The Comfortable Church

The Comfortable Church

Sermon Manuscript

Based on Revelation 3:14–22 (KJV)

Incorporating excerpts from *The Narrow Road* by Thomas Andrufski

and selected quotes from Charlie Kirk

Idea based on the “Day’s of Praise” devotional by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D. | Sep. 20, 2025

The sermon addresses the spiritual dangers of a comfortable, complacent church exemplified by the Laodicean church in Revelation. It warns against lukewarm faith, false security in material wealth, and neglecting Christ’s presence, urging repentance and renewed zeal for true spiritual riches.

Introduction: The Danger of Comfort

Laodicea was a wealthy city, famous for its banking, its black wool, and its medical school that produced eye salve. The church reflected its culture—prosperous, influential, respected. Yet Christ calls it “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

This is the tragedy of the comfortable church—people who confuse prosperity with God’s blessing, who mistake activity for spirituality, and who mistake numbers for fruitfulness.

As I wrote in The Narrow Road: “The broad way promises peace, security, and plenty, but it is a false calm before the storm of judgment. The narrow way is harder, yet it leads to life everlasting. The church that chooses comfort over conviction has already stepped onto the wide road.” (The Narrow Road, Thomas Andrufski, Chapter 3: Peace and Safety).

Chapter 1: Lukewarm Christianity

Revelation 3:15–16: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

Christ does not merely issue a gentle correction here—He delivers a sobering condemnation. Lukewarmness is not harmless; it is deadly. To be lukewarm is to live in a state of spiritual neutrality, complacency, and compromise. Neutrality may feel safe, but in reality it is the most unsafe place a soul can be.

The Danger of Lukewarmness: When Christ says, “I will spue thee out of my mouth,” He is using imagery of rejection and disgust. This is not indifference on His part—it is judgment. A lukewarm Christian may think they are safe, but in truth they are in danger of missing God altogether.

Matthew 7:22–23 reminds us: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Many who thought themselves secure will discover too late that a lukewarm profession was never enough.

Hebrews 10:31 warns: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” To live half-heartedly for Christ is to play games with eternity.

Neutrality Is Unsafe: There is no middle ground in the gospel. Jesus declared in Matthew 12:30: “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” To remain neutral about Christ is to side with His enemies. Neutrality is rebellion disguised as safety. The most dangerous lie the devil tells is that we can straddle the fence—that we can be “Christian enough” without surrendering all.

Middle-of-the-Road Thinking: Middle of the road thinking gets you killed spiritually. Picture a man standing on the dividing line of a busy highway. He is not in the left lane nor the right—he is in the middle, where danger is greatest. So it is with the lukewarm Christian: not fully in the world, not fully in Christ, but right where destruction comes swiftly.

Illustration: The aqueducts of Laodicea carried lukewarm, tepid water from hot springs nearby. Unlike the refreshing cold water from Colossae or the healing hot waters of Hierapolis, Laodicea’s water was nauseating. Christ uses that image—He is sickened by their half-hearted faith.

Application: Many churches today avoid strong preaching about sin, judgment, and hell in order to remain comfortable. But the result is a lukewarm gospel that saves no one. Christ warns: better to be hot with zeal, or even cold in outright rejection, than to settle into a complacent middle ground that damns the soul.

Chapter 2: Rich Yet Poor

Revelation 3:17: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”

Laodicea was known in the ancient world as one of the wealthiest cities in Asia Minor. Situated on major trade routes, it became a center of commerce and banking. Its citizens prided themselves on financial strength—so much so that after an earthquake destroyed the city in A.D. 60, Laodicea refused help from Rome and rebuilt entirely with its own resources. They didn’t need outside help; or so they thought.

The city also prospered in textiles, producing a glossy black wool sought across the empire. And they were known for their medical school, which manufactured an eye salve exported throughout the region. Wealth, fashion, and medicine—the Laodiceans had it all. But spiritually, they were destitute.