May 19, 2020
Good Morning Fellow Travelers,
Read: Revelation 3:14-22
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:15-16)
Revelation 3:14-22 records the message that Apostle John received about the early church at Laodicea. This message came from Christ, here called the “Amen, the faithful and true witness.” Trust was the whole issue at Laodicea; they trusted in self rather than God. This false sense of trust, a result of ease and prosperity, led to lukewarmness.
Lukewarmness is more repulsive to Christ than outright spiritual coldness. His words in verse 16 express His nauseating reaction to lukewarmness in the church. Later He said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.”
At this time in history, lukewarmness is the largest threat to the Christian. People who are secure without a care become careless. The active opposition to the Christian is less deadly than careless ease. How can good come from that which is stagnant and without power?
We can usually recover from this stagnant stage if we accept truth, but if we go on in willful ignorance, how can we change? As Jesus stated in Matthew 21:28-32, there is more hope of the conversion of the harlots and publicans than of the self-righteous, satisfied, lukewarm Pharisees.
The Laodicean church was unique in her emptiness. The greatest calamity was that Christ was outside this church and He was not reigning in the heart of anyone there. Respectability was rated higher than spiritual fervor. Eloquence in the pulpit was more extolled than truth. Talent was craved more than spiritual power. Wealth and status were recognized, but growth in Christ was not.
In a lukewarm church, ardent new Christians receive their first chill from fellow members. It cannot be. Christ is willing to breathe new warmth into every chilly heart.
Let us bend our knees and bow our hearts and open the door to a patiently waiting Christ.
~ James Baer
