The Sin of Self-Sufficiency!

The Book That Promises a Blessing!

A study of the book of Revelation

by Pastor Frank Rice

Revelation 3:14-22

Since when is self-sufficiency a sin!?! That does not sound right! We want to be self-sufficient so we are not dependent or a burden on others. We want our kids to grow up to be self-sufficient so they move out on their own. We want members of society to be self-sufficient so we don’t have to support them with our tax dollars! So, what’s the problem with self-sufficiency!?! Glad you asked. Jesus confronts the church in Laodicea and He “doesn’t pull any punches!” Self-sufficiency had hindered their relationship with Him. Listen and learn as He lovingly excoriates His people.

 

I. Jesus Introduces Himself to the Seventh Church (V. 14).

• Check out the city of Laodicea, in which His people live and the church body to which they belong. (Essential for understanding.)

1. The city’s location was determined by major trade routes, not water supply, as was common. The water supply “stunk!” “Excavation of the city’s terra cotta pipes reveals thick lime deposits.” (Keener)

2. One source for water was a hot spring in Hierapolis, six miles north, which provided healing for the sick and suffering.

3. Colossi, ten miles away, provided refreshing cold water. By the time either arrived through “pipes,” it wasn’t what it had been!

4. Both situations made the city vulnerable, making conciliation essential for survival, lest neighbors cut off the water supply!

5. Citizens were so wealthy they refused government aid when leveled by an earthquake in A.D. 60. They rebuilt the city by themselves! Civic pride and self-sufficiency moved them to refuse what we’d call “federal disaster relief funds.” They didn’t need any help.

6. They boasted of a medical school with Phrygian eye salve used to heal a multitude of eye disorders. (It worked!) Pagan worship of false deities such as Zeus, Dionysus, Helios, Men Karou, and Hera flourished.

7. The textile industry produced shiny, black, soft wool to make carpets and clothing. (These folks had a lot going for them!)

• Jesus describes Himself in terms that they needed to hear (v. 14).

1. Jesus is the “Amen,” the confirmation of all God’s promises, the last word (Isa 65:16; 2 Cor 1:20)! “Jesus used it often to authenticate a particularly important or solemn truth.” (Osborne) He used it 75+ times in the gospels, sometimes as doublets!

2. Jesus is the witness of God, faithful and true. He is trustworthy and accurately reveals the mind and purposes of God. “Jesus alone can be trusted to keep His word.” (Osborne)

3. Jesus is the ruler over all creation! The term arxn means the originator, the source, the ruler (John 1:1-3; Col 1:15-18). With all their prosperity they thought they were in control. Not! “He alone controls creation; He is the very source of their wealth and power.” (Osborne)

• Jesus has nothing positive to say about this body of believers! (We may sense that He’s going to “lovingly administer discipline.”)

 

II. Jesus Confronts His People w/ Their Spiritual Plight (Vv. 15-17)!

• Jesus condemns these believers as unpalatable (disgusting andrepulsive); they are neithercold nor hot. One or the other would have been fine, welcome, and useful (v. 15)! (Think tea or coffee.)

• Jesus states, in no uncertain terms, His reaction to them (v. 16).

1. They affect Him as the water affects them after it had passed through the aqueducts on the way to the city – yuck!

2. They make Him throw up! (This seems so un-Jesus-like!) Could the behavior of His people be so bad? (You answer!)

• Jesus explains exactly what He means by what He says (v. 17).

  1. These believers were self-sufficient. They had everything. They needed help from no one! They could do it themselves. (This is a red-alert to Western believers!)

  2. They had no clue how pathetic (wretched & miserable) they really were in the eyes and estimation of Christ!

  3. In reality, they were spiritually dirt-poor, sight-challenged, and stark-naked! (None of these are honorable or desirable, but debilitating and shameful, an indication of God’s judgment.)

  4. Believers in the city “may have interpreted their material wealth as a blessing from God and thus have been self-deceived as to their true spiritual state.” (Johnson)

  5. “Jesus’ challenge to the Laodicean Christian’s self-sufficiency reminds us of how readily we Christians absorb the attitudes of our culture without pausing for critical evaluation on this behavior.” (Keener)

  6. “They had apparently listened to their worldly affluence rather than Christ and had thought material success meant they were right with God.” (Osborne)

 

III. Jesus Prescribes the Only Remedy for Recovery (Vv. 18-19)!

• Jesus offers the viable remedy for their pathetic condition (v. 18). (Jesus isn’t selling anything, the cost is commitment. ;Isaiah 55)

1. They need to embrace His priorities. Gold is a likely reference to personal faith or personal priorities.

2. They need to be clothed in His purity. White garments are a likely reference to moral purity.

3. They need to have His perception, to see things the way He sees them. Only His eye salve would help them see clearly.

• Jesus communicates His commitment to love them (v. 19).

  1. He displays His love by rebuking and disciplining His people. “Despite their deplorable condition and their rebuke, they are, nonetheless, the object of Christ’s affection.” (Patterson)

  2. Love always disciplines, and sometimes it hurts (Prov 3:11-12)!God’s discipline is always corrective and “constitutes proof that one is a child of God and not illegitimate (Heb 12:4-11).” (Patterson)

  3. “Anyone living in sin and not experiencing the disciplining hand of the Father may have a more serious problem than he realizes!”

  4. He invites His people to change their minds and their priorities.

 

IV. Jesus Invites His People to Respond Positively (Vv. 20-22)!

• He has been crowded out of these believers’ lives (v. 20)! He longs to be welcomed back into intimate fellowship once again! “Jesus arrives at the door as a visitor, identifies Himself, and seeks admission. The person must respond, open the door, and allow Him admittance.” (Osborne)

• He promises honor and a place of service and authority to those who respond positively to His discipline (v. 21)!

• He challenges & invites His people to respond to the Spirit (v. 22)! “The Laodicean church is unfortunately a perfect parallel for some of the greatest problems in the church at the start of the twenty-first century,.. Affluence has mad us ‘lukewarm,’ for we have become self-satisfied and interpret our trappings of ‘success’ as God’s blessing.” (Osborne)

 

The letters are sent to congregations. Appeals are made to individuals.

The spiritual condition of a church is dependent on individuals.

Are you contributing toward the health of your church?