Chapter 29
Laodicea
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the
faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 'I
know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold
or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will
spit you out of My mouth. 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have
become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you
are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy
from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so
that you may clothe yourself, and {that} the shame of your nakedness will not
be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and
repent. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice
and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with
Me. 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My
throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"
Yes,
there really was a church in Laodicea. What is left of the ancient city
after a series of earthquakes devastated the area over a period of several
hundred years can be found in the southeastern part of what is now the nation
of Turkey.
Not
that any of that really matters for the purposes at hand. For what the
Lord Jesus Christ was addressing to the church there was in regards to a state
of mind—an attitude, if you will, and the message is just as pertinent in this
day and age as it was back then [Romans 15:4].
Perhaps
you have heard something or another about it? I cannot imagine anyone in
the Christian community who has not. For it is certainly a very popular
subject to preach upon.
Tragically,
there is good reason for that. For it is quite natural of us to think
that the way things appear to have always been is just the way it is—perhaps
even the way that it should be [2 Timothy 4:2-4], and this is a very dangerous state
of mind to be in [Proverbs 14:12].
No,
this is not another call for an end to what is often referred to as being
institutionalized religion. For our Heavenly Father established His
church in the name of His only begotten Son [Matthew 16:13-28] to serve as a reflection of His Light
[John 8:12] in a world deeply steeped in the
darkness of spiritual ignorance—much in the same way as a lamp globe reflects
the light of a flame [Matthew 5:14-16].
Neither
is this a call for an end to the teaching of doctrine. For it is
impossible to truly believe in something if you do not know what it is, and
doctrine is meant to help with that [1 Timothy 1:1-5].
In
other words, there is no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater (so to
speak). For in many cases, just a change in perspective is all that is
required [John 7:24].
It
is, however, in those changes of perspective that the foundations of many
religious institutions begin to crumble. For it truly is as it is
written: For no man can lay a foundation other than the
one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians 3:11 NAS]
Yes,
it sounds like just another futile exercise in semantics. For common
sense dictates that a vine [John 15:1-6] cannot grow in worthless soil [Matthew 13:1-23].
Subsequently,
many look at the church they are in (either big and quite popular or small and
longstanding) as obvious proof of being in rich soil, but be assured that not
all is as it seems. For come Judgment Day [Revelation 20:11-15]: “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to
me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name
drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them
plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” [Matthew 7:21-23 NIV]
Therefore,
let us listen closely to what our Heavenly Father’s Holy Spirit has to say to
the churches—even now in this day and age of post-modern sophistication [Job 33:14-30]. For it would be better to
swallow our pride while we still can than to have to taste its bitterness after
it is too late to repent [Proverbs 16:18].
Of
course, how can this happen when most have no idea that He is even speaking [John 5:31-47]? For all knowledge and
understanding comes from Him [1 Corinthians 2:6-16].
Yes,
every individual member of every individual church wants to believe that they
are of the Truth [John 14:6], but how can there be so many
different beliefs if that is indeed true when all who are truly in Christ are
supposed to be like-minded [Philippians 2:1-11]? For it is written: There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were
called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God
and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. [Ephesians 4:4-6 NAS]
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