The Church with Messy Classrooms

Do you know that your deepest beliefs produce your most consistent behaviors? Whether for good or bad, we live out what we hold most closely in our belief systems. If you want to discern what a person believes about God, themselves, and other people, simply observe how they consistently live for a year. One of the reasons why doctrine and theology are so important is because they will powerfully shape how we live out our faith. We may be sincere in our walk of faith, but what if our faith is built upon faulty doctrine? What if we have been taught wrongly about God, ourselves, and others? In His message to the church at Pergamum, Jesus addresses the fact that their theology and teaching practices were deeply flawed - even dangerous. He commanded them to clean up their messy classrooms. If they did so, He would lead them into further glory. If they did not, He would shut them down. This message reminds us all how essential it is that we rightly divide God’s truth and live it out in intentional obedience.