Welcome to The MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my 146th episode. In this episode I want to continue with our study of the book of Revelation. We are in chapter 3. This chapter continues the messages from Christ to His churches. In the previous chapter we discussed his messages to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. In this chapter we’ll walk through what He had to say to Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. We can learn a lot by observing Christ’s instruction to His ancient churches. He even declares at the end of each message that all who have ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The reason why it’s valuable for us to examine Christ’s interaction with the ancient churches is because Christ never changes. He is eternal and immutable. There some things about our culture and our world which change across time, but God never changes and He exists outside of time. There are also certain aspects of humanity which tend to stay the same through the generations. We have a nature and in this world that nature is fallen. Jesus knows what we need to do to arrive at the best possible outcome – so we should pay attention and seek His counsel in all areas of life. Let’s begin with verses 1-6:
Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Rev 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This letter is directed to the angel of the church in Sardis. Remember angels are messengers of God and ministers are messengers of the church. I think the term angel is being used symbolically here to suggest the ministers of the church in Sardis. Sardis was one of the most important cities in Asia Minor. It was situated in Lydia along an important highway which connected the interior to the Aegean Sea. Sardis is thought to have been the first city in that area which was converted by John’s preaching. It’s also believed Sardis was one of the first cities in that area to fall away from Christianity. Sardis was later destroyed and it never recovered to its former glory.
The Lord Jesus addresses Himself as Him that has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. This is not to say the Holy Spirit is seven in number, rather it’s an indication as to His various powers, graces, and operations. It’s interesting to note that seven Spirits corresponds with seven churches which are being addressed in these chapters. Christ presented Himself differently to each one of them according to their needs. Jesus knows exactly what you need in order to improve and become increasingly like Him. He knows your strengths and He knows your weaknesses. The Holy Spirit is with you to comfort you through suffering and to encourage you in areas where you could do better. Christ does not want to crush His churches with criticism, He wants to put them on the proper path for enlargement and continuance. The same is true for your development and well-being as an individual. Jesus will remain steadfast in these efforts because He is faithful, the only way to lose the Holy Spirit is to reject Him yourself.
The church in Sardis was very close to spiritual bankruptcy. The faithful were few and far between and the ministry was languishing. It makes sense that Christ would remind them He is the one who has the seven Spirits. His spiritual fund is infinite and if they abide in Him all seven of the churches addressed in Revelation could be revitalized simultaneously. You might think God has higher priorities than the health of your spirit, but you only think that because you yourself need to prioritize things. You prioritize things because you are limited so you have to choose what’s important to you. God is not limited and He does not have to choose. He is very much focused on your spiritual health and giving you the grace you need to stay close to Him. Even for a spiritually dead church like Sardis, all they had to do was apply themselves for the everlasting grace of God and they would have been revitalized.
The seven Spirits represent the various presentations of Christ to the churches. The seven stars represent the churches themselves. Your church, like a star, is meant to be a beacon of light which guides the lost world. Understanding your role as being personally deployed by God for His services and personally accountable to Him should fill your spirit with faithful zeal. The Creator of the universe is choosing to use you in His redemptive work. Ministers must receive their spiritual influence from Jesus so He can direct them for the good of His church. If your church is fundamentally characterized by a spirit other than the Holy Spirit then you can be certain your work will be ineffectual. The church is built by God and for God and it cannot be maintained without Him.
It’s worth noting how in Christ’s other epistles He began by acknowledging and commending the good parts about the church He was addressing. But in His message to Sardis as well as in His message to Laodicea He begins with a severe reproof. With regards to Sardis He rebuked them for being hypocrites. The church in Sardis cast an image of themselves which made them appear spiritually alive – but Christ knew their works. Sardis had a great reputation for being a flourishing church. By outward appearances they seemed unified under solid doctrine. The people looked decent and there wasn’t any obvious signs of division within the church. But Jesus, with eyes like the flame of fire, sees past the surface into the things which are secret. There was something rotten in Sardis and it didn’t match their glowing reputation. The church looked alive but spiritually it was dead. Their members understood the doctrines of Jesus but they had no relationship with Him. The Spirit was not in their services, the Spirit was not in their ministries, the Spirit was not in their conversations, and the Spirit was not in their prayers. They were going through the motions in ways that appeared perfectly fine, but Jesus knows the difference between performance and authenticity. What little life they had left was rapidly expiring.
