Podcasts about nominal christianity

In this sermon by Chris Romig, the focus is on the spiritual complacency and nominal Christianity reflected in the letter to the church in Sardis from the Book of Revelation. The church in Sardis had a reputation for being vibrant but was actually dead spiritually, much like the city itself, which was prosperous but clinging to past glories. Chris cautions that churches today may appear alive through programs, music, or eloquent preaching, yet lack a true spiritual connection with God. He stresses that true Christianity is not about church attendance or good actions, but about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and transformation by the Holy Spirit. Many believers may participate in church traditions without truly understanding salvation and new life in Christ. Chris calls for an awakening from complacency, urging believers to embrace Jesus' promises and live out a vibrant faith. The message emphasizes the need for churches to foster genuine spiritual growth and not settle for mere appearances. Chris encourages believers to be alert, involved, and reflective of the transformative power of God's presence, aiming to build a church that truly embodies the lively spirit of the kingdom of God.

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Today we're joined by Aaron Renn, co-founder and senior fellow at American Reformer, to discuss his book, “Life in the Negative World: Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture,” and how Christians can respond to the ever-increasing negative view of Christians in society. We discuss how Christianity was viewed in America's history and how the 1960s saw Christian moral norms begin to be called into question. Aaron breaks these moral norms down into three phases: the Positive World, Neutral World, and Negative World. We explain what the tipping point was between the positive and neutral views of Christianity, from 1950s Christian norms being held in honor to the 1980s "health and wealth" movement. Then, what changed in 2014, and what brought about the overall negative view of Christianity in American society? We explain how Republican candidates' changing views on gay marriage and race issues show us what social shifts have occurred. We also talk about the modern evangelical response to Donald Trump and what cultural/nominal Christianity has done to Christian culture and the act of making disciples. --- Timecodes: (01:02) Introduction to Aaron (03:01) Anti-Christian culture (09:03) Positive to Neutral (15:00) 1950s Christian culture (20:37) Boomers & health & wealth movement (26:59) What changed in 2014? (38:42) Evangelical response to Trump (51:40) Nominal Christianity (57:10) Public schools --- Today's Sponsors: CrowdHealth — get your first 6 months for just $99/month. Use promo code 'ALLIE' when you sign up at JoinCrowdHealth.com. Carly Jean Los Angeles — use promo code RELATABLE25 for $25 off an order of $125 or more, or RELATABLE50 for $50 off an order of $200 or more at CarlyJeanLosAngeles.com! Birch Gold — protect your future with gold. Text 'ALLIE' to 989898 for a free, zero obligation info kit on diversifying and protecting your savings with gold. Patriot Mobile — go to PatriotMobile.com/ALLIE or call 972-PATRIOT and use promo code 'FRIDAY76' to get a free smart phone with activation! --- Links: First Things: "THE THREE WORLDS OF EVANGELICALISM" https://www.firstthings.com/article/2022/02/the-three-worlds-of-evangelicalism --- Relevant Episodes: Ep 920 | Russell Moore, David French & the Fake Threat of Christian Nationalism | Guest: John Cooper https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-920-russell-moore-david-french-the-fake-threat/id1359249098?i=1000638231068 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1938 rejected the Christian understanding of the world and, therefore, it changed our understanding of law. David will explain the decision and give examples from his lobbying work to demonstrate how it helped change Christianity. It gave rise to what he calls “nominal Christianity.”

A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1938 rejected the Christian understanding of the world and, therefore, it changed our understanding of law. David will explain the decision and give examples from his lobbying work to demonstrate how it helped change Christianity. It gave rise to what he calls “nominal Christianity.”Support the show: https://www.factennessee.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max Harwood and Fr Symeon Price discuss his journey from Nominal Christianity, to non-belief, to Evangelical Christianity, to Orthodox Christianity. Have a question about Orthodox Christianity? Submit it here: https://forms.gle/RNvnj8G4ALctqWhb6 Father Symeon and his family were received into Orthodoxy by baptism in 2012 at St. Herman's, having formerly pastored an Evangelical congregation in Abbotsford. He recently received his Master's degree from the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, Toronto. He was ordained to the diaconate in 2018 and lives in Abbotsford with his wife Christa and their four children.  He was ordained to the holy priesthood on March 27, 2022 and remains attached to St. Herman's. Max Harwood attends Holy Nativity Orthodox Church in Langley, BC, Canada. He has an Undergrad in Biblical Studies (Columbia Bible College) and a Masters in Theology (Orthodox School of Theology, University of Toronto).

Pastor Kyle, Devon, and Mallory talk about what it truly means to be a follower of Jesus versus someone who identifies as a Christian while living for the world.

In this episode of Having Two Legs, Pastor Toby presents his argument for why Cultural and Nominal Christianity are always a better alternative than paganism. Read the blog post here: https://www.tobyjsumpter.com/4-reasons-to-prefer-cultural-christianity-nominal-christianity-to-paganism/

Check out Toby's page on Canon Plus: https://mycanonplus.com/tabs/discover/pages/toby-sumpter

Episode 166- Moral Revolution: The Disappearance of Nominal Christianity, hosted by Mark Vance.This podcast is designed to help you live a faithful and fruitful life where Jesus has called you. Connect with Cornerstone Church Online at cornerstonelife.com. Subscribe to our "Sermon" and "Equip" podcasts on iTunes and Spotify and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

VBPH Sermon Podcast is BACK for Season 6 with a special episode featuring two Aussie missionary preachers, Pastor Paul O'Neill in Thailand and our guest this week, Pastor Brian Roennfeldt, in Indonesia. You'll be inspired and encouraged to hear the testimony of grace that God has wrought in his life. MAGIC SHARE LINK FOR THIS EPISODE: https://pod.fo/e/1619f8 Support World Evangelism by becoming a subscriber to the DAILY PREMIUM AD-FREE SERMON PODCAST using the links below: Subscribe to the premium podcast for only $3/month at Supercast: https://vbph-sermons.supercast.tech/ Subscribe to the premium version of this podcast in Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month: https://apple.co/3dix1mC ALL PROCEEDS GO TO WORLD EVANGELISM We need five-star reviews! Tell the world what you think about this podcast at: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3dix1mC Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/vbph-sermon-podcast-43369 Join our bible reading plan: https://bit.ly/2023-VBPH-Bible-Plan Want to receive text updates from our church? Send the keyword VBPH to 844-990-3380. Please let us know how this message has influenced you by connecting with us using one of these options: Email: pastor@vbph.org Voicemail: https://anchor.fm/vbph-sermons/message Facebook: https://facebook.com/vbph.church Instagram: https://instagram.com/vbph.church Twitter: https://twitter.com/vbph_church Website: https://vbph.church Are you in Hampton Roads and want to visit our church? Come join us IRL: 1045 Lynnhaven Pkwy., Virginia Beach, VA 23452

In a wide-ranging interview, Tim Keller talks about the decline of the mainline and evangelical church, how forgiveness and justice get mishandled during pastoral moral failures, the threat to liberal democracy, civil dialogue, and how nominal Christianity created consensus. Read the Show Notes Subscribe to the On The Rise Newsletter

  The Pathway that Leads to Death: Only Professing Jesus, Not Possessing Him What would lead a church to be declared “dead” by Christ? How did they get so far from Him, His life that is abundant, and His Spirit that is to overflow our lives? The answers to those questions are perhaps some of [...] The post THE DANGER OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANITY–It is The Pathway That Leads to Eternal Death appeared first on Discover the Book Ministries.

A new MP3 sermon from DTBM, International is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: THE DANGER OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANITY--It is The Pathway That Leads to Eternal Death Subtitle: End Of The World, Armageddon & Speaker: Dr. John Barnett Broadcaster: DTBM, International Event: Sunday Service Date: 3/7/2022 Length: 4 min.

Text: Luke 11:24-36 - Preached by: Micah Lugg Connect with us! - http://www.foothillbiblechurch.org http://www.facebook.com/FoothillBibleChurch http://twitter.com/FoothillBibleChurch https://www.instagram.com/foothillbible/

Four essential components of worship

Lawson and Blake decry infant baptism and have guest caller!

Overcoming Nominal Christianity - Revelation Part 9 - Rev Paul Jeyachandran

Matt Reynolds of Spirit and Truth joins us for our 100th episode to talk about mainliners, evangelicals, and whether nominal Christianity is better than no Christianity. 

Letters to the Churches What we need to know pt. 3 Revelation 3:1-6 Sunday, 6/6/21     1.  Jesus is the anointed one and brings life v. 1 2.  Nominal Christianity kills the church v.1-2 3.  Renewal happens when I reverse my thinking and make a difference v.2-3 4.  Jesus will reward the faithful v.4-6

 "The Sermon On The Mount" series part 15Matthew 7:13-23Senior Pastor, Clint PressleyWednesday April 28, 2021

Christian belief that is just words with no power is nominal and will save no one. Have we experienced the power of God to change our lives.

In our first episode, we explore the concept of "nominal Christianity" and evaluate what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ (on His terms; not ours).

Episode 4: Lausanne Europe 20/21   In this episode, Kåre Melhus (Norway) talks to professor Evert Van De Poll (France) about the European phenomena of nominalism and secularism. Van de Poll quote theories stating that these phenomena may be the result of the church’s own teaching.   For more information about Dynamic Gospel: New Europe - Lausanne Europe 20/21 Conversation and Gathering: https://www.lausanneeurope.org/   Republished with permission from Lausanne Europe 20/21. Original podcast: https://www.lausanneeurope.org/podcast/episode-4-nominalism/

A new MP3 sermon from Dominion Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Jesus Christ: A Better Salvation than Nominal Christianity Subtitle: Christ Is Better Speaker: Traever Guingrich Broadcaster: Dominion Baptist Church Event: Conference Date: 10/16/2020 Bible: Hebrews 6 Length: 49 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Dominion Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Jesus Christ: A Better Salvation than Nominal Christianity Subtitle: Christ Is Better Speaker: Traever Guingrich Broadcaster: Dominion Baptist Church Event: Conference Date: 10/16/2020 Bible: Hebrews 6 Length: 49 min.

