Free4all
It's all about the blood
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock."
These words are generally quoted as an appeal to sinners, but they are not, they are addressed to a church, and to a church in whose midst Christ had once stood, but now found himself excluded and standing outside knocking for admittance.
This is the most startling thing recorded in the New Testament, that it is possible for a church to be outwardly prosperous and yet have no Christ in its midst, and be unconscious of the fact. This is a description of a Christless Church.
Excluded from his own nation, for they rejected him; excluded from his church, for he stands outside its door knocking for entrance.
How did Christ come to be outside the church? He had been within it once or there never would have been a church. How did he come to leave? It is clear that they had not thrust him out, for they do not seem to have missed his presence. They continued to worship Him, to sing His praises, and engage in all manner of Christian service, yet He had withdrawn. Why? The reason is summed up in one word - Worldliness.
But how is Christ to get back into his church? Does it require the unanimous vote or invitation of the membership? No. "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me." That is, the way to revive a lukewarm church is for individual members to open their hearts and let Christ re-enter, and thus open the door for his appearance.
The character of the church today is Laodicean, and as the Laodicean period is to continue until the church of the "new born" is taken out, we cannot hope for any great change until the Lord comes back.
Clarence Larkin
I love this book. I'm thinking about framing some of the charts so I can hang them up.
