Scripture: Revelation 3:14-21, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Today will be our final reflection on the Lord’s
messages to the seven churches of Revelation, and the church for whom this
letter was intended is Laodicea. While
many of the other churches received a combination of compliments and
complaints, and while 2 of the churches were actually praised with only
compliments, Laodicea would only receive complaints regarding their lack of
faithful living.
In essence, they were giving an outward appearance
of being a Christian community, while their hearts were far away from the Lord
Jesus and His teachings. This isn’t to
say, however, that the Lord’s love for those who had failed Him had been rescinded,
but rather that they were still loved, without Christ’s offer of salvation
being fulfilled! So what does this say
about the entirety of the world’s people?
That God’s love never fails, but ours does, and so easily at that!
Was Christ’s loving act at Calvary only for
those who God knew would, one day, come to the Son of Life and the ways that He
taught and stood for? Absolutely
NOT! The gift of divine Hope was given
for all of humanity, and would remain in place until the final moment of life
within each and every one of us comes to an end. The opportunity for Salvation was
created at Calvary for all, but the acceptance of this gift from God must be claimed
by each and every person individually – not just with words, but through a
heart-felt change in our entire being.
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he wrote this
greeting: 1I want you to know how hard I am contending for
you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in
heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of
complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God,
namely, Christ, 3 in whom
are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:1-5)
Paul is saying that the “treasure” of God’s
salvation is “hidden” in the way of Jesus Christ, and that it is for all of the
people of this world, and even for Laodicea, if they would only search for it!
Read Revelation 3:14-21
And now we read that famous phrase “I know your
deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold …so because you are lukewarm, … I am
about to spit you out of my mouth”
The Laodicean church is trying to be a little bit of both God and
the world, but blending faith into something that is more comfortable, or more
understandable, or more in line with what our life has always been, will never
be seen by the Lord as “good enough”! A
committed faith in Jesus is the only hope for forgiveness in those times we
fail Him, as well as for our time of eternity with Him. It is always about Jesus, and no other way
will ever be “enough”!
And God then continues to let them know where they
have gone astray, in particular through the way that they see “wealth”. They have put their trust in the riches of
earth, and because they think that they have gained sufficiency through their
own efforts, they believe that they had everything that they would ever need, with
no need for anything else – not even for a lot more of what this world
could give them, and definitely not for anything that could come from God.
But God goes on to explain just how much their
worldly wealth is actually worth to them.
He tells them that the only thing they have gained through their own
efforts, is destitution, blindness, and nakedness. The Lord is saying that worldly riches have
little, if anything, that will be of lasting importance, even in this life, and has no value whatsoever
in the life to come.
But God’s riches have been left waiting for them,
and they are told that His riches are perfect, as they all have been refined
from all impurity. And what does this
mean? In Zechariah 13,
the entire chapter explains “refining” – that it is a cleansing of our
lives. By faith in Jesus Christ, and
through His forgiveness, the filth of earth, our sinful lives, will be taken
from us, and we will know Godly purity and wholeness once again. That chapter begins with this word of hope - “On that day a fountain [the blood of Christ] will
be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to
cleanse them from sin and impurity.” And it concludes with these words
of Certainty for the faithful - “They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will
say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
And the word of the Lord continues to show the wayward of
Laodicea what they are missing out on – that by submission through faith in
Christ, God will correct our ways and will fill our lives with every bit of
goodness that we will ever need.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, chapter 10 of
John’s gospel (John 10:1-18) will take on a whole new power for our
lives. “14I am the Good
Shepherd: I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” And when Jesus knocks on the door of our
life, it is because He already knows us, and that we know Him, and there will
never be even a moment of hesitation in our knowing, and accepting, and
welcoming Him into our entire being.
Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
And in the context of
“blending” within the church, this passage advises that we separate from those
who do not follow the word of God. Verse
17 specifically says “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the
Lord.” This passage is warning the Church that when there is a dramatic
difference in faith expressions, that, in time, there will, unfortunately, be a
cross “pollination” among those differences, and that we must avoid that failure in faith.
Laodicea had failed to take
Paul’s advice to heart - if they had heard it at all - and had allowed the
world’s attitudes to infiltrate the church’s teaching. We need to be discerning of what is being
presented as true faith expressions, and make a conscience effort to exclude
all that does not fit with the teachings of Jesus. This, as was mentioned previously in this
series, is the responsibility of the church’s leadership, but if they fail to
see the problem that falls before them, then the congregation must take the
initiative to call the church to account.
But one caution from this
passage – the word “yoked” doesn’t necessarily imply that any and all diverse
thought should be driven from the church, but rather that the two must never be
seen as working together in faith, that they should never be seen as being
“equally yoked”. The church must
always be aware of the differences that exist between the ways of earth and the
ways of God, and to never let the two begin to be combined together. This is what Laodicea allowed to happen to
them.
At first glance, these
letters that God “sent” to the 7 churches through the revelation of John, were
specific for the faith that each one was living. However, each message is also intended to be
read and studied and accepted by every other church that has ever existed. The failings in faith that the five were
guilty of were not unique in that day and place, for they are still plaguing
the Church even today. Satan’s kingdom here
on earth will continue to work against the way of Jesus Christ until the day of
the Lord arrives and all will finally be set right again. In Hebrews 5:11-14, we read “you need someone to teach you the
elementary truths of God’s word all over again.”
That
is why these messages to the 7 are so important for the Church of today – we need
to be refreshed in the basic truths of our Lord, over and over again, until we remember
them perfectly, and are able to live them faithfully without hesitation, and
continue to strive to reject the ways of earth without fear or doubt or failure.
May
each of us never become lukewarm toward the love and ways of our Lord Jesus
Christ – not today, and not for the remainder of our time.