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Devotionals that make you think

Phillip Jensen traces how Australia went from a majority nominally-Christian nation in the 1950s to the non-religious nation it is today. He covers ground from Billy Graham, the advent of TV and the moon landing all the way to the modern world. And he looks at how the liberals, the Pentecostals and the evangelicals responded. If you want to learn from Australian history and understand the culture we’re in, this is an excellent episode for you. Special thanks to Dominic Steele at The Pastors Heart for giving us permission to republish this episode. Make sure you subscribe to the Pastors Heart here. Share your ideas for CEC We have opened up a new part of our website for you to contribute your ideas. If you have an idea for a future CEC module or if you want to drop us a note of encouragement or constructive criticism or anything else, we'd love to hear from you. Just head to the 'Your Ideas' page of the CEC website here. And if you have skills in researching or project management and would like to contribute to CEC in 2020, there's an option on the same feedback form to let us know. Christians Engaging Culture exists to equip the members of St Thomas’ to give faithful answers in everyday cultural conversations and to turn those conversations to the gospel. The aim of this podcast is to start conversations around our church community, so please encourage everyone at church to subscribe (and show them how to!) and when you see people, ask them what they thought of this week's episode. You can find the Christians Engaging Culture website here. If you are not a member of St Thomas', we invite you to look at the 'About Us' page of our website here.

This week Michelle and Betsy tackle the subject of nominal Christianity. What does nominal Christianity mean and what does it look like? What should we do if we suspect a loved one is living this life? They share a bit of their testimonies and how this subject hit them close to home. More importantly, Michelle and Betsy dig into the bible to see what it says about making Jesus the Lord of your life and what true salvation looks like.

Christmas-and-Easter Christians. Mainline Protestants. Nominal Catholics. Bible-Belt believers. Let's face it—cultural Christians are everywhere. And the problem is that we see cultural Christianity as a discipleship issue rather than an evangelistic field. In this enriching conversation, Dean Inserra expounds on his book The Unsaved Christian and the eight types of cultural Christians he identifies as being in special need of evangelism. He builds a case for why North America's pew-warmers really are a bona fide mission field, and explains some practical tips to help true disciples understand that America's civil religion is another faith altogether. Dean Inserra is the founding and lead pastor of City Church in Tallahassee. He graduated from Liberty University and attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He holds a M.A. in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is pursuing a D.Min. from Southern Seminary. Dean is an advisory member of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s Leadership Council with the Southern Baptist Convention. He is also a member of Baptist 21. Follow Dean on Twitter. Dean is married to Krissie, and they have two sons, Tommy and Ty, and a daughter, Sally Ashlyn. Dean likes baseball, wrestling, and the Miami Hurricanes. He believes Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback, and that everyone who disagrees holds the right to be wrong. Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can help bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions. Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email alex@missionspodcast.com. Powered by ABWE International.

The eighty-fourth sermon in a sermon series on Luke’s Gospel, Luke 19.45-48.

2 timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, e

HARDCORE CHRISTIANITY - Nominal ChristianitySupport the show: https://hardcorechristianity.com/donations/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Et intervju med Lars Dahle, daglig leder i Damaris Norge. Takk til http://evangelicalfocus.com som gav oss tillatelse til å republisere dette intervjuet. Les mer om tematikken her: http://evangelicalfocus.com/lifetech/3757/interview_lars_dahle_lausanne_movement_Nominal_Christianity_evangelical_churches_grow Du kan også lese: The Lausanne Rome 2018 Statement on Nominal Christianity

Continuing on in the Book of Hosea. Hosea 6:7-11:12 The post Nominal Christianity appeared first on Redemption's Hill Church.

May 23, 2018- Midweek Worship Service Samuel Gingerich Samuel Gingerich continues the series over the book of 2 John titled "Nominal Christianity," as he speaks of the love of God that transforms lives. Our hope for this series is that every verse of 2 John will speak into how we are to live with Christ at the center of everything we do. We are called to not just be Christians by name, but by practice, as well. This week Samuel looks at verses 5 and 6 and how it speaks towards experiencing God's love both internally as well as externally. 

May 16, 2018- Midweek Worship Service Pastor Isaac Worley    Pastor Isaac continues in the series over the book of 2 John titled "Nominal Christianity."  Our hope for this series is that every verse will speak into how we are to live with Christ at the center of everything we do. We are called to not just be Christians by name, but by practice, as well. This week Pastor Isaac looks at verse 4 and challenges us that we should all be passionate about others coming to know Jesus and walking with Him. 

May 2, 2018- Midweek Worship Service Pastor Isaac Worley    Pastor Isaac starts a new series this week titled "Nominal Christianity" as we walk through the book of 2 John. Our hope for this series is that every verse will speak into how we are to live with Christ at the center of our lives. We are called to not just be Christians by name, but by practice, as well. This first week, Pastor Isaac looks at vv 1-2 and the universal command for all Christians to love the Church and the saints within it. 

Generation Z is the name of the demographic cohort born between 1999 and 2015. It is a large, diverse generation, whose ideas, experiences and values present both challenges and opportunities for Christian ministry. In this podcast, Influence magazine executive editor George P. Wood talks to David Kinnaman about the new Barna Group report, Gen Z: The Culture, Beliefs and Motivations Shaping the Next Generation. Kinnaman is president of Barna Group and coauthor of numerous books about how the next generation views Christianity, including unChristian, You Lost Me, and Good Faith. You can follow Barna Group on Facebook and Twitter. Episode 126 Notes 00:00 Introduction of podcast topic 00:32 MEGA Sports Camp ad copy 01:10 Welcome to David Kinnaman 01:47 Why pastors and other church leaders should pay attention to generational research 04:00 Demographics of Generation Z 07:18 Big themes of Barna’s Gen Z report 12:10 Nominal Christianity vs. biblical worldview 15:51 Diversity of race/ethnicity and gender/sexuality 21:22 Materialistic values 25:04 Best practices for ministry to Generation Z 27:55 Gen Z and Barna Trends 2018 29:04 Conclusion

