“Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation says: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent. Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne. “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:14-22 HCSB)
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Waddle.
Waddle who?
Waddle it take to get you to open this door?
OK, OK… it’s a terrible knock-knock joke. But I hope it got your attention because the contents of this letter in Revelation are no laughing matter for the church in Laodicea, and the contents should not be funny to us, either. Here’s a church that faces a critical juncture in its existence, and listening to the wrong counsel and making the wrong choice will be catastrophic to its existence.
The letter to Laodicea begins the same way the other letters began; with a declaration of its author: “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation…” Last week we talked about what it meant for Jesus to be truth, and He reiterates that to this church. The word “amen” is only used as a title or name in Isaiah 65:16 and is referencing the source of blessings for those living in the New Jerusalem (new heaven and new earth). I think that is a clear indication of what He wants these Laodicean Christians to understand. The only true blessing comes from the Amen, the one who blesses them in the new heaven and new earth, the kingdom of God.
Not only is He the Amen or ultimate truth and the One who will bring God’s promises to fruition, He is also the faithful and true Witness and the originator or source of God’s creation. He is the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises, He faithfully leads us into truth, and He is the source of truth and all of life. In other words, there’s no reason to question, doubt, disobey, or close ourselves off from Him. Everything we need, He is able to supply.
As we’ve seen before, He knows the works of this church and that they are neither cold nor hot. But there’s a real problem with this lukewarm or tepid state they’re in. Jesus can’t stand it and is going to “spit” them out of His mouth. Most scholars believe this reference has to do with the lack of a good, local water source in Laodicea. Nearby there’s a good source for cold water and for hot water, but both must be transported to Laodicea via an aqueduct system. By the time either water source arrived in Laodicea, it was neither cold nor hot.
I think some scholars try to make this too complicated by trying to resolve why Christ would rather have a cold church over a lukewarm church. I think it is really about whether the church is pleasing and useful to Him and not whether the church is ice cold or on fire. If I’m expecting to take a cold drink of water and the water is lukewarm, I spit it out. If I’m expecting to take a drink of hot coffee and the coffee is lukewarm, I spit it out. He wants us to be what He has created us to be. He is the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, and the source of ALL God’s creation. He has the right to expect us to be what He has made us to be.
Are we the church we want to be or the church He wants us to be?
The answer to that question about Laodicea seems obvious from Christ’s response: “Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, I advise (or counsel) you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.”
They are happy with who they are and feel no need to change.
Laodicea is a wealthy city that sits at the crossroads of three major trade routes. They are hosts to a very large, lucrative, and quite successful banking industry. In fact, the city is so rich that it required no assistance from Rome to rebuild when it was destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD. They were also well known for their luxurious black wool cloth and garment industry and had developed and marketed a world-famous ophthalmic healing eye salve. The city was entirely self-sufficient, and this same cultural attitude appears to have been held by the church. They have no need for anything Christ can offer; they have it all.
But the One who knows them and their works knows that they are not rich but are wretched, pitiful, and poor. The One who knows them and their works knows their famous eye salve hasn’t helped their spiritual blindness. The One who knows them and their works knows that they aren’t well dressed but are walking around naked and shamefully exposed. Any time the church becomes self-sufficient, then we are just weak, worthless, and unable to do the very things our LORD has commissioned us to be and do. A church without Christ and His Spirit’s power isn’t a church; it’s just another social organization. It thinks it is rich, but it is wretched, pitiful, and poor. It thinks it has spiritual insight, but it is really blind. It parades around in prideful, cultural clothing when it is really naked and shamefully exposed.
What kind of church will we be? Will we be a church that finds satisfaction and self-fulfillment by having everything our culture says we ought to have? Will we seek to have a fine, big building with all of the latest cultural amenities? Or will we be a church that truly has the Spirit of Christ and seeks to buy our treasure from Christ, refined in the fire of faithful obedience and even cultural rejection and persecution? Are we more likely to parade around in the clothing of cultural acceptance or in the white linen of determined obedience? Are we blind to our own condition or will we let Him open our eyes to our smug self-satisfaction and spiritual failure and fall before Him in repentance?
Oh church, listen to His word: “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent.” Christ’s rebuke in this verse is quite revealing as to the core issue in Laodicea. Their commitment is more about their own comfort than about Christ’s commandments and commission. They’re more interested in seeking earthly treasures than heavenly ones. They’re more committed to cultural significance than kingdom effectiveness. They’re more determined to look good in man’s eyes than in God’s eyes. But because Christ loves them, He will rebuke and discipline them. Why? Because no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (see Lk. 9:57-62). We’ve been promised the greatest reward, but we’ve also been cautioned to count the cost before committing ourselves to Him and His church.
“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:28-29 HCSB)
“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.” (Philippians 3:18-21 HCSB)
Note: Paul’s letter to the Colossians would be a good, quick read for those who are interested in pursuing this further. Colossae and Hierapolis are nearby (and the sources of the cold and hot water), and Paul’s letter to the Colossae Christians was likely to all of the Christians in that area, including Laodicea and Hierapolis. It definitely gives some insight into the cultural issues and spiritual challenges these churches dealt with. Don’t forget, Christ’s judgment on unbelievers and rebuke against believers is always redemptive and intended to drive us to repentance before Him.
But His rebuke towards this church is not yet complete: “Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.” His rebuke is not just that their commitment is weak or lacking; they’ve completely shut Him out of their fellowship. This verse is often cited and used with an evangelistic emphasis towards unbelievers. While it can be used effectively in that way, the context of the verse is towards the Laodicean church and her members who have shut their door to intimate and ongoing fellowship with Christ.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” (John 15:5 HCSB)
Spiritual fruit is the result of ongoing intimate fellowship with Christ, and a church without Christ as its focus is a complete and utter paradox. You may find it interesting, I know I do, that this statement is directed towards the church at Laodicea but is stated in such a way that it applies to each individual member of the church. “If anyone [of you] hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.” Corporate repentance and revival of a church must always begin with individual accountability and repentance. It may or may not begin with the pastor (though it should), but it will always begin in the heart and spirit of an individual within the church and spread outwards from there.
If my church or your church is like Laodicea, it is our responsibility to hear Christ’s rebuke and to call them into repentance. Once we’ve begun that process, Christ will lead us to focus solely on Him and into making a radical commitment to His mission. When that happens, we will find that He begins to draw us into intimate fellowship (or dinner) with Him as promised. When we’re focused on Christ and His mission and our intimate fellowship grows, then we will begin to bear the fruit of that relationship.
In summary, the healing ointment Christ provides opens our eyes to our poor spiritual condition. Once we can see clearly, we realize the things we’ve been treasuring are just worthless junk and we’ve been walking around naked in our prideful self-sufficiency and culturally acceptable beliefs and actions. We discard the worthless junk and begin to gather real, eternal treasure into our lives. We also begin to clothe ourselves with holy living, Christ-honoring work, and biblically based beliefs.
Finally, the promise to the victor: “I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.” If we follow Him, are obedient to the Father’s will, and endure through the suffering and cultural rejection, then we will also reign with Him. What an incredible promise. Stay faithful, and He will honor and reward our faith.
“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:22 HCSB)
Hilltop Baptist Church - Shawnee, OK 
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