The Lukewarm Church

Today is our last Sunday looking at 7 churches of Asia Minor.

For the past couple months we have been in the first 3 chapters of Revelation.

We have looked at 6 churches so far.

We have seen churches that were:

Loveless

Suffering

Compromised

Embracing false teaching.

Dead, with only a few believers.

And small but mighty.

Today, we come to the 7th and it is a sad church.

Jesus has no good words to say about them.

He doesn’t commend them.

He doesn’t find any true believers there.

It’s a sad letter to a sad church.

Let’s read about our 7th church, the church of Laodicea.

We are at the end of .

Let’s read Revelation 3:14-22.

First, let’s talk about the City that is Lukewarm

These 7 churches were arranged in a semicircular shape, with Laodicea at the end of it.

Laodicea was a major city.

They were a crossroads of sorts.

They were where roads from the north and the south, met with roads that went east and west.

They were in a prime location for business and for trading.

Those in Pergamum to the north, had to pass through Laodicea if they were going to go to the Mediterranean Sea.

They had 3 businesses that helped the city become very successful.

First, they specialized in the production of soft black wool.

They had a corner on the market.

They produced fine clothing.

They also had a major medical industry there.

They had a medical school, that specialized in eye disease.

Third, Laodicea was a major banking hub in the region.

They were the original Wall Street.

Banks were centered there, treasures were stored there.

The result was that Laodicea became very wealthy.

Let me give you an idea of how wealthy Laodicea became.

In 60 AD there was a massive earthquake that nearly crippled the town.

We saw how Rome was generally kind to these cities when they suffered tragedy.

Philadelphia was given a 5 year free pass on paying taxes.

Other cities were rebuilt by Rome.

Laodicea refused any financial help from Rome.

They flat out said, “We don’t need your money.”

And they rebuilt themselves.

Some have said that the city was more beautiful after the earthquake, then before the earthquake.

This was a city that was very confident in themselves.

They saw themselves as a self-made city, needing no one.

Laodicea did have one problem, they didn’t have water.

They had originally received water from rivers, but they had dried up.

There were two nearby water sources.

Nearby was Hierapolis.

It was known in the region for their natural hot springs.

These hot springs remain there today.

It’s a beautiful tourist attraction.

Also nearby was the city of Colossae, which you are familiar with from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

They had an unusually cold stream that was near the town.

Laodicea developed a system of aqueducts, to have the hot springs water from Hierapolis and the cold springs from Colossae brought into the town.

The problem was that by the time the water made it to Laodicea is was gross.

It traveled 5 miles through stone and clay pipe.

The water became foul smelling, tepid, and dirty.

The water was filled with impurities, and simply was not good.

It made people sick to drink it.

So for all their beauty, Laodicea was lacking the basic necessities.

Within this town is a church.

We don’t know much about the church.

We think it was started by a man named Epaphras, who served down in Colossae.

But we do not that it was close to Colossae, and it mirrored some of the same problems.

At the end of Colossians, Paul tells them to have the letter to the Colossians sent up to Laodicea, to be read there.

That’s the city, now lets look at the contents of Christ’s letter to Laodicea, let’s look at The Beliefs of the Lukewarm.

We get a glimpse of what this church believed by Christ’s introduction to them.

He teaches them exactly what they needed to hear.

None of His words are wasted.

His words do not go out in vain.

His introduction corrects.

Look at verse 1, “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.”

Jesus gives Himself 3 titles.

The Amen.

The Faithful and True Witness

The Beginning of God’s Creation.

So we ask ourselves, “Why do they need to hear this?”

He is the Amen.

We typically think of this as the conclusion to a prayer.

We might use it as the end of the prayer, but really the word means “truth”.

What you have just heard is accurate.

When a preacher gives a good point, the congregation says, “Amen!”

I agree.

So when we finish a prayer with “Amen” we are saying, “Everything I just heard prayed, I believe and I echo. Those are my words too.

We pray, and we say, “Amen” because we know that the Lord answers prayer.

We have hope in Him.

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Jesus begins with introduction, because they have forgotten this about HIm.

There are certain things that are promised to us.

Forgiveness.

Daily needs.

He has promised to be our comfort.

Security.

A hope for the future.

We pray, and finish with “Amen”, because we know that these things are found only in Christ.

Jesus begins by saying “He is the Amen” because the Laodicean church had forgotten that.

Jesus wasn’t their fulfillment.

Jesus wasn’t their hope.

They had taken their eyes off of Christ.

They found their Amen, their hope, their promises in their riches.

