Revelation 3:14-22 – Who is letting who in?
A commonly used verse when speaking about somebody becoming a Christian is the verse in Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.”
These are wonderful words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ and very true. It’s however important to understand how this verse fits in with the context around it in this chapter as well as how this fits in with the wider bible teaching about becoming a Christian.
- What does the context say?
The above words from Jesus are part of a message he sends to the church in Laodicea starting in Rev 3:14. Jesus starts with a strong message saying that the works of this church are useless to him. They are neither cold nor hot but lukewarm. What does this mean?
It refers to 3 different types of natural streams in the area. There were cold and clean mountain water streams in nearby Colossae, there were hot springs that brought healing in nearby Hierapolis and there was a dirty, smelly lukewarm stream in Laodicea that no one could properly drink. The reference Jesus made here is very clear, the people in the church of Laodicea professed to know him but their works didn’t carry any good fruit.
Reading on in verse 16, Jesus says: “because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” A clear sign of rejection of the church. He compares their earthly success of riches in v. 17 to their spiritual poverty and state in v. 17-18.
In this context, Jesus says he’s at the door of the church and knocks. A call of strong warning that if he’s not the center of the church and the one they look to for spiritual life, he will reject them altogether.
2. Does Jesus knock at an unbeliever’s heart?
Although the idea is nice to think that Jesus at one point will knock at everyone’s heart, there is nowhere in scripture that supports the idea that Jesus himself is knocking/pleading/begging to let in.
Put simply, Christ isn’t pleading on every sinner’s spiritual doorstep. Jesus doesn’t need to beg or badger anyone into the kingdom of heaven (John 10:27-28). Salvation isn’t merely a matter of the Lord getting a foot inside the door of your heart—it’s a work of total transformation (Ezekiel 36:26). And most important of all, salvation is not triggered by an act of the sinner’s will—it is God’s intervening work that rescues us from the just penalty of our sin (Ephesians 2:4-9).
Something else to consider is that the call to become a believer is much more than just “asking Jesus into your heart” or “opening the door to Jesus” although I understand the picture may help.
The process of turning to God and away from a sinful anti-God life starts with the repentance of sin and believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection and make Him Lord of your life. That’s more specific and more in line with the specific calls in the bible when people are urged to accept the gospel:
Rom 10:9: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Acts 2:38 → Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In summary, why this is important and helpful to us in our understanding of God and the gospel is that it takes the focus off us and puts the focus on him who is the author of salvation and that we may help people into a genuine and full understanding of salvation and the gospel leading to lasting fruit in their lives and not some false assurance.