Laodicea was a prosperous, culturally alive, flourishing city.
This morning we come to the last of the seven churches in Revelation. It's evident that Christ's desire is for his church to transform culture. Yet in church after church, we've seen just the opposite. Often it's the culture that wins out over the church! Church after church finds herself compromised. Nowhere was this more true than in Laodicea.
It's interesting how historians describe this city. Laodicea was one of the most important cities in all of Asia Minor. Think New York Stock Exchange. Think Chicago Board of Trade. Laodicea was a wealthy city, with an affluent population and a prosperous banking center. It was a place where people would go to conduct enormous financial transactions. A significant amount of the gold that was used to adorn the temple in Jerusalem came from the large Jewish population living in Laodicea.
In 17 A.D. the entire city of Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake. Rather than accepting federal disaster relief funds, the citizens chose to rebuild their city entirely by themselves. The city of Laodicea was filled with beautiful monuments, some which are well preserved even to this day. The Loadiceans had high tastes for fine art, science, and literature.
Laodicea flourished for many reasons. We already mentioned her gold. But Laodicea was also known for her production of a fine quality, famous, glossy black wool. Residents of other cities would have looked like barbarians compared the fashionable Laodiceans, wearing their slick black wool.
Laodicea was also known for her medical school and for her production of ear medicine and a highly reputed eye salve that would be applied to people's eyelids, and would help restore their vision. Laodicea was also a city of great diversity and tolerance, where many beliefs were affirmed.
Laodicea had one major defect.
Laodicea did have one major defect. Despite all her gold, fine wool, medical advances, and diversity, Laodicea had horrible drinking water. Their water was some of the worst in Asia Minor! A prominent waterfall in Laodicea, encrusted with lime deposits, said it all. All of the city's water had to be brought into city from one of two locations.
Seven miles north of Laodicea was the city of Hierapolis, a city famous for her hot springs. People in the first century loved hot water just as much as we do today. The hot water was great for bathing, washing clothing, or warming your body on a cold day. And by the way, spring water was just as delicious and refreshing then as it is today!
If the people of Laodicea wanted warm water, it had to be piped from Hierapolis via a long aqueduct. If the people of Laodicea wanted cold water, it had to be piped in from nearby snow-covered mountains. By the time hot water arrived in Laodicea, it was lukewarm. By the time cold water was brought into Laodicea, it too was lukewarm.
Your choice of drink in Laodicea was limenade or pukey stale water from the aqueducts. The residents of Laodicea constantly complained about their disgusting water. It literally made people vomit. The water was so bad that first century historians wrote all about it. That's pretty bad!
So let's just summarize some of this. Laodicea had great wealth and lots of gold. It had a thriving clothing industry. It had a pioneering medical school known for its eye salve and ear treatments. The citizens were quite proud and self-sufficient, culturally sophisticated, artsy, and tolerant. Laodicea's most glaring problem was her horrible, lukewarm, drinking water.
So what about the church in Laodicea?
In many ways, the church in Laodicea was a reflection of the city of Laodicea. The city's tolerance and its syncretistic, melting pot approach to conflicting belief systems, bled right over into the church. There was little conviction about what was really true, or what was false. The attitude in Laodicea was that it didn't matter what people believed so long as everyone was getting along. And they had this same attitude when it came to the rule of God, and to living holy lives. To each their own. Let everyone do their own thing.
The self-sufficient spirit of Laodicea also bled over into the church. Their hope was in their great wealth! They had everything they needed. It's amazing how wealth creates the illusion that one doesn't need anything, not even God! This is why Jesus once told his disciples in Matthew 19:23 (NIV), "...it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."
This past week I came across Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV) where God issued a warning to his people Israel long before they entered the promised land. "But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth..."
The Laodiceans failed to recognize God as the source of their prosperity! Not only that, but they'd learned to put their faith in eye salves and medical technology instead of recognizing God as creator, as healer, and as the source of life and every good thing!
Christ introduces himself to the church at Laodicea.
When Christ introduces himself to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:14 (NIV) he says, "These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation."
We shouldn't take these words lightly. The word amen was a word of conviction. When a person said "Amen", it was a way of acknowledging that something was absolutely sure and true and valid!
When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ walked on this earth, he unequivocally affirmed that which was true. He didn't mince words. He spoke with great boldness, and great conviction, and great love, and great certainty about matters of eternity. For Jesus, there was no other way to the Father except through faith in the Son. All of eternity lay in the balance as to what Christ would speak.
But have you ever noticed that when God's truth is spoken in the Church today people have stopped saying, "Amen"? Christ's Church is largely silent about matters of faith today! We don't verbally affirm anything, not when we gather for worship, and most certainly not in social circles, in the marketplace, in our neighborhoods, and in our homes. For the average believer, it's more important to be tolerant than to be truthful. It's more important not to offend than it is to share the words of life.
Who is Jesus Christ?
Who is Jesus Christ? He is the Amen! 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) says, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."
Who is Jesus Christ? He is the faithful and true witness. Even to the point of suffering and death, in a hostile world, on a cross nonetheless, Christ affirmed what he knew to be true. Who is Jesus Christ? He is the ruler of God's creation. He is the source of every good and perfect gift.
In John 1:3-4 (NIV) the apostle John says of Christ, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life and that life was the light of men."
In Acts 17:28 (NIV) the apostle Paul says of Jesus, "For in him we live and move and have our being."
In Colossians 1:16-19 (NIV) Paul says, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
So what happens when we stop affirming about Jesus Christ all that is good and true and essential for salvation? What happens when church becomes a place of pride where we celebrate our self-sufficiency and stop trusting God as healer? What happens when the church is all about appearances and dressing up in our slick, glossy clothes, while neglecting the weightier matters of faith, repentance, confession, profession, and obedience?
Christ rebukes the church in Laodicea.
In Revelation 3:15-16 (NIV) Christ says to the Laodiceans, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-- neither hot nor cold-- I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Remember that cold water is good and hot water is good. Both are useful. But lukewarm water? Yuck!
In Revelation 3:17-18 (NIV) Christ continues, "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked? I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see."
How does a church become lukewarm?
How does a church become lukewarm? How did the church at Laodicea become lukewarm? It's pretty straightforward. How quickly we put our hope in gold and silver, in our 401Ks, and in our economy, instead of trusting God. Is he not the source of wealth, of every good and perfect thing?
Instead of being broken over our many sins, and realizing our shameful nakedness before a holy God, and seeking Christ's righteousness, we cover our sin. We put on our finest clothing, as if God was mostly concerned with appearances and not with the heart.
Instead of opening our eyes to spiritual truth, we quench the Holy Spirit and suppress the truth of God's word by neglecting prayer, worship, and scriptural meditation.
Instead of inviting Christ into our lives for fellowship, we leave him standing outside the door.
Someone on the internet posted a list of hymns that are sung by lukewarm churches. Amazing Grace, How Interesting the Sound. Be Thou My Hobby. Oh, for a Couple Tongues to Sing. Oh, How I like Jesus. I Surrender Some. Take My Life and Let Me Be. Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following. Sit Up, Sit Up for Jesus.
Here is what Christ says to his Church. Revelation 3:19-22 (NIV) says, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I 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."
Help us pursue true riches, be clothed in Christ, and have eyes that see clearly who Jesus is.