|
The Church at Laodicea |
|
One writer has said that the letter to the Church at Laodicea was the saddest of the letters sent by Christ. I would agree and add that it was not only the saddest, but also the sternest. B.H. Carroll compared this Church to a man in a canoe who lost his paddle in the swift stream and prayed, “Good Lord, help me, good devil, help me.”1 Stott says of all the letters' none is more appropriate to the twentieth century than this letter.2 It of all letters is best descriptive of the Church in this day.
In the other letters we sense our Lord’s disappointment. But in this letter we sense our Lord’s disgust. In essence Jesus said, “You make me sick at My stomach.” As we look at the Church at Laodicea we see:
1. THE INDIFFERENCE OF THE CHURCH
What Jonah was to the whale, this Church was to God. The words that Jesus used describe the pathetic condition of this Church. First, we see:
A. The Condition That Was Described By The Lord
Jesus said, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot” (Vs.15). Then Jesus declared “thou art lukewarm” (Vs.16). The word “cold” that Jesus used speaks of that which is icy cold. The word “hot” speaks of that which is boiling hot. Jesus was saying they were neither frozen nor fiery. Instead, they were lukewarm. The word speaks of that which is “tepid, half-hearted, and unenthusiastic.” It was one way of saying that the Church was marked by indifference and apathy. The Church was sitting on the premises instead of standing on the promises. They were satisfied and complacent. They did not get excited about anything and did not get alarmed about anything.
On one occasion Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln debated the matter of slavery. Douglas was concerned only about his political fortune and future. Lincoln was concerned about his convictions and the welfare of the people. Douglas said, “As far as I am concerned, I do not care whether slavery is voted up or down.” Lincoln replied, "If Douglas does not care whether slavery is voted up or down, I say that I care and I say that the New Testament cares.”
You could say the Church at Laodicea had the Stephen Douglas syndrome. They just did not care either way. You could not get them dedicated to some cause and you could not get them disturbed about some condition. They were just indifferent to anything. B.H. Carroll said that he had heard Laodicean letters read at the annual associational meetings. “Dear Brethren: We are at peace. Baptized-one; received by letter-none; given to missions-nothing.”3
Chesterton said, “There are no uninteresting things, there are only uninterested people.” Nothing hinders a Church anymore than people that are uninterested.
In 1938, a mule named Boston Curtis was elected Republican Committeeman from Wilton, Washington, by a 51 vote plurality. The mule was sponsored by the Democratic mayor of the town to prove that most voters were careless and unconcerned. The filing notice was signed with the candidates hoof prints and his sponsor signed as a witness.
While attending a University in London, Mahatma Gandhi became almost convinced that Christianity was the one true, supernatural, religion in the world. Upon graduation and still seeking evidence, Gandhi lived for 7 months in east Africa in the home of a family that professed to be Christians. But as the months passed and he saw the casualness of their attitude toward the cause of God, heard them complain when they were called upon to make sacrifices for the kingdom of God, and sensed their general religious apathy, his interest turned to disappointment. He said, “No, it is not the one true, supernatural religion I had hoped to find. A good religion, but just one more of the many religions in the world.”
A lukewarm Church is always a hindrance to the cause of Christ. Indifference and apathy have turned many away. Furthermore, we see:
B. The Condition That Was Disgusting To The Lord
Jesus felt very strongly about their lukewarm condition. He said, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth” (Vs.16). Weymouth translates the Lord’s statement, “Before long I will vomit you.” In plain everyday language, Jesus said their condition made Him sick at His stomach.
According to a scale developed by the Princeton Research Center to measure levels of spiritual commitment, only one in ten Americans (10%) can be called “highly committed.” I do not think I am being judgmental when I say that most Christians could not care less. Yet, Jesus said that our indifference makes Him sick.
In 1982, WSAN in Allentown, Pennsylvania announced a contest in which three randomly drawn contestants would climb on top of a WSAN billboard and live there. The one who stayed there the longest would win a mobile home. Sleeping bags and portable toilets were provided and the rest was up to the contestants. On September 20, 1982, the marathon began. Three men perched on a billboard off Interstate 22 in Allentown, in spite of freezing winter temperatures, refused to come down. In March 1983, one of the contestants was busted for selling marijuana. The two remaining contestants stayed until May 4, 1983, seven months after the campaign began. Finally WSAN declared both men winners. Each received a mobile home, a car, clothes, and free vacation. The third contestant was awarded free rent for a year, a Color TV, and a three month supply of Big Macs.
It is a sad commentary on the Church when three men can more excited about winning a contest for a mobile home than we do about winning souls for a heavenly home. Indifference makes God sick! Secondly, think with me of:
2. THE IGNORANCE IN THE CHURCH
What was even worse than their indifference was that they were ignorant to the fact. Jesus said, “Because thou sayest, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;’ and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Vs.17). They were in a terrible condition and were not even aware of it.
