Those who once had an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ have been lulled to sleep by the riches and pleasures of the world. They have been deceived into accepting sin at the cost of denying the truth revealed in the Bible. Like Demas, who had followed Paul as he preached the Gospel, they return to the ways of the world from which they were saved. “For Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” (2 Timothy 4:10) It is not so much that Demas did not believe the truth of the Gospel; he just had too much of the world still in him. “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22) It is perception again. What appears to be riches and wealth to the world and blind Christians is in fact severe poverty. To buy the things of the world at the cost of faithfulness to Jesus Christ is no bargain. There is a quote, by Jim Elliot I believe, that goes something like this: “He is no fool who gives up what he can not keep to gain that which he can not lose.” Money, power, authority, fame, prestige, and even peace pull strongly upon the unsaved and carnal man, but these things are transitory and in the end do not satisfy the hunger in the human soul. When they are given up at the command of the Lord the world scoffs, but true riches are given to us instead. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

            It is interesting to note that the name “Demas” means “Commoner”. When Demas left Paul and returned to the world from which he came he was merely living up to his name. The true Christian is not a commoner. Indeed, “But you are a chosen race, a ROYAL priesthood, a holy nation, a people for {God's} own possession.” (1 Peter 2:9) As children of the King we are royalty, kings and priests. We are no longer “commoners” with earthly ambitions and goals. Our citizenship is in Heaven. Following this train of thought it gives added depth of meaning to the church at Laodicea because the name “Laodicea” means “OPINIONS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE”. Laodicea was a church that no longer lived according to the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, it lived by the customs, traditions, and desires of the “common” people, of those spiritually dead.          

            There are people today who have tasted the power and goodness of the Lord through the Holy Spirit who have rejected and denied the Faith. They are lukewarm spiritually, neither on fire for the Lord, ready to fight the good fight no matter the cost,  nor so cold as to make them easily distinguishable as false brethren or false prophets. They are embarrassed by true Christians who refuse to sell out to the world, who refuse to sit idly by while Jesus is being mocked and blasphemed using tax dollars to support works of “art” through the National Endowment for the Arts, who refuse to acquiesce to the lie that homosexuality is a legitimate alternative lifestyle equal to a monogamous, heterosexual relationship, who take a public stand on the evil of abortion, and who unashamedly proclaim Jesus Christ as the ONLY way to obtain salvation and enter into the presence of the heavenly Father. Laodicean Christians focus solely on economic prosperity. As long as they are warm, well fed, have shelter, and can live comfortably, they do not care who governs them. They will support anyone, whether Congressman, Senator, President, or even King, who will supply their material comforts. Morals take a back seat. This attitude is so dangerous I now know that this is how the Antichrist will gain and keep his following. Those who so vehemently deny they would ever take the Mark of Beast will WILLINGLY hold out their hands or their foreheads as long as they can retain that which meets their physical needs. In our country today we are experiencing this right now. Morals do not matter. If our leaders commit adultery, fornication, lie, or even perjure themselves it does not effect their popularity or their chances of remaining in office AS LONG AS the economy is good and our pocketbooks are full. Sad to say it is not just the unbelievers who are guilty of this slap to the face of God. Christians, or at least those who call themselves Christian, are equally guilty. The churches are full of people who are prospering materially, and with that prosperity comes the deception that sin is to be tolerated. Radical feminism which must take the largest share of  blame for the breakdown of the traditional family, has so altered our daily lives that men are afraid to use masculine pronouns when speaking or when writing or risk being labeled a male chauvinist. The feminist philosophy also embraces homosexuality and the monstrous practice of partial birth abortion. Homosexuality is becoming so pervasive through television, movies, and our largest corporations that it is being accepted as normal by our children because parents will not take the time to teach them the truth or they are afraid that to do so will cause them to be labeled as homophobic.

            Again, note that the church at Laodicea, the church that is ruled by the “opinions of the common people”, has no mention of  internal or external conflict. This is exactly what we are seeing today. The feminist philosophy, the homosexual agenda, the pro-abortionist, the morally corrupt are accepted with open arms into the denominations to the point of placing them in leadership positions. Practicing homosexuals are being ordained to preach and teach, Bibles translations that strip it of all references to masculine pronouns because the feminist are outraged by the exclusivity of them are being printed and used by the churches. This has gotten so bad that to call God “Father” is offensive to some. Christians are being exposed to satanic influences at an unprecedented level and they are being swayed by them to accept that which is blasphemy to the heavenly Father. Peace at any price is the result. Tolerance has become our most worshipped idol.

