Preached by the Rev. FINLAY MACLEOD.
“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. ii. 10).
THE things we have recorded in this book were given to John when he was a prisoner in the Isle of Patmos. It contains much that has been fulfilled and much that has yet to be fulfilled. In it we have seven epistles, meant in the first instance for the seven Churches in Asia; but of great use to the Church of God to the end of time. They set before us the character of the true Church of God, and how He will deal with those Churches to which He says that they have gone away from their former steadfastness to the truth and purity of worship.
The epistle to which I desire to direct your attention just now, as enabled by the Spirit of Truth, is the one sent to the angel (or messenger) of the church in Smyrna, and especially the concluding clause of the 10th verse. We have to begin with to consider what they were to be faithful to, and secondly, the faithfulness required of them, and lastly, the promise to those who would be faithful unto death.
I. I wish to consider first what they were to be faithful to.
The Church of God in Smyrna, like the other Churches in Asia, was set up by the instrumentality of the Apostles. It is evident from the epistle that this Church passed through much tribulation since they had accepted the Christian religion; because of the enmity of the heathen and of the unbelieving Jews to the Christian faith. It seems that although they suffered so much they continued steadfast to the faith, and would not be turned aside from it either by tribulation or poverty. The Lord Jesus sends them this comforting message that He knows their tribulation and poverty, and yet in the real sense of true riches says, but thou art rich.
(a) We are to be faithful to what God has revealed to us. That revelation which God has been pleased to give unto us we have in the Old and New Testaments. It is His inspired Word from Genesis to Revelation, revealing to us the God with whom we have to do, and what He requires of us as creatures who were created in His image; but who by sin lost that image.
(1) In this wonderful Revelation which we have in the Bible there is the account of man’s creation coming after God had created the world out of nothing by the word of His power. These truths are denied by many so called Christians in our day; but to the Church of God these things can never be anything else than the Word of God.
(2) The fall of man as recorded in Genesis, and his whole race being involved in that fall so that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God is so plainly revealed that none can deny it without resisting the light of God’s Word, and the universal experience of mankind. Man is thus in a lost condition, without God and without hope in the world. We cannot but receive, however terrible to contemplate, the awful consequences of sin as deserving the wrath and curse of God for time and eternity. The Old and New Testaments lay so much stress on these truths that the Church of God contended for them in every age.
(3) The glorious scheme of redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ is the Gospel remedy from sin, and reconciliation with God. This is the mystery of godliness which is indeed great—”God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” This is the only way in which God can be reconciled to sinners. His great love and mercy in providing such a Saviour for sinful men is evident to all who know the truth. God sending His only-begotten Son to take our nature in union with the divine nature in the one eternal Person and that by His obedience and death He wrought out complete redemption for all who believe upon Him are foundations truths of the faith of the Church of God. This Saviour was raised from the dead on the third day, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He will remain until the Great Day of Judgment when He will judge every one according to their deeds.
(4) The promise of the Holy Spirit to “convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment” was given by the Lord Jesus to His Apostles ere He left them, and when the day of Pentecost had come what extraordinary power was given to the first messengers sent forth to preach that through faith in Jesus alone sinners can be saved. This power of the Holy Ghost is still given through the Gospel, and no sinner can be saved without it. Many are satisfied with man’s ability; but the true Church of God look to the Holy Ghost to quicken and convert sinners. The total ruin of man as revealed in his inability to do the least to save himself from sin and its consequences is evident from Scripture—”You hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
(5) The Church of God exists in the world to declare the good news of the Gospel to perishing sinners. The Holy Spirit accompanying the preaching of the Gospel turns sinners from sin to God with repentance and faith—”And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” All this revelation God has been pleased to give us, and let us seek to be faithful to it even unto death.
(b) God has made plain in His Holy Word the way in which He is to be worshipped. In John iv. 23 we read: “But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.” Then we have the words of the 24th verse: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” There is no place for instrumental music in the New Testament Church either by the command of the Lord Jesus, or His Apostles. The Word of God is to be preached in its purity, without additions or omissions, prayer is to be offered to God, through the Lord Jesus as the mediator, and God’s praises are to be sung with the lips, and from hearts sanctified through the renewing of the Holy Ghost and by the Word of God.