So Jesus corrects them with this title, He is the Amen.

He says He is the “faithful and true witness”

Jesus is the most true witness to ever take the stand.

He is the most true, because He is true.

He told His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life ...”

He is defined by truth.

When someone speaks truth, you listen to them.

Sadly, when it comes to the Laodicean church.

They don’t listen to Him.

In fact He’s not present among them.

Later on, we hear that Jesus is outside the church.

Where 2 or more are gathered He is present.

And in this situation He is not present.

His words are not welcome in this church.

Which tells us how far they’ve drifted from truth.

says that God has spoken to us by His Son.

This is a church that has forgotten truth, and has forgotten the source of truth.

This is a church that is in trouble.

These churches exist today.

The Bible is pushed aside.

They have summer series on movies.

Sermons are not really sermons.

A verse might be read, but then the preacher quickly reads a poem, or tells a story to get the church to forget the verse that was read.

And a good sermon is one where less time is spent reading the word, and teaching the word, and more time is spent trying to tell the punchline of a joke just right.

And then Jesus says that He is “the beginning of God’s Creation”.

This doesn’t mean He is the first to be created.

When you go to Disneyland, it’s so nice to be at the front of the line, to be at the beginning of the line, to be the first in line.

Jesus was not at the beginning of the line of things to be created.

He is the one who began creation.

He is the ruler or the originator of God’s creation.

Creation starts with Him.

He is the beginning of creation.

Paul wanted the letter to the Colossians brought to Laodicea, because the Laodiceans were starting to hold onto the same heresy that the Colossians did.

And this same heresy is held by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and even Muslims today, and that is that Jesus is a created being.

says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

This statement tells us that Jesus is God.

The Laodicean church had drifted into heresy.

They neglected to trust in Jesus.

What you will see is that they trusted in themselves.

So He introduces Himself.

He is the Amen.

He is who they are to trust in.

He is very God.

They neglected to listen to Jesus.

So Jesus says He is the faithful and true witness.

His words are the treasure they need.

They forgot the nature of Christ.

He’s not part of Creation.

Creation started with Him, because He is God.

Laodicea is not alone in these errors.

There continues to be a fight for truth.

It’s surprising how many churches and denominations are going down this same wretched path as the Laodicean church.

I read of one nearby, very large church, that said praying to God is not affective.

This large church went so far as to say that conversion is not affective in changing the nature of man.

Essentially, forgetting that Christ is our Amen.

He is our hope.

When I hear of churches that abandon Scripture, and the preaching of God’s Word, and instead to do a summer series exegeting Marvel movies, as if they are the faithful and true witness, I say, there’s a Laodicean church.

When I hear of Christians, who reject God’s account of creation, I say there’s a Laodicean church.

Jesus says, He is the beginning of creation.

All things were created through Him and for Him.

But when we say, “Well, National Geographic says it happened differently.”

Who’s your real source of truth?

Who is your source of truth?

Is it National Geographic or some other man who calls himself an expert, or is it God?

The church continues to need this introduction from Jesus.

This is a sad letter, to a sad church.

But there is something noteworthy, and even worthy of praise within it, that I don’t want you to miss.

Jesus writes this letter.

That right there is hope.

Jesus is writing to correct this apostate church.

There was no warning to Sodom and Gomorrah.

God rained down His justice upon those towns.

But with Laodicea, there is a letter, we see the patience of Jesus on display.

They are in error.

But He doesn’t strike them dead on the spot.

He teaches.

He corrects.

We learn about the patience of Christ with Laodicea.

It’s a good practice to look for reasons to praise God.

Thanksgiving is this next week, and it’s good to reflect on God’s grace.

Think of your own conversion.

God didn’t strike you down the first time you sinned.

He corrected you.

He sent teachers, preachers, friends, to help you understand the truth.

I hope you can find a reason to thank God for His patience, by seeing His patience with the Laodiceans.

This is true for us.

I pray that you would always be growing in truth, especially doctrinal truth.

Why?

Because it’s ultimately about Jesus.

He cares what you think about Him.

Then we see The Works of the Lukewarm.

Look at verses 15-16, “‘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.”

We used to play a game in youth group, where you would see who could eat a pile of Oreos the fastest.

So you’d take a couple students, put 4 Oreos in front of each of them, and they’d race to eat them.

First one to eat all of them would win.

What they didn’t know is that hidden in that pile of Oreos, was one Oreo that had the creme removed, and it was replaced with toothpaste.

The student would bite into it, expecting to get whatever wonderful, and completely unnatural filling is in an Oreo, and instead get that minty, fluoride taste of toothpaste.

