THE THIRD AND FOURTH MARKS OF THE CHURCH: TRUTH AND HOLINESS

The following is the commentary of John Stott (1921-2011) on the churches at Pergamum and Thyatira in Revelation 2:12-29.

Truth and holiness are the third and fourth marks of the living church. Some Christians are so resolved to make love paramount, that they forget the sacredness of revealed truth. “Let us drown our doctrinal differences”, they urge, ‘in the ocean of brotherly love!” Others are equally mistaken in their pursuit of truth at the expense of love. So dogged is their zeal for God’s word that they become harsh and bitter and unloving. Love becomes sentimental if it is not strengthened by truth, and truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love : “speaking the truth in love (Eph.4:15); “To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth” (3 John 1); “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (Phil.1:9). Rupert Meldenius (1582-1651) coined the popular guide to fellowship with others: “Unity in essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and charity in all things.”

What are the central truths of the Church?

1. Doctrinal truth about Christ. The irreducible minimum of Christian belief is that Jesus of Nazareth is the unique Son of God and that he died to be the Savior of the world, i.e. the Incarnation and the Atonement. We cannot have Christian fellowship with those who deny the divinity of Christ’s person or the satisfactoriness of his work on the Cross for our salvation.
2. The second central Christian truth which cannot at any price be sacrificed is an ethical truth concerning holiness: the life of righteousness. Christianity in essence exalts Christ and promotes holiness. There is no liberty to sin. Examples of immorality are symbolized by the biblical characters Balaam and Jezebel. Holiness of life, righteousness of character, is then another indispensable mark of the real Christian and of the true church (1 Thess.4:3; Eph.1:4; Tit.2:13,14; 1 Thess.4:7,8). This is the balanced, joyful, exhilarating righteousness of the Bible, the glorious liberty of the royal law. It is the sane morality which regards the right use of sex as beautiful and sacred, and its wrong use as ugly and sordid (Heb.13:4).

The only weapon which can slay the forces of error is Christ’s word. God’s way to overcome error is the proclamation of the gospel of Christ which is God’s power of salvation to everyone who believes. The reward is the beatific vision in heaven. It will be to receive such a manifestation of Christ as shall completely satisfy both heart and mind.

(John Stott, WHAT CHRIST THINKS OF THE CHURCH, p.53ff.)