Perhaps you can relate to the people in Sardis. Perhaps you feel like you’re just going through the motions because of what you know about the doctrines of Christianity. So what can you do about it? What did Jesus tell the people in Sardis to do? He told them to be watchful and to strengthen the things which are ready to die. Christ is talking about vigilance against sin and awareness of God’s grace. When Christians become saved it’s not unusual for them to think they are protected from sin itself. They might think they don’t need to be vigilant against temptation because they are forgiven. It’s true that by faith your sins are forgiven and you are saved into eternity with Jesus Christ. But it’s also true that sin will continue to have disastrous effects on your soul if you fail to be watchful against it. Sin will creep in and turn you into the kind of person who does not want to be with God. Unrepentant sin puts a barrier between yourself and the Holy Spirit and this barrier will cause your worship, your prayer, and your conversations about God to wither and die. You are a soldier in the midst of spiritual warfare everyday for the rest of your natural life. You don’t have the luxury of closing your eyes and pretending evil doesn’t exist. The moment your attention begins to slip sin and Satan will gain ground on you. The people in Sardis needed to open their eyes and see.
So you need vigilance against sin but you also need awareness of God’s grace. If you allow yourself to be crushed by your pursuit of holiness then you will in-turn crush others for their lack of holiness. You will become hyper-judgmental and condemn your neighbors instead of loving them. To be vigilant against sin and aware of God’s grace is to find the happy middle-ground where you acknowledge sin is wrong while maintaining a readiness to forgive those who repent of sin. This also applies to forgiving yourself and being forgiven when you repent. There was a remnant in Sardis who had not compromised their integrity and Christ commanded the church to support them before they became dead like the rest. One of the mistakes Christians make when they’re in the midst of a difficult environment is they pay attention to the masses who have declined around them instead of paying attention to the few who are still alive.
It’s very difficult to maintain a positive outlook and the power of godliness when you think your entire society is collapsing around you. If you mistakenly assume the majority makes up the entirety it can begin to feel like you are alone. But you are never alone. Even when Christ was abandoned to the cross the Father and the Spirit remained with Him. As long as you’re looking up to Him God will never leave you. But the truth is there are likely other Christians around you as well – you just won’t notice them if all your attention is on those who are spiritually dead. This idea of strengthening those who are still alive means fighting for the preservation of your society even if the fight appears to be a losing effort. You must seek community with the faithful remnant so that you can love and support each other even as the culture is crumbling around you. You need to exhort your brothers and sisters and you need them to exhort you so that together your works will be filled with the Spirit again. If you allow yourself to be devoid of the Holy Spirit you will only be able to go through the motions for so long and then your flame will burn out.
The people in Sardis needed to be vigilant of sin, aware of God’s grace, supportive of each other, and they also needed to take a second to regroup. They needed to think back and remember how they received the gospel. They needed to remember the blessedness they felt when they first welcomed God’s grace and God’s mercy. They needed to reconnect with the overwhelming sense of kindness toward others that the Spirit of God kindled inside themselves. Sometimes you grow apart from God simply because of bad teaching or ineffective ministry. If you’ve taken stock of yourself and repented of any obvious sins, but you still feel spiritually dead, it might be time to examine your worship experience. Is the teaching you hear consistent with the gospel and built on sound doctrine? Are those who lead worship doing it for the right reasons? Are the ministers in your life working in an effort to glorify God or to glorify themselves? These things are important because if you’re not taking part in Spirit-filled ministry it’ll be far more difficult to remain Spirit-filled yourself. If you feel spiritually dead or are experiencing spiritual decline, take some time to recollect and re-calibrate yourself to the basic meaning of the gospel and to the doctrines which impacted you when you first believed.
Jesus warned the church in Sardis what would happen to them if they failed to heed His counsel. He would come upon them as a thief in the night and they would never see Him coming. There are really only two ways in which we will experience the presence of God. As His friend or as His enemy. As His friend we will rejoice in His gracious presence. As His enemy we will be overcome with dread in His judicial presence. It’s important to note how those who are spiritually dead will not see Christ coming. Spiritual numbness brings it’s own false sense of security which will prevent you from discerning the impending wrath of God. Sometimes you see this manifest in a person’s indifference toward evil. Often in reprobate societies there’s just little or no regard for human life or the goodness of godly ethics. In places like these murder doesn’t need to be fueled by passion or hatred because murder is no more significant than just another day in the office. Individuals who commit acts of evil with no regard for their conscience have a massive, fatal blind spot to the burning fury of their righteous Lord. The blessed joys of life and the mercies we experience are gifts given to us by God. To turn away from Him is to embrace destruction and the forfeiture of all He’s given us.