Living Hope 1stupc MD

Living Hope 1stupc MD

Living Hope 1stupc MD

Sermons from Brad Berkan on May 14, 2017

Introduction: Treatise on Religious Affections Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 3:14-22. This is the last of the letters from Christ to the seven churches. I have said with each letter we have studied, but this applies particularly with this letter to the church at Laodicea: We should all come, individually and corporately, with a sense of fear and trembling. This is arguably the worst-off of the seven churches in Revelation — the lukewarm church of Laodicea; this letter terrifies me the most as pastor of this church. Many godly leaders say that there is a spiritual disease, a contagious blight that is working its way through or spreading its way through the Lord's orchard of the churches in America. They say that the Laodicean church captures what has happened to so many churches in the West and in America. John Stott in commenting on this, puts it this way: “Perhaps none of the seven letters is more appropriate to the 20th- [and 21st-] century church than this one. It describes vividly the respectable, sentimental, nominal, skin-deep religiosity which is so widespread among us today. Our Christianity is flabby and anemic. We appear to have taken a lukewarm bath of religion.” The dread disease that Christ diagnoses this church with is nominalism, lukewarmness, a tepid pattern of religion in which outward forms are maintained without any real power. They were going through the motions, checking the “God” box through outward observances, while denying the life-changing, transforming power that genuine faith in Christ produces. The cause in Laodicea of their lukewarmness — the most terrifying aspect of this letter for me — is linked to their wealth, their prosperity. The result is spiritual complacency. The lukewarmness of the church at Laodicea was nauseating to Christ. What He has to say to them should terrify us out of any spiritual complacency in our lives; it should make us cry out to God against ourselves, to plead with God to save us from Laodicean lukewarmness. Jonathan Edwards wrote many great theological works, but none has affected me so profoundly as his classic Treatise on Religious Affections, which he wrote in defense of the powerful effects of the First Great Awakening, a revival of religion during the mid 18th-century, from its cultured critics. Whitfield, Tennant, Edwards and other preachers were preaching the fiery Gospel of the new birth, which was yielding conversions with outward, visible manifestations, physical effects of the preaching and the ministry of the Word on sinners who were being moved and affected by what they were hearing. These signs included outcries of overwhelming, bitter sorrow over sin, terror at the coming wrath of God, and shouts of soaring joy over assurance of salvation with genuine forgiveness and a right relationship with God. These critics were mostly cultured, aristocratic church leaders who denigrated the public display of “enthusiasm” and emotion, which they considered to be a negative thing. The critics had likely never experienced any of this before, and they stood on the outside bitterly criticizing the preachers of the Awakening for what they deemed excesses. Treatise on Religious Affections bears a powerful, timeless connection with Christ’s nausea over Laodicean lukewarmness. Edwards wrote this: “True Christianity consists in a great measure in vigorous and lively actings of the inclination and will of the soul or the fervent exercises of the heart.” True Christianity is lively and fervent. “That religion which God requires and will accept does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless wishes, raising us but a little above a state of indifference: God, in His Word, greatly insists upon it, that we be good in earnest, ‘fervent in spirit’, and our hearts vigorously engaged in religion. Romans 12:11, ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.’ If we are not in good earnest in religion, and our wills and inclinations be not strongly exercised, we are nothing. The things of religion are so great, that there can be no suitableness in the exercises of our hearts, to their nature and importance, unless they be lively and powerful. In nothing is vigor and in the actings of our inclination so requisite, as in religion. And in nothing is lukewarmness so odious [that is, hateful]. True religion is evermore a powerful thing; and the power of it appears, in the first place in the inward exercises of it in the human heart.” Thus Edwards felt, in preaching that he should do everything he could to raise the affections — the love and passion — of his hearers as high as he possibly could concerning these things. In a sermon on Song of Solomon 5:1, which says “Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love!” he preached, as many commentators do, beyond marital relations, into the spiritual realm of Christ and His church to illustrate passion for God. He drew the following doctrinal conclusion: “Persons need not and ought not to set any bounds to their spiritual and gracious appetites.” In other words, there is no such thing as spiritual gluttony. “Eat, and drink, and be drunk with love for God, dear friends.” He admonished his hearers not to set limits or boundaries to their appetites when it came to Christ. “Rather, they ought to be endeavoring by all possible ways to inflame their desires and to obtain more spiritual pleasures… Our hungerings and thirstings after God and Jesus Christ and after holiness can’t be too great for the value of these things, for they are of infinite value… [Therefore] endeavor to promote spiritual appetites by laying yourself in the way of allurement…” What an interesting statement: Put your heart in the path of enticement. If you are feeling distant and cold, be allured, be enticed. “There is no such thing as excess in our taking of this spiritual food. There is no such virtue as moderation in spiritual feasting.” This morning, I will challenge you to feed your zeal and your appetite for Christ. Feed the fire, brothers and sisters. In a nutshell, the Laodicean lukewarmness caused by prosperity and spiritual complacency is deadly. It should make us tremble at the affluence and comfort of our American lifestyle. We will be looking at the final letter of Christ to the seven churches. With God’s help, we trust that the Lord Jesus will work this warning into us, and that we will heed His warning, His counsel, and obey His commands and drink in both now and for eternity the sweet rewards that He promises. First, let us review our context of the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation. This sets the stage for the entire book. In Revelation 1, the apostle John, in exile in the island of Patmos, has a vision on the Lord’s Day of the resurrected, glorified Christ, dressed like a high priest in a white robe reaching down to His feet. He is moving among seven golden lampstands, which are probably about like floor lamps, about chest-high. He is trimming the wicks, working on the fires, symbolizing Christ tending the seven golden lampstands, which represent seven literal, physical local churches that existed at that time in Asia Minor. The number seven is the number of perfection and gives us a sense of Jesus’ active daily ministry in local churches all over the world; He cares about local churches and He is ministering as our great high priest. How Christ Describes Himself: Amen, Faithful, True, Creator How to Read these Letters In Revelation 2 and 3, He composes seven literal letters, one to each of those seven churches, but cumulatively, they speak a message to all churches worldwide in the 20 centuries that have followed. At the end of each one of the seven letters, He says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” We are meant to take in the cumulative effect of these seven letters, to heed the warnings, to drink them in as a healing tonic. Jesus spoke these words twenty centuries ago to a specific church in Laodicea at a specific moment in time, but through the Spirit and by the ministry of the Word, He speaks now to us. As it says in Hebrews 3:7-8, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…” “He who has an ear, let him hear.” We must approach these seven letters, especially to this seventh letter, with great humility. Christ gives us grace so that we can humbly take in the stern word of warning contained in this letter. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Isaiah 66:2 says, “This is the one I esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My Word.” This word should make us tremble. Woe to any of us who say, “Spiritual lukewarmness could never happen to me,” or “First Baptist Durham could never become a Laodicean church.” Woe to us! We are well on our way to becoming so if we say that. We have the same sin nature they did. We are under the same pressures they were. We have the same challenges facing us. We should read with an ear to hear ways we need to grow in grace, ways that we are weak, and ways that we are sinning and deficient. Even if the Lord would speak a word of encouragement to us, we would hear it honestly as a word of exhortation, not as a point over which to puff up with pride: “You are doing this good thing, and I urge you to do it more and more.” Let us each humbly pray in our hearts, “Oh, God, speak to me.” In many ways, this letter to the church at Laodicea is the most terrifying of them all. Christ speaks not a single word of encouragement to this church, not one good about them at all. John MacArthur points to evidence in verse 20, depending on how you read it, that there was not a single born-again person within the walls of the church; Jesus was on the outside of the church, looking for someone, anyone who might open the door. If that is true, it was a very bad situation for that church. How does the resurrected, glorified Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest who was ministering to the seven churches, describe Himself in this final letter? Look at verse 14. He says, “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.’” (Some translations read “the source of God’s creation.”) The Amen First, He calls himself “the Amen.” We speak this word at the end of all of our prayers, maybe even thoughtlessly, as though it is simply the word used to let the people around you know that you are finished praying. The word is related to the Hebrew word for “standing,” but it came to be connected more with “truth.” In Deuteronomy 27, when the blessings and curses of the Old Covenant were read, the people were supposed to say “Amen” at the end of each one. It is a Hebrew word which translates to “Truly, truly” (or “Verily, verily, I say unto you” in the King James). As New Testament believers, we say “Amen” to give assent to a powerful truth. At the beginning of this book of Revelation, we see this very word: “‘Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him.’ [And John mixes in,] So shall it be! Amen.” In other words, “I want that [Second Coming] to happen soon.” Then at the end of the book, in Revelation 22:20, we get the same message: “He who testifies to these things [Jesus] says, ‘Yes I am coming soon.’ [Then John says,] “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” In the final verse of the entire Bible, Revelation 22:21, John says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” Now you know — the last word in the Bible is “Amen.” Jesus, who is God’s Amen, is God’s final word to the human race, the word of truth. Jesus speaks only the truth, for He is the truth. He says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life…” Beyond that, Jesus is effectively the Amen that God speaks to all of the promises and all of the truth of the Old Covenant. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen.” In Christ, all the promises of God find their fulfillment. In effect, Jesus is saying “Amen” for us to all the promises of God. The Faithful and True Witness Jesus says He is the faithful and true witness. Everything He says is true; it is dependable and accurate. He testifies to His churches what is true, and we must hear Him as He speaks. He is also faithful, first and foremost vertically to God, His Father. He was faithful in everything God entrusted to Him. He is faithful to God, but also faithful to us: He will always testify solemnly to what we most need to hear. He loves us. He is our faithful high priest. The Beginning of the Creation of God Furthermore, He is the beginning of the creation of God. This phrase causes trouble for some because it seems to say that Christ is a created being. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have run with that false doctrine for a long time, that Jesus is the first of God’s creations. “There was when He was not — there was a time He did not exist, and then God created Him.” That is a heresy. That is not what this phrase means. Jesus is calling Himself the originator, or the source, of all of God’s creation. Paul makes this clear in Colossians 1:15-17, “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” He is the source of everything. Application: Cure from Lukewarmness Comes from Right Estimation of Christ I want to stop for a moment to give you an application as we are talking about lukewarmness. Lukewarmness is cured by drinking in the greatness of the person of Christ. We greatly underestimate His greatness and would do well to give ourselves a daily boost of the knowledge of Him. Picture what it must have been like in the upper room with the apostles when Jesus came in through the locked doors. Picture him showing His hands and His side, His nail marks, and saying, “Peace be with you.” How could you possibly be indifferent and lukewarm at that moment? The more you just drink in the person and the achievements of Christ, the more that lukewarmness is banished. The central cause is failing to esteem Christ, your Savior, as the radiant, majestic Lord of the universe; failing to see His beauty, His glory, His attributes, His person high above the heavens; failing to see Him as the source of all creation. The remedy must be to read these words and let them soak in to you. Savor His glory based on His word. Rescue from lukewarmness comes from Christ-centeredness. Seek Him. How Christ Diagnoses the Church: Lukewarm, Poor, Blind, Naked Jesus is about to give His church a clear diagnosis and prescribe a powerful therapy. What is the diagnosis? He says they are “lukewarm … [and therefore] wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” The Church at Laodicea Geographically, Laodicea was close to Colosse, to whom Paul wrote the letter of Colossians. It was located in the Lycus Valley, about one hundred miles east of Ephesus. It was the southernmost of the seven churches, about 40 miles from Philadelphia. Laodicea was almost impregnable against direct assault because it was built on a wide plateau several hundred feet above the valley floor. However, because it had to pipe in the water for the city by aqueducts from several miles away, it was vulnerable to siege; invaders could easily sever the water supply. Three aspects of the Laodicean economy were noteworthy: money, wool, and eye medicine. First, money: Laodicea was strategically located in terms of commerce and trade. It stood at the junction of two important highways. There was an east-west road leading from Ephesus to the interior of Asia Minor, and then there was a north-south road going from Pergamum down to the Mediterranean Sea; those two roads crossed there at Laodicea. It was a powerful, wealthy center of finance, banking and commerce. It was so wealthy that when the earthquake I have mentioned before hit, and Rome offered to help rebuild Laodicea, they rejected the offer; they had no need to accept money from Rome. They possessed the means to rebuild the city with their own resources. Second, wool: Laodicea was famous for soft, glossy, black wool, which was woven into carpets and used for luxurious black clothing. This was a significant source of revenue. Third, eye ointment or salve: Laodicea supplied a Phrygian ointment that was known throughout the Roman world. It was useful in curing certain eye diseases; people came from all over the world to get the eye treatment, and it was also exported all over the Roman world. These three industries — finance, wool, and eye salve — will come directly into play in Christ’s stern words to this church. Christ’s Diagnosis Christ says in His diagnosis in verses 15-17: “I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold. 