HOW INDIFFERENCE AFFECTS JESUS "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 3:14-22) "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline (chasten, KJV); be zealous therefore, and repent" (NASB). -- Tomorrow:
THOSE JESUS LOVES
Jesus severely rebukes the church in Laodicea church, but loves it still! He chastens the ones He loves – which statement means that His love is NOT unconditional! There are a people who are WITHOUT chastisement (Heb 12:8) – a people who DO NOT fall into the category of ‘WHOM I LOVE!" And what does the Lord do for those whom He loves. He CHASTENS them, reproving and disciplining them! In this case, it was an entire church.
He is not seeking to drive the church in Laodicea away, but promote its recovery. Not a single believer or church will escape chastening! Thus it is written, "But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons" (Heb 12:8). Chastening, or spiritual reprimanding, is an appointed means of conforming us to the image of Christ Jesus. Although our earthly fathers chastened and corrected us as it seemed best to them, the Lord does it "for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness" (Heb 12:10).
There is a Divine objective being served in chastening that is most marvelous: "for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness." The real benefit does not occur while the discipline is being administered, but after it has taken effect. As it is written, "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, AFTERWARD it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Heb 12:11).
As of this year, I have preached the Gospel for 53 years. During that time, I can recall very few occasions when a church acknowledged it perceived the chastening hand of Christ in its difficulties. In the circles in which I have traveled, there is such a low awareness of the Son of God that it is startling to the soul. It is as though the church in Laodicea has been fully restored in its corrupted state. Still, even under those circumstances, I have witnessed sensitive souls who detected the hand of the Lord moving among them because of His great love. While I do not mean to harp on this point, it is most grievous to me that in the name of the Lord, people have been deprived of spiritual sensitivity robbed, as it was, of a perception of Christ's appeals to them.
Here is the required reaction to Christ's appeals: "Be zealous therefore, and repent!" This is the only place in the Bible where zeal and repentance are joined together. It indicates the level of difficulty associated with recovery from lukewarmness. When indifference grips the soul, and the spirit of compromise, fastens on it like a leech, it requires unusual strength and determination to recover. O, that the churches were more aware of this. Deborah rebuked the Reubenites for their indifference. They sat in their sheepfolds when a summons to war had been issued (Judges 5:16). In Nehemiah's day, the Tekoites engaged in repairing the walls, but "did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord" (Neh 3:5). Jeremiah spoke of those who were "not valiant for the truth" (Jer 9:3), and Ezekiel confronted those who had not "gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD" (Ezek 13:5). Hosea chided Israel for being like a "morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away," and whose heart was "divided" (Hos 6:4; 10:2). Who can forget the words of Haggai who upbraided the people of God, declaring God had heard their foolish reasoning. "The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built" (Hag 1:2-6). If you are familiar with those texts, you know the extreme difficulty associated with recovering from that state.
Those who are "lukewarm" must marshal all of their resources and repent! They must come away from distractions, and quit their vain and feeble efforts to do something for God. The work of the Lord will never be accomplished while in a state of practical alienation from Him. A fire goes before the Lord, "and burns up His enemies round about" (Psa97:3). Zeal is like a fire that goes before us, burning up counterproductive influences.
Repentance does not come easily for those who are indifferent and compromising. Indeed, it is difficult enough to repent while surrounded by heavenly influences, words of exhortation, and a convicted conscience. It is well nigh impossible for those who sleep as though there were no danger. Like Samson, such must arise and "shake" themselves, bringing every sensitivity to its full potential. Repentance involves casting "off the works of darkness," and putting "on the armor of light" (Rom 13:14). It also requires throwing down "imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). Such repentance cannot be put off until a "more convenient season" (Acts 24:25). The soul must break through the darkness into light, else it will be thrust away from Christ.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for Your quest to restore the fallen.