But it wasn’t all bad news for the church in Sardis. Jesus doesn’t abandon His sinful people without comfort or encouragement. Even in the midst of judgment God remembers mercy. Jesus remembered and acknowledged those in Sardis who remained faithful. They were the remnant who didn’t allow the prevailing winds of the culture to drive them into corruption. Even if you’re one of the few among the faithful and surrounded by a corrupt generation, Jesus never takes His eyes off of you. He counts His faithful all the more precious when they remain obedient in difficult circumstances. Christ promises His faithful servants they will walk with Him in white when they pass on to the hereafter. This means those who remain faithful to Jesus will be clothed in the white robes of justification, adoption, and comfort. To be with Christ in this capacity is a place of great honor and great glory. Imagine walking in paradise with God and having conversation with Him. If you have faith in Christ then this moment is coming for you – no matter how difficult your present circumstances are. If you allow the Holy Spirit to live in you and sanctify you in this world, then you will with Jesus for eternity in the next.
Christ closed His message to Sardis with a promise for all who remained steadfast in their faith. They will experience glorification in Heaven. To be glorified is to be made perfect in holiness. It is to become the image of God finally free from the impurities of sin. There is no reward equal to being perfected in holiness. Our desire to be like God is so fundamental that it makes up the origin source of our rebellion against Him. That’s how the serpent tempted Adam and Eve into eating the fruit and causing the Fall – he told her they would be like God. To this day the number one reason why people choose apostasy is so they can be the god of their own existence and attempt to author their own reality. The number one reason why people abandon principle is the temptation of power. We all have the desire to be like God because we are made in His image. But the truth is the only way for us to be glorified in Heaven is by the grace of God Himself through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
Christ also promised those who remained faithful would not have their named blotted out of the book of life. Jesus speaks the names of His servants in the presence of the Father before leading them triumphantly into Heaven. This idea implies that Jesus has something like a register of all who shall inherit eternal life. This speaks to the idea of election, or God’s foreordained knowledge of who will die in Christ and who will die in their sins. It’s not entirely helpful for us to attempt to understand predestination because we are bound by space and time and God is not. But this record Christ speaks of is the remembrance of all who have lived their lives in an effort to honor God and who have tried to maintain godliness during evil times. You might find yourself in a situation where your name is blotted out from the records of this earth. You might find yourself in a situation where you die with the sense of being insignificant and forgotten. But you are never forgotten by God. He was there when no one else was. He noticed when no one else did. And He has kept a record of all you’ve done to honor Him even when the world has spurned you for it. God is your final authority. It is infinitely better to die as one rejected by the world if that’s what it takes to be accepted in Heaven. It’s infinitely better to have your name slandered and turned to mud in this life if that’s what it takes to see your name written Christ’s book of life. The message closes with a universal call to attention. Every word of God warrants our focus even if it appears to be directed more particularly at people from the past. His words are eternal and so there is something instructive in them for all of us everywhere. Let’s read verses 7-13:
Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This message was addressed to the church in the ancient city Philadelphia. Like Sardis, Philadelphia was a city in Asia Minor. It was situated on the borders of Mysia and Lydia. As its name suggests, Philadelphia was known for its brotherly love. This brotherly love was not a consequence of the people being trained in Christianity because the city had its name before Christianity got there. But the brotherly love which emanated out of civil fraternity made Philadelphia a prime location for Christianity to take hold. There are many who know and listen to the voice of Christ long before being schooled in formal religion. Christians love each other because we recognize we are all the children of one Father God and the brethren of Jesus Christ. The deep roots of love which nourished Philadelphia made them an excellent church. The grace of God sanctified this love and turned them into something really special. Throughout this message Christ points out no major flaws in their church. Undoubtedly the people in Philadelphia were not perfect. There were certainly sins of infirmity among them but love covers a multitude of sins.
John was sure to let Philadelphia know this message came to them from Jesus Christ who is the universal captain of all churches. In each of these messages Christ chose to represent Himself a different way depending on the character and need of the church whom He addressed. Speaking to the people in Philadelphia Jesus called himself: He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth. This description gives us some insight into the character of Christ. Jesus is holy and therefore He is true to His word. Christ alone holds the key of government and authority in and over the church. Jesus is the one who opens doors of opportunity to churches. That’s why when church leaders need to make a decision between two pathways they often consult the Lord in prayer in an effort to discern which direction is His will for them. Jesus is the one who empowers the words of ministers as they preach the gospel. This doesn’t mean preachers don’t need to work hard and diligently prepare their content. But it does mean if you forge ahead without Jesus then no amount of preparation will make you successful in advancing the kingdom of God.
