Faithful

Introduction

With apologies to the apostle Paul, our world lives with the following philosophy: “I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty…and having plenty is far better than to be in need.” The truth is that this is the philosophy among Christians as well. When is the last time you heard a sermon on the benefits of being without; or the blessing in suffering. I am not speaking of suffering in the form of a disease, but about the idea of suffering because of our faith. We live in a culture that tolerates our faith while not approving of it. We live in a time in which we are not directly persecuted for our faith. With these benefits of our culture, it is easy for us to associate our plenty with God’s blessings.

I am not interested in making anyone feel guilty. I am interested in challenging the way we think about our relationship with God and our relationship with this world. The second letter to the seven churches is devoid of anything negative. Unlike the letter to Ephesus, the letter to Smyrna contains no statement like “I hold this against you.” Instead Jesus is very complimentary toward the church in Smyrna. But compliments will not take away the pain and the suffering. This letter is a call to faithfulness—faithfulness in the face of suffering and persecution for the name of Jesus. And the call of God to faithfulness continues 20 centuries later. No matter the circumstance, we are called to be faithful. May God grant us today the wisdom to change our thinking as needed and a resolve to remain faithful.

The Letter

Smyrna is the only city of the seven in Revelation that has continued to the present day, having the modern name Izmir. Thirty-five miles north of Ephesus it was a harbor city renowned for its export trade, beauty, and civic pride. It called itself “the first in Asia.” It had an excellent relationship with Rome. It was the first city in Asia to erect a temple to the goddess Roma (195 B.C.) and in 26 A.D. was given the honor of building a temple to the emperor Tiberius. Thus, it became a center of emperor worship. On the mountain closest to Smyrna an acropolis was built. This group of buildings was known as “the crown of Smyrna” and surrounding the mountain was a roadway called “the Street of Gold.” It had been built in such a way that from the harbor as one looked past the city of Smyrna, it appeared that the mountain had a large golden necklace around it.

Smyrna had a large Jewish population that was deeply opposed to Christianity. Some have theorized that because of Domitian’s edict making it easier to persecute Christians, that the Jews in Smyrna took an active role in denouncing and identifying the Christians to the Roman authorities which resulted in imprisonment for these Christians. While we can’t know for certain that this is what is going on in Smyrna, it certainly fits the content of the letter.

Jesus says he knows of their afflictions and poverty but he reminds them that they are rich. The word used for “affliction” carries the meaning of deep lasting trouble. These folks were poverty stricken but their spiritual wealth far exceeded their affliction and poverty. Jews slandered them. It wouldn’t be long before some of them would be imprisoned. This meant something completely different to these readers than it does to us. Rome used prison for one of three reasons: to force adherence to Roman law and ways, detention pending trial, and detention awaiting execution. Since the Christians at Smyrna have already demonstrated that they will not renounce their faith, then they would be imprisoned to await a trial or to be held for their execution.

So Jesus tells them to be faithful even to the point of death. Notice in verse 10 that this persecution is going to be limited. Ten days should not be read literally; however, we are hard pressed to know exactly what is meant. It appears to carry the idea that it is a limited persecution and that God is aware of this persecution. Also notice at the end of this verse that those who are faithful will be given a crown of life. The choice of words is not coincidental. The acropolis at Smyrna was known as the “crown of Smyrna,” but God is promising a “crown of life.” This far exceeds the earthly crown.

Faithfulness

As a Christian in twenty-first century America, perhaps one of the hardest things is for us to make a distinction between our faith and our culture. Because so much of our culture tolerates our practices, we assume that our relationship with God is okay because nothing bad is happening to us. Conversely, some will assume that something must be wrong with our relationship with God because nothing bad is happening to us. Trying to find a balance is difficult. We have heard the lessons on making sure that we are in the world but the world in not in us. And that is an easy lesson to teach while we meet in air conditioned buildings in our fine clothes and we drive our cars away to homes with full pantries and jobs to go to and running water for showers—and well you get the picture.

I don’t think it is just me. One of the real struggles is to keep definite lines between our faith and our culture. We are not even close to the Smyrna church. But the message to the church at Smyrna and to God’s church throughout generations has not changed. God is calling us to faithfulness. He is calling us to remain close to him. He is calling us to be his people when our culture tolerates us and when our culture rejects us. You see, at Smyrna the lines were definite and distinct. You either confessed Christ or Caesar. In our culture the lines between our faith and our world are blurred. We can pledge allegiance to a flag and still call on the name of God. We can call ourselves Christian and no one cares or necessarily expects anything from us.

Don’t misunderstand, the church at Smyrna was called on to be faithful. Answering that call could result in death. We are called on to be faithful and answering that call in this day and time seems to result in nothing of major consequence. So this is the real challenge for us. So we have relegated faithfulness to church attendance, Bible reading, and a prayer life. But I would challenge us that faithfulness is seen in how we treat the checkout clerk and how well we forgive family when they sin against us, and how we say no to media which does not promote Christian thinking and actions and taking a stand for right when our friends talk about others or when our boss wants us to fudge the numbers. We have plenty of opportunities to be faithful. No one cares if we take advantage of those opportunities or not, but it matters to God.

Why does it matter? Verse 8 tells us. Jesus is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. In other words, Jesus identifies with us. God’s call to faithfulness was his call as well. Jesus knows what it is like to walk this earth. He knows what it’s like to have the line between his faith and his world very clear and distinct. I want you to remember who is writing this letter. It is not someone who has never suffered. I am God, I am Lord and I came here and became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and I went to Hell on your behalf. The wrath of God was poured upon me. I became sin for you. I died not just the first death but Jesus died the second death as he descended into Hell—a place we will never have to go to. I died and I have a right to speak to you. Not only because I am God but also because I have been there and done it. I also want you to know that not only am I the Lord of time, events, death, Hell, and Heaven. I want you to know that I am also alive. Isn’t that good news? Buddha or Mohammed can’t say that. Jesus demonstrated his faithfulness at the cross. Where will you demonstrate your faithfulness?

There are some today who have walked away from jobs because of your faithfulness. There are some who have stayed in relationships because of your determination to be faithful. There are some who can no longer tell the difference between their faith and their culture. There are some that faithfulness is only about church attendance. Change the way you think. God calls you to faithfulness. If you realize that you haven’t been faithful, then come to the Father. He wants to give you a crown of life. As long as you have breath, it isn’t too late to answer God’s call.

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