In the early 1990’s, the rental car company Hertz ran a series of advertisements using the line, “There’s Hertz, and there’s not exactly.” The point of the ad was that Hertz, was a complete and uncompromised experience. Hertz’s competitors may be cheaper, but you would get a cheaper experience from them.
Jesus’ message to Pergamum is similar: there is Christianity and there is not exactly. The church in Pergamum was beset by extreme examples of persecution, including an early church leader named Antipas being roasted alive in a hollowed out bronze bull statue. Due to this persecution, members of the church of Pergamum were finding “loopholes” in their Christianity that would enable them to make compromises. Some Christians started saying it was ok to burn incense in worship of Caesar as a god because “spiritually” they knew deep down and personally that Jesus was the only God – despite what their actions said. But if Jesus is the only God, then what does worshiping Caesar say? There is Christianity, and there’s not exactly.
Additionally, the Roman agitators of Christianity were spreading lies about Christianity. Romans accused Christians of being incestuous because “brothers” and “sisters” married each other. They accused Christians of being cannibals because they ate the body and drank the blood of their leader. In addition to this, there is some evidence that Roman spies would infiltrate a Christian community and insert false theology into a local church to turn it against itself and others. All of this too was “Christianity, but not exactly.”
So where do we see “Christianity but not exactly” in our world today? Is it in the accusations that culture makes against Christians? Is it in the failures of Christians to live out their faith and not acquiesce to cultural pressures? Is it in secular ideas that have been unduly placed into Christian churches as “Gospel truth”? All of the above and more.
Where we see “Christianity but not exactly,” it shouldn’t surprise us, but we should be vigilant. We know Jesus who describes Himself in this letter as He, “who has the sharp, double-edged sword.” A sword during this time was not only a sign of battle, but also of judgement and separation. When Jesus says this, He says that He is the judge of what is Christianity and what is “not exactly”.
He can be the judge because He is also the definition. Christianity is Jesus. Jesus knew that we would fail. Our experience of the Law is always “not exactly” but His fulfillment of the Law was exact and precise – it was perfect – not for His own sake, but for ours. If we hold on to Him, we hold on to exactly what we need. Anything else is “not exactly”.