Clearly, we have traveled a long way from the point of our commencement. As we consider where we have been to this point, and ponder where it is we might be going, one of the things that comes perfectly into focus is that the widely held view of what Jesus is attempting to communicate (and perhaps successfully communicates) to the church at Laodicea, is one that is hopelessly shallow, anachronistic, and eschatologically unsound as it fails to properly do business with the cold realities of the world in which they were uttered and penned. If we read searching and penetrating words such as “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16), measure them against what we know biographically, philosophically, and theologically about Jesus from the Gospels, and then proclaim that Jesus is addressing nothing more than some vague notion of spiritual fervor, then we have failed to take seriously the Jesus of Scripture, of history, of eternity, of the cross, of the grave, and of truth. Considering the path that has been traveled in the course of this study, one would certainly hope that this notion has been dismissed.
Now, this is not to say that there is not going to be a spiritual application. Christians are supposed to be Spirit-animated beings. Therefore, the life of the Spirit will most assuredly play a role in making sure that the truth, once discovered, becomes active in our life, shaping our practice as Christians, informing our understanding of God, and determining the ways, means, and methods we will adopt as we function as ambassadors for God’s kingdom and interact with the world as such. Indeed, though there are many who study this sacred tome while in a state that finds them devoid of belief, the vast majority of those that take this Word seriously, and who make concerted attempts to convey that seriousness, do so precisely because they look to Jesus, a man that was shamefully crucified but then attested as risen from the dead, as Lord of all. Holding to the ridiculous notion of somebody rising from the dead, a notion that is purely antithetical to all that we know about the nature of life and death, is only made possible by the active, illuminating, testifying, assuring, and even reasoning presence of the Spirit of God. So yes, there is going to be a spiritual application, but if we seek for that as the first truth, approaching Jesus on self-constructed terms amenable to our own notions of spirituality, then we are going to be prone to missing out on the fullness and richness of the divine revelation.
Furthermore, if we read “Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him and he with Me” (3:20), couple that with Jesus’ insistence that “The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (3:22), and continue to hear that as some type of invitation to salvation (in the popular mindset of now being able to go to heaven when we die), then we do little more than fail to take these Scriptures seriously. When and if we stumble down that path, we do nothing more than dismissively wave our hands, and in one motion, sweep away the full and glorious scope of salvation history. Not only does such an idea fail to understand the basic ideas associated with, and far-reaching implications of God’s salvation that would have been understood by denizens of the first century that would have heard the words of Jesus and His apostles, it fails to take the Scriptures seriously as that which teaches us about God, doing so all the way from Genesis to Revelation. Do we really imagine that God’s revelation to the creatures that He created in His own image and seeks to redeem and reconcile to Himself is summed up by the simplistic and shallow notions and ideas that we uncritically apply to these tremendously deep words from our resurrected Lord?
It should not be difficult to agree that it is incumbent upon us, as Christians, to approach the Word of God with the utmost of seriousness, with a burning passion to understand the God that is most decidedly revealed in Jesus. That passion should force us to do the serious and strenuous work of understanding Jesus on His terms, and within His world, rather than first making Him fit into our world, and then making pronouncements about Him accordingly. Being unwilling to do the hard work that might force us to put aside long-held assumptions, no matter how useful or satisfying those assumptions may be, fails to take our Lord and the authors of the New Testament seriously as first-rate theologians, deserving of our time, our attention, and as much intellectual power, attention, and honesty as we can muster. Naturally, some will be more successful in this area than others, and some will be more at ease within this process and with such efforts than will others, but different capabilities hardly justify willful ignorance, or even a grotesque and unseemly glorying in a continued defiance that is directed against the application of reason and intelligence. Such defiance is nothing more than a manifestation of unthankfulness that is caused by a groundless elevation of self. On the contrary, we should thankfully appropriate the diligent efforts of many God-fearing men and women that have devoted their hearts, minds, and lives to efforts to better understand the sacred writ. We do so while being led by the Spirit so that we might ultimately serve our Lord in worship of our God in the most appropriate and glorious manner.
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