Summary
The Letter to Laodicea: A Word for the Lukewarm Church
The risen Christ's letter to the church at Laodicea Revelation 3:14-22 is not a pleasant letter to read, but it is among the most important words Christ speaks to His Church. He acknowledges their works, but does not commend them. Instead He says, "I know your works, you are neither cold nor hot... so because you are lukewarm... I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Lukewarm milk is not refreshing—it is rejected on the tongue, both unpleasant and possibly dangerous. So is a lukewarm church.
Why would the Lord prefer cold over lukewarm? Because cold can be warmed. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promises to take out the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh Ezekiel 36:26. The Holy Spirit can kindle a cold heart into flame. Hot is alive, active, on fire with the Spirit. But lukewarm is apathy—just "eh"—and no one is moved by "eh," nor does the Spirit work through indifference. The diagnosis behind the apathy is exposed in verse 17: "You say, I am rich, I have prospered and I need nothing." The Laodiceans were resting on their own resume of accomplishments and successes.
This is the trap every Christian is tempted to fall into: building a record of good deeds and trusting that record for righteousness before God. Christ's verdict on such self-reliance is blunt—"you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked." It is the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes lived out in religion: parading our righteousness while standing exposed. Adam and Eve could not hide their nakedness from God, and neither can we. As Hebrews says, all things are laid bare before Him Hebrews 4:13. When we hide behind our list of good works, the Lord still sees us as we are: sinners, born seeking our own will and our own glory.
Christ's counsel is to "buy from me gold refined by fire... and white robes to clothe you... and salve to anoint your eyes." This sounds at first like another transaction we must perform, but it echoes Isaiah's invitation: "Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" Isaiah 55:1-3. The white robe has already been purchased—in the blood of Jesus Christ. He went to the cross and died once for all sin, and rising again He conquered every sin we tried to cover with our resume. The robe of righteousness that hides the shame of our nakedness is His gift, not our wage.
Then comes the famous word: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Notice what Christ does not say. He does not say He will wait politely until we decide to let Him in. He says, "Listen, I am standing at the door knocking." His voice is heard whenever His Word is preached and read—just as the Good Shepherd's sheep know His voice John 10:27. And even the opening of the door is His doing: "No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" 1 Corinthians 12:3. Faith itself is a gift. The Spirit opens the door, and Christ enters in.
"Be earnest, therefore, and repent." True repentance must be distinguished from false repentance, or mere penance. False repentance sees sin in the mirror of the law and then tries to make up for it by good works—but under the law we are always guilty, and the cycle never ends. Genuine repentance turns us away from the law and toward the gospel; it draws our eyes off our own works and onto the work God has done, is doing, and will continue to do for us in Christ. This distinction is at the heart of the Dear Church... letter to Laodicea.
The letter is signed by "the Amen, the faithful and true witness." Normally we say "amen" at the end of a prayer—"let it be so." But Christ begins with Amen because He Himself is the certainty of God. In John's Gospel, His "truly, truly I say to you" is literally "amen, amen." He is the trustworthy witness of the Father's love, mercy, and forgiveness. Our whole life, then, begins and ends in Amen—in the One who created us, redeemed us with His own blood, and clothes us in white robes that we may stand in the presence of the Almighty Father, certain of His forgiveness, not by our works but by faith in Christ alone.
Video citations
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