            Where does it stop? If homosexuality is a legitimate alternate lifestyle that can he equated with heterosexuality, then why not polygamy? Why is it wrong for a man to have several wives or a woman to have several husbands? If they are consenting adults who is to say it is wrong? Why is incest wrong? If it takes place between two (or more) consenting adults who are we to be so intolerant as to say that it should not happen? What about pedophilia? If the child is cared for and not harmed what business is it of anyone’s? What gives us the right to impose our beliefs upon anyone else? We may find some things to be personally offensive and we may never ourselves practice such things, but does that give us the right to prohibit others from doing so? The argument is used: “I would not PERSONALLY get an abortion, but I have no right to say someone else cannot get one”, especially if you are a man. Feminists are adamant about that. The argument is a poor one and opens the door for everything mention above and for anything else that others wish to do. A Laodicean church SUPPORTS this, if not directly then indirectly because it has lost its position of moral leadership. It does not truly believe the Bible to be the Word of God. If it did it would not try to justify that which it plainly and clearly teaches about homosexuality, the sanctity of human life in the womb, or the roles of men and women.

 Recently the Southern Baptists affirmed that a woman was to submit to the servant leadership of her husband and that the husband was to love and honor his wife as Christ does the Church. The firestorm that resulted was swift and severe; not just from unbelievers, but from other denominations. So where in the world did the Southern Baptists get such as offensive line of thought? “Wives, {be subject} to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself {being} the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives {ought to be} to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.” (Ephesians 5:22-28) Amazing, is it not? What the CHURCHES found so repugnant is from the very Bible they say they teach.

            The Church that Jesus Christ built has a very specific foundation. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, HAVING BEEN BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner {stone}.” (Ephesians 2:19-20) The teachings of Christ Jesus and His apostles as revealed to us in the New Testament are to be the basis from which we make life’s decisions. Laodicea, on the other hand, makes decisions based on the “opinions of the common people”. The Psalmist asks, “If the FOUNDATIONS ARE DESTROYED, what can the righteous do?” (Psalms 11:3) Unless we have a foundation upon which to base our beliefs then all that is left is the wisdom of man. How dangerous that is! “There is a way {which seems} right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverb 14:12) Man may think his way is more enlightened than God’s or more fair, but God knows the end from the beginning. He is not limited by time or space and we are clearly told, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) A foundation of tolerance that allows the ACCEPTANCE  of sin as normal and even preferable to a life of holiness will result in the destruction of spiritual growth causing lukewarmness to appear as zeal, poverty to appear as riches, self-sufficiency to appear as humility, wretchedness and miserableness to appear as wealth and joy, blindness to appear as great insight and understanding, and nakedness to appear as garments of purest white.    

            Laodicea looked good to the world and successful. Yet the righteousness of Laodicea was a lie. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our RIGHTEOUS DEEDS ARE LIKE A FILTHY GARMENT; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) From a worldly standpoint Laodicean churches are a success. They have large, elaborate church buildings, they have money, wear expensive clothes, drive nice, new cars, are generous with their wealth (when it helps them), have impressive titles such Phd prefacing their names, have people the world admires attend Sunday services, and boast of speaking for the poor and downtrodden, of championing the cause of those who have felt the sting of the world’s injustice. They deceive people into believing “God loves you just the way you are”, which is true, but forgets to tell them that He always loves them enough NOT TO LEAVE them that way. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor {the} covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) A Laodicean church is a church full of sinners who are content to remain in their sins while worshipping God being TOLERANT of all. The true Church is full of sinners who have repented of their sins and evil, immoral lifestyles having been redeemed by the Blood of Christ and forgiven, taking the righteousness that comes from Jesus and recognizing that nothing they have or do will make them holy and acceptable to the Lord.

            The church at Laodicea may call itself “Christian”, but it is not. In fact Jesus is not even a part of their assembly. He told them, “Behold, I STAND AT THE DOOR and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20) He was not in the church; He was OUTSIDE seeking to come in. This verse is often quoted in the context of Jesus standing at the door of world, but it is actually speaking about those who claim to know Him.

            Laodicean Christians THINK they are saved, THINK they are doing God’s work, THINK they have God’s blessings, THINK God is pleased with them, THINK they have understanding and spiritual insight. In truth they are deceived and rant at those who truly are Christian. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. And these things they will do, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THE FATHER, OR ME.” (John 16:2-3) True Christians will be expelled from the world’s denominations while those who practice sin and are unrepentant will be welcomed with open arms. The greatest danger to the Christian is not the COLD, unsaved, worldly person who makes no claim of being a Christian. It is religion and those who have taken the name of the Lord in vain. When Peter and John had healed a lame man in the Name of Jesus, it was not the civil authorities that threatened them; it was the religious authorities. “‘What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any man in this name.’ And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.’” (Acts 4:16-20)

It is fast coming about that the true Christian is going to suffer greatly at the hands of both the false Christians and the civil authorities as laws are passed that make it impossible to not break them and remain true to the Lord. The antagonism against Christians is increasing daily. Trials and tribulations are becoming more frequent and intense. Our faith will be tested to the limit, but we are not to despair for our Lord has said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.” (John 16:33) Let us never forget this. We are never alone.

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