Jesus finished His letters to the Seven Churches by writing to Laodicea about the temperature of their faith. In this daily devotional, Pastor Steve tells us why Jesus wanted us hot or cold instead of lukewarm.
Devotions in the Pastor Steve Sermon Series
Here we are at the last church in our study on the Seven Churches in Revelation. I hope that you have been able to get a lot out of these studies. I trust that God will do with them as He will in your life.
This letter to the church in Laodicea reprimands lukewarm Christians whose inconsistent lives stand for nothing but themselves. They sicken Christ to the point of His spitting them from His mouth.
We all have times in our lives that we tend to be lukewarm in our faith. The issue is when we stay that way, never knowing the truth of a strong relationship with Christ.
Historical Background
Laodicea was situated 40 miles SouthEast of Philadelphia, and it was the economic and judicial center of a metropolitan regions that included Colosse and Hierapolis. The citizens of Laodicea were very proud of their self-sufficiency, it is said. For example, after a severe earthquake in AD 60, they refused aid from Rome and rebuilt their city themselves, making it very beautiful.
Amen
"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.’” (Rev. 3: 14-22 ESV)
As you can see in the first part of verse 14, Jesus describes Himself as the “Amen.” Amen was used as an oath during this time. It in effect means, “Let it be so.” Therefore, whenever we say it after a prayer or a statement we agree with, we are saying, “Let it be so.”
Amen is also a promise of truth. Jesus is that promise (Jn. 14: 6), and His message is authenticated by the truthfulness and reliability of His word.
Faithful and True Witness
In the second part of verse 14, the description of Christ as the “faithful and true witness” declares that He knew them as they really were. So, as the faithful and true witness, what He is going to declare about them is true — whether they think so or not.
Though wealthy and proud of their status and accomplishments, the Laodiceans were not measuring up to God’s expectations. We run into problems when we start counting our accomplishments “for God” more than our relationship “with God.”
While doing works for the Lord is one thing, if we are doing it apart from His influence upon our lives (spiritually), we are truly accomplishing nothing. Our relationship with Him is far more important to Him than what we do. Our works for Him flow out of the love we have for Him, built up through our relationship with Him.
If we have not received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we do not have the ability to have that true and effective relationship with Him. That is of the spirit. Apart from the spirit, nothing can happen of value.
We cannot rightly believe that we will get into Heaven because we’ve done X, Y, or Z. That is a works-oriented theology and a lie from the pit of hell.
The Apostle Paul told us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2: 8-9 ESV). We cannot get saved by the work we do for the Lord.
I should also remind you here what Jesus said in the book of Matthew:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'” (Mt. 7:21-23 ESV).
Jesus is referring here to the Judgement Day. Many are going to be believing that they will be allowed into Heaven because of all the things that they did for Jesus in their lives. But they never truly knew Him as their Lord and Savior. He will say on that day that He never knew them, because they never asked Him to be their Lord and Savior.
The Beginning of God’s Creation
In the last part of verse 14, Jesus says He’s the “beginning of God’s Creation.” This is an amazing thing to consider. I mentioned this before in an earlier study when Jesus referred to Himself and the “Alpha and Omega.” It should be mentioned again.
In John 1:1-5 it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (ESV).
Take note of this … Jesus was with God in the beginning and all things were made through Him, plus, without Him not anything was made that was made. He is indeed, “beginning of God’s creation.” So, He, in fact, is the source of the new creation.
Be Hot or Cold
In verses 15 and 16, Jesus told this church that He is well aware of their works, but they are neither hot nor cold. It is interesting that He wants them to get either way, but because when they are lukewarm, they are neither.
I find it interesting that Jesus would rather see us be completely cold to Him, rather than simply lukewarm. Obviously, hot is what He desires most of all, but He doesn’t want those who are lukewarm.
To be lukewarm is to show no enthusiasm about what we are doing. If we consider this at its very root, it is understandable why Jesus does not like lukewarmness. It has a sense of double mindedness to it.
If we are not able to fully give ourselves to something, such as serving Christ, we are likely bouncing back and forth between several things. In doing that, we have no commitment to any one thing that we are doing.
In the book of James, it speaks of double minded people. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (Jas. 1: 6-8 ESV).
Being lukewarm shows that we have no passion for what we are doing, no commitment, and no real care for what we are doing.
In an interesting sidebar here, not many are aware of this, but there were hot springs in Hierapolis, and they were famous for their healing qualities. Colossae was equally famous for its cold, refreshing springs.
In contrast, the water that was available to Laodicea was smelly and lukewarm. Such water is distasteful. Jesus was saying that the church’s indecisive commitment to Him was revolting.
I don’t know about you, but when I drink a cup of coffee, I like it hot. There have been times when I’m working on something and pick up my cup of coffee to take a drink, only to find that it has chilled to lukewarm (room temperature) since the last time I drank it.