First, we see:
A. They Were Boastful Of A Good Condition
The words, “Because thou sayest” (Vs.17), indicates they were boasting that they were rich and did not have a need in the world. I am can imagine how the deacons talked about how good they were doing. The members looked on their Church with pride and said, “We are really doing good.”
We also see:
B. They Were Blind To A Grievous Condition
They thought that they were thrilling to the heart of God and all the time they were sickening to the stomach of God. They considered themselves wonderful, but God called them “wretched” (Vs.17). The only other time this word is used in Romans 7:24, where Paul said, “O wretched man that I am.” Paul saw himself in all his sin and failure. God was calling them a failure.
They considered themselves mighty but God called them “miserable” (Vs.17). The word means “pitiable.” They were a people that deserved pity rather than praise.
They considered themselves to have plenty but God said they were “poor” (Vs.17). The word speaks of a “beggar.” They were rich in material things but bankrupt in spiritual things.
They considered themselves to be blessed, but God called them “blind” (Vs.17). Instead of having a vision they were seeing visions.
They considered themselves needless, but God called them “naked” (Vs.17). The great tragedy of it was that they did not even know how bad their condition was.
It is sad when a Church is blind to their true condition. They remind me of a certain preacher that visited a wealthy Church. A deacon showed him around the property. He pointed out the expensive architecture, the costly chandeliers, tapestries, carpet, and pews. Then he said to the guest, “You name it and we have it.” The preacher asked, “When did you last have a revival in the Church?” “Oh, some Churches have revival,” said the deacon, “But we don’t need that sort of thing here.”
Thirdly, think with me of:
3. THE INVITATION TO THE CHURCH
What a story of God’s grace and mercy. Even though they made God sick, He still opened His arms to them and compassionately offered them a chance to make things right. First, we see that the Lord asked them to:
A. Trade With Him
Jesus said to them, “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Vs.18). Simply put, God was telling them to do business with Him. They needed gold, raiment, and eyesalve from Heaven and God was offering to give them all they needed.
These believers knew exactly what God was saying. The city of Laodicea was a city of great banking interests, thus they understood the admonition “buy of Me gold.” It was a city in which a fine quality of wool was made and from this wool choice garments made, thus they understood the admonition “clothe thyself.” Nearby was a famous school of medicine where they manufactured ointment and medicines, hence the appeal “anoint thy eyes with eyesalve.”
A Church that has become complacent is in desperate need of doing business with God. Instead of being concerned with everything around us, we should be concerned with things above us. As an old mystic said, “There are only two places for God’s people; in the dust and in heaven.” God is calling for the indifferent Church to get in the dust and do business with Him.
In the First World War, before Nurse Cavell was shot at her graveside, she said, “Patriotism is not enough.” Let me say that nice buildings are not enough. Good attendance is not enough. Many programs, good music, and great preaching are enough. We must rise out of our indifference and do business with God.
Secondly, we see that the Lord asked them to:
B. Turn To Him
Jesus said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent” (Vs.19). They are warned that a sick God can be a severe God. What nauseates Him aggravates Him.He calls on them to turn to Him and again be “zealous” (Vs.19). The word means “boiling.” He was telling them that instead of being indifferent they were to be boiling with zeal. They were to get on fire for Him.
Clovis Chappell tells the story of a town atheist in a small Tennessee town. Everyone called him Uncle George. He never went to Church and on Sunday would sit in front of the town store, whittle and ridicule the Church. However, one day the Church caught on fire. There was no fire department in town, so the people formed a bucket brigade. Uncle George stood at the head of brigade dashing water on the flames. The pastor said to him, “This is the first time I ever saw you at Church, Uncle George.” He replied, “Yes, but this is the first time I have ever seen the Church on fire, Parson.”
Jesus called for the Church to “repent” (Vs.19). They were to get their indifference right. They were to confess it as sin and again be set on fire. His invitation to them was, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Vs.20). God was asking to be allowed in their life and Church. It was His invitation to bless them. He was knocking and offering. If they would wake up and wise up, and do business with Him, He would come in and bless them.
In St. Paul’s in London hangs Holman Hunt’s famous painting of this text. The artist pictures Christ standing by the closed door with vines growing over it with His hand uplifted to knock. In the other hand He carried a light. The hinges are rusty, there is no knob on the outside of the door; it must be opened from the inside. The story is told of a little girl and her father that were viewing the painting. They stood there and looked for the longest at the picture. Finally the little girl looked up at her father and asked, “Daddy, did He ever get in?”
I will let the little girl’s question conclude our study. 1. Quoted by J. Ralph Grant in “Letters to the Seven Churches,” p.69. 2. “What Christ Thinks of the Church,” p.116 3. “Letters to the Seven Churches,” p.70 |
