March 31: LIBERTY TO CHOOSE RIGHTEOUSNESS

But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Revelation 2:6

Jesus is following up His rebuke and solution to the church of Ephesus for having “left your first love” with a positive observation. (Yes, to hate something that brings spiritual harm is appropriate!) Let us do a little detective work here…

The names of the very first deacons selected are listed in Acts 6:5. Two of them are well-known to Bible readers: Stephen, the first Christian martyr (7:60), whose death marked the decisive end to the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9. {A special note for today: we celebrate the middle of the 70th week—see Daniel 9:27—when Jesus died on the cross and arose to conquer death for all who put their faith in Him!} And, we have Philip who baptized the Ethiopian eunuch who desired to follow the Lord (8:37-38).

But there is another on this list, Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, who eventually gained a large following, a Gnostic sect named for him called the Nicolaitans. The Bible doesn’t detail their deeds, but early Christian writers (such as Irenaeus and Hippolytus) wrote of their presence in the church, citing it as a threat to the purity, simplicity, and integrity of the Christian faith. While the Nicolaitans claimed to believe in God, they did not believe in obedience to Him. This showed up in their lifestyle of failure to make simple distinctions between holy and unholy, clean and unclean—very basic distinctions taught early in the word of God. This was the opposite extreme of the Pharisees, who maintained a pious appearance on the surface, but which cloaked rebellious hearts (see Matthew 23:27). Both of these paths lead to disaster and ruin.

Caught in between these two opposite forms of rebellion are those whose hearts are fully yielded to the Lord in love. To such, obedience becomes a natural reflex.

Societal obligation to partake in pagan religious festivals was put forth as an expectation in John’s day. It is the same today and will rapidly become even more pronounced before Jesus returns. Ridicule, social isolation, and economic sanctions against those who did not take part in these celebrations succeeded in swaying the less committed believers away from a pure faith. These were rewarded with enthusiastic social reinforcements for their choice to compromise, and they joined in the ridicule of obedient ones.

It goes without saying that Jesus does not hate these people. Just their deeds. He hates their deeds because of the mental detour and spiritual ruin that is the inevitable result, and also because of the destructive influence upon the vulnerable who are not yet capable of discernment. The casting away of our loving Lord’s Word always affects others negatively.

Paul was particularly annoyed by the swinging pendulum in the churches of Galatia. It swung between loveless legalism and casting the law completely aside. Both are wide roads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). In the center is the narrow way that reveals God’s eternal law as a fulfilled promise, written on our hearts in love! (See Hebrews 10:16)

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13