In addition to empowering the words of preachers, Jesus is also the one who opens the hearts of those who hear these words. Many false teachers are able to deceive others and lead them astray but only God can convert a soul. Jesus has established the terms of holy communion and by doing so He opened the door of admission into the body of Christ on this earth. It’s because of Jesus that we are able to have the church in this life. Furthermore, Jesus is the one who will make certain the church is triumphant into eternity. It’s because of Jesus that we can pass from the local church and into the everlasting kingdom of God. Christ is the one who completed His work of salvation to bring us the redemption we so desperately need – opening the gates of Heaven that we may pass through. All of these elements are doors which have been opened by Jesus and doors which have been opened by Jesus cannot be shut by anyone or anything.
Not only does Christ open doors, but He also shuts them. If a preacher insists on defying God to lead others astray then Jesus will remove the power from his preaching and shut the door on his ministry. Sinners who proudly refuse repentance have the door shut to their forgiveness and are given over to the hardness of their hearts. Jesus closes the door to godly fellowship for those who embrace unbelief and profanity. The toxicity of their own conduct attracts dysfunction and spoils their good relationships. Christ closes the gates of heaven against those who work evil in this world – regardless of how certain they are to have gotten away with it. In this world there are evil people who have tortured and snuffed the life out of the innocent. Many of these people are captivated by their own arrogance in thinking they’ve escaped judgment. But no one can escape the wrath of God.
Jesus opens and closes doors with absolute sovereignty. His will is independent from the will of humanity and humanity has no power to resist it. This truth makes up the greatest hope for the faithful and the greatest fear for the wicked. When those who follow Jesus see the world coming down around them they can take solace in the knowledge that God is always in control. When God chooses to work there are none who can inhibit Him. The church in Philadelphia did all they could to conform to the truth and holiness of Jesus. As a result they enjoyed the wide open door of liberty and opportunity. Jesus is the only one who can set you free. To live life as a Christian means to enjoy the liberties of being a child of God.
Jesus reminded the church in Philadelphia that He had opened a door for them which no one else could shut. Christ set this door open and kept it open despite the church having many adversaries. We should always remember that Jesus is the author of every liberty and every opportunity our church enjoys. God keeps record of the opportunities He’s given us as well as what we’ve chosen to do with them. Spiritual liberty is the reason you see so many Christians who are frequently joyful even when their circumstances suggest they shouldn’t be. The joyful liberty of spiritual salvation often causes envy in the hearts of those who suffer outside the faith. It’s not unusual for godless people to tempt Christians into sinning or try to extinguish their faith in God’s promises. Misery loves company. The truth is it doesn’t matter if other humans want us to lose our spiritual liberty because as long as we are with God there are none who can shut the door which He has opened.
Jesus praised the church in Philadelphia for keeping His word and refusing to deny His name. He does point out the fact that Philadelphia’s strength was not all it could be. They didn’t have as much strength as they could have, but what strength they did have was rooted in genuine grace so it kept them faithful. The same thing is true about yourself. You’re not all you could be. There is so much potential for bravery, resilience, and faithfulness locked away inside of you. The only way to unlock it is to voluntarily face your suffering and to voluntarily engage with the chaotic unknown. When you learn new things or when you expose yourself to difficult suffering your body codes for new proteins which activate previously dormant segments of your DNA. This means there’s literally an untold amount of yourself which hasn’t been switched on yet. Faith is required to shoulder your own suffering and faith is required to bring order from the chaotic unknown. The faith of the church in Philadelphia was authentic, but if they had had more of it who knows how strong they could have become. As Christians we should strive to grow in grace so we can be strong in faith and give glory to God. True grace enables you to keep the word of Christ and not deny His name. You want to get to a place where obedience, fidelity, and free expression of Jesus’ name come naturally for you. Obedience, fidelity, and free expression of Jesus’ name are pleasing to God.
Because of their faith, Jesus promised the church in Philadelphia he would bestow great favor on them. This promise can be broken down into two major parts. First was Christ’s promise that the church’s enemies would be subject to her. These enemies were people in Philadelphia who claimed to be the exclusive people of God. They claimed to be Jews although they were not. Christ called them the synagogue of Satan. You can tell whether a church belongs to God by observing their worship. If they worship in spirit and in truth then they belong to God. But if they worship false gods, or if they worship God in a false manner, then they are what Christ would call a synagogue of Satan. I want to be careful here. I’m not saying there is a rigid set of conditions which must be met during church worship. It’s not as if traditionalists are true Christians while contemporary-types are not. This idea of worshiping God in a false manner pertains to using your own religion to facilitate evil. So if a sex cult used worship as an excuse to abuse their members that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. Not all people who claim Christ actually follow Him. Those who claim Christ and follow someone or something else are part of the synagogue of Satan.
