AM I JUST LUKEWARM?
Rev. 3: 14-22

A young woman went to her preacher and said,
"Preacher, I have an annoying sin, and I want your help.
I come to church on Sunday and can’t help thinking I’m the prettiest girl in the congregation.
I know I ought not to think that, but I can’t help it.
I want you to help me with it." The preacher replied, "Mary, don’t worry about it. In your case it’s not a sin. It’s just a horrible mistake."

Sometimes things are not how they seem or how we think they are. Sometimes we look at our lives through rose colored glasses and fail to see the faults that we may have. Perhaps we have deceived ourselves into thinking we are some sort of super saints, but in reality, we are barely hanging on spiritually.

It is important for us to regularly and honestly look at ourselves and see where we stand.
That is why I want to ask you, What type of Christian are you?
AND what type of Church is this?

In the 2nd & 3rd Chapters of Revelation, seven different churches are addressed.
Some of the churches are harshly criticized for their shortcomings.
This causes me to wonder if we were to receive a letter addressed to us what would it say?
Would our faithfulness be questioned?
Would we be rebuked for neglecting to do something that we should be doing.

What would the letter say to us?
What sins would be confronted?
What areas that have been neglected would be brought out into the open?
What areas would we be commended for?

In Revelation 3, we come to the address to the lukewarm church of Laodicea.
I wonder if we will find any similarities between us and the church at Laodicea.

Text: Revelation 3:14-22
14“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the beginning of God’s creation.
15“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.
Would that you were either cold or hot!
16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.
17For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor,
blind, and naked.
18I 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.
19Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline,
so be zealous and repent.
20Behold, 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.
21The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me
on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down
with my Father on his throne.
22He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

• Laodicea was in the Roman province of Asia (modern-day Turkey), near Colossae and Hierapolis, in the fertile Lycus Valley.
• It was a prosperous trade city, famous for:

o Banking and finance (a wealthy commercial hub).
o A medical school known for producing an eye salve.
o A textile industry producing glossy black wool.

• After an earthquake in AD 60, Laodicea rebuilt itself without Roman aid—showing its pride in independence. This self-reliance mirrors the church’s spiritual complacency.

Unlike nearby Hierapolis (hot springs) where people from distant regions came to soak in warm baths and seek healing for arthritis, skin diseases, and even abdominal problems.

And unlike Colossae (cold, refreshing water), Laodicea’s water was lukewarm by the time it reached the city via aqueducts, and full of minerals.
It tasted so bad that it made people sick.
In fact, it became a joke in the first century world about the nasty tasting lukewarm water of Laodicea.

• This physical reality becomes the central metaphor in Jesus’ rebuke.
• Unlike other churches in Revelation, Laodicea receives no approval—only rebuke.
They were spiritually “lukewarm,” neither fervent nor openly opposed, but complacent and self-deceived.
• Just as their water supply was indifferent and unappealing, their faith lacked vitality.

This passage is often seen as a warning against comfortable, self-sufficient religion that lacks zeal and dependence on Christ. It challenges believers to examine whether their faith is vibrant or merely lukewarm.

It appears that Jesus is saying to the church at Laodicea, if you were hot, like the springs of Hierapolis, you would bring spiritual healing, restoration, and comfort to people who suffer.  If you were cold, like the water in colossi, you would refresh and encourage people who are hurting.
Instead, you are lukewarm. You don’t do anyone any good and you make me sick just like your own water makes you sick.

Have you ever taken a sip of lukewarm water?
Usually, lukewarm is not a good temperature.
We like it either hot or cold.
We like our drinks either hot or cold, but lukewarm is NOT a favorable temperature.
We want hot showers and cold refreshing drinks.
You RARELY if ever hear anyone say, “I am burning up; I would love a nice glass of lukewarm water”.

OR, how many times do you hear someone say,
“I am tired and aching, I would love to take a lukewarm bath.” The picture of lukewarm is a picture of something that has minimal uses. The Laodicean Christians were lukewarm, they were indifferent, and they were NOT good for much.

Jesus says I wish you were either hot or cold.
I wish you were either cold and refreshing or hot and healing.

I wonder if that same thing couldn’t be said to the church of today?
Wouldn’t God want us be like the hot waters which bring about spiritual healing to the spiritually sick?
OR, Wouldn’t He rather that we were like the cold waters which bring about the refreshing that can only come in Christ?

John 4:13-14
"13 Jesus answered and said to her,
“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him
will become in him a fountain of water
springing up into everlasting life.”"

A church that is ineffective in the kingdom is worthless.
It will be spewed out of the mouth of Jesus.
Let us understand that the church is not just a social club.
The church is not just a thing we do every so often,
but the church has a distinct message and a distinct function.
We are commissioned with the task of worshipping God, encouraging one another, and introducing others to Jesus.
If we fail to be effective, we are lukewarm.

I wonder if we took this to an individual level what could be said of us.
Are we having an impact in the kingdom individually?
Are we making a difference that will last for eternity?
If not, then could we be designated as lukewarm.
The designation of being a lukewarm Christian or a lukewarm church is not a compliment, but it reveals uselessness for anything significant.

The lukewarm church of the lukewarm Christian might be classified by indifference or a lack of care.
Are you lukewarm? Jesus would rather have us be hot or cold.
Let us be aware that God knows our deeds whether bad or good. He knows if we have any value or use in the church.
He knows if we are neither hot nor cold.
Perhaps you can deceive yourself and others into thinking that you are doing more than you are or that you are better than you are, but there is no fooling God because He knows our deeds.
The question we need to answer is, what does he see as he looks at us?

