Laodecia. It was a wealthy and worldly place. And the church had made itself at home there. Their lives had become defined by what they had acquired rather than by whom they claimed to follow. It doesn’t matter how much they had acquired (we are never told), but how they perceived themselves in their acquisition. However little or much, they had enough to think themselves self-sufficient.

The problem was that church was never designed to be self-sufficient, but Jesus-dependent. Not then. Not now. And a church that deems itself self-sufficient leaves a bad taste in Jesus’ mouth. (Revelation 3:14-22)

The Condition
“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (16)

While some like hot coffee and others like ice coffee, few like tepid coffee. It’s bitter. It’s not palatable. I instinctively want to spit it back into the cup. Jesus was about to spit out the lukewarm Laodecian church. But why?

The Cause
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (17)

Three statements reveal the cause of the Laodecians’ tepid spiritual condition.

1. “I am rich.” They didn’t merely claim to have riches, but they actually identified themselves as rich. Who they were was emphatically defined by what they had.

2. “I have prospered.” They were who they were – rich – because of themselves.

3. “I need nothing.” They were self-sufficient. Their self-sufficiency, however, was self-delusion. Their perception of themselves was wrong. Rather than seeing a rich, self-sufficient church, to be envied by others, Jesus saw a church that was wretched, to be pitied, beggarly poor, blind and shamefully naked.

The cause for their condition really had nothing to do with what they had (or didn’t). Wealth is neither a sign of church success or failure. How God prospers us materially is God’s business to be used in whatever measure He gives it for His glory.

The cause for their condition was their love for self and mammon that left no room for Jesus. They were a Christ-less church of Christ. And Jesus was about to spew them out into the world they loved.

The Counsel
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (18)

Jesus counters their self-centered materialistic focus with some advice: acquire eternal wealth.

Buy gold refined by fire. The genuineness of our faith in Jesus is tested by the fiery trials of this world. While trusting in this world’s possessions may seem expedient for the moment for the sake of personal comfort, only trusting Jesus with the fiery trials that will inevitably come produces eternal benefit. (1 Peter 1:7)

Buy…white garments. We cannot love the world without becoming stained by the world. Those who desire to be rich fall into a snare because the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. (I Timothy 6:9-10) It is those clothed in righteousness who will walk with Jesus. (Revelation 3:4)

Buy…eye-salve. Trusting mammon blinds us to our spiritual reality. We need discernment that we might see our true condition before God and ready ourselves for eternity.

The Cure
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so 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 eat with him, and he with me. (19-20)

How could they or how can we make such purchases? The spiritual cannot be bought with the material. As the Lord once invited spiritual paupers to come, buy and eat (Isaiah 55:1-4), so now Jesus compels those described as wretched and poor to make purchases far beyond their means. How?

Awakened by the love of Christ, we are to zealously and penitently receive His reproof and discipline. Even more passionately than we have pursued the world, we are to turn toward and pursue Jesus. He becomes our identity and His grace our prosperity. Regardless of our earthly material circumstance, we wake each day keenly aware of our desperate need for Him and His provision, crying out, “Give us this day our daily bread!”

At the doors of how many churches does Jesus stand, knocking and calling out to anyone inside who will hear His voice? Churches comfortable in their culture, at ease in their possessions, sufficient for themselves, identified with their surroundings. Churches tepid on the tongue of Christ, about to be spewed into the world they love.

May we hear our Savior at the church’s door and open wide our hearts to Him to whom the church belongs. Christ, come and reclaim us as your own!