Chapter 1 - Be Holy As I Am Holy (Part 4 of 4)

Last week, we touched on the passage in Revelation 3:14-20 (NRSV). We noted how Jesus stood outside the door of this church, asking to be allowed inside.

To refresh our memories, here are those words Jesus wrote to the Church in Laodicea: 

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation: I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you, and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so you can see. 

I reprove and discipline those I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me.

The believers in Laodicea were told to repent of their religious beliefs, of all things, or Jesus would disown them.

The imagery He uses is quite descriptive. When you spit or spew something out of your mouth, you want it out of your body. You do not want to swallow it and have it remain inside of you. Doesn’t matter what it is. The act speaks for itself. To be spit out of Jesus’s mouth is to be expelled from the body of Christ. To be something that is spit, spewed, even vomited out of the mouth is an extremely apt and vivid picture of how this kind of lukewarm, religious living listed here is viewed through the eyes of the Almighty.

The Laodicean Christians, who lived in an economic mecca in their day, instead were to buy “gold” from Jesus, the kind refined by fire, thus making it pure. In other words, they were to invest their lives in Him instead of the stock market or savings accounts. Then, they would experience what being “rich” truly means.

Living in a manufacturing hub for clothes in that day, the Laodicean believers were told to buy white clothes instead, signifying purity of heart, and adorn themselves accordingly so they could cover their spiritual nakedness. The picture is clear. They were to wrap themselves with God’s standard of holiness, follow in His ways, and they would never be spiritually naked again. If they continued to wear their own clothes of self-righteousness, claiming they would suffice, their spiritual nakedness would be exposed for all to see. Those of us living today can identify with this awkward and embarrassing imagery. Most people are self-conscious and ashamed when seen naked by others who were never intended to do so.

The Laodicean Christians lived in an area known for its eye balm, too, which had healing properties.¹ Yet, Jesus told them that their beliefs of being wealthy and not having any needs were actually the words of spiritually blind people. They needed a spiritual salve to heal their eyes so they could see how utterly destitute they were without God and His holiness.

Spiritually poor. Spiritually naked. Spiritually pitiful and wretched. Spiritually blind. These believers were all of the above, and for people who thought they were rich and had arrived spiritually, this must have been a horrifying message to receive.

Still, there was one more thing they were to do. They were told to open the door and let Jesus inside. Isn’t that one of the most ironic pictures in scripture? Jesus knocking on the door of a church, of all places, asking to be allowed to come inside and reign as King?

I wonder how many “Laodicean churches” we have in America today, and around the world, for that matter, who think they have arrived spiritually, embracing so many things that are ungodly—little personal kingdoms that run diametrically opposed to God’s Kingdom that are instead “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked”? I wonder how many churches have Jesus knocking on their doors at this very moment, asking for them to repent of their ways and allow Him inside?

You see, there is only God and His holiness.

Only God and His Kingdom.

You either have it all or you don’t.

There is no in-between. A “little dab” will not do. There are no sampler platters on God’s menu where you can enjoy a taste of everything but not get too filled up on any one thing. God doesn’t hire people to work just forty hours a week. Jesus said you are either for Him or against Him (cf. Luke 11:23). You are either “all-in” or “all-out” (Luke 9:23-26). This also applies to believing in His Word. You believe it all, as written, or you don’t. You can’t pick and choose.

Part-time believers need not apply.

Oh, and one last note on this topic: Calling your body of believers a “church” or yourself a “Christian” doesn’t always mean you are a “card-carrying member.” Five of the churches in Asia Minor who received letters from Jesus (Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea) were in dire straits and in jeopardy of being told, “Depart from me, I never knew you,” if they didn’t repent. Only two of the seven churches in Asia Minor received kudos (Smyrna and Philadelphia), and interestingly, they were smaller churches. Therefore, when it comes to narrow roads and broad roads, these “numbers” referenced in Revelation 2-3 (five churches on the broad road and two churches on the narrow road), interestingly enough, align with what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7:13-14 more than the polls we often see today concerning how many people claim to be Christians.

This distinction is not a case of “haves” versus “have nots,” or “winners” versus “losers.” In God’s eyes, it is a distinction between those who have already “offered their bodies as living sacrifices, which is holy and pleasing to God” (cf. Romans 12:1-2), and those who have not…yet. For God is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). In order to do so, however, the man or woman must bow before the holy God of the Bible and pledge allegiance solely to Him (cf. Exodus 20:3-11). God does not bow before men and women. Although men and women attempt, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, to bend the knee of God’s Word at the footstool of worldly thrones and deficient, worldly belief systems, passage after passage of scripture depicts a different story.

A Holy story. God’s story. A story of Holiness.

One of being “set apart.” One of being “different.” One of true Kingdom living 

Holiness in Today’s Climate

In today’s contentious climate, it is my further hope that readers of this blog series will set aside their “cause” long enough to really listen to what God says in His Word about such topics. That they will lay down their wallets, debit cards, GoFundMe accounts, and Change.org petitions until they have read the last blog post. When scripture references are made, it is my hope they will stop and actually go to God’s Word and read the passages for themselves, then come back to this blog. I hope they will do the same with the endnotes as well.

