And the Answer is...

Throughout our study of the 7 churches we have made observations concerning their flaws/failures/sins. Granted not all flaws and failures are sins, but when they obstruct the flow of God’s blessings/approval they become sin. Therein is the parallel of their flaw to the short coming of many churches today.

The Ephesians had lost their first love, their zeal, their desire to progress. The church of Sardis was in a similar state; sleeping and neglecting the work of the ministry. Pergamos and Thyratira each had tolerated false doctrine and the prophets who brought it into their midst. The Laodiceans were blind to their own wretched state and indifferent to the evil that proliferated within their body. They were satisfied with themselves and thus deceived into believing a lie.

Pinning the common flaw/fault on Smyrna and Philadelphia requires more than a glance at the scriptures. As previously stated, the church of Smyrna had a poor self-image and was perhaps fearful of uncertain future events. These things had caused them to stagnate. The same could be said of the Philadelphians. They were just holding on rather than actively moving into what God had for them. They had not caught the vision, therefore they were just existing.

Each flaw exposed has it’s root in a compromise against the Truth. The faults of: lost zeal, indifference, blindness, slothfulness, lack of vision, fear, toleration of heresy and false prophets, as well as blatant perversion can all be attributed to what I call PASSIVE CHRISTIANITY. It is a killer, subtle and invasive. The best counter agent is to be actively engaged in the Truth, the Life, and the Way.

Though I am not a scholar of the Greek language: I understand that when Paul said, “I press toward the mark”, he in fact was saying, “I keep on pressing.” Church, we have to keep on pressing toward the goal that Christ has set before us.