(c) The great blessings freely bestowed upon God’s people by the Lord Jesus Christ has come to them through the Gospel. Therefore, they can say in some measure with the Apostle “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge that if one died for all, then were all dead, and that He died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again.” They are conscious of many shortcomings, and of the power of sin still in them, but by the grace of God they persevere, and shall do so to the end. Their aim is to follow Christ, yea, by His love to them they are constrained to do this. They would be perfect if that were possible; but in their imperfect state they know how precious the blood of Christ is, and from what depths of sin He has delivered them. The Gospel has become good news to them, and Christ precious as the Saviour who has saved them. They are therefore called upon to be faithful unto death; so that they might receive the promise.
II. Let us notice in the second place—The faithfulness required of them.
(1) There is brought before us that they were to be attacked by the enemy (Satan) who had ready instruments to carry out his designs. It is a matter of history that some time after this letter was sent to the Church in Smyrna the unbelieving Jews, and the heathen, persecuted to the death the Christians in that city. The aged Polycarp was put to death at that time because he refused to deny his Saviour. His answer to his persecutors was: “Eighty and four years have I served my Lord and He did nothing to me but good and how can I now deny Him.” It must have been a terrible trial but what joy in the receiving of the crown. The same opposition to Christ and His Church still exists in the world.
(a) There is the apostate Church of Rome marshalling her forces, and boldly declaring the lie that she is the Church of Christ and all who will not yield to her are looked upon as enemies.
(b) The Presbyterian Church in Scotland, except a small remnant, has for years rejected most of the Bible as the Word of God, and has turned most of the people of the land to a form of religion which is as dead as it is unscriptural. What must be the end of this but either going back to atheism or to the darkness of the false religion of Rome.
(2) Our text calls for faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
(a) We took up our present position in Scotland because of the unfaithfulness of the Free Church to the Word of God in her profession and practice. That position, in much weakness, we have been enabled to maintain for the last thirty-eight years. The glory of this belongs to God alone, and not to us. There were some with us for many years showing much love, but because the Church refused again and again to have anything to do with the present Free Church until repentance was seen in that Church and more concern for the honour of our blessed Lord, they left us. We have only expected of the Free Church what the Word of God commands nations, churches, and individuals to do when they go astray from the path of duty. That is repentance. When a Church fails, or a minority in a church, their duty is to humble themselves collectively before God, and ask His forgiveness. The same is true in individuals for where is the man that sinneth not? To be brought to the foot-stool of sovereign mercy is the desire of a true penitent. He thinks more of the glory of God than that he expects His favour without repentance and confession of sins.
(b) There is another move for union, but dare we move from our position having in view what God has given us, and what He has done for us. If there are individuals or churches wishing to unite with us, they know what we hold in profession and practice as a Church and they will be received with open arms the day they will take up an identical position with us. To this position, for it is the scriptural position, we are called by “the First and the Last which was dead and is alive” to be faithful unto death. (1) That means until we finish our course in this world. We may not be called upon to seal our testimony with our blood but if we hold fast to the end the promise is sure to us. (2) Things look exceedingly dark for the future in Scotland, and I am not going too far in saying that they will get darker until the dawn of better days. The Church of God may have to pass through the fire of persecution among us ere those days come. To be faithful unto death, as the followers of Christ have been in past ages, may be our lot, but let us not fear to follow Him in the evil day, for the Crown is sure to all who are faithful.
III. Let us, in the third place, say a few words about the promise—I will give thee a crown of life.
(1) Their enemies in their enmity to them would deprive them of all they had in the world, yea, of life itself. What enmity satan has to God’s people, and how numerous are the instruments he can use to harass them! The enemy has in view either their death, or perhaps what would please him better, that they would deny the Lord Jesus, and thus prove unfaithful. The enemy is allowed thus to persecute God’s people, and to overcome them that is to put them to death, but the Lord Jesus in the moment they end their life has crowned them with life eternal.
(2) There is in the promise the crown which is to be given them. It is set over against the death they are to suffer and the life they are to be deprived of. The life we live here at the best has much sorrow in it, and has its end in death. The death of the child of God, however terrible for flesh and blood to endure is but the enemy’s last thrust at him ere he enters into possession of the crown of a life over which death has no power. Instead of being in the battle he has already won the victory and has appeared before his Captain to receive the promised reward. How little of that life we can realise now; but if we are faithful, as our Lord and Saviour commands us, we shall know it yet. This is the time when the banner of truth must be held up before friend and foe alike. In the strength of grace promised, and “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith for the joy set upon Him endured the cross, despising the shame,” let us not look back; but, rather, let us be faithful even unto death and, then, we shall get the crown of life.