Overcoming Lukewarmness - in Reference to Rev. 3:14-22

Being lukewarm is being content with how much –Christ- you have in you!

Being lukewarm stems from ignorance,

- Ignorance of the human condition, the state of the human heart which is wretched, and pitiful, and poor, and blind, and naked
- And ignorance of the extent of the riches and blessings of knowing God through our Lord and our Saviour, the Amen, Jesus Christ, the blessings of gold, and white garments, and ointment for our eyes

How do we transfer from the ignorance of lukewarmness into the glories of hotness and coldness? We transfer – through Christ.

Lukewarm Christians are so content. They (and we!) are so satisfied with the things of this world. They think they are rich, but they couldn’t be more wrong! They have no gold, they can’t earn gold because they are blind so cannot see to work, and they can’t even leave the house to go out in public because they are naked.

The answer – pray. We do not seek to go out of the house but we seek to let him who is knocking at the door in. So he can come in and eat with us and us with him. And when we open the door and let him in he brings with him all gold, and all white garments, and all eye-ointment for our healing and refreshing and cleansing. When we overcome our worldliness and contentedness with wretchedness and pityfulness and poorness and blindness and nakedness....once we overcome these things by letting Jesus into every door of our lives then he promises to let us sit on his throne. The throne of Jesus is the throne of God. We can sit with him and reign with him and take up the dominion creation-mandate to till the ground and honour the Lord like we were created to do. However, now we have dominion in the kingdom of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ, the Amen.

So do not be content with lukewarm Christianity, do not settle for the world-gained things apart form Christ. Be hungry, and thirsty, and hot, and cold for the Kingdom, and the dinner company, and the ruling promises of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Open up every door into your life for him to come in and eat. ‘Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.’ (Ps. 37:4)

Hot and Cold in Revelation 3:14-22, The Letter to the Church in Laodicea

Not because you are hot of cold but because you are lukewarm will I spit you out of your mouth.

The purpose of this post is 1. (to get away from Romans for a wee bit) and 2. to counter a classic approach to these two words 'hot' and 'cold.'

The classic approach, like I have seen preached, and I'm sure many of you may have seen preached, is it is worse to be middle-of-the-road complacent in your spiritual life and faith, than it is to be hostile to faith. -or- it is better not to know Christ than to be only half-passionate about him. -or- more strongly still, being heretical/anti-gospel is just as good as being on-fire passionate for God in being better than knowing the gospel, but being half-hearted or lukewarm or nearly warm or nearly passionate about it.

This does seem a wee bit odd doesn't it? I think the problem comes primarily from misunderstanding the word 'cold' - and to understand it properly we need to look to extra-biblical sources.

We learn that Laodicea was located nearby Colossae and Hierapolis. Hierapolis was located in and around mineral hot-springs, so had an abundant and well known supply of hot water. This was used in part for bathing in, to heal joints and ligaments, and sweat out impurities in the skin, this included killing germs and bacteria’s. In short, Hot water in nearby Hierapolis was known for its healing properties. Colossae at the other extreme was located in the highlands with pools of refreshing (and very very cold!) water. This was wonderfully refreshing to drink and helped supplement a good diet, healthy life style and alertness/vigour of its drinkers. Laodicea however, being placed on trade routes rather than near natural supplies, piped its waters from Hierapolis. Once this water had arrived it had cooled somewhat to become lukewarm. Lukewarm water lacks the healing properties of hot water, and the refreshing qualities of cold, instead it is good for only one thing: as an emetic (an agent that causes vomiting). Such water is putrid, nauseating, and above all, pretty useless.

The Laodiceans are addressed from the faithful witness. We learn from the other six letters in the beginning of Revelation, that the titles Jesus addresses himself with act as an important prologue/link to the main issues of the receiving church. The Laodiceans thought they had everything they needed; they made themselves rich and content apart from Christ. This makes the Church at Laodicea with this attitude to be little better than a secular pagan institution, one without place in Christ's kingdom, or on his throne (vv. 21-22), so are to be spewed out of his mouth. As a secular institution they are not delighting in the gospel and they are not faithfully witnessing to outsiders. Making them useless (Lukewarm).

Hot and Cold are both positives, they heal and refresh. They take delight in God's kingdom and they spread the gospel. Lukewarm is complacency and uselessness, missing the life-changing delights of being in God's kingdom, and being so worldly loosing the importance of witness.

Jesus is not saying in this letter that it is better to be anti-gospel or heretical than middle-of-the-road, or not always totally passionate in your faith. He is saying, however, that one must let the gospel affect your life and must use that as a witness to those outside the church.

Lets stop being overly worldly and complacent in our lives, so making ourselves fit to be vomited from the kingdom. But lets keep humbly acknowledging the gospel, keep submitting to it, and seek to see how we can be used in the service of the king - making ourselves, in grace, fit to be further digested into Christ's kingdom.