Laodicea — Assuming Room Temperature
 Years
ago in a college class on forensic methods we studied
the various techniques used to determine how long a
human body has been dead. The methods are many and are
often somewhat complicated, but one basic technique
is to contrast the environmental temperature with the
temperature of the deceased. The point is to see how
close the body temperature of the deceased is to the
ambient (room) temperature. A dead body, you see, will
take on the temperature of its environment. Such was
the case with the church at Laodicea.
Laodicea can be loosely translated “mob rule”.
It was the democratic church where popular opinion was
the law and the concepts of right and wrong were voted
upon. Jesus had nothing good to say about it. The church
was ineffective and dead.
In Revelation 3:14ff Jesus described the Laodicean
church as “lukewarm”; that is, it was neither
hot nor cold (it was room temperature) and was thus
nauseating and worthy of being vomited out of His mouth.
He wanted the church to be either “hot”
or “cold” with both terms meaning being
different from the world around them and thus capable
of having an impact. Being “hot” does not
mean being “on fire” and being “cold”
does not mean being “dead”; they are both
positive terms that describe something that is desirable
such as hot coffee or cold water. No one wants to drink
hot water or cold coffee. Laodicea was a church that
allowed itself to be overly influenced by the world
around it with the result being that it no longer influenced
its environment, but was rather being influenced by
its environment. That is, it was taking on the temperature
of its environment. It was dead.
Laodicea, being the last of the seven churches mentioned,
is often seen as representing many in the church at
the end of the age just before Jesus returns for His
bride. We are living in that age and many in the church
are lukewarm and severely influenced by the world around
them. In fact, though there is some semblance of religion
associated with those folks, the fact of the matter
is that deep down Laodiceans are not much different
from the secular world around them.
We know the church will not be destroyed and we know
the gates of hell will not prevail against her. But,
we also know the church is susceptible to error, heresy
and worldly influence. We are warned about wolves in
sheep’s clothing, about false teachers and other
dangers that threaten the sanctity and purity of the
church. So, what characteristics might be playing a
role in deadening the impact of the church in these
last days? Is there anything we can watch out for? I
think so.
Health and Wealth Gospel
The Laodicean city fathers thought their city was in
good shape. They were rich. So rich that the local banking
system financed the reconstruction of the city in A.D.
60, after an earthquake destroyed it, without aid from
Rome. This was a matter of great pride for the Laodiceans.
That area produced an expensive glossy black wool for
which the city was famous. They had a medical school
and a drug company that manufactured a famous eye-salve.
They thought they were independent and needed nothing
from anyone. They were progressive, self-sufficient
and very wealthy. What city could want more?
The church in Laodicea should have had a message for
their arrogant fellow citizens, but the message somehow
got lost as the church took on the prideful and wealth-oriented
characteristics of the city. Money seemed to solve all
problems. Have you ever been in a church business meeting
where the main thing was the financial report, and if
the money situation was good then the church must surely
be doing okay spiritually?
The modern “name-it-and-claim-it” preachers
are having a hay-day these days. One in particular will
put on “Holy Spirit demonstrations of power”
on a large stage in front of thousands. People go to
the meetings with problems and leave their money with
the evangelist in appreciation for expected health and
wealth. Wonder why Paul didn’t know about all
this when Timothy and Epaphroditus were sick, and why
he didn’t tell the churches in Judea about this
when they suffered so much during a famine. Funny thing
about those guys — we don’t see them preaching
the health/wealth gospel to twelve or fifteen people
in the dirt-poor leper infested neighborhoods of Calcutta.
Wonder why.
As a result of this materialistic focus the Laodicean
church of the end times chooses her leadership as corporate
American chooses hers. The result is a church that has
forgotten her message and is more concerned about positive
public perception, materialism and showmanship than
truth, fidelity and evangelism.