That was fun of it.

Watching the student struggle with a toothpaste filled Oreo.

You can imagine the surprise of expecting one thing and receiving another.

Maybe you’ve done it at the dinner table.

You reach over, expecting to drink a cup of soda, and instead it’s iced tea instead.

Your taste buds tell you that this isn’t what you were expecting.

Jesus says, “you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!”

When you want a hot coffee on a cold night, you don’t want an old cup of coffee that’s been sitting out at room temperature.

You want it hot.

When you want a cold glass of milk, you don’t want a cup of room temperature milk.

You want it cold.

What’s He talking about, hot and cold?

He’s not talking about the level of your love for Jesus.

For example, some people might say that they are “on fire for Jesus.”

Meaning that their current walk with Christ is very good.

While another person might say that have felt very “cold in their walk with Christ.”

Meaning that the walk hasn’t been very good, they’ve been distant.

We use this kind of language when we talk about our relaitionships.

When your spouse is irritated with you, what does she give you?

The cold shoulder.

That’s not what Jesus is saying here.

He is not commenting on how you feel about Him.

At the end of verse 15, Jesus says, “Would that you were either cold or hot!”

He’s not saying, “Either have an on fire relationship with me, or hate me, but don’t be just kind of okay with me.”

Jesus is talking about the quality and identification of their work.

Verse 15 begins, “I know your works ...”

Remember where Laodicea is.

They lie between Hierapolis and Colossae.

Water comes from the warm springs to the north, and the cold streams to the south.

And by the time it gets to Laodicea, it’s not just not cold or not hot.

In fact it’s even worse than that.

It’s had to travel through clay, stone pipes, that have not been sanitized.

It’s stinky, filthy, and not good for drinking.

That word, “lukewarm” doesn’t do justice to the condition of this water.

This is worse than drinking lukewarm milk that has been sitting out on the counter.

That looks like cold milk.

You don’t know it’s lukewarm until its in your mouth.

But you can still swallow it.

The water that came to Laodicea was putrid, had a rotten smell that was nauseating, and even worse to drink.

It would make you sick.

This is worse than drinking lukewarm milk that has been sitting out on the counter.

That looks like cold milk.

You don’t know it’s lukewarm until its in your mouth.

The waters of Laodicea were clearly bad.

You could smell it.

You weren’t tricked into.

But now He’s talking about a church.

This is a church that is lukewarm.

This is a church that is bad.

How does Jesus know it’s bad?

You can spot this kind of church because of their works.

They are unholy.

They are sinful.

They are clearly in opposition to Christ.

It’s known in what they believe.

It’s known in what they do.

When you see churches embracing homosexuality, that’s a lukewarm church.

It’s evident.

When you see churches rejecting the word of God, that’s a lukewarm church.

It’s evident.

You can smell it.

When you see churches, advocating abortion, and encouraging the death of the unborn, that’s a lukewarm church.

It’s evident.

When you see churches, denying gender, or the roles associated with gender, that’s a lukewarm church.

It’s evident.

When you see churches where sin not talked about, or told to be okay?

That’s a lukewarm church.

It goes on and on.

How do you know if a church is lukewarm?

Look at what they do.

God’s Word has spoken.

Jesus says you will know if people are in Him by their fruit.

And when the fruit stinks, you know, they’re not in Him.

And how does Jesus respond to this kind of a church?

“I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The King James Version says, “I will spew you out of my mouth.”

And the New King James Version, “I will vomit you out of my mouth.”

This kind of church has a divine gag reflex in the mouth of Christ.

He wants nothing to do with it.

If you don’t like hypocrites, Christ dislikes them even more.

I will spit you out of my mouth.

Jesus says, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Just because a building says “church” on the outside of it, it doesn’t mean that it is doing the work of a church.

It’s okay to look at a church and say, “Something stinks about this.”

We do that with other things don’t we?

You go to a restaurant and find a hair in your salad, you think, “Somethings wrong with this.”

You see cockroaches on the floor, you question the sanitation of their food.

And the same for a church.

Jesus says you can tell if someone is genuine by what is produced.

, “You will recognize them by their fruits.”

This is why we must strive to do the work that is pleasing to Christ.

Not all faith is pleasing to Jesus.

explains that there is a faith that is dead.

And how do you know if a faith is dead … by its deeds, or lack thereof.

Then Jesus addresses the Needs of the Lukewarm.

There’s a certain bit of irony here.

Look at verse 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.”

That’s a great picture of Laodicea, and the church within her that mimicked the city outside of her.

