We’ll look at each of the churches. These letters aren’t each to one local church. This is to the church universal. We are all in these letters somewhere.

The first is the church in Ephesus. God acknowledges their work, their patient endurance, their hatred of evil, their love of truth.

This is the only church threatened with the removal of their lampstand. The whole church is in danger of losing its place in God’s presence.

What’s wrong with these Christians who are pure in doctrine and faithful to work?

They are committing the worse sin of them all. They aren’t loving.

They abandoned the love they had at first. They are warned to repent and to do the works they did at first.

What was the love and works they have forgotten? They are loving God’s Word. They are loving truth. They can’t bear with the wicked. They have kept away false apostles. All this separation and defending of themselves and defending the truth has cut them off. They have isolated themselves from other believers.

They are judging instead of loving. Now, we are to judge those within the church. We’re to get sin out of the church. They are doing what’s right, but even truth without love is a clanging gong.

I know this struggle. I can get overwhelmed by the false teaching, false doctrine, false prophets, idolatry, worldliness, and on and on in the church. I can get angry at the shepherds not defending the flock from these things. But the Lord has taught me to love the church, the shepherds, and the sheep wandering on every high hill because they have no shepherd and so are prey to the wild beasts.

We don’t get a hard heart toward those in error. We have compassion. We ask for mercy. We pray with a soft, compassionate heart. We teach the truth with humility and gentleness, out of love.

Love. That’s what’s needed in this church. These churches need to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit, of love poured out.