Part of Christ’s promise to Philadelphia was that these false believers would become subject to the church. This doesn’t mean the false believers would show up and worship the true believers. Rather it means the false believers would realize they were in the wrong and would desire to join the true believers in worship and in communion. This is a crucially important point in favor of our churches doing all they can to maintain authenticity to Christ. In other words don’t modify your worship to serve the culture. There’s nothing wrong with being seeker-sensitive, but how is an outsider supposed to meet God in your church if your church is exactly the same as the world from which they come? How can a godless person change if you aren’t presenting an example of why they need to? Jesus told Philadelphia that because of their faith to remain true to Him, the idolaters would use Philadelphia’s example to realize their own mistakes.
When you present yourself as a living sacrifice to God and do all you can to worship Him authentically, outsiders will observe you and the power of God will work on their hearts. You’ll become an example of God’s favor and when they see you they will understand that God loves you. The highest honor any church can aspire to is the peculiar love and favor of Jesus Christ. If Jesus loves what you’re doing then you’re doing it right. When the light of God shines on and through your organization in this way, everyone around you including your enemies will see it and be forced to acknowledge it. This effect is sort of similar to when you observe someone who is deeply passionate about their work. The best teachers are always the ones who are deeply passionate about their subject and about teaching it. When outsiders see a church full of passionate people who love each other and who love God, they will feel a natural inclination towards joining it. That’s probably the most underrated method of church growth and evangelism. I’ve seen churches who had a multiplicity of programs designed for outreach, but throughout their daily tasks including weekend worship they failed to exude passion for Christ. I’m saying passion for Christ and love for each other is far more impactful than any outreach program – and there are no outreach programs which can make up for a lack of passion. This passion for God softened the hearts of Philadelphia’s enemies and made them desire admittance into the church and participation in communion.
The second part of Christ’s promise to the church in Philadelphia was that He would preserve grace during their most trying times. This continual blessing was a reward for their past fidelity. When we think about the gospel it’s really a story of God’s divine patience. God has chosen to be patient with a sinful world. There was no better example of divine patience than the suffering Christ endured for humanity. One of the hallmarks of a true Christian is patience because the Holy Spirit imparts patience onto us as we seek conformity to the image of Christ. Being a patient Christian means keeping the faith, practicing obedience, and worshiping God in a way befitting of Scripture. There are times where life seems relatively easy and we feel like we are under the blessing of God. But the patient Christian understands these times of blessings are often followed by temptations and trials. As patient Christians we will have to endure personal and general trials. Personal trials are specific to yourself or your own sphere of influence. General trials are brought down on entire nations or even the entire world. The coronavirus pandemic is a good example of a general trial. The important thing to remember is this: those of us who keep the gospel during times of peace and blessing will be kept by Christ in the hour of our temptation. Our faithfulness during peacetime is what prepares us for difficult times. The same divine grace which makes us fruitful during peacetime is what makes us faithful during persecution.
In consideration of these promises Christ called the church in Philadelphia to be faithful in their duty of holding fast to what they had. What was Christ commanding they hold on to? Their faith. The truth. Their strength of grace. Their zeal. Their love for brother and sister. Christ considered all of these elements of the church in Philadelphia to be excellent treasures. Christ reminded Philadelphia that His appearance comes readily. He would come to them quickly to relieve them in the midst of their suffering. He would come quickly to reward their faith and to punish apostasy. The warning of Christ is important because it means even a church as faithful as Philadelphia could lose the crown they almost seemed to have a right to. A theologian who has turned away from God is in far more danger than a day one Christian whose faith is preserved. You are under the blessing of Christ when you are humble, faithful, and obedient. You are never under the blessing of Christ because you deserve it.
Jesus closed His message to the church in Philadelphia by promising glorious rewards to believers who persevere. The faithful will be like a monumental pillar in the temple of God. They will be examples of God’s free and powerful grace. The Romans erected monuments to honor their emperors and generals – but many of these monuments were defaced and destroyed. The monument of a faithful believer in the temple of God can never be destroyed or removed. This monument will record all the services the believer did for the church of God. This includes standing up and asserting the rights of the Church. It also means winning souls and expanding the borders of the Kingdom of God. God never forgets the work you do and the suffering you endure for the benefit of His kingdom and the purity of His church. In heaven, the name of the humble and the faithful will be greater than many other names.