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.” So He begins with the statement, “I know your deeds.” He is going to talk about their heart condition of lukewarmness, but starts with their deeds. This is a regular pattern: “By their fruit, you will know them.” Matthew 12:33: “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Their deeds truly expose their heart. What is this lukewarmness all about? The word “nominalism” keeps coming to mind. What is the essence of nominalism? It is assenting to the right doctrine, Orthodox Christianity — “Yes, yes, yes, that is all true” — but without corresponding heart passion stirring them to sacrificial action. Jesus actually starts with the actions. He says, “I know your deeds…” “I see what you do. You are lukewarm.” He says, “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.” Some scholars and preachers interpret this in the context of the experience that all Laodiceans would have had with their water coming from miles away. Some nearby towns had hot steam baths, and others might have had cold water as from a mountain stream. The water in Laodicea was not good for refreshment or bathing. It most likely would have been tepid, foul-smelling, cloudy and repulsive. I heard of a South Carolina preacher who likens it to preferences of tea temperature, as though Christ were speaking in terms of beverage preference, saying that anything except lukewarm would be acceptable: “Some love hot tea. Some prefer sweet tea. I like cold tea. No one wants lukewarm tea.” I will not go in that direction, friends; it is best not to push it to that extreme, as though Christ were saying “Hot water is good, and cold water is good… but lukewarm water is useless.” He is not talking about different beverages like wine and milk and water, as in Isaiah 55. Rather, Jesus is speaking metaphorically, as He did with His parables. What is the essence of the temperature, of hot, lukewarm, and cold? I believe heat refers to zeal, passion, fire, ardor, love for the Lord. How can I, as a pastor, exhort you to cold for Jesus? If you came to me saying, “Pastor, I want to be cold and refreshing for Jesus, what should I do?” I would exhort you to love Him with all your heart. But that sounds like passion — like heat. Scripture, overall, supports heat as that which pleases God. God is passionate, so the strong emotions ascribed to him appear as heat — His wrath or anger as well as His motivation, His zeal. A human example would be the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. In Luke 24:32, Jesus opened the Scriptures up to their hearts and minds. After He left, “They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” Jesus says of John the Baptist in John 5:35, “He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.” It is said of Jesus in Psalm 69:9, “…zeal for your house consumes me [has burned Me up].” Romans 12:11, which we've already quoted, urges us: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Conversely, coldness is generally handled in Scripture as a negative condition, including, I believe, in our passage. We see a clear example of this in Matthew 24:12. Jesus was speaking about the end times, saying, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” So how can I exhort you to grow cold? I will not do that. Then why is it better to be cold than lukewarm? My thought is this: a cold person is dead in his transgressions and sins, unconverted, perhaps has never heard the Gospel; he is on the outside, cold and dead, like a corpse. This is better than being lukewarm because a spiritually cold person makes no pretense at all to follow Christ. He knows he is on the outside. But in that state, he is easier to reach for Christ than someone who has heard the great things of God and responded with a lukewarm, nominal commitment to Christ, with its requisite ritual church attendance on Christmas and Easter, or even the habits of baptism and church-membership with no true godliness that are common in the Bible Belt. There have been many revivals over the years, resulting in many churches increasing greatly in membership and many others being planted; but at some point, people start going through the motions of evangelical Christianity without real power. Thus, this is a warning for all of us. In a parallel verse, 2 Peter 2:21, Peter talks about people who employ a self-indulgent, grace-as-license type of Christianity under false teachers. They are feasting and reveling and getting drunk and acting sexually immoral, and Peter admonishes them that such license is not the Gospel. “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’” The Gospel did not change them but now they were in real trouble since they heard the true Gospel, which had no effect on them. It would have been better if they had never heard it than to conduct themselves in such a manner. I see the same reasoning here — it is better to be cold than lukewarm. John MacArthur says this: “Smug, self-righteous hypocrites are far more difficult to reach with the Gospel than cold-hearted rejecters. The rejecters may at least be shown that they are lost. But those who self-righteously think they are saved are often protective of their religious feelings and unwilling to recognize their real condition. They are not cold enough to feel the bitter sting of their sin. Consequently, no one is further from the truth than the one who makes an idle profession of Christ but never experiences genuine, saving faith. No one is harder to reach than a false Christian.” Christ found the Laodicean church nauseating, saying he would vomit them out of His mouth. The Greek is like the word for “emetic.” “So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to [vomit] you out of my mouth.” Nominal Christianity, then, is utterly repulsive to Christ. Their Self-Assessment is Totally Wrong! In verse 17, He speaks to their self-assessment, which is completely wrong. This is where they put themselves in danger. They evaluate themselves by comparing themselves to the churches and individuals around them, saying, “That is not me — I am fine.” Verse 17 says, “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.” The Cause of Spiritual Lethargy: Their Material Wealth The cause of their spiritual lethargy was their material wealth. They lived in a wealthy city, and they were wealthy people. That wealth had made them complacent and self-sufficient. Any biblical Christian should react to their statement of self-sufficiency by recoiling with horror. They are saying, “I do not need anything from Jesus.” Imagine yourself saying that; it is appalling, isn’t it? The proverb says, “The wealth of the wealthy is like a strong tower, and in it, they imagine they are safe.” They have a sense of safety or security in their wealth. But they forget another image that Jesus provided. In John 15:5, He says, “I am the vine; you are the branches… If [you] remain in Me… [you] will bear much fruit; apart from Me, you can do nothing.” The more you vigorously we grow into spiritual maturity, the more we will feel acutely just how needy we are, unable to carry out one iota of obedience without His help. “I cannot do anything today without Jesus. He must be in the center of my day, of my life. The only thing I can do apart from Jesus is sin. I do not want to sin! I want to be close.” If we are to do anything that the Lord delights in, we must abide in Christ. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. But here, these Laodiceans are congratulating themselves, saying, “I am wealthy. I do not need anything.” They are self-reliant. This is a great danger in America as well, with overwhelming prosperity such as the Christian world has never seen in history. Wealth among evangelical people is at an unprecedented, widespread level in church history, and it is dangerous state to be in. Their Real Condition: Instead, the “Amen, the faithful and true witness” was preparing to deliver the truth, as a physician would a patient, saying, “I have the results of your tests and you need to know your condition. You may feel fine, but you do not realize that…” and then come the words that render the diagnosis. Only a fool would not listen to such a diagnosis. What does He say? “You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” How terrifying, to have one’s self-assessment be so different from the Lord’s. I do not think you can say those words over genuinely born-again people. First of all, they are wretched and pitiful. They are not to be envied but pitied, spiritually like a homeless beggar shivering out in a blizzard. They are poor, impoverished though materially wealthy. They are in the exact opposite position of the persecuted church at Smyrna, who were poor from having much of their material possessions confiscated. But Jesus said to them in Revelation 2:9, “I know your poverty, yet you are rich!” The Laodiceans are blind in spirit, they're unable to see the truth to understand who Christ really is. Faith is the eyesight of the soul. They do not see the invisible spiritual realms properly. And finally, they are naked, shameful in their sin patterns, in need of covering, of an atonement. How Christ Counsels the Church: Come to Me and Buy Amazing: The Lord of Heaven and Earth Gives Advice Christ — the Lord of heaven and earth, God the Son — could have simply shut down this lukewarm church and disposed of them on Judgment Day. Instead, he humbles himself to give them sound advice. “I counsel you…” Amazing! This is Jesus, exalted to the highest place by Almighty God, sitting on the right hand of the throne of God, perfect in wisdom, awesome in holiness, saying, “Let me give you some advice.” Buy FROM ME… What is the advice? “Come to me and buy what I am offering.” Jesus was the source of everything that they needed. They greatly underestimated Christ, paying Him lip service, lukewarm worship, token prayers. It was time they understood their poverty and Christ’s riches, which He would supply. They needed to put to death forever this repugnant self-reliance, and understand that He is the vine, that apart from Him, they were dead. Why did He say to these destitute, spiritually empty beggars — “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,” — that they should come to Him and buy from Him? What currency would they use? This same idea is expressed in Isaiah 55:1: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” The currency is the same in that passage: total emptiness, inability to do anything of eternal value apart from Christ. They were to bring that and say, “Here is my money — my emptiness. I am poor. Save me — help me — heal me.” That is how you buy from Jesus when you have nothing. It is not a small thing; most people are not willing to look at their resources, at their lives and conclude, “I really am poor, I really have nothing to offer and no ability to do any good thing in and of myself.” Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with these words in Matthew 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit [spiritual beggars — in Greek, “ptóchos,” meaning ‘have nothing’] — for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Bring this currency to Jesus and humbly lay it at His feet, He says “Buy, I will give you everything you need.” What Should they Buy from Christ? Verse 18 says, “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.” First, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by the fire, so you can become rich…” This is like the treasure hidden in the field, worth selling everything to obtain. This is the genuine spiritual wealth of salvation in Christ, the wealth of heavenly joy, the Kingdom of Heaven. “I will give you real gold which will last for all eternity — gold that was refined by the fire of my suffering on the cross, the free gift of wealth in Me. You will be rich.” Second, He counseled them to bring their nothingness, their nakedness, to Him. In return, He promised to clothe them with “…white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness…” This is a symbol of atonement, of the imputed righteousness of Jesus, given as a gift by faith in Christ. He perfectly obeyed the laws of God; you did not. In doing so, He wove a beautiful white robe of righteousness for the purpose of clothing our nakedness with it. On Judgment Day, we will stand in that righteousness and be truly righteous before God because of it. Third, He counseled them to buy “…salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” He is speaking of the gift of the eyesight of the soul, spiritual sight, which is genuine faith — the ability to see the spiritual world as it really is, things in the spiritual realm that they had never seen before. “I counsel you to bring your blindness and I will touch your eyes,” — like the man born blind in John 9. “I will touch your eyes and you will be able to see. You will behold the glory and holiness of God; God the King sitting on His throne; Me sitting at the right hand of God, interceding for you; your shameful condition as it really is; Me on the cross, having atoned for your sins; the empty tomb and My bodily resurrection; the coming wrath of God as it will be; your future glory of walking in the new heavens and earth; the present world and its terrible status under Satan’s dominion; people enslaved in sin. For the first time, you will see things as they truly are. You will