The Practices of the Nicolaitans.

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This morning we were studying the second chapter of the Book of Revelation. The Lord Jesus said that the members of the church in Ephesus hated the practices of the Nicolaitans, and that He does also. I have not found agreement among Bible scholars concerning the identity of the Nicolaitans or what their practices were.

12/30/2007) Some years ago I made a study of the Nicolaitans. If memory serves, there were three definitions offered by various writers: That the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicholas of Antioch; that they were antinomian in doctrine; that they emphasized the division between the clergy and the laity, and this somehow was related to the Catholic Church.

As I sat in my study, preparing for the Sunday morning sermon, I felt the Lord impressing me strongly that these three areas of concern would come to maturity in the coming years, and that our young people would have to deal with them from now on if they are to remain as true disciples of the Lord.

The first area is that of making the church understandable and palatable to the local community, which seemed to be the desire of Nicholas of Antioch.

The second area is that of lawless grace, the doctrine so prevalent today.

The third area is that of man-directed Christianity.

I would like to comment for a minute about each of these three areas. They are very prevalent today, and as they come to maturity they will destroy true Christian discipleship unless they are resisted resolutely and continually. The first concern is the popular "seeker-friendly church." We may have heard that expression. This means that we trim the services until the newcomer is comfortable and feels at home.

We in America judge the value of a church by the number of people in attendance. If we are to have large numbers, we are going to have to trim the services to fit the opinions of the people of the community. They are not going to enjoy hearing how they are to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. Neither are they going to appreciate people talking in tongues or prophesying. They want to hear how "accepting Christ" is going to make them a better person, more successful in every area of their life.

In actuality, a Christian assembling is not a social group or a part of the local community. It is the Lampstand of God, lighted by the Spirit of God. If it remains holy, separate from the world, then God will draw to the Lord Jesus the people He selects.

I am not referring to weird sectarian practices that will alienate most people. I am referring to looking to the Lord Jesus continually so that He may build His own Church as He sees fit. We Christians are not part of the world and do not need the help of the world; although if we really are doing God's will, God very well may have people of the world assist us.

The second concern is Antinomianism, a doctrine that dates from the first century. Antinomianism is the prevailing doctrine among Evangelical people. They have misunderstood Paul to mean that our salvation is a sovereign action of God's grace, unrelated to our behaviour in the world.

The result of the lawless-grace doctrine (Antinomianism) is the destruction of the Christian testimony of good works. The Divine judgment that is approaching America is a direct result of the teaching that we are saved by grace, and how we behave may be important, but certainly not critically so.

The third force with which our young people will be called on to face is Babylon, that is, man-directed Christianity.

Our day is one of communication, of various effective media. There are books, magazines, and electronic media that are telling us how to live the Christian life; also, how to bring our nation back to its original Christian foundation.

I have not heard one of these authors or ministers claim to know what Christ is saying. Every one I have heard is presenting a series of righteous works, such as repenting, praying, fasting, using our gifts, forgiving people, confessing our sins, giving our money, helping the poor, and so forth. All of these certainly are worthy enterprises. But are these what Jesus is emphasizing in our day?

For two thousand years the Christian churches have endeavoured to affect society positively, usually in terms of conforming people to the thinking of the particular denomination. This sounds innocent, but it is not innocent at all. It ends up murdering the saints, murdering all who disagree with the beliefs of the system. Sometime the murder is actual physical murder, including torture. Sometimes it is nothing more than ignoring the "unbelievers."

This is Babylon. This is the attempt of man to build the Kingdom of God according to the thinking, desires, efforts, and talents of people.

I have not heard one outstanding, well known minister of the Gospel, claim to be hearing from the Lord. Not one! Not one! Of course there are fanatics who say the Lord told them this or that. I am not counting this sort of thing.

I mean with all these plans to redeem people, restore our country, and so forth, not one major minister is claiming to hear from Jesus. They have excellent plans, all of which are biblical, I suppose. Their plans are what they believe the Lord might be saying. At least this is my observation.

The Book of Revelation devotes two chapters to Babylon, to man-driven Christianity. To religion, in other words. The blood of the saints is on the hands of fervent religious people who maintain that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, according to church history. Religion and salvation are not at all the same thing. Religion is man-made. Salvation is the work of the living Lord Jesus with the individual. Religion cannot control salvation, and so in one manner or another it murders the saints. This is Babylon.

At the time of the rise of Antichrist, the Christian denominations will unite, and the headquarters of this massive religious organization (which may include other religions as man attempts to "build the tower to Heaven") will be located in Babylon, in what is now Iraq. Antichrist and Babylon will govern the world as the same time, as hundreds of years ago the people of Europe were governed by secular leaders as well as by the Pope.

But eventually Antichrist will turn against Babylon and destroy it. When Babylon, man-directed Christianity is destroyed, there will be tremendous rejoicing in Heaven.

What is Jesus saying today? If I am hearing Him correctly, Jesus is coming to individual Christians and counselling them to make their way perfect before Him; to make His way straight. I am not hearing anything about saving America, or bringing the world to Christ. Perhaps other believers have those burdens. But Jesus is telling me clearly that He is dealing with individuals to set their own houses in order. Is He saying that to you?

The Bible suggests that in the last days, many people slated to be rulers in the Kingdom of God are to be born. Many who are last shall be first. This is why, I believe, that Satan (King Herod) is going to such great lengths to move government leaders to endorse abortion and homosexual behavior. It is to prevent, if he can, the birth of these rulers, just as Herod sought to kill Jesus.

Without a doubt, wickedness is about to come to maturity. Our young people must be brought to the demands of Jesus, that they must lay down their lives for the Gospel. They do not need to be coddled. They need to be challenged. They are facing a future in the world in which these three forces, worldly churches, lawless grace, and man-directed Christianity, will struggle to take control of their souls and prevent them from becoming true saints.

You can hear the morning sermon at morning. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

You can hear the evening sermon at evening. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

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