In addition to their works of faithfulness, believers will also be known by their relationship to Jesus. He is their Mediator. He is their Redeemer. Jesus is the captain of our salvation. This association with Christ means we act according to His will. It means we are encouraged by the example He sets for us. The outside world can look upon Christians and know it is the influence of Christ which drives us to fight the good fight and it’s the influence of Christ which will make us turn out in victory. Jesus loves and greatly values His faithful people. This message to Philadelphia was proof positive of His commendation and reward for fidelity. The message is closed with Christ’s universal call to all people: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Let’s read verses 14-22:
Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 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:
Rev 3:18 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.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20 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.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
If the church in Philadelphia represented faithful obedience, the church in Laodicea was the opposite of faithful obedience. The Laodicean church was the worst of the seven Asian churches addressed in Revelation. The message for Philadelphia contained nothing in the way of reproach, but this message to Laodicea contains nothing in the way of praise. They were corrupt but they were still considered one of the seven golden candlesticks. A church which suffers corruption is still a church – and I think this measure of dignity is left intact to provide a means of repentance even for the worst of churches. The same is true for individuals. Even the worst people among us have the capacity to be transformed into a child of God should they repent and commit their life to Jesus Christ.
Laodicea was a once famous city near the river Lycus. The city was complete with a formidable wall, three marble theaters, and it was built on seven hills just like Rome. The gospel was probably planted in Laodicea by the apostle Paul. He mentioned writing a letter from Laodicea in the closing passage of his epistle to the Colossians. Laodicea was less than twenty miles from Colossae. Laodicea was the host city for a council of clerics in the fourth century A.D. but the city itself has long since been demolished. The ruins stand for us today as a reminder of the terrible wrath of God.
In His message to Laodicea Christ called Himself the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Calling Himself the Amen imparts a sense of steadiness and immutability. God never changes and there is nothing which can change His purposes or His promises. To resist the will of God is to fight a battle you cannot win. The only proper attitude for humanity in regard to God’s will is obedient affirmation and a faithful amen. Christ called Himself the faithful and true witness. His testimony of God to us is fully reliable and is the only testimony which should be received and believed. Similarly, His testimony of humanity is also fully reliable and should be readily accepted. Jesus has revealed the heart of God to us and Jesus is the perfect judge of our own hearts. His judgment is final. Jesus called Himself the beginning of the creation of God which signifies Himself as being the first cause and the Creator of all existence. This title is also applicable to the Church because Jesus is head of the Church and He is the first-born from the dead. Jesus is the first one to go through the resurrection process which awaits those of us who die in Christ. Jesus became incarnate in a fallen reality. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He was rejected by His own and crucified – but by His divine power He rose from the dead to take His place as the everlasting King of a new world. Jesus is the first to be raised to eternal life and He will raise all who follow after Him and they will become a living Church to Himself.
Christ laid a heavy indictment against the church in Laodicea. He told them they were neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm. To be lukewarm is to have an attitude of indifference toward God and toward your neighbor. It’s very interesting how Jesus claims this indifference to be the worst condition a person can be in. But when you think about it it really is the indifferent masses which allow historic crimes to take place at the hands of evil people. Indifference is like a total loss of value to the point where you become so self-absorbed that genocide can happen right in front of you without any concern on your part. If an evil person wants to accomplish his agenda, all he needs is a position of power and an army of indifferent people to look the other way. We should never be indifferent about our relationship with Jesus Christ because this relationship is of the highest excellence. Religion doesn’t have much middle ground. If what Christ said about Himself is true then we should fall down and worship Him. If what Christ said about Himself is false then He is the most vile of impostors. The church in Laodicea was trying to sit on the fence between accepting God as God versus chasing after their idols. They had no conviction in either direction. This lack of conviction appeared very distasteful to Jesus. He would have preferred them to openly declare themselves as His enemies. It sounds strange but we actually act as if this idea is true for us as well. We are more likely to respect an authentic enemy than we are to respect a false friend.
Christ’s response to lukewarm Christians is to be sick of them. He told the church in Laodicea He would spew them out of His mouth if they remained tepidly ambiguous. This isn’t to say you need to go live in a monastery in order to avoid being lukewarm. It just means you need to keep your convictions and maintain authenticity in your relationship with Jesus. Speak up and speak out for what you believe. Study Scripture non-stop to refine what you believe. Never stop searching for God and pray without ceasing. These are the elements of a Christian who is on fire for God. The Laodiceans tried to mask their lukewarm indecision by calling themselves meek and moderate. There’s nothing wrong with actually being moderate and always seeking to further develop your understanding of the truth. But if you’re just using moderation to hide the fact that you aren’t willing to put any skin in the game then you’re probably a lukewarm Christian.
