Revelation 3:14-22 (Laodicea)

Introduction

A line of questioning I often use when I want to have a more substantial conversation with someone is: “How are you doing spiritually? Are you growing, declining, or plateauing?”

Depending on how they answer, my next question is: “How do you know?”

How would you know if you or someone else is doing spiritually well?

Would you measure it by spiritual disciplines? I’m reading my Bible daily. I’m praying regularly. I’m memorizing a Psalm. I’m even journaling and posting some of my super insightful wisdom on social media!

Would you measure spiritual health by feeling? I’m feeling really good about life right now. I feel God’s love for me. I feel like I’m doing well. I feel like I’m on the right track.

Would you measure spiritual well-being by circumstance? My bank account is alright. My career is on track. My family isn’t too dysfunctional. My friends generally like me. My health is pretty good for my age.

But do any of these really say anything about our spiritual health? Is religious activity… or personal feeling… or life circumstance really any measure at all of how we are doing spiritually? Couldn’t we be checking all of these boxes and still be living in rebellion against God… living as hypocrites in the world… living as spiritually dead people… headed straight for Christ’s judgment, and not His blessing?

The short and simple answer is, “Yes.” Non-Christians can have diligent religious activity, good personal feelings, and pleasant life circumstances. People with all of these can think they are doing just fine spiritually, while they are right now the aim of Christ’s condemnation and not His commendation.

In fact, we are going to read about a church today who fit exactly this description. We are continuing our study of the book of Revelation today, and we have come now to the last of the letters to the seven churches.

Laodicea was (from what we can know about them) a prosperous church, doing pretty well by all the world’s standards. But they were also the only church of the seven to hear nothing good from Jesus. He told them they were “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

But this letter is more than a word of judgment to them; it is a call to return to Christ, to renew their spiritual life and health, and to gain the promise of true prosperity and blessing that only Christ can give.

Let’s read and consider this letter together, and let’s think about how we can apply what we see here to ourselves, to our church, and to others we might know who are blind to their own spiritual estate.

Scripture Reading

Revelation 3:14–22 (ESV)

14 “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.

15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

18 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. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 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.

21 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. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

Main Idea

Health, prosperity, and approval are always attractions to us in this world, but our hope is in the resurrection and the new creation, which Christ Himself has promised to all those who repent and believe… So, repent and believe!

Sermon

1. Inaugurated Re-Creation (v14)

What did the church in Laodicea need to know and remember about Christ?

· Christ’s words to them are “The words of the Amen” (v14).

o Isaiah 65:16 – “blessing” comes from “the God of truth” or “the God of amen,” and “oaths” or “promises” are observed by “the God of truth” or “the God of amen.”

o In the context of this prophecy (of Is. 65), God is promising both judgment and salvation…

§ Judgment to those who “forsake the LORD,” who “forget [His] holy mountain,” and who “set a table for Fortune” and “fill their cups of mixed wine for Destiny” (Is. 65:11).

· “When” God “called,” they “did not answer;” and “when” God “spoke,” they “did not listen” (Is. 65:12).

· This reminds me of the book of Proverbs, which warns, “22 How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. 24 [But] Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25 because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, 27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, 31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices” (Prov. 1:22-31).

§ (Back in Is. 65) Blessing comes to those who are God’s “servants” (Is. 65:13) and those who are God’s “chosen” (Is. 65:15).

· These will “eat” and “drink” and “rejoice” at God’s provision for them (Is. 65:13).

· And these shall be “called” by a new “name” (Is. 65:15).

o Haven’t we heard these same themes in the letters to the churches Revelation? …And don’t we see at least one of them in our letter this morning?

o Friends, we must understand that the promises of God in Christ are “Amen,” whether those promises are for judgment or for salvation!

· Christ is “the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation” (v14).

o This is an echo of the first thing John said about Jesus in Rev. 1.

§ Rev. 1:4-5 – “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth.”

· In Rev. 1:5 the word “firstborn” is πρωτότοκος.

· In Rev. 3:14 the word “beginning” is ἀρχή.

o The emphasis is on Christ as the firstfruits or the first among many in resurrection or in the new creation.

o There are some who would point to this phrase – “the beginning of God’s creation” – and claim that the Bible teaches us that God the Son is a created thing.

o But this is not at all what this verse is saying, and it is completely contradictory to the major point of Revelation!

o First, Jesus is the union of the two main characters in the Old Testament – the Ancient of Days or Yahweh or the LORD or the God who was and is and is to come & the Son of Man or the Anointed One or the Messiah.

§ God the Son is not the first being God created; Jesus is the eternal God who took on flesh and became the God-man – truly God & truly man.

o Second, Jesus (in His life, death, and resurrection) is the focal point of the entire biblical storyline, which climaxes during His earthly ministry and is barreling toward the conclusion, where all that Christ has done and is doing will be on world-wide display.

o Third, the book of Revelation is not telling us the story of God’s creation at the beginning (like in Genesis); Revelation is telling us the story of the end of this created world and the beginning of a new one.

o It is that NEW-creation that Jesus is the beginning of!

o He is the firstborn from of dead, but He will most certainly not be the last!

