The Lukewarm Church
A Sermon on the church of Laodicea from Revelation 3:14–22
Scripture
14And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16So …
Sermon Description
The Christian must soberly consider if they get more excited about the things of this world than they do about God. In this sermon on the church of Laodicea from Revelation 3:14–22 titled “The Lukewarm Church,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches against lukewarmness in the church—not only as a whole, but the lukewarmness that is pervasive in each individual’s heart. The lukewarm heart is one that does not despise God, but it does not love God. It is one that is sentimental towards God. Ignorance is the cause of this lukewarmness; ignorance towards the greatness of God and ignorance about the history of the church. Lukewarmness can look like nice, moral people who are involved in church, yet they desire to be in control of their religion. Listeners will be charged to examine themselves to see if they truly desire God, have His peace, and desire more of Him.
Sermon Breakdown
- The church of Laodicea was lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. They were complacent and self-satisfied.
- The cause of this condition was ignorance. They did not know their own wretched state. They did not know the riches and possibilities of God's grace.
- They were ignorant of the New Testament descriptions of what the church should be. They were ignorant of revivals and movements of God's Spirit in church history.
- They did not examine themselves in light of Scripture or church history. They did not ask if their experience matched that of Christians in the New Testament or history.
- Christians are meant to enjoy the unsearchable riches of Christ, know Christ intimately, have fellowship with Him, experience His peace and joy, and have His power and zeal.
- The only hope for lukewarm Christians is Christ's concern for them. He rebukes and chastens those He loves. He stands at the door and knocks, offering what we need.
- We must listen to Christ, repent of pride and self-satisfaction, and open the door. He will come in, give us spiritual understanding, and make our hearts burn within us.
Other Sermons
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.