For I believe that if anybody comes at this subject of God, His Creation, His holiness, and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, with an earnest and sincere desire to “be holy as God is holy,” then there will be some serious soul searching conducted by the Holy Spirit. Good soul searching. Godly soul searching. Jesus commands us to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), and when you do, the pruning process of His branch-clipping hand will go to work. It is never painless, but it is so 
needed for us to be fully connected to The Vine and begin our trip down the narrow road (John 15:1-17).

So, please, strip yourself of the labels. Strip yourself of the causes. Strip yourself of the petitions, the boycotts, and the revolutionary ideals. Listen to the words of scripture as we view them through the eyes of God, to be open to what God is revealing in His Word. For the days are getting darker. The Bible says that when people finally exhaust God’s gracious intent, He gives them over to a “depraved mind” (Romans 1:28). We are seeing living proof of this every day, as more and more decisions by lawmakers and occurrences on the nightly news do not make any sense (cf. Romans 1:18-32; 1 Timothy 6:3-12). “Common sense” isn’t common anymore. Illogical arguments are touted as logical progressions of thought. Troubling and destructive actions on the part of large groups are applauded as necessary movements. The world is setting itself ablaze with hate and malice disguised as tolerance, solidarity, enlightenment, inclusivity, progressivism, and freedom.

When examined under a logical microscope, however, tolerance is really intolerance with whom we do not agree. Enlightenment is really intellectual assimilation or destruction of opposing ideas and beliefs. Inclusivity is really exclusivity of certain undesirables for the “greater good” of those in positions of power. Progressivism is really a regression of morals and standards under the guise of evolutionary, societal, and technological advancement. And freedom—whether it be political or religious—is really bondage to sin when it is divorced from the Bible and what God’s Word teaches about true freedom. And all of these banners are held high and waved in God’s face, mocking Him and His Word.

What the world needs is not a bunch of “Christians who actually live what they say they believe.” How many times have you heard that phrase tossed out on a Sunday morning? Unfortunately, that was the issue with the Laodicean Church, and that’s been the issue with the modern-day Church of the last fifty years or so.

What the world needs are Christians who believe correctly, according to God’s view of Scripture, and then live it. And I mean, truly live it. In a “set apart,” “different,” “consecrated,” exquisitely biblical manner we rarely see today but is clearly spelled out in scripture. To truly be the light on a hill and the salt of life that has been missing for years. 

This is why very few people outside the Church praise Him these days (Matthew 5:14-16; cf. Daniel 6:16, 23-27). That’s why more and more supposed believers are walking away from the “easy believe-ism” they spiritually ingested all those years ago. They were given a false gospel message about how they could expand their own kingdoms, enjoy their own kingdoms, live peaceably in their own kingdoms, so long as they had their “fire insurance” and God’s love. Even they see the hopelessness and duality in that message now.

And unfortunately, that’s on us. Those who claim to be believers in Jesus. The Church.

This is why it is time for His Church to start viewing His Kingdom the way He does—through His eyes. For the kingdom of heaven is upon us 

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).

 

Thought for the Week:

Do you know anyone who has left the church? Walked away from “organized religion”? Blamed the Church for misleading them? Could it be that this has occurred because we have not been faithful with the scriptures? Could it be that we have allowed culture to infiltrate God’s Word more than we care to admit?

For example, Jesus came into the world at just the right time (Galatians 4:4). He was born, lived with an earthly mother and adopting father, and launched his ministry at the age of thirty. During this entire time, he lived under the rule of Rome. Yet, never once did Jesus espouse revolutionary ideals. As a matter of fact, He denounced such actions more than once (Matthew 22:16-21; 26:51-53; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49-51; John 18:10-11; 33-36). Never once did He run a campaign to become an earthly king. Quite the contrary, actually (John 6:14-15).

In other words, Jesus came at a time when overthrowing the Roman Empire and reestablishing the Nation Israel in all its glory would have been well received. Many would have come to Jesus’s side and “fought the good fight.” However, He told Pilate His Kingdom was not of this world. Jesus wasn’t saying His Kingdom had not arrived yet, or was some “other-worldly” dimension in the “sweet by-and-by.” His Kingdom was present. It was at hand. It simply was much different from the kingdoms and empires which Pilate was accustomed to serving. Jesus’s Kingdom was set apart. And His subjects are to live their lives according to His Manifesto alone.

Is Jesus your King? Are you in His Kingdom? Are you living for His Kingdom alone, abiding by His Kingdom principles?

If no, why not?

If yes, how do you know for certain?

NEXT WEEK:

We will begin Chapter 2, and look at how God’s Word establishes God, and then Jesus, as the one and only King to be worshipped and adored.

Endnotes

¹ All the material concerning commerce in the days of the Laodicean church was taken from Tenney, Merrill C., General Editor. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible: Volume 3 H-L. (Regency Reference Library; Grand Rapids, MI, 1976), pp. 877-879.

 Pictures courtesy of  Pixabay, Pexels, William Holman Hunt and the following photographers/artists:

"Beggar" - Pixabay by wikiImages

"Heaven/Hell sign" - PIxabay by Gerd Altmann"

"Open Bible" - Pexels by John Mark Smith

"Riot Fire" - Pixabay by Hubert de The'