Danger Signs Of Lukewarm Christianity 8-16-26 AM
I. They were in danger because they were unsafe (Rev. 3:15-16).
a. Jesus says “I know your works.”
i. It wasn’t that they were doing nothing.
ii. One writer said that what they were doing works wise was probably just giving money but never actively participating in the Lord’s work.
b. Jesus is saying, “I know all that you are doing and you are not hot or cold, just lukewarm and that makes me want to vomit.”
i. He is not saying that he is a little disappointed in them.
ii. He is saying, “You’re spiritual condition is so unacceptable that I am about to reject you.
c. The Greek language literally says, “I am about to vomit you out of my mouth.”
d. What needs to be remembered is that this is not being written to people who have never belonged to Jesus, but to the church at Laodicea – these were Christians.
i. Christians were being warned that they were facing rejection by Jesus.
ii. This is one of the multitude of passages that make the idea of “once saved, always saved” a ridiculously false doctrine.
iii. Leroy Brownlow wrote that the threat by Jesus to spew the Laodiceans out of His mouth makes no sense if apostasy is impossible.
e. Jesus gave a similar warning in John 15:6.
i. The branch is in Him.
ii. The danger is failing to remain in Him.
f. Paul warns us as well (1 Cor. 10:12) – you can’t meaningfully warn someone not to fall if falling is impossible.
g. There is a difference in confidence in Christ and complacency toward Christ.
h. We need to go over our past actions as well as present practices, but that isn’t enough.
i. We also need to ask am I walking with Jesus, am I fighting sin, am I praying, growing, repenting, serving, becoming more like Christ?
j. Yesterday’s faithfulness will never substitute for today’s faithfulness.
II. They were in danger because they were unaware (Rev. 3:17-18).
a. They said, “I am rich, I am prosperous, I need nothing.”
b. Jesus said, “You are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked.”
c. There was a tremendous difference between their perceived condition and their real condition.
d. What Jesus is really saying is, “You don’t know what condition you are really in.”
i. Their greatest problem was not that they were poor; it was that they didn’t know they were poor.
ii. Their greatest problem was not they were blind; it was that they didn’t know they were blind.
iii. Their greatest problem was not they were naked; it was that they didn’t know they were naked.
e. Their city had trained them to say that they needed nothing.
i. An earthquake hits: We don’t need Rome’s help.
ii. Illness arises: We have the best medical treatments in the known world.
iii. Need clothing: We have the best wool in the world.
iv. Need money: We are a banking center for all of Asia Minor.
f. Somewhere along the way, the attitude of the city had become the attitude of the congregation.
g. Self-sufficiency had infected their spirituality.
h. They had enough religion to make them comfortable, but not enough devotion to make them do some self-examination.
i. There is a very dangerous assumption we as Christians can make: I’m here, so I’m ok.
i. I came Sunday morning.
ii. I’m at Bible class.
iii. I’m taking the Lord’s Supper.
iv. I’ll put some money in the plate.
v. I’m still in the directory.
vi. Everything must be fine.
j. This letter from our Lord destroys that logic.
i. We can sing “I Surrender All” while surrendering very little.
ii. We can take the Lord’s Supper and never give thought to the sacrifice of Jesus.
iii. We can know enough Bible to diagnose everyone else’s spiritual problems while being blind to our own.
k. This is why self-examination is so important (2 Cor. 13:5).
l. We need regular self-examination because a self-deception is very possible.
m. The most dangerous spiritual blindness is thinking you can already see.
III. They were in danger because they were unclothed (Rev. 3:18).
a. There is definitely irony here on the part of Jesus.
i. The city was famous for its luxurious wool.
ii. But, Jesus says, “You need clothes, but not what your city produces.”
b. They could dress themselves in Laodicean wool but only Jesus could clothe their souls.
c. Jesus tells them they need white garments; an image which appears frequently in the book of Revelation.
i. Rev. 3:4-5.
ii. Rev. 6:11.
iii. Rev. 7:9 tells of the redeemed before the throne.
iv. Rev. 7:14 tells of how their robes became white.
d. Blood makes their robes white.
i. Not their goodness, their wealth, their accomplishments, or their religious resumes.
ii. Only the blood of the Lamb.
e. When Jesus says they are naked and need to buy white garments from Him, He is saying, “What you possess cannot make you acceptable before God. You need only what I can provide.”
f. The Laodiceans had clothing everyone else admired, but Jesus saw nakedness.
g. We can do the same thing spiritually.
h. We can say:
i. My family has always gone to church.
ii. I’ve been a Christian for 30 years.
iii. I know my Bible.
iv. I don’t do the things other people do.
v. I’ve been an elder, or a deacon.
vi. I preach.
vii. I teach.
viii. I give.
i. None of these things replace being cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and then walking in the light.
j. It will never be a matter of “Do other Christians think I am spiritual?”
k. It will always be a matter of “How does Jesus see me?”
l. We need the white garments Christ provides, which represent the cleansing, righteousness, purity, and victory that are made possible through Him.
m. We can look spiritually well-dressed to people and stand naked before God.
IV. They were in danger because they were unopen to Jesus (Rev. 3:19-20).
a. This warning is not the anger of someone who wants to destroy them, but the correction of Someone who wants them back.
b. Jesus says He is standing at the door and knocking.
i. We need to remember something very important.
ii. Jesus is speaking to Christians.
iii. This is not Jesus knocking on the heart of a non-believer, attempting to get the non-believer to invite Him into his heart in order to be saved.
iv. It is Jesus standing outside a congregation that had effectively shut Him out.
c. Revelation 3:20 is written to Christians in an unfaithful congregation and the knocking pictures Jesus seeking readmission as they repent and return to being a faithful and obedient congregation.
d. Think of how tragic this is:
i. They still had a congregation.
ii. They still had services.
iii. They still had religion.
iv. But Jesus was on the outside looking in.
e. Jesus is appealing to them to respond to Him.
i. He has not stopped caring.
ii. He has not stopped loving.
iii. He is calling, correcting, warning, and inviting them back.
f. Notice the individual responsibility – “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door.”
i. Each member of the congregation had the responsibility to change him/herself.
ii. It may just be one who no longer wanted to be lukewarm.
g. If even one would answer, Jesus would be in fellowship with him or her, which is indicated by Jesus saying He would eat with that person.
h. How does Jesus end up outside the life of a Christian?
i. We don’t usually wake up one day and say, “I don’t want Jesus anymore.”
ii. We get busy with work, kids activities, sports, our phones and devices, entertainment, investments, projects, vacations, hobbies, politics, or any other number of things.
iii. None of these things necessarily announce to us “I am replacing Jesus.”
i. We simply give Him less, then less, then even less, until Jesus is just getting the leftovers.
i. Leftover time, attention, energy, devotion.
ii. And somehow, we still convince ourselves, “Everything is fine.”
j. Jesus refuses to be an accessory to our lives because He is Lord.
k. The Laodiceans had not stopped believing Jesus existed.
l. They had simply learned how to live without depending on Him.
m. A life too full for Jesus is a life that is spiritually empty.