Downplaying of Doctrine
We have probably all heard people say, “Doctrine
divides; love unites”. They say this as if to
mean they are mutually exclusive — you either
have to focus on doctrine or love. These same people
often have trouble reconciling the grace of Romans and
the works of James. The fact is all doctrines and principles
in the Bible are interrelated and cannot be divided.
The Jesus that said, “Love one another”
is the same Jesus that said, “Except you…”
Modern Laodicean churches are long on tolerance and
short on doctrine. They desire reputations for being
open-minded about those things that divide people. To
the modern Laodicean church what a person believes about
basic Bible doctrines regarding Jesus, salvation, the
Holy Spirit, eternity, etc. are not important as long
as everybody gets along and loves everybody else. They
forget that Jesus once said, Do not think that I
came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to
bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against
his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's
enemies will be the members of his household (Matthew
10:34-36 NASB). Jesus does, in fact, divide people.
In fact, He is the greatest divider the world has ever
known.
Very seldom, if ever, do modern preachers expound doctrinal
texts such as relate to divorce, morality, love of money,
hell, etc. These texts, though a definite part of God’s
word, are purposefully avoided because they “divide
people and hurt their feelings”. It is better,
they say, to talk about things that unite like tolerance,
getting a positive self image, the psychology of sin
from a modern perspective and other such things that
make people feel better about themselves.
The apostate church of Revelation 17 will be very inclusive
and ecumenical. It will accept just about anyone as
a member — as long as biblical truth is not part
of their belief system. Even then the mantra will be,
“Doctrine divides; love unites”.
Unbiblical Portrayal of God
The God of the Bible is not the god of the Laodicean
and modern apostate church. Unitarians, New Agers and
others portray God as a doting old grandfather who would
send no one to hell and would allow all into heaven.
Their god is all-inclusive, tolerate and demands no
doctrinal requisites from his followers because he does
not label any conduct as actual sin. Every word, thought
and deed is to be labeled, defined and dealt with on
a sliding scale of mitigating circumstances, so therefore
nothing is really sin.. Everything is relative.
The truth is their god is no god at all. He is a figment
of their imagination; an idol created by their own expectations
and cast in the mold formed by the humanistic wanderings
of their own reprobate minds. Their god is absolutely
and categorically foreign to the Bible.
We shall thank God for all eternity for His “marvelous
grace that is greater than all our sin”. Yes,
and a thousand amens!! But we must not allow ourselves
to be deceived, for God will not be mocked. Not for
one moment must we think that He will allow the finite
mind of rebellious man to reconstruct His divine character
into some spineless, indulgent deity and His infinite
purpose into some indecisive, helter-skelter proposal
that is constantly up for debate. In essence God has
almost been made intrinsically a human being.
The church at Laodicea was in a terrible condition.
Void of any spirituality and steeped in materialism
she was the epitome of a lifeless church that was taking
on the evil characteristics of the city she was supposed
to influence. Little if any difference could be seen
between the Christians of Laodicea and its pagan citizens.
Jesus’ Advice
Repent (vs# 19). During His ministry Jesus had said,
“I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will
all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3). Plain and simple,
the church needed to repent. The problem, however, with
repenting is that most people do not like to do this,
especially publicly. You see repenting is a very humbling
experience. It is an admission of sin and a declaration
of turning away from it.
The church at Laodicea had changed a lot from Paul’s
day. It was dynamic, vibrant and effective in earlier
years, but that all changed when it got too much of
the world in it and not enough of it in the world. It
assumed the temperature and demeanor of her environment
— and died.
The modern Laodicean church also knows nothing of repentance.
They say it is not a good thing because repenting can
damage a person’s self image and can do much harm
to their psyche. So it is said by those who speak modern
religious psycho-babble. But, the truth remains and
the consequences cannot be escaped. All the hype, pizzazz,
programs, flashiness and noise in the world cannot keep
a church alive when it has turned away from the truth,
become prideful, rejected doctrine and made God into
it own image. DLM
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