We see in verses 17-19 of the text:
Laodicea prided itself on its great wealth.
Laodicea was so rich that following a devastating earthquake in the region they refused financial aide from the emperor saying they were rich and did not need his money.

Jesus plays on their assumptions about themselves.
He says, “You say I am rich; I have acquired wealth and I do not need a thing.” The problem was that they did not realize the reality of their situation.
The truth of the matter was that they were, “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”

That doesn’t sound like the description I would want for the church.
There are several problems at work here.

The first was that the church apparently was not very distinct from the culture in which they lived in. Laodicea was a wealthy city, so we can assume that there were some
wealthy members of the church.

Often times as a person’s wealth increases so does their ego and their view of themselves.
Laodicea thought they were something great, they thought they had it all together.
They thought they were special because they had more things. Perhaps they interpreted their wealth as God’s blessing upon them.
There was a problem though in Laodicea among the Christians. They... like the non-Christians surrounding them in the city... took great pride in the physical.
We can see throughout history that churches often times take on the personality of their culture.

Secondly, the church is Laodicea had a false view of themselves. They were self-deceived. They had confidence in themselves. Perhaps so much confidence in themselves that they lost their dependence upon God.
Did you catch the reality of the church there?
They thought they were rich, but really, they were poor.

The problem wasn’t that they were ignorant about their financial well-being;
the problem was a spiritual problem.
Though they were rich in the eyes of the world, spiritually speaking they were poor.
Then there is a prescription given, a chance to remedy their problem.

He instructs them to buy refined gold, white clothes, and salve for the eyes.
This would remedy the problem that was given to them earlier. The refined gold would solve their poverty problem.
The white clothes would solve the nakedness problem, and the eye salve would remedy the blindness problem.
However, I do not believe his instructions were merely physical advice to the Laodiceans.

Perhaps they would have read this and thought to themselves, we are already rich, why do we need to buy gold, we aren’t poor. However, spiritually speaking they were poor.
Laodicea was a banking center for the province of Asia during this time, and it included a gold exchange.
Perhaps this is what was being played upon when they were instructed to buy some refined gold.
Notice though it wasn’t at the gold refinery that they were to purchase that gold, it was from Jesus himself that they were to go to.

He is saying that you are going to the wrong place to find your wealth.
Perhaps the Christians had been frequent customers at the gold refineries.
Perhaps they trusted that the gold they bought would be a good investment, but they were investing in the wrong place.
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.
There isn’t anything wrong with investing or being wise about one’s finances, but the problem has to do with where their allegiance was.
They were devoted to their riches.
Their hope was in the things they had, but they needed to buy gold from Jesus.

They needed to learn where to go to find contentment, where to find something that will really last.
Buying white clothes was in direct contrast to the well-known black wool that was prominent in the area. After all, white is symbolic of purity.
He calls them to buy white clothes, which will cover the shame of their nakedness.

Nakedness is the badge of sin.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they realized they were naked and wanted to clothe themselves. Jesus instructs them to find white clothes, which would stand out in a culture wearing dark clothes.
Perhaps these Christians would have read that and thought to themselves that didn’t make any sense.
They weren’t naked. However, spiritually they were unclothed.

Galatians 3:26-27
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Furthermore, Laodicea was the location of a major medical school known worldwide
and was the location where an eye salve called Phrygian powder was made from a local stone.
The salve was said to be a miracle remedy for weak eyes.
I doubt that the problem in Laodicea was a physical blindness.

If you were to go there you would find that the people may have been able to see just fine.
However, they were spiritually blind.
We pick up on that same language in songs like “Amazing Grace” where we sing, “I once was blind, but now I see”.

The Laodicean Christians had a seeing problem that no eye salve or eye doctor could cure.
The reason why was because the problem did not root in the human eye, it was a spiritual blindness.
They needed help that their famous eye school couldn’t provide them. Laodicea had a focus problem.

They could see, but they were blind.
They couldn’t see the most elementary and most important things.
They were blinded and needed their sight restored.

This is the charge that would be given to any lukewarm Christian today, for them to repent and be zealous.

A lukewarm Christian has lost their zeal, they may be characterized by indifference,
but they are called to be zealous.
We live in a world which can get zealous and excited about different things.

Wouldn’t it be great if the church showed the same zeal for the Lord that they do at the football games or other sporting events?
People cheer, they get excited at victories and upset at losses, they get mad when there is a bad call.
We need to be zealous for the Lord.

Are you lukewarm?
If so, repent and be zealous.
Get passionate about that which is really important and of value.

And FINALLY in verses 20-22 of the text:
The first picture we see is of Jesus standing at the door and knocking.
This is actually quite an ironic picture.
We see Jesus standing at the door knocking, seeking entrance into His church, which He is the Head of, which He purchased with His own blood.

It reminds me of the story of a family that went to an art gallery.
They stopped at the famous picture of Jesus knocking on the door, drawn from this passage.
A little girl looked up at her Dad and said, “Daddy, we would let him in, wouldn’t we?”

I often wonder is Jesus really welcome in what we do or is He standing outside seeking entrance into the church or into our lives.
Is He really welcome among us?
And even more than that… is He welcome on His own terms?
Or is He only welcome on our terms?