Thursday, June 21, 2012

Misunderstood Bible Passages, Part 29 of 47

TEXT: "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also 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).

IDEA: When we find an image in the Bible, it's important that we not assume that the image may not be referring to what we think it does.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that the Bible uses images to paint pictures on our minds, but we need to be sure that we get a clear understanding of the image so that we get the right picture.

Walter Lippman, the late columnist for the New York Times, observed that "people think with pictures in their heads."  Do you think that's accurate?

If I say, "We've come to the crossroads and up to now we have avoided falling into a ditch," what's the picture that I'm using?

What do you think I am talking about?

I. The biblical writers and readers also think with pictures. 

Revelation 3:20 is a good example: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with me."

What is the image that Jesus is using in this verse?

The image is not talking about a real door, so what do we usually assume it refers to?

II. The context of this invitation says nothing at all about our hearts.

In the broader context, to whom is Jesus speaking?

He is speaking to a church in Laodicea. It is a wealthy congregation: such a church of wealth, luxury, and ease can be a church from which Jesus Himself is excluded.

The immediate context is in Revelation 3:19—"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent."

He is not talking about evangelism; He's talking about revival of a lukewarm church.

III. The "door" is not the door of someone's heart. It's the door of a church.

If you are part of a church that really does not have much time for Christ and it's lukewarm, Jesus stands at the door of that church, willing to have an intimate relationship with those in the church who really want it.

CONCLUSION:

We may be in a church that is insipid and lukewarm, but we are not trapped in it. We have an invitation as Christians to fellowship with Jesus Christ who stands at the door of the church and knocks, saying, "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me."