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The sermon expounds Christ’s rebuke to Ephesus, showing that sound doctrine, labor, patience, and church activity do not replace love for Christ. First love is expressed through prayer, obedience, sacrificial zeal, and delight in gathered worship; prayerlessness and worldly absorption reveal decline. Spurgeon warns that persistent spiritual coldness may expose a merely professed faith, while urging believers to seek renewed love as a gift of the Spirit. The appropriate response is urgent self-examination, repentance, prayer, and renewed dependence on God’s grace.
Theological center: True Christian faith is marked by persevering love for Christ, while outward activity and profession without inward devotion may expose spiritual decline or false faith.
Applications: Seek restored first love · Restore prayerful communion · Examine yourself before God · Seek the Lord while near
Primary texts: Revelation 2:2-4 · Isaiah 44:22 · 1 John 2:19
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Revelation 2:4 IT is a great thing to have as much said in our commendation as was said concerning the church at Ephesus. Just read what “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,” said of them—“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou cast not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.” Oh, my dear brothers and sisters, we may feel devoutly thankful if we can humbly, but honestly say, that this commendation applies to us. Happy the man whose works are known and accepted of Christ. He is no idle Christian, he has practical godliness. He seeks by works of piety to obey God’s whole law, by works of charity to manifest his love to the brotherhood, and by works of devotion to show his attachment to the cause of his Master. “I know thy works.” Alas! some of you cannot get so far as that. Jesus Christ Himself can bear no witness to your works—for you have not done any. You are Christians by profession, but you are not Christians as to your practice. I say again, happy is that man to whom Christ can say, “I know thy works.” It is a commendation worth a world to have as much as that said of us. But further, Christ said, “and thy labour.” This is more still. Many Christians have works, but only few Christians have labor. There were many preachers in Whitefield’s day that had works, but Whitefield had labor. He toiled and travailed for souls. He was “in labours more abundant.” Many were they in the apostle’s days who did works for Christ, but pre-eminently the apostle Paul did labor for souls. It is not merely work—it is anxious work—it is casting forth the whole strength and exercising all the energies for Christ. Could the Lord Jesus say as much as that of you—“I know thy labour”? No. He might say, “I know thy loitering. I know thy laziness. I know thy shirking of the work. I know thy boasting of what little you do. I know your ambition to be thought something of, when you are nothing.” But ah, friends, it is more than most of us dare to hope that Christ could say, “I know thy labour.” And further, Christ says “I know thy patience.” Now there be some that labor and they do it well. But what does hinder them? They only labor for a little season, and then they cease to work and begin to faint. But this church had labored on for many years. It had thrown out all its energies—not in some s…