The church in Laodicea was indifferent about God because of their self-conceitedness and self-delusion. They were comfortable and complacent. They appraised themselves as being quite well-off and in no need of improvement. In their minds they didn’t need to learn and they didn’t need God’s further sanctification. What you notice about the church in Laodicea is how different their own thoughts were about themselves as opposed to Christ’s thoughts about them. They viewed themselves as wealthy and in need of nothing. It’s likely they were quite comfortable with worldly status, possessions, and wealth. This prosperity helped to facilitate them taking the well-being of their souls for granted. The people in Laodicea confused intelligence for godly wisdom, they confused worldly gifts for godly grace, they practiced their own religious ordinances but they failed to pay attention to the God who authored these ordinances. The Laodiceans fell into self-deception and so they missed the steady apostasy of their souls.
Jesus saw right through the Laodiceans ostensible wealth and called them out for their true condition. They were wretched, miserable, impoverished, blind, and naked. The Laodiceans had money and they used this money to mask the gaping void in their spirits. But Christ was wise to it and any who looked upon them in this way had great pity for them because they had no provision for their souls. They had no Savior so how could they ever pay off the debt of their sins? The people in Laodicea were so spiritually blind they couldn’t see the danger of their own condition. Even the light they thought they had inside of them was darkness. This is roughly similar to the religious elite who crucified Jesus Christ. God was standing right in front of them and they executed Him while believing they were doing a great religious service. Their self-deception became so pervasive in their souls that good became evil and evil became good. They failed to see God though He was right in front of them. They failed to see death though it was just before them. They failed to acknowledge eternity though each of them stood upon the brink of it continually.
Jesus said the church in Laodicea was naked. This means their souls were open and vulnerable with no home to reside in. They lacked the garment of justification and of sanctification. They may have fancied their sins a secret, but Christ could see all of them so transparently they might as well have been naked. Their attempts at clothing themselves in their own righteousness were like clothing themselves in tattered, filthy rags. The souls of the Laodicean church might as well have been lost at sea: with no harbor, no home, and no safe place to take rest. God is the fortress for the souls of the faithful, only in God may we reside with comfort, security, and suitable accommodations. The Laodiceans could have turned themselves around had they come to understand the distinction between the body and the soul. The world offers material riches and prosperity for the body, but no amount of carnal wealth can make up for spiritual thirst. There are countless people who go to bed each night in a safe, secure home yet their spirits are disturbed by insecurity and anxiety. This is because the spirit is not the same thing as the body. What nourishes the body does not nourish the spirit. You need to nourish your body and you take these efforts seriously. But you also need to nourish your soul and if you fail to do so then you’ll just be rich and miserable.
Jesus told the church in Laodicea to drop the act and truly become followers of Him. God is so gracious that He continued to give good counsel to a group of people who had rebelliously cast off His commandments. The Laodiceans didn’t feel the desperation associated with the real danger of their condition because Christ was still being gracious towards them. Jesus will never lead you astray. Our Lord gives the best advice for each sinner according to his or her need. God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. The Laodiceans were spiritually impoverished so Christ came right out and told them they should look to Him for spiritual wealth. He told them they would find true riches if they looked to Him. I’m not saying material poverty is a necessary virtue, but some of the happiest people on earth are also some of the poorest because they look to Jesus Christ for spiritual wealth. Jesus told the Laodiceans to buy gold from Him that’s been tried in the fire. How could they buy anything from Him if they were impoverished? The answer is they buy without price just as He offered wine and milk without price in Isaiah 55. This means letting go of your sins and self-sufficiency so you can make room for the Spirit of God. If you come to Christ with a sense of your poverty and emptiness, then you will be filled with His hidden treasure.
The people in Laodicea were spiritually naked. They were vulnerable and had nothing to cover up their shame. After telling them the truth about this, Jesus told them where they might find real clothing. They must take off their filthy rags and receive the white raiment purchased by Him and provided for them. This means letting go of your self-righteousness so the righteousness of Christ can be imputed to you. The raiment of Christ brings justification for your sins, sanctification to purify you, and holiness as you are set apart for God. The people in Laodicea were spiritually blind. Christ counseled them to buy eye-salve from Him so they might see. This means they needed to let go of the structure of rationality they so carefully crafted apart from God. No amount of human intelligence or reason could bring them to the wisdom of God. They would have been better off to resign themselves to God’s word and His Spirit. If they had done so, their eyes would have been opened and they would have seen their way and their end. A new world would have presented itself to them that was a glorious scene for their souls. It is a most beautiful world full of excellent blessings, the light of which is marvellous to those who are delivered from the powers of darkness. Jesus loves the lost and He loved the church in Laodicea despite it’s notoriety as being the worst of the seven churches in Revelation. He gave them wise and good counsel because at bottom He desired nothing more than for them to come back home to Him. If you’re lost right now and you choose to turn around and obey the counsel of God, He will count Himself as bound by His own honor to make your faith effectual.
