Cold or Hot, To Be or Not

Revelation 3:14-22 ““And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Revelation 3:14-22 ““And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

— ‘Amen’ means truth, affirmation, or certainty. It refers to something firm, fixed, and unchanging. Jesus calls Himself the ‘Amen’ and :the faithful and true Witness” because He is the One who speaks the truth. This is why He ends His passages to the churches with “He who has an ear, let him hear.”

— Jesus also calls Himself the “Beginning of God’s creation.” This does not mean that God created Him like He did all of us, but that Jesus but that everything was made through Him and by Him, and that he had authority over all. John 1:3 “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”” Hebrews 1:3 “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

“ ‘I know your works (deeds) : you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

— Laodicea was a wealthy city. They sat high on a Plateau and were near impregnable… except for their water source. Living that high meant that they must pump their water in from a water source. Miles of underwater aqueducts channeled water into the city, but by the time it reached its location the water was dirty and warm. It was not hot enough for a relaxing bath, nor was it cold enough for a refreshing drink of water. Actually it was disgusting as it sat. The city sat on major trade routes between cities mentioned here along with Laodicea, so they gained great wealth from their trade. The city was so wealthy that at one point it was destroyed by an earthquake, and they needed no aid from Rome to rebuild. They boasted that they had all they needed to sustain themselves. They were also known for their fine, black wool and the clothes that they made from them.

Laodicea was full of intellectual people as well. They had a medical school that was famous for an eye salve that they had developed and distributed throughout the Greco-Roman world.

All three industries, finance, wool, and production of eye salve came into play in this letter to the church.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. — Jesus was offering them spiritual counterparts, speaking in a language they would understand, to their three major industries.

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. — This shows that they were not saved, but Christ was gracious to give them the opportunity to repent and come to Him, rather than just destroying them from the beginning.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.””

— This is the open invitation to the world. Jesus Christ has extended His hand to all those who will believe, and He gives us the right to become children of God. Being heirs to His kingdom, and being made conquerors in His victory.

Jesus main motive is correction, and repentance. Grace, mercy, and restoration. Jesus said that He did not come to destroy, but to saved that which is lost.

I believe that many MANY Christians nowadays are lukewarm. You go through the motions. You do the whole church thing, but outside of meetings, where the rubber meets the road, where actions must speak louder than words, we seem to fail.

If you are not, take your walk with Christ more seriously than ever. This issue to the Christians who are lukewarm is one that is daunting. Some people make God happy, some people make Him angry, but those who are lukewarm make Him sick. As if He wanted to throw up at the thought of their actions. Don’t be that guy.