Did The Ephesians Become Hardened?
-Introduction
-How many times have you asked somebody a question only to have them respond in an
unpleasant tone? I’ve heard people then say under their breath, as I have done many times,
“Well, excuse me. Sorry to disrupt your day.”
-How many times have you been in a place of business and encountered an employee
who seemingly had no interest whatsoever of being there. (who cares attitude)
-Attitude is so important, isn’t it? And, isn’t attitude reflected many times in our tone
and in our non-verbal indicators - body language, facial expressions, etc?
-We need to realize that what we say isn’t the only important thing but how we say
it is equally important. Such is the case with our actions as well. It’s not just a matter
of what we do but how we go about it and the motivation that stands behind why we do
it.
-Example of a child reluctantly cleaning his room
-As Christians, we need to be careful of how we portray our words and actions.
-Remember, the scriptures tell us that whatever it is that we do, we need to put forth
a good, sincere effort.
-As we’ve discussed previously, God does not expect us to do that which we
cannot do. However, He does expect us to do what we can...and to do it well.
-Revelation and the Letter to Ephesus
-Rev 2-3 - letters to the seven churches of Asia
-They were receiving a critique from Jesus - words of commendation, words of
condemnation, usually a combination of both.
-Rev 2:1-5
-good things: They worked, labored and endured. They had defended the faith
and withstood those who were in error.
-bad things: They had left their first love. There was difference between their
past and their present. So, they needed to repent and do their
first works.
-Jesus is telling them to remember how it used to be and strive to return to it.
-Paul and Ephesus
-Remember, the city of Ephesus had been a very important location for Paul and proved
to be a very beneficial location toward the spreading of the Gospel.
-Acts 19:8-10
-vs 20 - What a wonderful verse! I wonder, do we truly believe that the word of God
can still prevail today? Rom 1:16
-vs 23-41 - the uprising of the silversmiths - The Ephesian Christians certainly faced
some challenges.
-Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:
-Eph 1:15; 3:13-17; 4:2, 15, 32; 5:2; 6:24
-These Christians at Ephesus faced difficulties while Paul was them. They continued to
face difficulties and challenges after Paul left.
-Eph 6:10-12
-They had worked, labored and endured. They had been defending the faith. It had
not been an easy process.
-Rev 2:2 - labour - “kopos (kop'-os); from NT:2875; a cut, i.e. (by analogy) toil
(as reducing the strength), literally or figuratively; by implication, pains:
KJV - labour, trouble, weariness. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers
Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
-2 Cor 6:5, 11:23, 11:27 (weariness)
-Is it possible that these Ephesian Christians had become hardened because of their labors?
Is it possible that they had lost their true motivation - their love? Is the “first love” that
they lost the love that they had at the first?
-The Motivation of Faith, Hope and Love
-Jesus made reference to the work, labor and patience of the Ephesians.
-However, notice what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians - 1 Thess 1:2-3.
-work of faith, labour of love, patience of hope
-There was true substance behind what the Thessalonians were doing. With the
Ephesians, perhaps that simply wasn’t the case anymore.
-Let’s maintain and grow in our faith. Let’s maintain and grow in our love. Let’s
maintain and grow in our hope.
-Let’s be sure there is true substance and proper motivation behind what we say and do.
-1 Cor 13:13
-Let’s keep our love, first and foremost, to God and also to our fellow man.
-Matt 22:36-40
-Examples
-Let’s not view those around us as mere objects, but as souls - souls that will either be saved
or lost for eternity to come.
-What should motivate us to reach out to them? faith, hope, love
-Let’s not view our brothers-and-sisters in Christ as simply numbers that add to the
attendance and fill spots in the pews, making the auditorium look a little more full.
-Let’s see each other as individuals with cares, concerns, feelings, needs - each who
appreciates support, encouragement, a kind word, etc. - faith, hope, love
-Danger of Becoming Hardened
-We need to be careful that we don’t become hardened.
-It seems that the Ephesians had become worn down through the challenges they faced.
-It wasn’t necessarily the case that they stopped the things they had been doing. But,
they weren’t doing them with their former zeal. They no longer had the substance,
motivation and, perhaps, purpose behind what they did.
-Is it possible that they were doing things primarily out of duty (have to) rather then
combining them with willingness (want to)?
-Such action and service become somewhat hollow, doesn’t it? Most of the time,
people can easily see this through attitude, tone and non-verbal communication.
-Sometimes we’ve been challenged over and over on certain subjects by people with
seemingly poor intentions. That can wear us down and harden us if were not careful.
-So, if a person with good intentions and sincerity asks a question about one of
those topics, we sometimes don’t give them the kind and sincere answer that we
should. That’s unfortunate.
-Remember, faith, hope and love.
-Perhaps we’ve had an unpleasant encounter with somebody with whom we tried to
talk to about the scriptures. That can harden us and wear us down so that we view
certain people and/or certain groups in a particular way and lose our motivation to
reach out to them and others.
-Summary and Invitation
-Gal 6:9
-Let’s not waver in the proper motivation which stands behind our words and actions -
faith, hope and love.
-Perhaps we need to renew our focus in these areas.