In addition to giving good counsel to the church in Laodicea, Christ also gave them gracious encouragement to abide by it. He told them He rebuked them because He loves them. The motivation for Christ’s reproof of Laodicea was love for their souls. If Christ had been indifferent about the people in Laodicea then He would have let them continue to walk blindly in their sin until it resulted in their ruin. If you love a person then you want the best for them. It’s not okay to sit back and watch them destroy themselves. Enablers of and co-conspirators in destruction do not love the person they are flattering. It’s better to be rebuked by a friend who truly loves you then to be humored by an enemy who doesn’t care where you end up. Jesus is not okay with your destruction and He will do all that He can to help you see the light. If Laodicea would have responded positively and complied with Christ’s admonition then He was ready to bless and restore their souls.
Jesus doesn’t stand at a distance away from sinners hoping they’ll somehow find Him. He comes right up to the door of your heart and knocks – unafraid to give you a merciful visit. The natural condition of humanity is to have this door shut against God. We are born into ignorance, unbelief, and sinful prejudices. But when Christ sees your door closed to Him, He lingers with gracious patience. He doesn’t give up on you and He calls out to you by His word. His Spirit pokes and prods at your conscience in an effort to wake you up. God will use all proper means to open your heart to Him. If you choose to open that door then you will experience the presence of God and His presence will bring you tremendous comfort. It’s like God wants to come over and have a feast with you. He will happily accept the good parts of you and what you can give Him. Even if your good parts are insufficient – and they are – Jesus will bring fresh supplies of grace to make up for whatever you lack. The grace of God will awaken acts of faith, love, and delight within you. By the power of God’s grace your mind will be renewed and you will enjoy fellowship with God and with your brothers and sisters in Christ. But none of this is possible for you if you refuse to open the door.
Christ’s message to the church in Laodicea ends with a promise made to the believer who overcomes. The church in Laodicea was so dead they might as well have been a dried skeleton. They were lukewarm and indifferent to their relationship with God and their relationship with each other. But even someone long-resigned to their own destruction can breathe in new life if they follow the reproofs and counsels of Christ. It was not too late for the Laodicean church to win their spiritual battle. That’s the thing about Jesus: even when you think the battle is lost He can still turn it around. Sinners crucified Him and yet He turned it around so that His resurrection conquered sin and death itself. Even a church like Laodicea could have been fully forgiven had they repented and turned back to God. Even a church like Laodicea was promised a seat with Jesus on His throne had they turned away from their sins. When Christ lived on earth He experienced His share of temptations and conflicts – and He conquered them all. Jesus has been coequal with the Father for all eternity, but Jesus concealed His glory in the Father so He could take on the work of a Savior on earth. Having accomplished His work, He returned to the Father and took up His divine glory once again. This means those of us who follow in His footsteps will also be glorified in heaven. Our very existence in the direct presence of God will shine with the beams of His virtue because of our union and relation to Him. We will become part of the eternal body of Christ and Jesus will be our King forever.
The example of Laodicea should make you feel like there is still hope for you no matter how far gone you think you are. The messages to the seven churches close with a universal call to attention. The instruction, reproof, and correction these epistles offer is profitable for all churches everywhere regardless of what age we live in. Ultimately our churches are composed of human beings same as these seven were. That means there are bound to be similarities in our sins as well as our graces. It should come as no surprise to us when God deals with us the same as He did with them. The wonderful promises of blessing God made to these churches apply equally to us if we remain faithful. The warnings of punishment are also the same for us should we choose enmity with God. The call to attention reaches even beyond the walls of the church itself. Outsiders and unbelievers should examine the judgment Christ used with regards to the church and understand this judgment is coming for them as well. Each of these churches had to make a choice whether they followed Jesus or not. Each of us must make the same choice when it comes to the gospel. Do we trust that what Christ said represents ultimate reality for us? Do we accept His grace and take on His righteousness for ourselves? I think we should – because I think all of us could use a little grace.
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