see and flee to Christ; you will turn from darkness to light, and from lies to the truth.” Christ alone can give all these things. John Stott said, “Here is welcome news for blind beggars! They are poor, but Christ has gold. They are naked, but Christ has clothes. They are blind, but Christ has eye salve. Let them no longer trust in their banks, their clothing factories, and their Phrygian eye ointment! Let them come to Him! He alone can enrich their poverty, clothe their nakedness, and heal their blindness! He can open their eyes to perceive a spiritual world of which they have never dreamed. He can cover their sin and their shame and make them fit to partake of the inheritance of saints in the kingdom of light. In a word, He can save them!” Christ’s Loving Discipline Verse 19 is a timeless word to all genuine believers and to every church: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” Christ cherishes us as genuinely born-again people, too much to let us wander off. Hold on to this truth, because we all have lukewarm days, perhaps even weeks. But if Christ is active in our lives, He will come after us, draw us back to Him; He will rebuke and discipline us if we drift into this kind of coldness. Though it is a stern word of warning, it is truly a comfort to those who love Him. It proves that we are genuine children, sons and daughters of God. He will speak in a way to get our attention, sternly, perhaps even harshly, when we are sinning. He will not give us over. Christ’s Clear Command “Be earnest and repent” True children of God will inevitably take these warnings to heart and repent. Christ calls on this church, “Be earnest and repent.” In terms of temperature, “Be on fire and repent. Get some fire inside of you; stop being tepid, lukewarm and weak in thought, word and deed. Get serious about what is happening and repent.” “Repent” means to turn away from all these old patterns, away from the sin, to see it for what it really is, grieve over it, feel ashamed of it. Moreover, it means to come to the light, on the path toward a vigorous walk with Christ. Remember the process that Thomas Watson outlined, which we covered in the sermon on the letter to the church of Thyatira: Sight of sin; sorrow for sin; hatred of sin; shame for sin; confession of sin; and turning from sin. What Christ Promises Those Who Open the Door: Fellowship and Feasting The Most Famous Verse in the Seven Letters To those who open the door, Christ promises fellowship and feasting. Look at verse 20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” This verse is frequently connected with evangelistic tracts. When I was a new Christian, I was trained by Campus Crusade for Christ to share my faith using a tract called The Four Spiritual Laws. Revelation 3:20 is one of the first verses I ever heard in my life and one of the first I memorized. In the Campus Crusade outline, those evangelizing would first go through the foundational doctrine of “God, man, Christ, response.” Then this verse is used to seal the deal: Jesus is here saying, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. It is the door of your heart and He wants to come in. If you will get up and open the door, He will come and live with you forever.” While this use of that verse is valid — ultimately, every individual person needs to have this kind of personal relationship of fellowship and intimacy with Christ — we must be careful not to push it into doctrinal error, implying that only we can open the door, that there is no means for Jesus to open it from His side. No, if we respond by opening the door, it is the Holy Spirit who moves our spirit and body to open the door; we can never get ahead of the Holy Spirit. He has made you born again so that you hear His voice and you get up. The Spirit is involved in that action; that is what regeneration is all about. Use this verse in evangelism, but use it correctly. Hearing His Voice The essence is the hearing of faith, “He who has an ear, let him hear…” If you are not yet a believer, perhaps you are hearing the knocking, hearing His voice speaking to you from the words of Scripture, personally calling you to follow Him. You know He is outside of your heart. If you hear Him knocking, know that it is a hearing power that only the Holy Spirit can give; only the Holy Spirit can cause you to open that door and let Jesus in. Open the Door to Him Therefore, open the door. There is an openness to faith, a desire to be open to Christ, to have Him enter and live within you. Christ said to the church of Philadelphia, “Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one can shut.” But human tendency is to set before Jesus a closed door and challenge Him to pry it open. No — open the door to Him. It is a heart response of love, of seeing that He is worthy of loving above all else, which should cause us not to challenge but to embrace what He is offering. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The yoke is His kingly authority. Our response, our desire to open the door, to invite Him in, indicates that we desire for King Jesus to come in and rule our lives; we submit to His kingly authority, His just and loving rule; we declare our loyalty to Him. We are open to whatever he would do with us. The Promise: I will Come In to Him and Eat with Him and He with Me Jesus uses an image here of feasting: those who open the door will sit at table with Jesus. He belabors the point somewhat: “I will come in and eat with him — and by the way, he will also eat with Me.” That seems redundant at first glance. The repetition is intensive: He wants to feast with you, to sit at table with you; He desires your fellowship as much as we should desire His. In the ancient Near East, to sit at a table with someone implied intimate fellowship and friendship, like a covenant signified by breaking bread together. Jesus repeatedly enjoyed intimate times with His disciples around the table. John 1:35-39 says, “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ ‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.” The inclusion of this account is puzzling. John kept out almost every one of Jesus’ miracle stories — he included seven miracles and seven extended teachings. How did this account make the cut? One scholar posited that the apostle John was one of those two disciples, and that was the first time he ever heard Jesus speak. It was the first time he had Jesus look at him, and they shared a meal together. Though he does not mention himself by name in the whole gospel, He includes many of his own significant moments with Jesus, His Lord and Savior. In John 13:23, we read that at the Last Supper, the disciple “whom Jesus loved” was leaning against Jesus’ breast so as to feast with His Lord sitting as close as possible to Him. What a picture. Are you experiencing that kind of intimacy of fellowship with Christ? We can experience it now by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16-17, Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.” When you open the door of your soul to invite Jesus to come in by the Spirit, you can feast with Him now in a foretaste of a feasting all believers will experience for eternity in Heaven. Fellowship with Jesus… and with God Our fellowship is not only with Jesus the Son and with the Holy Spirit, but also with the Father. 1 John 1:3 says, “…our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” We have fellowship with the triune God. How Christ Rewards Those Who Overcome: Enthronement In Every Case, Jesus Has Promised Lavish Rewards to the One Who Overcomes How does Christ reward those who overcome? Verse 21 says, “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 overcomes, who fights the good fight of faith against the world, the flesh and the devil, will receive lavish praises and rewards. I like to go through the seven letters and collect in one place all of the rewards given to him who overcomes; I meditate on this list and marvel that we will receive them all. These are not only for the Ephesian or the Smyrnan or the Sardis overcomers. We are also the overcomers; we are also more than conquers. We will eat from the Tree of Life. We will receive a crown of life; protection from the second death; the hidden manna; a White Stone with a new name written on it; the authority to rule the nations; the morning star; white garments; the honor of having Christ confess our name before God the Father and the Holy Angels in Heaven. We will be made a pillar in the temple and will never leave it. We will have written on us the name of God, and the name of the new Jerusalem, and the name of Christ. What reward here? Ruling with Christ on his throne In the letter to the church at Laodicea, we see that we will reign with Christ on His throne. We will sit with Him on His throne, just as He overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne. John Piper gives us a rather awkward but appropriate and amazing image: We are in Jesus’ lap, and He is in His Father’s lap, running the universe. Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and He will reign forever and ever in the New Jerusalem. The conquerors will rule with him in the New Heavens and New Earth. If we overcome, we will not only sit at table and eat with him, we will sit on a throne and rule with him. This is amazing grace! Applications Let us quickly look at a few applications: To the Lost: Jesus is Calling to You Today… If you are cold, you are on the outside. You know that you are not a Christian nor claiming to be one. You may not know, though, and I want to tell you today, that you are dead in your transgressions and sins. You have heard the Gospel here today — you are a sinner, naked and shameful, like all of us. Like the Prodigal Son, you have been wandering in sin, seeking fulfillment in earthly pleasures, and becoming more and more spiritually impoverished — cold, dead, distant from God. You cannot survive Judgment Day on your own. Jesus’ diagnosis of the Laodicean church — “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,” — applies to you; if you could see yourself in light of eternity, would see that that is true. Hear the promises that Jesus is able to solve each of those problems. Christ’s death on the cross can pay for all your debt and cover you. He can clothe you with garments of righteousness. Christ is offering you an incredible gift: full salvation, intimate fellowship. He can make you eternally wealthy. He can take away the wrath of God, and give you eternal life. You only need to hear His voice in this sermon — it is not just the voice of the pastor, but that of Christ, urging you to repent of your sins and open your soul to Him and allow Him to be your King, your Ruler, your Savior. If you do, He will come, and He will feast with you through the Holy Spirit. He will come into your life forever. Trust in Him. Beware of Lukewarmness To you who are already Christians, beware of lukewarmness. Do not think it could never happen to you. Perhaps are aware that it is already happening. I believe the Laodiceans were unregenerate. I am not saying that you are unregenerate; all of us go through lukewarm patches. We are wired to drift. Just be aware of it. It is not okay to be cool or lukewarm toward Jesus. You must fight hard to maintain the passion, the fire, the zeal for Christ. Look at your life. Is your private devotional life characterized by fire, by passion? Do you worship Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit? Do you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making music in your heart to the Lord? Are you thankful for everything in the name of Christ? Do you read the Scriptures passionately and accurately and personally, as though the Lord Jesus Christ were speaking to you directly? Is the outflow of your life characterized by cheerful, sacrificial service to God and to others? Conversely, do you see Christian things, Bible-reading, prayer, church attendance as a burden? Do these things weigh you down? Are you holding on to religion because you have a tradition and a habit of it, but in truth, you are not moved in your heart toward these things? If you are more excited about a ballgame or a hobby or a vacation or a movie on Netflix than about anything spiritual, and you are only going through the motions, take heed; see the danger signs. Do you place your confidence in your wealth, and success, and health? Do you feel like you do not need anything? Or do you have a sense of how spiritually poor you are, which stirs a passion in your heart toward Christ? It is my duty to stir up your affections as high as I possibly can as a preacher. But my sermons will pale in effect compared to your sermons to yourself. Preach to yourself: “Why are you so… downcast, lethargic, listless, cold, distant… oh, my soul? Put your hope in God.” Do not allow your heart to grow cold and distant; do not accept lukewarm expressions of your Christian walk. Prayer: O. Hallesby I would also commend prayer. In 1931, Norwegian pastor named Ole Hallesby wrote a book simply called Prayer. He began this little booklet on prayer with an exposition of Revelation 3:20: “Behold, 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.” He said this captures the essence of prayer. We open our nothingness and emptiness and hunger to Christ by opening the door; we bring Him into all of that in prayer. Hallesby says this: “It is not our prayer which draws Jesus into our hearts. Nor is it our prayer which moves Jesus to come into us. All He needs is access. He enters of His own accord, because He desires to come in. To pray is nothing more than to open the door, giving Jesus access to our needs and permitting Him to exercise His power in meeting them. That requires no strength. It is just a matter of our wills. Will we give Jesus access to our weakness and needs or not?” Start here in your prayer life. One final thought: In the book of Isaiah, we have a picture of Jesus, quoted in Matthew 12: “A bruised reed, He will not break, and a smoldering wick, He will not snuff out.” The smoldering wick is a fire that is about to go out. Jesus has the power to fan it into a flame. Ask Him to do this in your life. Closing Prayer Close with me in prayer. Father, I thank You for the things we have learned today in Revelation 3. I fear for my own soul, I fear for the church, fear for individuals that are here. Oh, God, deliver us from lukewarmness. Help us to read the Scripture passionately. Help us to pray as needy, broken, empty sinners, opening the door to Jesus. Help us to learn to feast with Christ, to realize that we have been enriched with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, and to quote those and to feel that we are rich in Christ, and that all of our nakedness has been clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and to celebrate, and to have fellowship with God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Spirit. Help us to feast. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Luke 14:34-35

