Indiffernce Leads To Ruin

Seven Churches, Seven Reflections. Reflection Three—Laodicea
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:14:22)

Indifference Leads to Ruin
The ancient city of Laodicea now lies in ruins like many of the sites we visited. For the church of Laodicea these ruins remind me of the warning Jesus gave them. He said that their deeds were neither hot nor cold. They were indifferent. They could care less about things. They were merely lukewarm and indifferent to what was going on around them.

It is important to remember when reading this passage that it was written to believers. This is not a message telling non-believers to get off the fence and be for Christ or against Christ. Jesus says in verse 15 that he wishes they were either hot or cold. Hot water is great for a bath. Cold water is refreshing to drink. Lukewarm water has little use. The town of Laodicea was close to a hot spring that still flows today. They had an aqueduct to bring water to the town but by the time it got there it was lukewarm and wasn’t very satisfying.

So too was the faith of the Laodiceans and Jesus tells them to be useful. Jesus tells them to be earnest and repent (verse 19). Be earnest. Don’t be indifferent to Jesus. And since you are not earnest, repent—turn back to Jesus. Chaplain Woodson pointed out during our trip that repent is a great word. We so closely associate it with sin that it carries a shadow of disgrace. However, Jesus is telling the people to turn back to him. Repentance is a good thing! Quit being indifferent! Quit being lukewarm! Repent!

Which brings us to the other place where it is important to remember that this passage is written to believers. We often use verse 20 as an evangelistic tool to say that Jesus is standing at the door of your heart wanting to come in and save you. However, Jesus is not speaking to unbelievers. Jesus is telling a church, that has become so indifferent, that He is knocking at the door wanting them to repent. He wants them to turn back to Him. He doesn’t want them to continue to live a life of indifference but He wants them to turn back to Him. He wants them to open the door and fellowship with Him again. He wants them to be useful—to be hot or cold.


The current site of Laodicea lies in ruins. It serves as a picture of what happens when we are indifferent to God and the things that He cares about. It is a picture of what can become of our lives when we are indifferent to sin. It is a picture of what can happen if we don’t maintain our relationship with God. The good news is that if you are living a life of indifference, God wants you to repent—to turn back to Him so that your life will be one that is useful, not one that will end up in ruins.