I don’t know why, but there’s something about the taste of cold or lukewarm coffee that makes me almost gag. To that extent, whenever it gets in my mouth, I immediately want to spit it out.
If we can picture that in relation to how Jesus says that He will spit out those out of His mouth who are lukewarm, we can get an idea of what that might be like, spiritually speaking.
But Aren’t We Doing Pretty Good Here?
In verse 17, we see that that Jesus says that this church’s attitude was one of self-sufficiency. This attitude brings about a sense of having no need for God at all. Although the Christians in Laodicea felt prosperous and self-sufficient, Jesus accurately saw their wretched, miserable, and poor spiritual condition.
Because Laodicea was such a prosperous place, they had no need of financial things. They believed that they were doing just fine.
The problem is, when we end up in such a place, we can tend to forget about God. It’s strange, but we tend to believe that we don’t have need of God when everything is going great. But when it’s not so good, we become aware of how much we need God right away (hopefully).
What Did They Need to Do to Fix That?
Jesus has the answer for that in verse 18. The prescription required for Laodicea was a complete change of attitude from self-reliance to dependence on God.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4: 19, ” And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (ESV). What they needed to realize, and we do too, is that even when we have enough, it was provided by God. No matter what it is.
Whether we have plenty or not enough at a given time, God has and will provide. So, there is absolutely never a reason for us to have the feeling or attitude that we don’t need God. Because we do.
Buy from Me
In verse 18, Jesus encourages them to obtain that which is truly important. They were to obtain spiritual things by saying, “Buy from me.”
Materially, the Laodiceans could buy whatever they wanted, but they needed to acquire the treasures of Heaven so they would have spiritual riches through faith in Christ.
While material wealth will not withstand God’s purging by fire, spiritual wealth has eternal value. Purifying by fire improved the quality of the gold and made it more valuable. Spiritually speaking, being purified/refined by fire brings us to place spiritually where all things of the flesh have been purged from our soul.
White garments represent spiritual purity. When we have obtained the things we need to be spiritually pure, we’ve obtained those white garments.
Interestingly enough, black wool cloth and garments were prized exports of Laodicea. The famous black wool cloth was a source of Laodicea’s material wealth. It probably represented Laodiceans’ proud and unredeemed spiritual condition.
Laodicea was also known for their Phrygian eye ointment, which may have been used in the eye clinic there.
The Laodiceans needed to buy ointment from Christ through faith. Only his eye salve would enable them to see their sin and repent.
I Correct and Discipline
In verse 19 Jesus stated that He corrects those He loves. He encouraged us to be zealous and repent because of that. That’s in contrast to being lukewarm.
Christ will correct and discipline those whom He loves.
Hebrews 12: 5-6 told us, “And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, ‘My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child'” (NLT).
Rather than rejecting us, Jesus disciplines us because He loves us. His faithfulness extends to even the unfaithful.
Be diligent to turn to Him because He loves us. We can take a lot of encouragement by this.
I Stand at the Door and Knock
Verse 20a is probably one of the most encouraging in the Bible to many Christians. “… I stand at the door and knock …” (Rev. 3: 20 ESV).
A person or a church must HEAR Jesus knocking and OPEN THE DOOR to Him. Christ provides a pattern of revival for a church that has grown spiritually weak and out of fellowship with Him. Simply opening in the door can renew their former bond.
We Will Share a Meal
We will share a meal (vs. 20b). A shared meal symbolizes acceptance, deep friendship, and a covenant relationship.
I believe that Jesus had a purpose in setting forth the example of the Lord’s Supper at the Last Supper. It was a time of celebrating Passover, but it was a time of fellowship, too.
I believe that the observance of the Lord’s Supper needs to be of a fellowship bent in church, rather than a mindless ritual that we were told to do in remembrance of Him. Surely, we are doing it in remembrance of Him, but we are also celebrating the fellowship in faith that we have. Read below and see what you think.
“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Mt. 26: 26-30 ESV).
In verse 21 we see the reward for victorious and obedient faith is to:
- Sit with Christ on His throne.
- Christians do not become divine, but they share in Christ’s victorious reign.
- 2 Timothy 2:11-13 says, ‘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 — for he cannot deny himself.‘ (ESV).
How Do We Apply This?
Which do you want to be in your walk in God: someone who is lukewarm and uncommitted to Jesus like the church in Laodicea or do you want to be someone who’s heart is on fire for Him?
If you’re lukewarm now and uncommitted to Jesus and want to get on fire for him and don’t know how, here’s three tips to help you get there.
- Repent. Turn back to Him and pray for forgiveness and seek His face.
- Fan into flames what you already have. “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (II Tim. 1: 6 ESV)
- Find people you can serve.
Lord Jesus, show us how not be lukewarm. Most importantly, show us when we have become lukewarm in our faith. Help us to be on fire for You. We want to be totally sold out for You. Help us to win souls for You. Amen.
What do you think?
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