Dear Brethren and Friends, Perhaps the greatest danger facing those Christians within God's Church today is the danger of becoming "Laodicean." For that spirit—the attitude of the Laodicean era of the Church—is the attitude that will predominate today. That is the spirit God describes as influencing most people even within the greater Church of God community in our day. Notice God's direct warning about this: "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth"'" (Revelation 3:14–16).
It is clear that these Laodicean people within God's Church are not predominantly people who break God's laws. God does not accuse them of gross sin or of any form of idolatry. Rather, they are simply "taking it easy." They are "lukewarm." And our Creator obviously wants His people to be "on fire"—profoundly zealous, and deeply appreciating their calling to become full sons of God! We all need to examine ourselves as to whether we are yielding to that kind of attitude. We also need to think deeply about the Apostle Peter's warning, "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now 'If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?' Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator" (1 Peter 4:17–19).
Here, in one of the last books written in the New Testament, we find Peter's warning that even "the righteous one is scarcely saved!" So it is vital that none of us think that we can "dance along the edge" of God's Church and barely make it into God's Kingdom by doing so. Rather, before He gives us eternal life, awesome glory and the power of being a full member of His family, God intends to make absolutely sure that we have gone "all out" and have totally surrendered our hearts, minds and wills to His way!
Many of you older brethren remember Mr. Armstrong's impassioned statement, given in love to the brethren a number of times, "Brethren, I am afraid only about half of you in God's Church are really converted!" Later, near the end of his life, Mr. Armstrong suggested that "only a tithe"—a tenth—of Church members were truly converted. He often used the term, "conquered by God" as a way of defining deep and total conversion. By that, He meant to describe those who would truly surrender to do anything and everything they could to enter into God's Kingdom—and who would be willing to do it God's way and in submission to Jesus Christ's real leadership, personally and in His Church! One key to testing ourselves in this manner is to honestly assess whether we genuinely "go all out" in seeking, serving and obeying the God of the Bible—not some imaginary "God" as worldly people often do. Do we let anything come between us and wholeheartedly obeying our Creator?
In a message to our forefathers—and to us today—God describes the time when Israel would come into its inheritance and "beget children and grandchildren" and begin to turn aside from obeying Him (Deuteronomy 4:25). Then He describes how the peoples of Israel would have to be scattered and taken into slavery and made "few in number." "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice" (vv. 29–30).
The key in this is that, eventually, every truly converted Christian will need to "seek" God with all his heart and with all his soul! This wholehearted approach is reiterated again and again throughout the Bible. For God does not want "half-hearted" Christians! Mr. Armstrong often quoted a passage from Hosea in the Moffatt translation to show that we should all put our "whole hearts" in our prayers. For God does not appreciate "half-hearted" prayers! In describing the lackadaisical approach of modern Israel, God said to our forefathers, "Though it was I who redeemed them, they have lied to me; they never put their heart into their prayers, but howl away for corn and wine beside their altars; these willful rebels of mine" (Hosea 7:13–14).
Without realizing it, brethren, many of us today do not pour our entire being into our prayers, nor do we truly "seek" God as we study, pray and attempt to give our lives to Him. The time is coming when many of us will be brought down and perhaps will even go through a part of the coming Tribulation. Many of God's people will be put through all kinds of trials and tests even before the full-scale Tribulation begins, when most who are faithful will be taken to safety. Most of you realize this, for even ancient Israel was allowed to go through the first three punishments God placed upon ancient Egypt before He finally put a "difference" between His people and the Egyptians. Similarly, many of us may have to lose jobs or properties, or suffer a degree of hunger or deprivation, sickness, persecution and all kinds of other troubles even before the full-scale Tribulation begins.
Even though it might appear "bad" at the time, God will cause those trials to work out for good if they truly drive us to our knees and help us to wholeheartedly seek and obey our Father in heaven!
Obviously, we all realize that there are many wholehearted Catholics, Buddhists, Shintoists and even Communists! So we have always used Luke 4:4 and Galatians 2:20 as guidelines. For we must be wholeheartedly for the Truth. Jesus said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God'" (Luke 4:4). And the Apostle Paul stated, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, KJV).
We must not be zealous about just anything. Rather, we must be truly surrendered to seek and obey the God of the Bible and to do what He commands! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, warns us that we must be willing to "give up" our worldly desires and ambitions in order to do this. He tells us: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He will reward each according to his works" (Matthew 16:24–27). Notice Jesus' statement that God will reward us according to our "works." For we are not only to obey God "spiritually" by the principles given in His word. It is obvious by Christ's teaching and example that we must also zealously serve Christ, and be deeply involved in His Work, in order to fully please Him!
Jesus Himself said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together" (John 4:34–36). So our very "reason for being" must involve being wholeheartedly committed to participating in the Work that Christ—our living Head—is doing today to prepare the way for His coming Kingdom. And He promises those who reap will "receive wages" and "gather fruit for eternal life!"
Dear brethren, as we approach the end of this age, each of us must constantly compare ourselves—honestly and objectively—with Jesus Christ Himself and His example. And we must do all we can to commit our lives, our time, our talents and our resources to serving Him, to serving His people and to doing His Work. This is not just something God ordained to help the present Work today, as I hope you will understand—it is something that has always been there in the Bible, in the mind of God. It is the standard our Creator uses to "evaluate" us and see where our whole heart is. May each of us go "all out" in giving our lives to God in every phase and facet of our being.
May we fervently make sure that we are not "halfhearted" Christians—who often end up not being "Christian" at all. May we seek and serve our heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our soul. Then—and only then—will we know, and know that we know, that we will truly be in Christ's Kingdom and have a magnificent reward throughout all eternity. For we will have "wholeheartedly" carried out God's will, and done His Work!
