GUEST
ARTICLE
A Warning to
a Wayward Church
Chapters
two and three of the book of Revelation contain a series
of seven letters. These issued from the resurrected-ascended
Christ himself, and were directed to seven representative
congregations of the Roman province of Asia.
The
sacred record affirms that Jesus Christ “walks” (present
tense; constant supervision) in the midst of his churches
(2:1; cf. 1:20b). Repeatedly it is stated that he “knows” these
church members’ “works,” i.e., their activity—or lack thereof
(2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15).
Some
of these groups were commended generously with no censure,
even though they were imperfect people (Smyrna, Philadelphia);
four of them received mixed reviews. The Laodicean congregation
was given no word of praise at all. These were a collection
of sluggish saints, oblivious to their spiritual condition.
In the strongest of terms, the Lord addressed them with
the following rebuke: “I know of your activity, that you
are neither cold nor hot. I would rather you be either
cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm, and neither
hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (3:15-16).
Christ
classifies this church as “lukewarm”—in contrast to the
opposite extremes of “cold” and “hot.” In a practical way,
how may we apply these adjectives to congregations today?
The
Cold
The “cold” surely
describes numerous church members we have known in the
past but whose names escape us—if not their faces as well.
They were immersed into Christ, or else accepted into the
fellowship when they identified with the local church.
Sadly, however, in many cases no significant growth in
them occurred, and they exhibited no real interest in such.
They were occasional attendees, but never involved themselves
in congregational activity, and exhibited little indication
of genuine dedication.
To
borrow an expression from Titus: “They profess to know
God; but by their actions they deny him, being abominable
and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (1:16).
With
the passing of time they attended worship less frequently;
eventually, not at all. No one has any idea what happened
to them until an obituary notice appears in the newspaper,
and perhaps a phone call comes from a family member who
wants the minister to do the funeral service—with a contrived
eulogy about a wonderful “Christian” person. Actually,
they died as “cold” in soul, as in body.
Some
of these “frigid” ones were overcome by worldliness. Paul
once declared, “Demas forsook me, having loved this present
world” (2 Timothy 4:10; cf. Luke 8:14). There have been
numerous attempts to rehabilitate Demas’ reputation, but
generally they are unconvincing.
The
Hot
The
term “hot” basically signifies to “boil.” The word is used
metaphorically in this context to denote uncompromised
zeal. One scholar characterizes the expression as “the
glow of unconditional self-offering, if necessary even
to death” (Kittel 1964, 877; cf. Revelation 2:10). This
type of Christian is the ideal.
Again
Paul’s letter to Titus provides an excellent commentary.
He says that Christ gave himself for us so that we might
be a “people for his own possession, zealous for good works” (2:14).
The term “zealous” denotes one who is wholly enthusiastic
for a cause, as Paul was for the law of Moses before his
conversion (Galatians 1:14)—and even more so on behalf
of Christ afterward (2:20; 6:14). “Good works” is a comprehensive
expression that sums up all of one’s obligations, both
to God and humanity (cf. Matthew 22:37-40).
Our
lives have been blessed with countless examples of Christian
people who ever are glad to spend and be spent for their
Lord (2 Corinthians 12:15). They always are ready to prepare
food for the needy, do physical labor to help the infirm,
speak words of instruction to the lost, and to support
all the various activities of the local church. They do
not wait until drafted, but are volunteers of the first
magnitude. Where would the church be without these precious
saints?
The
Lukewarm
The “lukewarm” are
of such foul quality that they even make our loving Savior
sick to his stomach. Figuratively, therefore, he “vomits” (the
literal meaning of the term) them out as one would rotten
food. Here is an interesting question: why are the “lukewarm” censured
more sharply than those who are “cold”? Doubtless because
by “hanging on” they convey the superficial impression
to the world that they are faithful Christians, hence bring
enormous disgrace to the cause of Christ by their unspiritual
lives. They are walking commentaries on the meaning of
the term “hypocrite.”
Our
churches have a fair share of these. They are the perfectly
healthy, Sunday-morning-only folks who cannot abide more
than one hour of worship and study per week. Such, they
feel, is entirely sufficient for the spiritual nourishment
of their shriveled souls. They are like the sickly, disease-ridden
person who has no appetite for food and the family cannot
force him to take nourishment.
These
do not contribute more than a pittance of their income
for the advancement of the gospel. They are never on hand
for work activities, nor do they favor happy fellowship
events with their presence. They are nitpicking grumblers
and harping critics. They are far more destructive than
productive.
One
might be inclined to exclaim, “God have mercy on the lukewarm,” except
for the fact that he won’t—unless they turn from
their evil, and genuinely invite him into their lives (1
John 5:16).
--Wayne
Jackson
September
23, 2008
Sources/Footnotes
Kittel,
G. 1964. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.
Vol. 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/
1438-a-warning-to-a-wayward-church
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