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"Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Rev. "The Laodicean message applies to the people of God who profess to believe present truth. The greater part are lukewarm professors. " Laodicea does not mean "lukewarm" but "a people judged." We are living in the time of the judgment and as the Lord looks at His church, He finds that the majority are lukewarm, and He wants them to understand their true condition. The following diagram illustrates the three kinds of people mentioned in the message to Laodicea.  The hot have experienced the new birth and know the necessity of daily allowing the Holy Spirit to control their spirit. If they fail, they do not excuse their sins, but quickly ask forgiveness and cleansing. The cold know they are not in a saving relationship with God. But the lukewarm think they are right with God, not knowing that they are in a lost condition. "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." "How plainly is pictured the position of those who think they have all the truth, who take pride in their knowledge of the word of God, while its sanctifying power has not been felt in their lives." "If the inner life of many who profess the truth were presented before them, they would not claim to be Christians." "They may be crying, 'The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we,' while . . . the courts of the soul temple may be the haunt of envy, pride, passion, evil surmising, bitterness, and hollow formalism. Christ looks mournfully upon His professed people who feel rich and increased in the knowledge of the truth, and who are yet destitute of the truth in life and character." "The internal work of grace is wanting in their hearts. " "What greater deception can come upon human minds than a confidence that they are right when they are all wrong! The message of the True Witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception." I was honest in my deception also. I thought lukewarmness meant we were not working hard enough for God, but that is not the meaning. I was busy working for God, but did not know that I was wretched, poor, blind and naked. When I realized my condition, Jesus had the remedy. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." "The gold tried in the fire is faith that works by love. Only this can bring us into harmony with God." "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." "Man needs a power out of and above himself to restore him to the likeness of God; but because he needs divine aid, it does not make human activity unessential. Faith on the part of man is required; for faith works by love and purifies the soul." "The white raiment is the righteousness of Christ that may be wrought into the character. Purity of heart, purity of motive, will characterize every one who is washing his robe, and making it white in the blood of the Lamb." "It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ's righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments." "The eye is the sensitive conscience, the inner light, of the mind. Upon its correct view of things the spiritual healthfulness of the whole soul and being depends. The 'eyesalve, ' the word of God, makes the conscience smart under its application; for it convicts of sin. But the smarting is necessary that the healing may follow, and the eye be single to the glory of God." "If one sin is cherished in the soul, or one wrong practice retained in the life, the whole being is contaminated. The man becomes an instrument of unrighteousness." What must we do? |