Lukewarm and Loaded: The Affluent Church Sickness Text: Revelation 3:14-22
Introduction: The Devil's Favorite Anesthetic
We come now to the last of the seven letters, the letter to the church in Laodicea. And if any of these letters ought to make the comfortable, Western Christian sit up straight and check his pulse, it is this one. We are quick to imagine that the greatest threats to the church are external: hostile governments, cultural mockery, or overt persecution. And those are real threats. But the devil is a strategist, and he knows that a frontal assault often creates martyrs and strengthens the church's resolve. His most subtle, and often most effective, weapon is not the sword, but the sofa. It is not persecution, but prosperity. It is not the threat of the coliseum, but the lure of the cul-de-sac.
The Laodicean sickness is the native disease of the affluent church. It is the spiritual rot that grows in the damp, dark cellars of self-sufficiency. This is the church that has it all together, the church with a healthy budget, a respectable reputation, and a five year plan. It is a church that has mastered the metrics of worldly success and has mistaken it for the blessing of God. And in the process, it has done the unthinkable. It has locked the Lord of the Church outside His own house.
This letter is a bucket of ice water in the face of a sleeping church. It is a divine diagnosis, and the prognosis is grim. Jesus does not come to them with gentle suggestions for incremental improvement. He comes with a rebuke so sharp it could flay the skin from a man's back, and He does it precisely because He loves them. He is the Amen, the final word on the matter. He is the Faithful and True Witness, the one who sees past their impressive portfolio and into their bankrupt souls. And He is the Beginning of the creation of God, the very source of the wealth they foolishly believe they have created for themselves.
We must not read this as a historical curiosity, a message for some unfortunate church in ancient Turkey. We must read it with the blood draining from our faces, because we are Laodicea. The temptations that swamped them are the very air we breathe. The self-deception that blinded them is the default setting of our prosperous age. We must therefore listen with extreme care, because Christ is speaking to us.
The Text
"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: This is what the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says: 'I know your deeds, 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 will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be manifested; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore 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 will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"
(Revelation 3:14-22 LSB)
The Divine Assessor (v. 14)
Jesus begins by establishing His credentials, and they are tailored specifically to the needs of this church.
"This is what the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says:" (Revelation 3:14)
First, He is "the Amen." This means He is the final word, the divine confirmation, the ultimate reality to which all other things must conform. In a church that is lying to itself, Jesus declares that His assessment is the only one that matters. Their self-talk is full of delusion; His word is bedrock truth. He is God's "So be it."
Second, He is "the faithful and true Witness." They have a false testimony about themselves, which we will see in a moment. They testify that they are rich and have need of nothing. But Jesus comes as the one who sees things as they truly are. He is the witness whose testimony is unimpeachable. In a court of law, you want a reliable witness, not one who is confused or self-deceived. Jesus is the reliable witness, and His testimony about them is about to be devastating.
Third, He is "the Beginning of the creation of God." The word for "Beginning" is arche, which means not just first in time, but the source, the ruler, the originating principle. Laodicea was a city proud of its human achievements. It was a major banking center, so wealthy that after a devastating earthquake in A.D. 60, they refused imperial aid and rebuilt the city with their own funds. They were the definition of self-made. And Jesus reminds them, "Everything you are so proud of, your money, your commerce, your very existence, originates with Me. I am the arche of all of it." He is the Creator; they are creatures. They have forgotten this fundamental distinction and have begun to worship the resources while ignoring the Source.
A Nauseating Uselessness (v. 15-16)
With His authority established, Jesus delivers His diagnosis.
"'I know your deeds, 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 will spit you out of My mouth.'" (Revelation 3:15-16 LSB)
This is one of the most commonly misunderstood metaphors in Scripture. Many take it to mean that God would prefer a committed atheist (cold) to a nominal Christian (lukewarm). But that makes no sense. The key is the local geography. The nearby city of Hierapolis was famous for its hot springs, which had medicinal, therapeutic value. The nearby city of Colossae was known for its pure, cold, refreshing drinking water. Laodicea had no water source of its own and had to pipe its water in via a six mile aqueduct. By the time the water arrived, the hot water from Hierapolis was no longer hot, and the cold water from Colossae was no longer cold. It was tepid, stagnant, and full of mineral deposits. It was, in a word, sickening. It was good for nothing.
