together, but another purpose of a church is to show God’s light of salvation to the lost.
The city of Ephesus was a very influential city of the ancient world. Ephesus was the largest city in the province, having a population of 250,000.
The city’s importance lay in its political prominence, its economic clout derived from its position on major trade routes, and its religious leadership as a center for the worship of Artemis, (or Diana according to her Roman name). The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Yet, God set to establish His light of salvation at this key location.
- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS.
- The church at Ephesus began about A.D. 50.
- The church most likely began with the efforts of Priscilla and Aquila and Paul. (Acts 18:18-19).
- Paul came back to Ephesus in about A.D. 53, he ministered there about three years (Acts 20:31) and preached “that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10).
- The city was thoroughly stirred by Paul’s message (Acts 19:11-41), with the result that the silversmiths created a riot because their business of making shrines of Artemis was threatened.
- Paul, Timothy, Luke, Mark, John and others all served this body. In fact, John was in Ephesus when he was arrested, and exiled 50 miles SW to Patmos.
- This church developed a strong trust in God; however, they left their first love.
Let’s look at Revelation chapter 2
I’m going to start at verse 7 and work back to verse one. In verse 7, Jesus gave His church a blessed promise.
Revelation 2:7 “Anyone who has an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To anyone who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
This word ‘overcomes’ is a military term: it implies to stand against the forces of the evil one. To “overcome” implies that as believers we are faithful through persecution, sufferings and trials.
Now let’s backup and look at Revelation 2:1 “To the messenger of the church of Ephesus write,’ These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands:
The seven stars represent the pastors over the churches. The seven golden lampstands represent the seven churches.
- COMPLIMENTS FROM JESUS (Revelation 2:2-3, 6)
Revelation 2:2-3 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
Jesus said “I know” which means He is aware of…
- THIER WORK – refers the manner of life, the behavior of these people: Jesus was actually saying, “I know the life that you have lived”
- THEIR HARD LABOR – it refers to their persistent and painful struggles to maintain their Christian profession. “I know that you have had a difficult time in following Christ as you should.” It does not refer to their profession or job.
- THEIR PATIENCE – refers to the endurance of suffering and persecution that Christians were experiencing.
- THEIR INTOLERANCE OF EVIL – they did not tolerate wickedness in the fellowship and carefully examined the visiting ministers to see if they were genuine. (2 John 7-11) They listened to Paul’s warning to them in Ephesians 6:10-11. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
- THEY HAVE NOT GROWN WEARY – meaning they had not given up; they had not renounced their faith. Their hearts have always remained strong as they followed the Lord.
- THEY HATED THE DEEDS OF THE NICOLAITANS – No-one knows for sure how corrupt the Nicolaitans were, but there is an overwhelming agreement among Bible scholars that they practiced immoral intimate relationships, practiced polygamy, even religious prostitution.
The believers at Ephesus were believers who patiently bore burdens and faithfully toiled. However, Jesus saw one area that they were not faithful.
- CRITICISM FROM JESUS (2:4-5)
Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (By the way this is a gracious act of Jesus to lovingly correct them!)
- YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE OR THE LOVE YOU HAD AT FIRST. They have deeds, hard work, and perseverance, intolerance of wickedness and have not grown weary, but they have forsaken love.
Notice in verse 5 that it is possible that He will remove their lamp stand for this failure.
Revelation 2:5 “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, if not I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”
Thankfully this does not mean they lose salvation. It meant that as the purpose of the church is taken away, it will have no spiritual influence in the outside world.
Keeping the whole purpose of the Church should be for our goal. The purpose of the Church is not just to be committed to our theology, but we must also practice our theology.
What do we learn from the church at Ephesus? Notice one part of the Ephesian church’s purpose of existing in verse 3,
“you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.”
The believers in Ephesus endured, persevered, and used sound theological principles. Yet, in verse 4, in their concern for holiness and truth, they lost their “compassion.”
I certainly do not believe that “Leaving their first love” meant they lost their love for JESUS otherwise their lampstand would have been out along time ago and their labors for Jesus name would not have happened.
The ability to love others is a by-product of commitment, and we will not always feel like loving people outside the church.
See “love” is an active emotion. The word used is ἀγάπη agápē; (genitive, feminine, noun)
Love is one of the most incredible words in the bible, it can be a noun or a verb. It also has three Greek words to describe it. This word in 2:4 is the term agape.
- With a believer it means to love as an act of the will, an affectionate regard. Doing what is best for others.
- With reference to God’s love, it is God’s willful direction toward mankind. It involves God doing what He knows is best for us and not necessarily what we desire.
So how are we to understand a church losing their love for others outside the church? Maybe we can understand by looking at God’s love towards us when we were enemies of Him?
John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”
- CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT GOD’S TRUTH AND LOVE.
A Church needs to be a true light unto the world which takes a balance of love and holding firmly to the truth.
The apostle John wrote about Jesus’ ministry on earth. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
What has Jesus’ grace to do with the mission of a church? Grace is compassion born out of love. The Ephesian church lost their compassion, because they were too wrapped up in their zeal for truth.
There was once an experiment conducted with two groups of monkeys. The purpose was to study the effect of laws on a population.
They took two younger monkeys out of a group and gave them fruit to eat.
The rest of the older monkeys, also were given the same fruit, but they would not let them eat them until they all came to eat. If one of the monkeys started eating before the others came to the fruit, they would whip their fingers and would remove the fruit. It did not take long until the group of monkeys learned to wait for each other.
They reintroduced the two younger monkeys back into the whole group and put fruit in the cage. The younger monkeys quickly took the fruit and began to eat. But the older monkeys turned on the younger ones and started beating them. The older monkeys were right, but they also were wrong! However they did what they were taught to do. What is all this monkey business?
The point, good conduct is worthless without giving grace to others so they can learn. Isn’t that how we disciple our children to be mature adults?
A Church is a group of people committed to truth, yet they must maintain the grace to help others know the truth. Otherwise it’s putting our light under a basket so no one can see the salvation of God.
The Ephesian Church was consumed with being right, but they were in danger of losing their purpose on earth. Jesus is interested in faithfulness to truth and love. It is a tragedy for a church to exist in either extreme… too much grace or too “hard” on doctrine.
It was the lack of their works of love that put the Ephesian Church in danger of being ineffective. They lost the ability to distinguish between hating the sin and loving the sinner. They had trouble keeping truth and love in the balance.
Notice what the apostle Paul wrote in 1Corinthians chapter 13 about ministry. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 it does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. It does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;”
Ephesus might have been a proud church, knowing right, staying doctrinally pure and letting others know they are wrong. But they should have been a grace church too, knowing right, keeping doctrine and loving others as they speak truth into their lives.
The lesson of the Ephesian Church is a warning. Remember how God rescued us? Remember the enthusiasm and excitement of the Christian life the day you believed Jesus paid for your sin. One of the first things, was to tell all your “loved ones.” But some people settle into the strength and depth of truth with little love or compassion for others.
In closing, obedience to Jesus leads to being faithful when it’s difficult to do so. One of the most challenging difficulties we will face as a church is with people, yet people are the ministry. The lesson of the Ephesian church is similar to what the apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in Word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”
I pray that our purpose as a Church is to be full of love and truth.