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A Blind and Naked Church
O. K. Wallace
The Lord says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." (Rev. 3:22.) The Spirit said that the church in Laodicea was blind and naked. The church in Laodicea was wretched and miserable. The church in Laodicea was lukewarm. This message direct from our Lord startles us. As much so as a fire alarm in the middle of the night. The Lord says to the church at Laodicea, "I will spew thee out of my mouth." There is an emotion ascribed to Jesus here that is nowhere else ascribed to him so far as I know. Many times Jesus was represented as being grieved, angry, or sorrowful, but here he is represented as being disgusted even to the point of nausea. Why was our Lord disgusted with the church in Laodicea?
The Lord had nothing against the organization of the church in Laodicea. It seems: he had no grave complaint about their teaching. The Lord did not criticize the worship at Laodicea. The brethren at Laodicea did not seem to be daring sinners like some found in the church at Corinth.
The Lord was not disgusted with Peter when Peter denied him because the Lord looked kindly upon him and the sorrowful look of Jesus caused Peter to go out and weep bitterly. The Lord was not disgusted with those who crucified him but said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." The Lord was not disgusted with the city of Jerusalem for rejecting him. The Lord was not even disgusted with the ugly piece of human wreckage that was thrown at his feet, the record of which we find in John 8:1-10. Why then was our Lord disgusted with the church in Laodicea? It was lukewarm. The church in Laodicea had no zeal, no glow, no goal, and it was limp and flabby. Congregations should not say to themselves, "I am rich and have need of nothing," when they simply hold the line on pure worship and the fundamental principles of the gospel and yet fail to be great missionary institutions. The gospel must be sounded out as well as sounded in.
Why did Christ become nauseated with a lukewarm church? Christ had rather we would be squarely for or against him. He said, "I would thou were cold or hot." That was the reason he was not disgusted with the wicked woman as there was no doubt about her life and where she stood. However, a lukewarm Christian might cause some to think that he or she is a true disciple. Most of us can understand why Jesus was disgusted with a halfhearted church. None of us would like to see a football game played between two teams and neither cared about winning. No one wants to watch a race where there is no effort on the part of any participant to win. Who wants to hear a half-hearted sermon? Who wants to shake hands with a fellow whose hand is just like a piece of fat meat no grip, just a flabby gesture. Lukewarmness will rob a church of progress.
Lukewarmness is a child of self-satisfaction. The church in Laodicea was satisfied. They boldly said, "And [we] have need of nothing." This church, like some congregations today felt they had all the knowledge they wanted. There are some among us who never attend prayer meeting or Sunday school because they do not have need of knowledge. Some in the church at Laodicea thought they had all the spiritual powers they needed. They thought they had arrived. When brethren get to the point where they are not interested in learning and developing their spiritual lives they have reached a point where there can be no progress. If we feel that we know all we need to know we will never go any higher. There can be no blessing to the self-satisfied. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. One of the main criticisms that Jesus directed toward the Pharisee was the fact that the Pharisee was well pleased with himself. (Luke 18:9-14.)
Some of us like the Pharisees say to ourselves, "I went to church this morning. What else is there for me to do?" The Lord said to the church in Laodicea, "As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." (Rev. 3:19.) The Lord is disgusted with lukewarmness because it kills our possibilities of usefulness. Battles are never won by half-hearted men. Only those who are in earnest and are fervent in spirit can be pleasing to Christ. Lukewarm water never wrecked an engine and it never moved one.
Someone has well said, "It is the soul on fire that fires other souls." If we are lukewarm we need to listen to the words of our Lord when he said, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; in white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see." (Rev. 3:18.) It is good as we often say, "to keep house for the Lord," but it is vital that the gospel be preached in our community and to the whole world.