The church at Laodicea: Part 2 of 5 (series: Lessons on Revelations)

by John Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

It is the second meaning which is intended here. Jesus is not a created being, for we are told in the beginning of John’s Gospel, Jesus). He has always existed; He was there at the creation of the world, and He was there at the beginning of all things. He is the One who flung the stars into space, plowed out the basins of the seas, reared against the skyline of the world the mighty Rocky Mountain range. Not a blade of grass grows without His permission; not a speck of dust moves. He is the origin of the creations of God, the all-controlling One, and the dynamic Christ. He stands before this wretched church and penetrates its little disguises and sees it through and through.

The judgment against this church is that they are LUKEWARM (v. 15). The water supply to Laodicea came from a hot spring so the water in the city was indeed LUKEWARM (tepid).In this case, of course, it is the spiritual condition of the church that is being described. Rather than denying Christ, they made an empty profession. According to verse 16, this is nauseating to God. Laodicea has the grim distinction of being the only Church of which the Risen Christ has nothing good to say.

The connection of the Son with creation is frequently made in the New Testament. John begins his Gospel by saying of the word: says Paul, As the Christian sees it, the God of creation and the God of redemption are one and the same.

It is clear from this passage that the wealth of the city greatly affected the church. It seems strange to most people that riches and sorrow go together. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil. Most of the time, riches produce rotten living. There are a few rich people who serve God, and there are a few rich churches that are spiritual; but the general rule is that riches brings sorrow. Jesus said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” That does not mean that God cannot or will not save a rich man—He can, and He well. But the sad fact is that riches and spirituality somehow do not seem to walk together. Apparently, the things that ruined that church was pride, material wealth and self-satisfaction among the people. They did not need God—they had everything. They gloried in things—not in the Lord.

It is not known whether Paul ever visited the city, although he did write them a letter, and the letter to the Colossians was read by the LAODICEANS (Colossians 4:16).

15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

With the other churches, when the Lord Jesus said, “I KNOW THY WORKS,” He meant good works; He was commending them for good works. But the Lord Jesus has no word of commendation for this church. All is condemnation here. Even the “WORKS” here are not good works; they are evil works.

The condemnation of Laodicea began with a picture of almost crude vividness; because the Laodiceans are neither cold nor hot, but have about them a kind of nauseating quality, which will make the Risen Christ vomit them out of His mouth. The question is inevitable: “Had Christ died upon the Cross and suffered the great passion in order to produce such lukewarm disciples?” And the question answers itself in the words “I WILL SPEW THEE OUT OF MY MOUTH.”

Often hot mineral springs have a nauseating taste and make the person who drinks them physically sick. That is the way in which the church at Laodicea affected the Risen Christ. Here is something to make us think:

• The one attitude which the Risen Christ unsparingly condemns is indifference. Of all things, indifference is the hardest to combat. The problem with modern evangelism is not hostility to Christianity; it would be better if it were so. The problem is that to so many Christianity and the Church have ceased to have any relevance and men regard them with complete indifference.
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• The one impossible attitude of Christianity is neutrality. Jesus Christ works through men; and the man who remains completely detached in his attitude toward Him has by that very fact refused to undertake the work which is the divine purpose for him. The man who will not submit to Christ has necessarily resisted him. Hard as it may sound, the meaning of this terrible threat of the Risen Christ is that it is better not even to start on the Christian way than to start and then to drift into a conventional and meaningless Christianity.
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• Notice the use of the terms “cold” and “hot”—not “dead” and “alive.” The LAODICEANS were in the most dangerous state possible. They were not referred to as being spiritually dead, nor as being spiritually alive . . . were they indifferent. They were lost, of course, for had they been born again they would not have been spewed out of the mouth of Him who is the head of the Church. Total indifference to Christ—not hatred—is the condition of the LAODICEANS. Had the church been totally cold, there would have been a possibility of reviving the coldness, and the church might have become warm again. Had it been hot, the Lord would have blessed. HOT speaks of those with real spiritual fervor and passion like the Christians in Ephesus, although they were even then getting away from their best love. The church at Laodicea was a group of undecided, neutral members who would not take a stand one way or the other toward Christ or the truth, and this is the most hateful, disgusting spirit possible to display against God’s Christ, God’s Word, and God’s Church. Such a condition must be dealt with immediately and gotten rid of quickly. The last condition of the church is the worst by far. Total indifference is damning more people today than the liquor traffic, the dope traffic, and all other species of sin combined. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” It is not gross sins such as drinking, doping, murder, and adultery that damn the soul . . . It is indifference. Procrastination—putting off receiving Jesus—is the sin that damns the soul.

‘THOU ART LUKEWARM’ was probably an attention-grabbing expression for the Laodiceans as they thought of their water brought from the north through an aqueduct system from the hot springs of Hierapolis, and possibly from elsewhere, and how lukewarm it became. In addition to being warm the water was filled with minerals (impure), so it tasted terrible.

Many have thought that this cold and hot refers to spirituality—and that Christ would rather have “cold” people (without faith at all, or without any sort of growth) than “lukewarm” believers (who believe some). They take the word “cold” to be negative and “hot” to be positive, with “lukewarm” in between. Instead, both “cold” and “hot” should be taken as positive. Christ wished that the church had cold, refreshing purity or hot, therapeutic value, but it had neither. They were lukewarm. They didn’t take a stand on anything; indifference had led to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ, the church had become hardened and self-satisfied, and it was destroying itself and would soon be dead. As a result, Christ was about to spit them out of His mouth. The church cannot be a “dead system.” Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). He still loved these lukewarm saints, even though their love for Him had grown cold. He planned to chasten them as proof of His love (v. 19; Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-6). God permits churches to go through times of trial so that they might become what He wants them to become.

There is nothing more disgusting than a halfhearted, in-name-only Christian who is self-sufficient. Don’t settle for following God half way. Let Christ fire up your faith and get you into the action.