Spued Out

Jesus said, ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth’ (Revelation 3:16). His promises have the power to fulfill everything He has said, both that which is good and that which is sorrowful.

God’s Word is powerful enough to save each one of us and make us new, righteous people who are perfect in love. It is also powerful enough to destroy everything unclean.

The Lord delights more in showing mercy than in destroying, and He is the longsuffering and merciful Lord God. From morning until evening, He stretches out His loving hands to every person, desiring to save him. He does everything possible to ensure that this salvation takes place and is complete. But if a person chooses his own path of salvation and ignores all of God’s counsels, what can the Savior do for such people?

Addressing His church in its lukewarm condition, the Lord pronounces a terrible sentence upon those who will not accept God’s plan. These people will be spued out of God’s mouth. This will not be some momentous event at which God solemnly announces that a negligent disciple has been cast out. He will simply and quietly depart from that person’s life forever, allowing him to follow his own way and do what he is accustomed to doing.

All those who did not follow the counsel of the Faithful Witness and did not enter into a trading relationship with Him will be unable to develop spiritually and grow according to God’s plan. Yet they will actively perform their ministry according to their own plans, build new projects, establish new missionary societies, and do everything by which, in their view, they can glorify their Lord. Meanwhile, with special sorrow, He will leave these people forever, never again to extend a helping hand to them and forever to close His ears to their prayers.

Our Lord is not only abundant in mercy, but also just. When His mercy comes to an end and His patience is exhausted, justice then comes into operation.

When a bridegroom calls to his bride again and again and desires to have a close relationship with her, but she does not respond in any way to these calls and invitations, the bridegroom finally understands that his chosen one does not need him. He quietly leaves, giving her the opportunity to arrange her personal life as she wishes, without his participation.

To be spued out of God’s mouth is the saddest event in the entire history of humanity. This is not because God is so angry and exacting, but because ignorance, inattentiveness, and indifference have become part of the lukewarm Christian’s character, and he did nothing to correct this condition or to understand what the Lord offers and what He counsels us to obtain.

God has appointed the last days as a time of fiery trial—a trial involving the fear of physical death for one’s faith. In the example of the three young men in Daniel 3, we can see the entire picture of what we too will soon face. These young men followed God despite all the dangers coming from the king. They were faithful to God in little things, and when the great trial came, they proved faithful in it as well. They did not know that God would save them from the fiery furnace, but they resolved to remain faithful unto death.

What were the rest of God’s children doing during this time of trial? They were worshipping the image created by the Babylonian system. Something similar awaits us at the end of the history of this sinful world. The culmination will end in universal worship of the antichrist, and only those who responded to God’s call, studied God’s plan for the last days, and followed Christ wherever He invited His people will be able to endure this trial.

The Lord loves His children and will not allow any of us to perish because of our ignorance. He knows our weaknesses and knows how trusting and naive we are. He knows that we are blinded by this world and by all kinds of deceptions. Therefore, He will not make a harsh separation, but in His mercy will lay many of us to rest before these tragic events begin.

But woe to those who harden themselves against Christ and carry the seeds of rebellion within them. Their church membership will not save them, nor will the name of Christ by which they called themselves help them. Every sin must be confessed when the Holy Spirit points it out. Jesus is satisfied not by my agreement with His reproofs, but by my following the counsels He gives me after His reproofs.

The Lord sees with perfect accuracy whether I have heard Him or have not understood what is being said. Therefore, there is no reason to be afraid if some messenger has explained and presented the message incorrectly. But when the Lord clearly sees that the message was heard, understood, accepted by the heart, and then rejected through ignorance or unwillingness to do what He counsels, perhaps the Lord will try in some other special way to bring it to the person’s awareness.

But rejecting Christ once opens the door to subsequent refusals to accept what He counsels. Therefore, there is a danger that the human heart will harden until nothing can soften it. It is like clay which, while soft, can take any shape, but after drying in the sun becomes hard and resistant to further working. When it passes through fire, it becomes fixed in its condition and is no longer capable of taking any other shape.

It is better for us to become established in good decisions and in God’s plan as He presents it than to become established in our apostasy and hardness of heart.

As I tell you about God’s plan in the message to Laodicea, I do not know whether you have heard it or understood nothing. I cannot see whether the Holy Spirit touches your hearts as you read these solemn truths, and therefore I cannot say how the Lord evaluates your subsequent choices and actions. My task is to continue speaking about this everywhere an opportunity exists.

But the Lord is not a man, and He makes no mistake when He sees what is taking place in the heart. He cannot be deceived. He watches your decision very seriously and records with Himself all your arguments ‘for’ and ‘against.’

To be spued out of God’s mouth is to be blotted out of the Book of Life. And what can be done after that? No one will solemnly announce to you that you have been rejected. No one will send you a letter stating that your name is no longer recorded in the Book of Life.

Your spiritual life will undergo no noticeable changes, and you will continue doing what you have always done. As usual, you will read the Bible and pray, attend spiritual meetings, and explain the emptiness in your heart by saying that it is a temporary phenomenon and that everything will certainly change soon.

Meanwhile, your destiny will already have been decided finally, and the Lord will never again pronounce your name as the name of one for whom He shed His precious blood. You will see chance coincidences in your life and attribute them to miraculous answers to your prayers, amaze others with your dedication, and perhaps, even while dying for Christ, consider yourself a great martyr for the truth.

In reality, however, you will become a victim of satanic activity against those who are no longer under God’s protection. The world will continue to live and develop, planning its beautiful future and carrying you along in its current, while you do everything possible to resist the evil influence that, in streams exceeding your strength, will carry you downward toward the abyss of your final destruction.

1. Please read Hebrews 3:15; 4:11; Revelation 14:1; 20:15; Isaiah 55:6; Ezekiel 9:4–6; 33:11; John 10:27; 2 Peter 3:14; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Daniel 3:17–18; Romans 2:4–5.

2. What other Bible verses came to your mind?

3. What did you understand?

4. How seriously do you take Christ’s warning about being spued out of His mouth?

5. Are there areas in your life where you knowingly ignore God’s counsels? And do you have a habit of postponing obedience to God until a more convenient time?

6. Why is it easier for many people to replace obedience to Christ with active religious work?

7. Is there a danger that you call something spiritual growth when it is actually only an accumulation of knowledge?

8. How carefully do you study God’s plan for the last days?

9. Do you notice occasions when the Holy Spirit prompts you to act, but you postpone your response?

10. What signs of hardening do you see in modern Christianity?

11. What does it mean to you to be recorded in the Book of Life?

12. How seriously do you regard the possibility of being rejected by Christ?

13. Why is religious activity not a guarantee of salvation?

14. Are you certain that you are following Christ where He leads, rather than where it is convenient for you to go?