JESUS KICKED OUT OF THE CHURCH?
By John Rhinehart
Revelation 3:20 is one of the most abused verses of all Scriptures. It is used constantly at evangelistic, church and revival meetings to call in the lost. Minister use it as the message of Jesus ‘knocking on the heart’ of the unsaved. That Jesus wants the sinner to repent and open the door for Jesus to come in. We even have pictures of this verse showing Jesus standing at the door with no ‘handle’ implying that the sinner has to open the door because Jesus can’t open that door. However this is far from the truth.
Again, as always we must stay in context of the verse to understand its true meaning and thus, all believers will have the same results as being of ‘one’ mind and ‘one’ spirit.
Revelation 3:14 states:
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea writes:
Jesus is talking to the church in Laodicea how it is:
“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.”
And that it’s wealthy and do not need a thing. The church at Laodicea has ‘a form of godliness but denying its power’ (2Tim 3:5). It is so caught up with the world and looking like the word having its faith rooted in the US Dollar, that it no longer needed faith in Jesus but in ‘money.’ Thus, we have the most startling statement in all Scripture: that Jesus was kicked out of his own church.
Jesus is talking to the CHURCH and not sinners in verse 20! He is asking the CHURCH, as he is knocking on its heart to open up the door and let him back in and be the center of its heart.
If men love doctrines more than Christ, they are rationalists. If they love ceremonies more than Christ, they are ritualists. If they love their works more than Christ, they are legalists. If they love the local church more than Christ, they are sectarians. Churches represent localities, not doctrines. When any leader, doctrine, creed, or organization becomes the center for drawing people together, then its center is something other than the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What can we now say when the truth is staring us in the face! Revelation 3:20 has nothing to do with sinners and all to do with THE CHURCH!
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