Twenty two minutes of background to the Christian Experience of God and why it's really ever so important!

On tap this week: A Bruce Banner Dilemma, Briar Fire, The KJV Only cult and beginner IPA's, Bad Reformed Baptist but good Presbyterian Reformed Baptists, Total Depravity in Mother Russia, another game of Craft Beer or Indie Band, Butthurt in the SBC, and our Resident Arminian gives HIS 5 points. You can send us feedback!!! We […]

I Corinthians 10:1-13Dr. Guy Richard, Pastor

Introduction One of the most poignant, powerful, and memorable expressions in the prophets is in Amos 4:12, "And now, O Israel, prepare to meet your God." Something about that just bring goosebumps. “Prepare to meet your God.” Just the word “prepare.” Get ready to meet God. Later in Matthew 25, we're going to find out that Jesus is going to invite the sheep into a kingdom He's prepared for them since the creation of the world. But we're told in this parable, the parable of the virgins, to prepare to meet our God. Jesus is going to return some day. He's going to come back in his Father's glory, He's going to come at the head of a fearsome angelic army. If there's something you need to do to get ready for that, can I urge you to do it today? I said, today, do it today because God has ordained something called “today” and a sedative part, by which we can get ready for the return of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 47, "Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: 'Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.'" Today, dear friends. Today, it's all we ever have to obey God and get ready for eternity. Today. Simply put, we can't obey God yesterday. I've said this before, but it's still true, we cannot obey God yesterday, but we can learn from yesterday, so that we can obey God today. We can learn its lessons and not just our own yesterday's, but the yesterday's of others recorded in the Bible; we can learn from the past. Yesterday is gone forever. Logged in the record books of God. We can look back and gain a heart of wisdom, I think, but all of it is for today. Similarly, we cannot obey God tomorrow. We can't ever get there. It's like that rabbit in front of the greyhounds and they chase it around the track and it never comes, because by the time it comes, it's changed its name and it's called today. We can anticipate tomorrow; we should make plans like the ant in summer lay up stores with a heart of wisdom for the future, but we can't ever get there. We can certainly make tomorrow easier by how we obey today when it finally becomes today, but our lives are made up of a series of todays. Shakespeare's Macbeth, lamenting his wife's death, speaking about the dreariness of life, passing this way, said in this famous expression, "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time. All our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing." He sounds depressed, doesn't he? But it's not about tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow. It's about today, and today and today. So today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart. It all comes down to what you do with today. If you have something you need to do to get ready for the second coming of Christ, can I urge you to do it today? For getting ready for eternity, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back, the time of preparation will be over. What you have, then you will have, and nothing more. What you don't have, you will never have. The time for acquiring it is over. The opportunity will have ended. The Parable of the Ten Virgins Now in our parable, we have ten virgins who hope to participate in a spectacular wedding procession. They want to be part of it when the bride comes. Perhaps they've all dressed up for the occasion. Perhaps they've done their hair, procured their lamps for the torchlight procession. But five of these virgins, they're foolish, and five of them are wise. The foolish ones have not fully prepared. They're only partially prepared for the wedding procession. As a result, because of that partial preparation, they are excluded from the wedding procession and from the wedding banquet. What do you need to do today to be fully prepared for the second coming of Christ for eternity? Are you ready to face the Lord Jesus today? Are you ready to face him right now? What is the best way today for you to prepare for that glorious return? The parable of the ten virgins is given to help us to think ahead by faith for what we will need in that day. We always want to be looking at the main lesson of a parable. The main lesson of this parable is the need for constant vigilance through preparation. We get ready. We get ready and we're vigilant. We're watching. Look at Verse 13, "Therefore keep watch, be alert, because you do not know the day or the hour." Christ has repeatedly made plain, we don't know the exact time, the day or the hour of his return and of the end of the age. My sermon title, I think, says it all. Partially prepared will be eternally excluded. If you're only partially ready, then you will be shut out. As we come to this parable, I can tell you right now, it has a long history of allegorical interpretation, so we're going to have some fun with that today. I probably may be accused of allegory at the end when I try to apply it. When I actually try to make a difference in your life by connecting elements of it to your life, you may accuse me of allegory. I'll give you a sample of some allegory later on, you'll be able to judge whether I'm doing that too. But if I do it, so be it, I just want you to be ready for the second coming of Christ. I want you to get ready. What is an allegorical interpretation? It's basically works like this: every element in the parable has its own symbolic spiritual interpretation. It's like The Emperor's New Clothes kind of thing, that's the way allegory tends to work. We're going to do something different with that, and I'll get into more of those details later. The key with this parable is to get the main point, and I think that's always the most important thing with a parable. The parable is about ten virgins, five of them are wise, five of them foolish. The focus is on what makes the wise ones wise, and what makes those foolish virgins foolish, and what is the final outcome of all of it. The wise virgins were wise because they were ready when the bridegroom came, and because they were ready, they were able to enter into the banquet. They didn't miss it. The foolish ones were foolish because they weren't ready when the bridegroom came, and therefore they were not able to enter into the wedding banquet. The lesson is plain. We need to be ready now for the second coming of Christ. The bridegroom is Christ, his coming is the second coming of Christ. Jesus is urging us to get ready now and do whatever we need now to be ready for that second coming. The best thing I can do right now is to make a simple and immediate application to any that are here that have not trusted in Christ. You're not ready to face Jesus, you're not ready to meet your Maker, you're not ready to meet your God, because if you stand before him without Christ, He will show you the record book of your life, and everything in it will be sin because apart from faith, it's impossible to please God. There are no good works. I'm urging you to get ready for the second coming of Christ, to prepare by trusting in Christ, looking to Christ crucified, who shed his blood on the cross for sinners like you and me. That if we just simply trust in him, we will be completely ready for the second coming of Christ. The Biblical Context of the 10 Virgins Parable That's the best thing you can do with this message, and I'm going to return to it again without apology at the end of the sermon. Let's set this parable in its context, first of all, just its biblical context, and then I'm going to give you a cultural context, so we can understand the wedding images. First, the biblical context. Matthew 24 and 25 really go together as a match set. These two chapters are all about the second coming of Christ and events surrounding it. Going back at the beginning of Matthew 24, the disciples have been distressed by Jesus' prediction of the destruction of the temple, and by implication, of all of Jerusalem. They went to Jesus privately on the Mount of Olives and said, "Tell us, when will this happen? And what would be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus in effect spends two chapters answering that question. It's called the Olivet Discourse because it's a conversation Jesus has with his apostles on the Mount of Olives. In Matthew 24:4-14, Jesus describes in general terms, the events on Earth between the first and second coming of Christ. As things progress there, he speaks of wars and rumors of wars, of famines and earthquakes in various places, of the convulsions of a sin-sick world. He speaks of the special and vicious persecution of the church. Those that are standing up for Christ, they're going to have an especially difficult time. He speaks therefore, in connection with that, of the consistent and escalating apostasy of those who only claim to be Christians, but really aren't. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away, and that's going to get worse and worse as time goes on. Therefore He gives an exhortation, I think very relevant even to the parable we're looking at today: “He who stands firm to the end will be saved." If God has lit a fire in you, it needs to keep burning right to the end. Dear friends, if I can just give you assurance, if he lit that fire, it will keep burning right to the end. I want to give you a word of encouragement while I also give you a word of exhortation, both sides are needful. He who stands firm to the end will be saved. This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Then He described the general flow of church history, of world history between the first and second comings of Christ. The Second Coming Jesus gets very specific, I think both about the events that surround the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the Second Coming events that are specific to the Second Coming in the days and years right before the Second Coming. He speaks of the abomination of desolation referred to in the Prophet Daniel and I think as I made the case that that relates both to the destruction of Jerusalem and the reign of antichrist right before the second coming of Christ. And then he goes and describes in great detail the actual second coming in Verses 26 through 31 of Matthew 24. In Verse 29, he says, "Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be dark, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. And at that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming." That's the Second Coming right there. "They will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." Then the Rapture is described at that point, He sends out his angels and they gather the elect from one end of the heavens to the other. Jesus then highlights the suddenness and unexpectedness of his Coming, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father," He says, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it's going to be at the coming of the Son of Man." Life is going to go on, the life that people are aware of. They're going to say, "Where is this Coming He promised? Everything's going on as it always has." But that's the way it was in the days of the flood. People didn't know what was coming. They should have known, they should have listened to Noah's preaching, but they didn't. They weren't ready. When the flood came and swept them all away, that's the first they knew of it, and they were not ready. So we are not certain, and so we, therefore, must be prepared. He ends Matthew 24 with two parables that we looked at last week. — the parable of the thief in the night and the house owner, who, if he had known when the thief was coming, he would have gotten ready and not let his house be broken into. So you also need to be ready, you need to be prepared for the Second Coming because you don't know when it's going to come. Then he gives the parable of the chief steward in a household, a servant who's over