· So, what was it that the church in Laodicea needed to know and remember about Christ… about the gospel… about the hope of Christianity?

o They needed to remember at least 3 things:

§ First, that Jesus is the one in whom all the promises of God are fulfilled.

· 2 Cor. 1:20-22 – “All the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ]… And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

§ Second, that the gospel promises a new creation.

· We were talking about this on this last Wednesday night in our study of Philippians.

· Phil. 3:20-21 – “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

§ Third, that Christ Himself has already begun or inaugurated the re-creation work.

· He is the “firstborn of the dead” (Rev. 1:5).

· He is the “beginning of God’s creation” (Rev. 3:14).

· We will sing in just a little while – “What a foretaste of deliverance, how unwavering our hope. Christ, in power, resurrected, as we will be when He comes.”

o The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have [died]” (1 Cor. 15:17-20).

· Brothers and sisters, our hope (as Christians) is not that we will be healthy, prosperous, and approved by the people of this world…

o but that we will be resurrected with Christ…

o and that we shall rule and reign with Him in a new creation…

o one that is far better than anything we might experience in this world.

2. Proud Wretches (v15-17)

Christ had only condemnation for the church in Laodicea.

· “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!” (v15).

o They were useless and wretched.

§ G. K. Beale said, “Even at Sardis, a faithful remnant remained in a mostly dead church, but no such remnant is identified here, and there is no commendation of any sort for the Laodicean church.”

o It seems the problem with the church in Laodicea was two-fold:

§ One, they were self-reliant and compromised with the world.

· This made them wretched in their relationship with God…

· They needed to trust Christ’s righteousness and power – to “buy” from Christ, to receive “white garments” from Christ, and to have their blindness healed by Christ.

§ Two, they were useless as witnesses for Christ.

· This made them wretched in their relationship with others…

· The city of Laodicea had no water source of their own, so they piped it in from Hierapolis (hot water) and from Colossae (cold water).

o But by the time it got to Laodicea, the water was lukewarm and dirty.

· Like the water of their city, the church in Laodicea was good for nothing… neither hot nor cold.

o The sinners around them could receive no benefit from their witness because the gospel they ought to have preached was obscured by the compromising lives they lived.

o Their gospel was not believable to others, because they lived as though they did not believe it themselves.

· “you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” (v17).

o They were proud of their condition!

§ Health, prosperity, and approval are always attractive in this world.

§ And because their worldly circumstances were good, they were at ease about their spiritual circumstances.

o Brothers and sisters, how easy is it for us to fall into this same way of thinking?

§ As individuals, don’t we often pray less and confess our weaknesses less and give less of our time and effort to spiritual growth when things are going well?

§ As families, don’t we care less and plan less and take for granted all of our blessings when we have money in the bank, food on the table, and no apparent emergencies to deal with?

§ As churches, don’t we celebrate our methods and schemes for numerical growth and enjoy the praise of others when our budgets are big and our buildings are full?

§ How easy it is for us to look around at our worldly circumstances as though these are the measure of our real prosperity and health!

· But the Scripture teaches us, “do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).

· And, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Cor. 4:7).

· Brothers and sisters, any spiritual health or prosperity we have as Christians or as a church… this is a gift of God, and we ought to thank Him for it.

· And we ought to be very careful not to judge how well or how poorly we are doing by outward appearances… Both as individuals and as a church, the last day will reveal what is really true right now… and what matters (both then and now) is faithfulness and obedience and perseverance, not prosperity or popularity or public affirmation.

· Christ said that they didn’t even “realize” that “you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (v17). And, therefore, Christ said, “I will spit you out of my mouth” (v16).

o This letter was written to a church full of people who claimed to be Christians… and Jesus even says that His words of discipline and correction are for “those whom [He] loves” (v19).

o It seems right, then, that we should take this as a warning… like other warning passages in the Bible.

§ Sometimes the very means by which God preserves His people (keeps them from falling or turning or losing their salvation) is by warning them about being lost if they don’t persevere.

§ Hebrews 10:23-31 – “23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

o Brothers and sisters, the Bible doesn’t assume that just because a person claims to be a “Christian” or just because a group claims to be a “church” that these things are true.

§ When we read warning passages in the Bible, we are not to interpret these as saying that a Christian can lose his or her salvation… but (1) as a warning for Christians to repent and persevere, and (2) as a warning for those who think they are Christians but are not truly so.

· Christians are those who are clinging to Christ…

· those who are repenting of sin…

· those who are loving and believing and following Jesus…

· and those who do such things ongoingly, repeatedly, over and over again throughout their lives.

