Revelation 3:15-16 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. 16So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
This verse gives one of the great warnings in the Bible. Jesus knew the deep spiritual problem of this church. His word penetrates to the deepest part of our soul. Nothing is hidden from him. The core problem was that the believers in Laodicea had lost their fire. They were not completely cold but not completely hot either. The temperatures of 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.”. Hot water cools and cold water warms up to its environment. The world has a way of lulling us into numbness and spiritual and moral apathy. The innate drives, instincts, and creative abilities God has given us become distorted by sin, ending up in pain, sorrow, and exploitation. We were created to work, enjoy this world, improve our lives, and build things. Sin distorts this into a drive to hoard, 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 because at least when we are cold, we know it and 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 church could picture hot water because of the nearby hot springs. This is a dangerous place because Jesus warns of rejection. Obviously, the best place to be is in the warmth of God’s presence. The extent of the phrase spit you out of my mouth is not easy to determine. The implication of judgment is strong, so we should take this as a strong warning to examine our own spiritual condition. The challenge is not understanding the message but living it out.