After the Lord Jesus commended them for their good deeds, hard work, perseverance, treatment of wicked men, discernment in spotting false apostles and for not growing weary in hardships for His name, He then said:
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.”Jesus spoke this to people who assembled in much the same way that the Christians do today. For us, we could say that it applies especially to the church-goers! (It also applies to those who are backslidden and not in church.)
Please notice that this was a very serious charge then, and still is today. They had the religious form, but their love and affection for the Lord Jesus wasn’t there anymore. Jesus used the word, “forsaken” not “lost” in verse 4. This same Greek word is used in John 4:28 where the Samaritan woman “left” her water jar. In other words, as that woman LEFT or FORSOOK her water jar, those at Ephesus LEFT or FORSOOK Jesus as their “first love.” Jesus not only told the Ephesians their serious sin, but also gave them a warning if they would choose not to repent! (Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” Hebrews 13:8.)
(1) “Remember the height from which you have fallen!” In other words, reflect back upon the time when you first got saved by turning to God in repentance and placing your faith in the Lord Jesus (Acts 20:21). Remember your hunger then to learn the Bible and to hear God’s Word preached and taught. Remember the quality time you spent in prayer to God throughout the day. Remember how quickly and excited you were to tell others about eternal life and freedom from sins. Remember how you couldn’t do enough in the service of the Lord. Now, however, all this had changed for the Ephesians, which reflects a change of “first love.”
(2) They were to “repent.” (Please notice that this was written to those who repented in the past when they first got saved! This means that Christians can repent more than once.) Jesus was telling them to turn from evil. This is the Biblical definition of repentance (Matt. 12:41 cf. Jonah 3:10).
(3) Return or “do the things you did at first.” This is still the remedy today for those who have forsaken their first love –
“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”Directly, the Lord was referring to overcoming the fall the Ephesians experienced, namely: forsaking their first love. Have YOU forsaken your first love? If you have – Remember, Repent and Return.
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