The issue is not their degree of passion, but their degree of usefulness. Hot water is useful. Cold water is useful. Lukewarm water is useless. This church was not providing healing to the spiritually sick (hot), nor was it providing refreshment to the spiritually thirsty (cold). It was a self-contained, self-satisfied social club that was having no effect on the world around it. And this state of comfortable uselessness was utterly nauseating to Jesus. The word for "spit" is more accurately "vomit." It is a visceral, involuntary reaction of disgust. Their spiritual mediocrity makes the Lord of glory want to throw up.
The Diagnosis of Delusion (v. 17)
What is the root cause of this sickening state? It is a profound, wealth-induced blindness.
"'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.'" (Revelation 3:17 LSB)
Here we have two competing assessments. The Laodicean assessment: "I am rich... I have need of nothing." And Christ's assessment: "You are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." They could not be more opposite. Their material prosperity had completely blinded them to their spiritual bankruptcy. They looked at their full bank accounts and concluded they had God's approval. They mistook mammon's blessing for God's blessing.
Jesus systematically dismantles their civic pride. Laodicea was famous for three things: its wealth (a banking center), its textiles (a special glossy black wool), and its medicine (a medical school that produced a famous eye salve). Notice how Jesus addresses all three. You say you are rich? You are spiritually poor. You are proud of your fine black garments? You are spiritually naked, and your shame is exposed. You produce a world-renowned eye salve? You are spiritually blind. Their greatest points of pride were the very symbols of their spiritual destitution. This is the great danger of a comfortable Christianity. We can become so impressed with our own success that we fail to see our desperate need for Christ.
The Divine Prescription (v. 18-19)
But Christ does not leave them with the diagnosis. He offers the cure, using their own language of commerce.
"'I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself... and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.'" (Revelation 3:18-19 LSB)
He tells these self-sufficient bankers to come "buy" from Him. But what does a bankrupt man use for currency? He buys with his poverty. He buys with his repentance. This is the economy of grace. You bring your emptiness to Him, and He fills it. He offers them true wealth: "gold refined by fire," which is a faith that has been tested and proven genuine. He offers them true clothing: "white garments," which is the imputed righteousness of Christ that alone can cover the shame of our naked sinfulness. He offers them true sight: "eye salve," which is the illumination of the Holy Spirit, enabling them to see the truth.
And why does He offer this? Why the harsh words? Verse 19 gives the reason: "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline." This entire, blistering letter is an act of profound love. A father who does not discipline his son does not love him. Christ loves this church too much to let it perish in its comfortable self-deception. Therefore, the command is urgent: "Be zealous and repent." The cure for lukewarmness is not to turn the temperature up a few degrees. It is a radical, zealous turning away from sin and self-reliance and a turning toward Christ in desperate faith.
The Excluded Christ (v. 20)
The next verse gives us one of the most poignant and tragic pictures in all of Scripture.
"'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.'" (Revelation 3:20 LSB)
This verse is often ripped from its context and used in evangelistic appeals to unbelievers. But that is not what is happening here. Jesus is not knocking on the door of a pagan's heart. He is knocking on the door of His own church. They were going through the motions of Christianity. They had their services, their programs, their committees. But Christ Himself was on the outside looking in. This is the ultimate tragedy of the lukewarm church: it can be full of religious activity but utterly devoid of Christ's presence and fellowship.
He is knocking, seeking entry. He desires fellowship, an intimate meal. "I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." The solution to the corporate problem begins with individual repentance. It begins when one person, and then another, hears the voice of the excluded Savior and opens the door. Revival does not begin with a committee. It begins when individual Christians get right with God.
The Overcomer's Reward (v. 21-22)
Finally, Jesus presents the glorious promise to those who overcome this temptation of affluent apathy.
"He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelation 3:21 LSB)
What an astonishing offer. These people were clinging to their petty, earthly status and wealth. Christ calls them to repent of that and offers them a share in His own cosmic throne. He invites them to trade their temporary, local influence for eternal, universal co-regency with the King of kings. To overcome, in this context, is to repent of self-sufficiency. It is to hear His knock and open the door. It is to exchange the fool's gold of this world for the true riches of Christ.
The letter ends, as they all do, with a solemn charge: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." The Spirit is speaking through these words. He is speaking to us, the comfortable, the affluent, the self-satisfied. He is standing at the door. The only question is whether we will hear His voice, and open it.