Laodicea was rich.

Plenty of business.

They traded, manufactured clothing.

They prospered.

So much so that they were banking capital of the region.

They said, “I need nothing.”

Those were the words they told Rome after the earthquake.

“I don’t need your help.”

They said, “We can do this on our own.”

Pride is one of the biggest dangers to your soul.

Because pride tells you you have all that you need, and you have it all inside of you.

Pride tells you you are rich.

Pride blinds you from the truth.

Pride not only affects us materialistically, it is even more deadly to the soul.

Because the reality is that you are not rich.

You are lacking.

Your sin is offensive to God.

So offensive, that He would rather put you in Hell for eternity, than allow you in His presence.

says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

That is our reality.

We are lacking.

If you have sinned just once, that’s your condition.

But pride tells you, you have it all.

Many think that they don’t need Christ, because they think they are good people.

And why are they good? Because they’re better than most.

They live comparing themselves to others.

But Jesus isn’t asking you to be better than most.

His standard is perfection.

That’s why the Bible says, “The soul who sins shall die.”

It doesn’t say, “The soul who sins more than others shall die.”

It’s sin that He judges us for.

The riches that Christ is calling for is perfection.

And if you are not perfect, then you are not rich.

Jesus says that they were blind.

tells of the rich young ruler.

Do you ever wonder why people reject the Gospel?

This man comes to Jesus asking what else he has to do to inherit eternal life.

It’s because there is a spiritual blindness.

Jesus says, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”

says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

This man says, “All these I have kept from my youth.”

Jesus says, “One thing you still lack.”

He’s got all this money.

See the irony here? Because in a town that had a medical school that focused on eye disease, they couldn’t see their true need.

He’s got power.

They were blind to the truth.

But he lacks one thing.

They were rich and said they have all they need, and yet, in the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I’ve talked to many people who call themselves Christians, but they are like the Laodiceans.

One thing he hasn’t bought yet.

What is it?

If you were to ask them why they are going to heaven they’d say, “Because I’m a good person.”

“Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

They’d say they have done good things.

And the man walked away said.

Basically, they would echo the words of the Laodiceans, “I need nothing.”

So, I walk them through the Law.

How many times have you lied?

How many times have you used the Lord’s name in vain?

How many times have you looked with lust?

How many times have rejected God’s word and invented a new understanding of God?

How many times have you sinned?

And they say, “Well, I think I’m a good person.”

What’s happening?

It’s pride.

They are rejecting the truth.

They say, “I need nothing, because, I’m a good person.”

“I don’t need religion. I’m a good person.”

And as they say those words, they demonstrate their blindness.

He was rich, and he walked away lacking.

Their inability see the truth.

And like the Emperor, who was convinced that the tailor had made him the finest clothes, he walked through his kingdom naked.

And at the same time, the lukewarm church, filled with pride, blind to the truth, walks naked.

Verse 18, Jesus gives the best advice you could ever receive, “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.”

He says buy from me 3 things.

Gold refined by fire.

White garments.

And salve, eye ointment.

These 3 things are the things that they thought they had, but they didn’t.

They had shallow imitations of the real thing.

Jesus says to buy:

Gold refined by fire.

How do you do that?

This is genuine faith.

By giving Him what we have.

speaks of genuine faith and says that it is more precious than gold.

It comes from Christ, and it’s refined, purified and made stronger through the trials life.

It comes from Christ, and it’s made stronger through life.

White garments.

Laodicea had their black wool.

But those clothes were not worthy of the kingdom of God.

We need the clothes that make us fit to stand before God.

Christ makes us white as snow.

We need the filth of our sins removed, and we need to be covered by the purity of Jesus.

We need our sins removed.

We need the shame of our sin removed.

See, the true Christian doesn’t ignore that he’s sinned.

In fact the true Christian, confesses sin.

He acknowledges sin.

I John says that if someone says they have no sin, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Look at the description of sin in verse 18, “the shame of your nakedness.”

Sin is shameful.

We mourn over it.

We hate it, and we desire to have it covered.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones once described repentance this way.

“Repentance means that you realize that you’re a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, and that you are hell bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, and that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form; you renounce the world, whatever the cost - the world in its mind and outlook, as well as its practice - and you deny yourself, and take up the cross, and go after Christ, your nearest and dearest.”

And when you put on the white garments found in verse 18, this is the forgiveness of sins, the removal of shame, and the covering of righteousness, found only in Jesus.

We need His righteousness.

These white garments, mean you can stand in the presence of God.

Jesus says buy eye salve, ointment so you can see.

