Revelation 3:15-16 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
This is one of the great warning verses in the Bible. The challenge is not understanding the message but living it out. The church in Laodicea had lost their fire. There were not completely cold but not completely hot either. The cold and hot represent their faith in Jesus. They had been lured by the false promises in the world. In other places in the Bible, this is called the “flesh.” The world has a way of lulled us into numbness. It is a distortion of the innate drive for improvement that God has planted within us. Part of the image of God within us is creativity. We were created to work, enjoy this world, improve our lives, build things. Sin distorts this into a drive to horde, abuse people and things, serve self, and satisfy fleshly lusts. We may make strong commitments to God, but these commitments are like a cup of hot water that slowly loses its heat until it is lukewarm.
Jesus tells the Laodiceans that it would be better if they were cold. At least when you are cold, you know it. We know when we are cold and we can do something about it. We are open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But if we are lukewarm, we are lulled to laziness and apathy. This is a dangerous place because Jesus warns of rejection. It is difficult to know how far to take the phrase “spit you out of my mouth.” The imagery is strong, so we should take this as a strong warning.
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