the other servants, whose job it is to give them their food at the proper time. He says, "It's going to be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. He's going to put him in charge of all his possessions but if that servant is faithless, if he's wicked," and says, "You know, my master's staying away a long time, and he begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant," he says, “He's going to come at a time when he's not expecting him, a day he's not aware of, and he's going to cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites where there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Both of those parables tell us, be ready, be faithful. Be watchful, be faithful. Frankly, I think that's exactly what's going on in the parable of the ten virgins as well. Be watchful, be faithful. Do what you need to do now to get ready, and then be watchful. Be watchful all the time. That's the Biblical context. The Cultural Context of the 10 Virgins Parable What's the cultural context of this parable of the ten virgins? A Jewish marriage consisted generally of three parts, the first stage was the engagement, generally between the parents of the bride and the bridegroom. They would draw up a contract of an arranged marriage where, generally, the couple had no little or no direct involvement. The second stage was a betrothal ceremony. The bride and groom and exchange vows in the presence of family and friends. At that point, they were considered legally married. The relationship could only be broken by formal divorce proceedings. If the husband happened to die after the betrothal ceremony, but before the wedding feast, the woman would be considered a widow, even though their marriage had never been consummated. During this time which could be several months up to a year, the soon-to-be bridegroom would get his house ready, get his trade in order so that he could support his wife and family. That was the second stage. The third stage was the wedding feast or the wedding banquet. During the feast, the entire community would become involved, the festivity could last as long as a week. It started with the groom coming with his groomsmen to the bride's house. She would be waiting with her bridesmaids, and there would be a procession through the streets of the city, usually at night, so they would need these torches that are mentioned here. Most everybody would be invited, and so people were coming, and it would be a big festive procession. They would go to the place where the feast was and they would have that feast time, and at a certain point, when the time of feasting had reached its conclusion, a close friend of the groom would take the bride's hand and the groom's hand and put it together, and then they would go off and be alone really for the first time. The marriage would be consummated, and from then on, they would live together as husband and wife in the house that the bridegroom had prepared. You can see then in the context of this parable, the third stage, the beginning of that third stage, coming to the wedding banquet is the context for the parable that Jesus tells. Let's look at the details of this parable without any overt allegory. We’ll go through and just look at the details. I do want to apply, but I don't want to allegorize, so let's do what we can with it. First you have the virgins. Throughout medieval Roman Catholic history, they were always big on virginity, abstaining from marriage. It's very much an ideal, after Augustine especially, to avoid marriage, so priests and nuns and bishops and all that were celibate. They would use this and speak a lot about virginity, but I don't think that's what this parable is talking about. These were just young women who would have been the bridesmaids for the bride, and I think that we want to focus on that rather than specifically on the virginity aspect. The girls fall into two categories, five in each group, five of them wise and five foolish. Augustine said that the number five signifies the five senses. You're ready for some allegory? This is what it sounds like. Augustine says, "Every soul in the body is therefore denoted by the number five because it makes use of the five senses. For there is nothing of which we have perception by the body, but by the five folded gates, either by the sight, or the hearing, or the smelling, or the tasting, or the touching. Whoso then abstains from unlawful seeing, from unlawful hearing, unlawful smelling, unlawful tasting, and unlawful touching, by reason of his incorruption has gotten the name of virgin." That's a sample of allegory. I actually enjoy reading allegories, they're really imaginative and fun. But at any rate, why don't we just say it's just five of each so that we have a sense that the numbers are divided generally, and what's more significant, in my opinion, than the number five, is the descriptions of each of these groups, five of them are wise and five of them are foolish. That's really what's more important. Wisdom vs. Foolishness Frankly, Matthew is very interested with the issues of wisdom and foolishness. Matthew as a gospel writer uses more than half of the Greek expressions for wisdom in the New Testament. He is the number one wisdom writer in the New Testament. He loves to talk about wise. Jesus says, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant,” etcetera, and Matthew records these samples of wisdom. He uses more than half of the terms for foolishness in the Greek in the New Testament. A prime example of this we find at the end of the Sermon on the Mountain, when Jesus says, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Then you've got the foolish builder who builds his house on the sand. I I had time, I'd go into the remarkable parallels between the wise and foolish builders and the wise and foolish virgins in this story, it has to do with foresight. But we've got these two categories, wise and foolish. Five in each group. They're both young women, they're both waiting for the bridegroom to appear. They each have torches for the procession. The torches would have had wicks with some oil in them so that they could burn, but also oil reservoirs or receptacles that could draw or suck the oil in, somewhat like a hurricane lamp. They'd be mounted up on wooden poles so they could be carried high in the procession and light the darkened streets of the city. The wicks would have some oil in them and could burn for a little while, but couldn't continue any length of time. The whole system, of course, worked only if you had that reservoir of oil filled, and then it could burn for a good long while for the time of the procession. The essence of the foolishness seems to have been, clearly in Jesus' parable, lack of foresight. Look at Verse 3, "The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them." They had the torches, but they didn't take oil. They didn't think through what they would actually need when the bridegroom came. They had the external accoutrements. They looked like they were ready to go in the procession, but they really weren't. Hendrickson said they were careless, they were not forward-looking, they were guilty of inexcusable and senseless neglect. Conversely, the essence of wisdom here is foresight. What will we need to take part in the procession and get into the wedding banquet? Verse 5, "The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps." We're going to need not just our lamps, but we need a jar of oil, so they thought it through. Next in the parable comes the delay and the slumber. "The bridegroom was a long time in coming," it says, "And they all became drowsy and fell asleep." Once again, I think we have here pretty clear evidence Jesus is giving not only the apostles, but through them the whole church, that he's going to be a long time in coming. He's preparing the church for a long delay between the First and Second Coming of Christ. Do you see the wisdom of God in setting up the New Testament, and all of the conversations and verses about the Second Coming in which every generation of Christian has thought that the Lord would return in their lifetime? Perhaps even now. Do you see the wisdom of God in that, without him in any sense being a liar? He is, I think, hinting in the parable, "It's going to be a long time between the First and Second Comings,” and so it has been. They all become drowsy and fall asleep. What does this signify? I don't really know, I actually think we shouldn't make much of it. Clearly, both the wise and the foolish are asleep, so it really is immaterial, it's not important to the story. Some commentators say it refers to death, everybody is going to die. Maybe, maybe not. I know in the New Testament frequently death is like slumber. It could be. Then we have the coming of the bridegroom. At midnight, the cry rings out, "Here's the bridegroom, come out to meet him." The key moment that they were all focused on and looking ahead to, at least the five wise ones, has come at last. The bridegroom is coming. Can there be any doubt, as I've already said, the bridegroom and the coming of the bridegroom is Jesus Christ and the Second Coming? The midnight cry is likened to the cry of the archangel, and the trumpet call of God. "Here he comes, he's here." They all wake up and get busy, and they trim their lamps. Verse 7, "All the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps." Verse 8, "The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.'" The tragic lack of foresight is exposed by the coming of the bridegroom. They hadn't thought about it until then, but at that moment, they're going to see clearly what they needed, and their foolishness is exposed. They say to the wise in Verse 8, "Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out." Their wicks are beginning to sputter and fizzle, and they immediately realize why: They don't have a supply of oil. They turn to the others and say, "Give us some of yours." One of the keys of the parable, is that they can't share the oil. My oil is mine and your oil needs to be yours. There's some things I just can't do for you. I don't think the wise virgins were being unkind or sassy, saying, "Go find somebody who may be awake at midnight who can sell you some oil." In effect, they're saying, "Look, I care, but there's nothing I can do to help you. If I give you my oil, then I will be transferred into the foolish category, and you'll be one of the wise virgins. I can't do it. I've got enough oil for the procession, you've got to get your own." Now, what is this oil? It seems to be quite the point, isn't it? Is it time for allegory? Tell us what the oil is. Somebody told me with absolute definitiveness, "It's good works. No doubt about it." Maybe so. Note the endless diversity of opinion as to the emblematic significance of the oil, every interpreter has his own conjecture. A.B. Bruce put it this way. The oil is faith, the oil is love, the oil is giving to the poor and needy. The oil is desire for the praise of God rather than for the praise of men. Good works in general. The Holy Spirit.” We'll come back to that one. Diligence in the culture of grace. Religious joy. In short, it's anything you please. Each conjecture is purely arbitrary, one is as legitimate as the other, and the multiplicity of opinions justifies the inference that they are all alike illegitimate. I don't know that I totally agree with him, but he does bring up a valid point. How do you know which it is? In my opinion, I don't think it really much matters. Why don't we study the whole of Scripture and find out what we need to have in place when the Lord returns? Whatever it is you think you'll need, get it now. I would urge you to think that way. A.B. Bruce thinks the big problem wasn't the lack of oil, it was that the foolish virgins left and didn't enter when it was time. Interesting theory, I don't know that I agree. But at any rate, that's what they do next, isn't it? Look at Verse 10, "While they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived, the virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet and the door was shut." So they go out to find the oil. Were they successful? I have no idea. They drop out of the story for a little while. They