The Letter to the Lukewarm (Laodicea)
So recently, I finally went through the book of Revelation. Revelation was always a book that I tried to ignore and act like it wasn’t there. Honestly, it’s just a scary book, you know? There are beasts, dragons, plagues, angels and demons having wars, and so much more. But, just like every book in the Bible, it is a book we need. I’m sure that I am going to write a few different posts about this book over time, but even with the few posts I write; it won’t even scratch the surface of what God is revealing to us through this book. Also, let me be very clear…. I do not understand everything in this book. I just didn’t even want that thought to even go into your head. In this post, I’m going to talk about a few things that stood out to me in Revelation 3.
This first one will be about ‘The Letters to the Seven Churches’— biblical scholars believe that the letters to these churches were chosen to provide lessons for all churches, regardless of the time period. The particular letter that I want to talk about in this post is the letter to the Church of Laodicea. Laodicea was a wealthy city in Asia Minor. It was located on one of the great Asian trade routes which insured its commercial property and also was the home to a lot of wealthy residents (keep in mind of how this relates to you… me… us in America). Jesus addresses the church in Revelation 3: 15-17 by saying , “‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish 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.
These verses ALWAYS hit me hard every time I read them. In my life for sure, there has been times where my life did NOT reflect Jesus. The problem wasn’t only the way that I was living; the problem was because I tagged His name, I claimed that I was His, but in reality, I was living for the things He hated. I would post scripture on social media (often) and then also go to the bars and drink way too much (not many good things happen after midnight with many drinks). In front of my “church” people I’d have all the right things to say and a passion about Jesus, but in front of others I acted as if He wasn’t really that important. Matthew 10:33 says, But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven. You’re either with Him… or you’re not.
Okay, now back to Revelation… In these verses, Jesus does not say, “You aren’t really living for me… Could you? Please?” He is very clear… “I wish you were cold OR hot”. Jesus would rather us say with our mouth and actions that we don’t believe rather than us saying we believe but our actions show differently (I’m not saying Jesus doesn’t want us all to repent and turn to him btw, see 2 Peter 3:9). The lukewarm lifestyle of a “believer” nauseates God. We have to be all in or all out, not in between.
A couple of examples of the lukewarm Christian that I would like to talk about in this post are the content believers and the false converts. Now there are a ton of examples that could be used, but these are the two that have really stood out to me as of lately.
As believers, we should never feel content with our relationship with Jesus. God reveals so much about Himself in His Word. His character, His holiness, His love, and so much more… but we won’t ever know it all. Isaiah 55:8-9 says that His ways and thoughts are so much higher. If we ever get to a point where we feel like we know enough about the Creator of the universe, then we are fooling ourselves. When we become numb to the miraculous work of the cross… that Jesus lived a perfect life that we couldn’t live, died a death we deserved, crucified without guilt, and then DEFEATED sin and death… that may be a sign that something is wrong.
The other example is one that could be hard to talk with people about.This is the one, especially in the south, that people don’t want to hear. One could be living the life of a lukewarm Christian simply because he or she is not actually one. 1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.” Maybe an experience or a feeling made you “commit” your life to Jesus. But there isn’t any fruit from that commitment. Or maybe you heard that if you add Jesus into your life, you should get all of your wants and desires… and when that didn’t quite work out you still tried the whole thing out, but in reality it just wasn’t what you signed up for. If you follow Jesus, transformation has to happen. I don’t mean start to follow all of the “rules” so you don’t get in trouble, but instead a genuine joy and yearning to love Jesus more than you love ANY created thing. Once Jesus captures your heart, the lifestyle that disappoints Jesus will also disappoint you.
SO. That was a lot and I feel like I can keep on digging… but I think that’s enough for right now. As believers, we have to start being real. We can’t keep walking around thinking God is pleased with us because we go to a building on Sundays. We have to remember what God did on the cross and repent. We have to turn away from the things that disappoint Him. Revelation 3:19 says, As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent. Remember, we are either all in… or we’re all out. There is no in between.
If you read this and feel convicted… that maybe you aren’t fully living a life for God…. I pray you don’t ignore that feeling. Reach out if you want or need someone to talk to & I’d love to be that!
