Lukewarm

December 9

Obadiah 1

Psalm 139:7-12

Proverbs 29:11-12

Revelation 3

Lukewarm

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth.”  Revelation 3:15-16 NIV

Laodicea was a large and prosperous city that had a reputation for medical knowledge, especially for an effective eye ointment.  It was also a banking and commerce center and many wealthy people lived there.  It was located on a major highway.  In one direction was the town of Colossae.  Colossae was known for its cold and refreshing water.  A six-mile aqueduct system was built from Colossae to Laodicea to transport the water.  Unfortunately, by the time the water travelled the six miles, it was no longer cold and refreshing, but was lukewarm.  It also picked up sediment and germs in the aqueduct so that by the time it reached Laodicea, it had a foul smell and tasted bad.  In the opposite direction was the town of Hierapolis.  It was known for the Baspinar Springs, a natural hot spring that people traveled for miles to visit.  When Jesus was talking to the people at the church at Laodicea, He knew that they would understand exactly what He meant when He told them that He wished that they were either hot or cold.  The cold water was useful and good and the hot water from the springs were useful and good, but the lukewarm water was not useful and just needed to be spit out.  In our cultural understanding we think of being cold as not being saved at all, being lukewarm as being backslidden, and hot as being on fire for the Lord.  So, we think that the Laodicean church is just backslidden, but that is not what Jesus is saying.  He is saying that cold water is good and hot water is good, but the Laodicean church was not useful at all because it was filled with people who were not even Christians.  This is the only church of the seven churches that Jesus wrote to that He had nothing good to say to at all.  The other churches had some things they were doing right and some that they needed to work on, but to this church, He had nothing good to say.  He treated them like the Pharisees.  It looked good on the outside, but in reality, it was nothing more than a social club that talked about religious stuff. 

The warnings to the churches were written to specific churches in Turkey in biblical times, but they were chosen specifically to provide warnings to churches and people throughout the ages so that we do not fall into the same patterns of behavior.  Jesus’ warning to this church is a stark reminder that it is possible to go to church week after week, year after year and never know Him personally.  There are a lot of people who go through the motions and look very religious that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus.  They have head knowledge but no heart knowledge.  In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus warns that in the last days many will say to Him, “Lord, Lord.”  And He will tell them, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” (ESV) This is one of the scariest passages in scripture.  It is a reminder to examine our own hearts, but it is also important that we take seriously our responsibility to spur one another on and to build each other up in authentic faith.