He is truth.

His word is truth.

But we don’t see it or understand it, until He opens our eyes.

And how do we buy these things?

By giving Him your filth, nakedness and blindness.

By acknowledging your complete need for Him.

Jesus says, “I counsel you to buy from me ...”

If you’ve ever wonder what Jesus wants from you … here it is.

We are to come to Christ as beggars.

Give Him your sin.

Give Him your needs.

Give Him your ignorance, admitting you need Him.

We are to come to Christ as beggars.

Then there is The Invitation to the Lukewarm.

As terrible as the Laodicean church is, I’m convinced Jesus is most tender with them.

He’s talking to a church.

It’s a bad church, but it’s a church.

And He has not spit them out of his mouth yet.

He says he’s about to.

But he hasn’t done it yet.

Instead He corrects them, he sends them a warning.

Verse 19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

A sign of God’s love is that He reproves and disciplines people.

This is why parents, you should correct, teach and discipline your children.

If you love them you will correct.

A sign of His wrath is when He no longer corrects.

You should be worried, when you no longer feel convicted over sin, and God no longer restrains people in their sin.

A sign of His love is when He convicts you.

In II Samuel David sinned in a big way.

He had an affair with his close friend’s wife.

Then plotted that man’s death.

David thought he’d gotten away with it.

But then God used the prophet Nathan to expose David’s sin.

God corrected David through Nathan.

Because God loved David, David was disciplined.

There are 2 ways to respond to God’s discipline.

The sinner gets angry at God.

The sinner thinks God is unjust and unkind.

The wicked hate the discipline of God.

He thinks its unfair.

He says, “God I don’t deserve this. Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Or you can rejoice at the discipline of God.

says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

When you are disciplined by God, how do you respond?

This says something about your soul.

Do you respond in thanksgiving, or do you shake your fist to the heavens.

Jesus says when you are disciplined be zealous and repent.

Do it eagerly and quickly.

Laodicea is a church that is offensive to Christ.

He is appalled at their situation.

He wants to vomit them out of His mouth.

You want to know how bad the situation is in Laodicea and with Christ, look at verse 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.”

Where is Christ in relation to the church?

He’s not in the church.

He’s outside the church.

“Behold ...”

There’s that word of surprise and shock.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

This isn’t a verse on evangelism.

I know people like to make this about

Their sin might make Jesus gag in the mouth, but He loves His church.

Laodicea has no good believers there.

He’s outside of the church.

But He knocks.

If one person there would reject the idea that he has all that he needs.

And if one person there would respond in faith.

If one person there would receive faith.

If one person there would put on Christ’s white robes.

If one person there would have his eyes opened.

Then Christ will come in and dine with him.

There’s something special about eating together.

Eating together is fellowship.

Eating together is talking together.

Eating together is sharing life and joy together.

At the end of the day, it’s nice to sit down as a family and eat together.

To talk about what happened.

Jesus wants to come in and have that meal with the church.

Jesus has not abandoned this church.

He knocks.

Desiring to come into this church.

And dine with them.

If one person there, would respond to Jesus, He would come into that church because of that one believer.

And then Laodicea would become like the church of Sardis, where there were only a few Christians.

As hopeless as this church is, there is hope even for the hopeless.

This is the patience of Christ.

We don’t know what happened to Laodicea, but it finishes with The Hope to the Lukewarm.

Jesus follows the same formula as the other letters.

The previous 6 letters had promises to those who conquer, who endure to the end.

We eat from the tree of life.

Receive:

A crown of life.

Protection from the second death.

Hidden manna.

A white stone with a new name.

We will rule the nations.

We will receive:

Morning Star

White Garments.

Christ says He will confess our name.

That we will become a pillar in God’s Temple.

And receive the name of God, the new city and Christ on us.

Jesus’ letter to Laodicea finishes with hope to the putrid, lukewarm church.

If we conquer, He will grant us to sit on the throne with Him.

This is a final call to endure.

He says we will sit on the throne the same way He conquered and sat on His Father’s throne.

How did Christ conquer?

By the way of the Cross.

It was by suffering.

says, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

How did He achieve this triumph?

It was on the cross.

His victory was on the wooden Cross.

And this sets the pattern for His believers.

Tough days are ahead.

They may suffer.

Christ has not promised us an easy life.

But you still have hope.

There is an eternity in the throne room of God.

As brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus.

If you are in Christ … you are a conqueror, so run to the end.

If you are not in Christ, then let Christ’s rebuke of the Laodiceans comfort you.

He was patient with them.

He’s been patient with you.