Truth Without Love?

"...you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false." Revelation 2:2b

With the resources they had - most likely some old testament manuscripts, original apostolic preaching, godly local leadership, and prayer, the church at Ephesus was able to identify wicked people with intent to teach false doctrine and reject their teaching.

Speaking from His throne in heaven the risen Christ established His authority and declared who He was to John several times in statements such as this: 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” 

With His authority established, He then instructed John to write seven letters to seven different churches. In addition to being able to discern false teachers and discard their preaching, the church in Ephesus is also commended for hard work, perseverance, and enduring hardship suffered because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They had also correctly identified the Nicolaitans, a sect within early Christianity, who promoted a doctrine of unrestrained immorality that the Lord hated. 

The church in Ephesus is a good church. This is a doctrinally sound church. This is a safe place for new believers to become grounded in their faith. 

Sandwiched amongst the commendations Jesus makes this very stern statement: 

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first."

Yikes! That is harsh and He follows it up with a call to repent or He would remove His presence from this church. Why was Jesus so harsh with these good church people? We get a clue from the life of Jesus as He traveled from place to place ministering to the crowds in synagogues, homes and open fields. Jesus consistently showed no patience for religious people and authorities who clung to their doctrines and practices but had no compassion for the poor and the person seeking God. 

His model is a good one for us as disciple-makers. We need to be absolutely sure we are students of Scripture and living in close fellowship with Jesus so we can identify doctrinal error in ourselves and others who are in positions of authority over us in the church. But when it comes to those who are not yet Jesus followers, we need to recognize they are starting on a journey of discovery. Jesus has tremendous patience with anyone who is sincere in seeking him. To be like Jesus we need to love like Jesus loved.