I’m not the one who moved!

In the book of Revelation, we find 7 letters written to various churches in Asia Minor. Chapter two begins with the first of those 7 letters which was addressed to the church in Ephesus.

By all outward appearances, that church in Ephesus was a sound, doctrinally correct church which opposed the errors of that day. The Lord Jesus recognized them for their works, labor and patience. They were intolerant of evil and opposed false apostles. They persevered with patience in the face of opposition. They labored tirelessly in the name of Christ. They hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans. Yet, they were rebuked for one fault. Jesus said, "I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Rev. 2:4)."

They were not guilty of some gross, overt sin. But that love relationship they first had with their Savior was lacking. Over the years they gradually drifted from Jesus' love which had captivated their hearts at the beginning of their Christian journey.

Their problem reminds me of the elderly couple who were driving down the road. The wife, sitting in the passenger's seat, said to her husband, "Remember how we used to sit next to each other in the car when we were first married. What happened?"

Her husband, sitting behind the steering wheel, replied, "I'm not the one who moved!"

In the case of the Ephesian church, someone had moved, and it was not the Savior.

In verse 5, Jesus offered them a 3-step solution to their problem. He said, "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works." They were to 1) remember, 2) repent and 3) do the first works.

They needed to remember the early days of their salvation. They needed to be reminded of their "first love." There is an old saying: "Familiarity breeds contempt." In the case of the Ephesians, the word "contempt" would probably be an overstatement. I don't think that they had "contempt" for their Savior. However, they probably fell into a state of complacency or self-satisfaction. They had an unhealthy comfortableness. They began to take their salvation for granted. The Ephesians needed to remember those days of their first love. They needed to recall that moment in time when they first understood what Jesus did for them on the cross. They needed to reflect upon Jesus sacrifice on the cross and upon their debt of sin that was forgiven because of Calvary.

The second step in the process was to repent. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word "repent" as "to turn from sin." But the Ephesians were not being accused of gross, overt sin. Yet they had a problem for which they needed to "repent." If you look up the Greek word in Thayer's Lexicon, you will see that it means "to change one's mind." We might say that they needed a change of heart or they needed an attitude adjustment. Before you can deal with a problem, you first need to recognize that you have a problem.

The third step in the process was "to do the first works." But what were those "first works?" As I pondered this question, I noted that verses 4 and 5 speak of their "first love" and their "first works." I kind of wonder if their might be a "play on words" here. The Greek word prōtos not only means first in the order of sequence, but also first in the order of importance. Jesus told us to "seek first (prōtos) the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33)." In other words, our first priority should be God's Kingdom and righteousness. The church at Ephesus left their "first" love. They left that love relationship that should have been first on their priority list. So, in order to be restored they needed to go back to square one and do those first works which brought them to their first love.

Now here is the problem: Salvation is not by works but by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). Since salvation is not by works, then this could not be referring to that moment when the believers at Ephesus first came to the Savior! Or could it?

One day a crowd following Jesus asked, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus replied, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent. (Jn. 6:28-29)"

The Philippian Jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…. (Act 16:30-31)"

Paul wrote, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Col. 2:6)." How did you receive Christ? It was by faith. How are we to live our daily life? We are to live by faith. From start to finish, the Christian life is a life of faith.

In John's first letter, he speaks of another "first." He wrote, "We love Him because He first loved us (1 Jn. 4:19)."

There is a legend in the days of the early church about a wealthy merchant traveling through the Mediterranean. He was looking for the Apostle Paul when he encountered Timothy, who arranged a visit. Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours. Finally, the merchant left with Paul's blessing. Outside the prison, the concerned man asked Timothy, "What is the secret of this man's power? I have never seen anything like it before."

Timothy replied, "Paul is in love."

The merchant looked bewildered. "In love?"

Timothy answered, "Yes. Paul is in love with Jesus Christ."

The merchant looked even more bewildered. "Is that all?"

Smiling, Timothy replied, "That is everything."

I hope these thoughts might be an encouragement to you.

In Christ,

Bob

* * *

Faith

D.L. Moody wrote:  I prayed for Faith and thought that someday Faith would come down and strike me like lightening.  But Faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the 10th chapter of Romans, "Now Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."  I had closed my Bible and prayed for Faith.  I now opened my Bible and began to study, and Faith has been growing ever since.