come back in at a key moment, but I have no idea whether they came back. "Look, we've got a bunch of oil now." Apparently it's irrelevant whether they're actually able to find somebody to sell them some oil. In any case, the time for that wasn't then. Do you get that sense? That was not the time to be going and buying the oil. They should have had it when the bridegroom came. That was the time for greeting the bridegroom. So when they return, they are excluded from the feast. Verse 11 and 12, "Later the others also came, 'Sir, sir,' they said, 'Open the door for us.'" "Sir, sir" is the NIV translation for "Lord, Lord." I think it's appropriate to sticking within the parable, but isn't that striking, "Lord, Lord"? "Not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my father who's in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers." In this parable, he replies, "I tell you the truth, I don't know you, and you're not getting in." That door shutting, doesn't it have a ring of finality to it? Don't you just hear it ringing down over time? It's like the shutting of the door into the ark. If you're on the outside, you're dead, you're a dead man, a dead woman, the time for entering is over. Notice also in the story in Genesis who it is that shut that door. It was God who shut it, not Noah. God knows when the time is over, when the day of salvation will have ended. He knows. While the door is open, we can come in, but after the door is shut, it's done, it's finished. Application That's the parable in detail. What lessons can we draw from this parable? First of all, nominal Christianity will not save you. Nominal Christianity will be worthless on the Day of Judgment. All around the world, there is a plague on the Church called nominal Christianity or nominal Christians. These are people that have an outward form of Christianity, but there's no reality, there's no power behind it. They can talk the language of the Church, they can act like Christians, they are moral, they appear quite pious on the outside, but they are lost on the inside. Let's take Europe, for example, after Constantine's conversion. I hope it was genuine. In 312, after that, church and state were wedded together in a very dangerous and unhealthy way. Soon after that, kings started to think about advancing the kingdom by conquest, just like they'd always done. You have Clovis, the King of the Franks, being baptized and immediately the next day, 3000 of his soldiers were baptized. What a great revival, equal to the days of Pentecost. Amazing. Then he goes and he wins military victory after military victory, and just spreads the Gospel everywhere, and lots and lots of people are being baptized. Look, if you're given the choice of convert or die, what are you going to do? He's spreading nominal Christianity. Charlemagne, who I think by other accounts was a godly king and sought to advance genuine Christian instruction, fell into the same trap. When he's fighting some of these Germanic tribes, he'd go and conquer them and give them an option, "Be baptized or perish." So nominal Christianity was spreading throughout so-called Christendom everywhere. Infant baptism came in at a certain point, I think, and kind of settled that into these churches, and state-run churches just guaranteed a bunch of nominalism. After the Reformation, every prince who was in charge of his own region got to say what everyone in his region was, if the prince was Catholic, everybody was Catholic, and if the prince was Lutheran and everybody was Lutheran. So you have in Italy, nominal Roman Catholics, you have in England, nominal Anglicans, in Scandinavia and Germany, you have nominal Lutherans, in eastern countries, you have nominal orthodox people, nominalism everywhere. But it's not just out there, is it, dear friends? No, it's here in America, too. There are nominal Baptists that go through the name and the outward appearance of what it takes to be a Baptist. It takes a little bit more than an infant baptizing kind of nation-state, but if you can go through that route, you can profess Christ, convince a pastor, get water baptized, you can be a nominal Christian. The Baptist churches are filled with them. And not just Baptists, but Presbyterians, it's everywhere. Paul, I think, comments on this whole issue in 2 Timothy 3:5, when he speaks of those who have a form of godliness but deny its power. Oh, dear friends, what is the power of godliness? You need to have a burning desire for godliness inside. You need to have the fire of true Christianity burning inside you, and not just a form or an outward show. It will do you no good. Like the foolish virgins, they meet the outward profile of a virgin about to take part in the procession. They've got the dress, they've got the torch, they've got maybe their hair done, they look like all the others, they're just there, they're all in the same place, they're all mingled together, but they don't have what's really needed to take part in the procession. They have the outward show, but not the inward reality. They're going through the motions. The wise virgins represent those who have the outward forms of the Christian life, but there's a genuine life in them: Bible reading, prayer, Christian conversation, church attendance, spiritual gift ministry, care for the poor and needy, involvement in missions. For the wise virgins, this is a true principle of grace acting out through their physical bodies and their physical lives. Christ is in all of it. He's alive in their actions, he's alive in their Bible reading, he's alive in their prayer lives. When they reach out to the poor and needy, it as though Jesus Christ himself were reaching out. There's just a living principle in the wise virgins. But there's just a deadness to the foolishness here. There's no life in the external show, it's not genuine. So therefore, get the real thing. How's that? The real life of God in your soul. Be alive to God through Jesus Christ. Be alive to God through faith in Christ. Today is the day of salvation. It says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, "In the time of my favor, I heard you. In the day of salvation, I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor." This, today is the day of salvation. Jesus Christ shed his blood for sinners like you and me. He died on the cross, not for his own sins, for he had none, he was the sinless lamb of God, but he died in our place. If you look to him in faith, you'll be forgiven of all of your sins. If you look to him in faith, he will give you the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that indwelling Holy Spirit will come as an operative power and force in your life and change everything. You will become a new creation in Christ, and you'll live a different life, You'll live the internal journey of holiness. You're going to grow more and more like Christ. You're going to be on that external journey of caring whether other people come to Christ too, and seeing the advance of the Gospel. Today is the day of salvation, and friends, today is also the day of preparation. It's not just for justification that He's given us today. If you're genuinely Christian, maybe you've been so for decades, you were justified decades ago, but you've had a lot of todays since then. What were they for? Were they not for doing the good works that God had prepared in advance for you to do? Isn't that what they're for, that you would be active in doing what God wants you to do every day? Faith by itself, if it's not accompanied by works is dead [James 2:17]. Why is that word spoken to us? So that we would have a living faith that produces the good works God has ordained for us to do. Today is the day to do the ministries God's prepared for you to do today. Today is the day for you to use your spiritual gifts in the church. Today is the day for you to lead people to Christ as the Lord gives you opportunity. In Mack Stiles’ ministry, he takes people like me and maybe like you who don't really enjoy evangelism and struggle with it and all of that, and teach us what kind of people we ought to be, not so much a technique we ought to acquire. Isn't that wonderful? If you get a chance to come listen to him tonight, please do it. But what a blessing that is. But today's the day, today is the day for you to disciple your children, speak the words of heaven to them. This is against procrastination. Do you get that sense? For the second straight week, we've got a strong message here against procrastination. Don't put off going and buying the oil. If you need something, go get it today. Allegory alert, allegory alert. The oil of the Holy Spirit. Look, the whole problem with allegories is for the allegorist to tell you, "This is what it is, and if you don't see it, you're not as holy as I am." I'm not saying that. Let's somewhat step aside from the parable a bit and talk about the oil of the Holy Spirit because it is the Holy Spirit, the indwelling Spirit, that gives the fire to the Christian life and sustains it day after day after day. I think about the image in Zechariah 4 of a seven-fold lantern that's burning, a golden lamp stand with oil flowing through pipes to keep the lamps burning. The lesson of that image of the burning oil lamp was given in Zechariah 4:6. "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.'" What that's saying is, "Don't try to drum up your own strength and your own power. You can't do it. But by the Spirit, your fire will keep on burning." What does this says to me? It's a lesson of perseverance. He who stands firm to the end will be saved. Didn't the foolish virgins say, "Our lamps are going out"? They were lit, but then they went out. I don't believe anyone can lose their salvation, I'm not pressing that detail. I'm just saying those that continue to burn are truly saved, because there's a reservoir of grace, a reservoir flowing to you. If you're genuinely a Christian, if you're a child, a son or daughter of the living God, he who lit the fire in you will keep it burning until the day of Christ Jesus. He's going to feed you what you need. Do you feel like you're flickering sometimes? I do. Like the fire is about to go out. Think of this in Matthew 12, "A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out until he leads justice to victory. In his name, the nations will put their hope." Put your trust in Jesus. If you feel like you're drifting from Jesus, come back and say, "Lord, give me that Holy Spirit again. Empower me. Fill me. Forgive me for my sins. I'm sorry for the way I've been living. I want to be close to you, Jesus. Fill me again." And He will, as it says in Psalm 23, restore your soul. Do you need your soul restored? I need a reservoir and I need it flowing. Let me close with this illustration I've used before, but it fits so perfectly. It's from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. He's at the interpreter's house.The interpreter or a pastor, I think, is showing Christian, a standard Christian on the journey from the City of Destruction to heaven, the Celestial City, the things he'll need for his journey. There are different vignettes, different allegories or parables really, and one of them is of a fire burning against a wall. There's this hearth that’s burning, and there are men on two sides of the wall. The man on the left side is pouring water into the fire to try to put it out, but the man behind the wall is feeding oil in the bottom, keeping the fire burning. So Christian says to Interpreter, "What means this?" He said the fire is the work of grace in the Christian's heart. The man trying to pour water on the fire to put it out is the devil. The one behind the wall feeding oil into the bottom is Christ feeding grace to keep the work of grace alive in the Christian soul. No matter what the man with the water can do, he can't put that fire out because the oil is flowing in that Jesus is putting in. Why is he behind the wall? Because it is not always obvious to the Christian how Jesus is sustaining your faith and your grace, but if you're truly a child of God, He's feeding the oil in. He's the endless reservoir. You get connected to Christ through genuine repentance and faith, He'll keep you alive until he returns.