§ If we discover that we ourselves are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked,” (having measured our spiritual state according to the biblical measurements – genuine love for Christ, genuine love for fellow Christians, a genuine desire for growth in holiness, a genuine sorrow over personal sin)… If people who love us have a hard time identifying these characteristics in our lives, then we must repent (turn away from our sin and unbelief), and we must come again to Christ… to receive from Him all that we need for salvation and for faithful Christian witness in the world.

3. Real Prosperity (v18-20)

This repenting and coming again to Christ is exactly what Jesus “counsels” or “advises” or “urges” the church in Laodicea to do!

· In v18, Jesus “counsels” them to “buy” three things from Him:

o “gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich”

o “white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen”

o “and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see”

· All of these are symbolic of the riches (“gold”), the holiness (“white garments”), and the wisdom (“sight”) only Christ can give.

o Near the end of Revelation, Jesus says something similar in the form of a promise:

§ Rev. 21:6 – “To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”

§ Rev. 22:17 – “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

· Friends, the gospels of this world are many… the gospels of Islam, of Mormonism, of Jehovah’s Witnesses… and even the gospel of secularism.

o These all boil down to a gospel of “do” or “earn.”

§ If you will obey the commands of Mohamed… if you will do the deeds of an enlightened one… if you will perform the acts outlined by Joseph Smith and the other Mormon apostles… if you will think and speak and act in keeping with the twisted beliefs and ethics of modern secularism… then you will be rewarded.

o But the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of “done.”

§ You and I (apart from Christ) are guilty and wretched and shameful and naked and blind sinners… And there is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to change that.

§ But God, in His infinite mercy and grace, has done what you and I could never do… He has sent His own Son to live and to die and to conquer death for guilty sinners like you and me.

· And the only right response to this incredibly good news is to turn away from your sin and your unbelief… and come to Jesus with the empty hands of faith or belief…

· You and I must trust in what Christ has already done…

· trust in what Christ has said He will do…

· and cling to Him as though your life depended upon it…

· because it does!

· Friends, Christ “reproves and disciplines” those He “loves,” and it is no small thing that you are hearing this word today.

o If you are feeling “reproved” or “disciplined” (rebuked or corrected), then take it as a sign of Christ’s love for you!

§ Jesus could have left you in your error, and you might be fishing or chasing kids at sports or watching TV or scrolling social media like a zombie… instead of sitting here and listening to the teaching of Scripture which is where real spiritual life is to be found.

§ “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ,” the Bible says (Rom. 10:17).

o So, hear the words of Christ now, “be zealous” or “be earnest” or “be urgent” (v19)… “repent,” turn away from your self-reliance, your self-assurance, your self-congratulations that you are doing just fine…

o “Behold,” Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and eat with him, and he with me” (v20).

§ This is a call to repent and believe… and this is a promise that Christ will welcome those who do… to His own kingly table.

§ Like the words of a modern Christian hymn,

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend

The agonies of Calvary

You, the perfect, holy One crushed Your Son

Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me.

Your blood has washed away my sin

Jesus, thank You

The Father’s wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thank You

Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table

Jesus, thank You

May God grant us all the gifts of repentance and faith, so that we all may speak such words from a heart of deep and humble gratitude.

May God help us all to see the real prosperity and value of these gifts that Christ offers… not health, wealth, and prosperity in this world… but a seat at the King’s table in the new creation!

Let’s turn our attention, finally, to what Christ has promised for those who do repent and believe.

4. Incomparable Glory (v21-22)

Christ promises, not a little kingdom of our own in this world that is passing away, but a seat beside Christ Himself… on His eternal throne… over the kingdom of a glory that will never fade… a glory that is far better than anything we might enjoy in this world.

· Like all the other letters to various churches in the first century, this one concludes with a call to “conquer” or “persevere,” as well as a promise for those who do.

o Jesus said, “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” (v21-22).

· This is a lot like what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy (his young pastor friend and son in the faith):

o 2 Timothy 2:3-13) – “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him… Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as I preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! …The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful.”

§ Friends, God’s word is powerful and unbound in this world… even if Christians appear to be weak and restricted.

§ And God’s word remains true…

· if we deny Christ in our thoughts or words or deeds, then God will deliver on His promise to condemn (i.e., Christ will “spit [us] out of [His] mouth”)…

· but if we will endure… if we will “be zealous and repent” …if we will come to Christ and “buy” from Him all that we need without price… then He will grant us a place beside Him in the resurrection from the dead and in the kingdom of the new creation… which is better than anything in this present world.

Friends, health, prosperity, and approval are always attractions to us in this world, but the Christian hope is not for these temporal things… our hope is in the resurrection and the new creation… which Christ Himself has promised to all those who repent and believe… So, may God help us to repent and believe… and keep on repenting and believing… until Christ comes to make all things new.