The Church That Was too Open-minded
Richard A. Bradley
Revelation 2:12-17
THE CHURCH THAT WAS TOO OPEN-MINDED
12 ''And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
13 ''I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 ''He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.'''
NKJV
So, how could that be bad? Shouldn't we all be open-minded? That's what we're hearing these days. Such catch words as diversity and inclusiveness seem to be popping up everywhere. While on the surface these don't seem to be bad words it depends on how they're being used. We must remember that there are those who use the same vocabulary as believers but employ an entirely different dictionary. These words could mean not excluding anyone from our fellowship just because they don't look like us or maybe dress the way we do or perhaps enjoy a different musical style than our own. However, these words can also mean accepting and agreeing with the lifestyle of anyone and everyone just because they say it's right for them.
This latter definition of the words diversity and inclusiveness is what some ...
Richard A. Bradley
Revelation 2:12-17
THE CHURCH THAT WAS TOO OPEN-MINDED
12 ''And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
13 ''I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 ''He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.'''
NKJV
So, how could that be bad? Shouldn't we all be open-minded? That's what we're hearing these days. Such catch words as diversity and inclusiveness seem to be popping up everywhere. While on the surface these don't seem to be bad words it depends on how they're being used. We must remember that there are those who use the same vocabulary as believers but employ an entirely different dictionary. These words could mean not excluding anyone from our fellowship just because they don't look like us or maybe dress the way we do or perhaps enjoy a different musical style than our own. However, these words can also mean accepting and agreeing with the lifestyle of anyone and everyone just because they say it's right for them.
This latter definition of the words diversity and inclusiveness is what some ...
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