Devotionals
DAY TWENTY ONE
EPHESUS
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
I know thy works, and labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: for thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.’(Revelation 2:2-3)
If you are a person who likes a church with strict doctrinal standards and is committed to defending Christian principles than Ephesians would be a church you might like to join. In the above verses, we see a description of how a true church committed to Christ should function. We call it an Orthodox Church and that is not bad. Orthodoxy means that a church is committed to principles that have been around for a long time and are part of the original founding of the church.
Ephesus also had a system in place for determining truth and error. That means that they were properly grounded in sound doctrine. When you are properly grounded it is not hard to detect an error. That’s one of the benefits of orthodoxy.
But orthodoxy has its downside is well. It can be so committed to certain principles that it neglects other important ones. I recall Jesus rebuking the Pharisees telling them that they gave tithes of all that they possessed, which was important, but they have neglected the weightier matters of the law, being mercy justice and faith. (Matthew 23:23) Jesus further tells them that they should do these rituals and not leave out justice and mercy and faith. That is the problem with orthodoxy; they tend to get on the defensive and they are no longer effective in the area of evangelism. I have been a pastor of an Orthodox Church and I have seen their reputation in the community. In their commitment to be separated from the world, they had become extreme to the point that they are now isolated from it and have no more ministry to the lost in the community. That’s the downside of orthodoxy.
The church at Ephesus began in a strongly paganistic area. Through the ministry of Aquilla, Priscilla, Apollos, Paul and Timothy that church became a mighty force and they were responsible for planting other churches. They went through much persecution but they persevered and became a mighty church. The book of Ephesians is a testimony of their spiritual commitment and lifestyle. They were indeed a church to be admired. If you go back into the book of Acts you will discover the great love and compassion and fire there was in this church. Unfortunately as we speak of that church we speak in the past tense. After 38 years something happened to Ephesus. Being Orthodox is important; however, we must be aware of its dangers and seek to learn from their mistakes. I know of churches who started out as being contenders for the faith that wound up with the reputation of being contentious. That’s what happens when we lose our balance. Ephesus did. In our next study, we will consider them in detail.
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