Revelation 3:19 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, be earnest and repent.
The goal Jesus expressed for the Laodiceans is the same for everyone. God loves all people. That love at times may come across as discipline because God wants our best and seeks in grace to draw us to the image in which he created humanity at the beginning. The book of Revelation is all about returning to that ideal. Any change for the Laodiceans began with God’s love. God is the initiator of salvation. Grace is always the first step in salvation. The Laodicean Christians were in a precarious spot, stuck between the world and their faith in Christ, interested but not fully committed, tempted by the material things of the world but yet drawn by the message of the gospel.
Jesus’ warning is both strong and promising. The strength aspect comes in the rebuke and discipline. God’s rebuke and discipline come through love. This verse echoes the thoughts of Hebrews 12:4-13. This rebuke and discipline can come in many forms and ways. We cannot simply blame God for the bad things that happen in our lives. God is sovereign and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear (the story of Job; 1 Corinthians 10:13), but sometimes we get ourselves in such a hole that we cannot find a way out. Difficult times should draw our attention back to God, especially in our faith and reliance on God’s help us through those times.
Jesus’ statement also implies a promise for those who are earnest and repent. Earnestness comes from a word related to zeal (zēleue). It indicates a strong desire and sincere effort to do something. The Laodiceans needed to take this matter seriously and give it their full attention. Their situation was so serious that Jesus threatened to spit them out of his mouth (verse 16), implying the loss of blessing, fellowship, judgment, and final destruction.
The effect of God’s discipline, in whatever form it comes, should be repentance. Experiencing pain, hardship, or suffering because of our sinful actions should serve as a warning about the eternal consequences of sin. Sin has consequences in this world which serve to warn us of the eternal consequences of our choices. The answer to this is to repent, turning away from sin and turning to Jesus in uncompromising faith. John writes in 1 John 1:9 that we need to confess our sins, acknowledge them before God, so that we may experience forgiveness and cleansing. Repentance was the answer for the lukewarm, weakly committed Laodiceans and is what we must also do lest we fall into the same temptation.