On Being Lukewarm
Most Christians are quite familiar with the hard words of Jesus spoken to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2-3. And most would know about the hard words spoken by him about the Laodicean church in 3:14-22. And most would recall the very strong words he has for the lukewarm in that church (vv. 15-16).
Those verses read: “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.” These stinging words are of course metaphorical in nature.
This church was in bad shape indeed, and even worse off than the other six, as hard as that might be to imagine. G. K. Beale offers this summary of the situation: “The church needs an injection of Christ’s resurrection power, since they are in the worst condition of all the churches in the letters. Even in the nearly dead church of Sardis there was a faithful remnant, but no such remnant is clearly discernible in the Laodicean church, nor is there any commendation as occurs to varying degrees in all the other letters.”
So this was a church in a pretty bad way, and their lukewarm condition should serve as a warning to all. Most believers would have heard many sermons about this over the years, and read many articles about this. In more recent times there has been more emphasis placed on the historical and geographical context of Laodicea.
Beale offers a short description of this backdrop: “The picture of hot, cold, and lukewarm water is seen as a unique feature of Laodicea and the surrounding region in the first century. The hot waters of Hierapolis had a medicinal effect and the cold waters of Colossae were pure, drinkable, and had a life-giving effect. However, there is evidence that Laodicea had access only to warm water, which was not very palatable and caused nausea. . . . When the city tried to pipe water in, it could manage only to obtain tepid, emetic water.”
As Grant Osborne comments, “The church should not have matched its water supply. The Laodiceans should have been known for their spiritual healing (like Hierapolis) or the refreshing, life-giving ministry (like Colosse). Instead, as Jesus’ next statement reads, they were ‘lukewarm.’ They were devoid of works and useless to the Lord.”
Such a condition means Jesus will vomit them out of his mouth. Osborne continues, “The mineral waters were full of calcium carbonate deposits, and the effect of attempting to drink the water would be to vomit (the Greek verb is apparent in the English word ‘emetic,’ referring to a substance that induces vomiting).”
It is not a very pretty picture. Says Osborne, “The exalted Christ is challenging them with a powerful rhetorical question: ‘Don’t you realize you make me sick?’” Or as David Aune comments, “Here the verb ‘vomit’ is a coarse expression of speech meaning ‘utterly reject.’ In Lev. 18:25, 28; 20:22, the expression ‘to vomit’ out of the land is used of the fate of the Canaanites upon Israel’s entry into Palestine, and the potential fate of the Israelites themselves.”
As William Hendriksen writes, “Even Christ Himself cannot stand them. An emotion, a feeling is here ascribed to the Lord which is not predicated of Him anywhere else in the Good Book. We do not read that He is grieved with them. Neither do we read that He is angry with them. No, He is disgusted with these straddlers. And not just slightly disgusted but thoroughly nauseated.”
Today we still use the Laodicean church as an example of spiritual mediocrity and ineffectiveness. Lukewarmness is a perennial problem for believers, and the warnings found here are relevant for Christians of all ages. The very sober warnings we find in this passage must be taken to heart by every one of us.
Plenty of commentary on this is available. Perhaps a few lines from Francis Chan’s Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God might suffice. He has an entire chapter on this called “Profile of the Lukewarm”. Discussing the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8, he says this:
“My caution to you is this: Do not assume you are good soil. I think most American churchgoers are the soil that chokes the seed because of all the thorns. Thorns are anything that distracts us from God. When we want God and a bunch of other stuff then that means we have thorns in our soil. A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions or commitments are piled on top of it.”
He asks this searching question: “Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words halfhearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better?” He then offers a number of characteristics of the lukewarm. Here are some of them:
“Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church – as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living.”
“Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict.”
“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.”
“Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for ‘extreme’ Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call ‘radical’ what Jesus expected of all His followers.”
“Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbours, co-workers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.”
“Lukewarm people gauge their morality or ‘goodness’ by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street.”
“Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give.”
“Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven.”
“Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.”
His entire list is well worth using in a process of a spiritual check-up. Just how do we measure up? Chan summarises: “As I see it, a lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron; there’s no such thing. To put it bluntly, churchgoers who are lukewarm are not Christians.” Quite so. He explains:
“The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God. We see Him as a benevolent Being who is satisfied when people manage to fit Him into their lives in some small way. We forget that God never had an identity crisis. He knows that He’s great and deserves to be the center of our lives.”
So what is the solution to all this? Jesus himself gives us the answer in v. 19: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent”. Repentance is always the first port of call. As James Hamilton says, in this verse Jesus “explains what has been driving him in everything he has said – the confrontational things and the encouraging things – in these seven letters.”
He continues, “Jesus loves you enough to want you to be righteous. He loves you enough to confront your unrighteousness. He loves you enough to inspire the Bible. He loves you enough to call you to zeal and repentance.
“If Jesus did not call people to repentance, he would be sending them a message. Do you know what that message would be? ‘Go to hell.’ But Jesus loves people, so he calls them to repent. The believers in the church in Laodicea are self-reliant, and Jesus rebukes them. They are lukewarm, and he calls them to zeal.”
Thank God he loves us enough to rebuke us. Thank God he loves us enough not to leave us in our putrid condition of lukewarmness. Thank God he chastises and disciplines each one of us as sons. Thank God that he will pursue us and keep hounding us.
We really do need this hound of heaven.
[1424 words]
Excellent wake up call, Bill. It reminds me of the movie Schindler’s list. Schindler at the beginning of the movie is the epitome of a lukewarm person, out for his own pleasure and social status. However, through the events of his life, he finally reaches a point of passion, desperation and a great sacrificial love for the Jews he has saved. I love that scene where he is weeping and crying out, “I could have sold X, Y and Z and saved just one more person”. What a great picture that is of how we will stand at the end of our lives wishing that we could have given so much more, sacrificed and obeyed so much more. Who cares about all the things we bought and the people we impressed in this life when we move into eternity upon eternity.
Dee Graf
Great stuff Dee. Thanks for that. I actually have not yet seen the film. Will need to soonish.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Great article Bill.
I’d recommend David Pawson’s videos on the Letters to the Churches which are now freely available online: http://davidpawson.org/resources/series/the-letters-of-jesus-to-his-churches
The videos show David reading the letters at the churches (or the general area they were in) they were addressed to. Each of the letters showed an intimate knowledge of the church and the location it was in. Jesus demonstrated that he knew all about them.
Though the letter to the Laodicean church is perhaps the most famous, all of the letters have much to say to all of us.
I like David Pawson’s preaching as he has a gift for expressing things simply which makes what he has to say very accessible.
Matt Vinay
Thanks Matt.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill, a good summary of lukewarm people; they are everywhere, they want to be happy, not HOLY; they want to please themselves and not please GOD.
They want to be political and not Biblically correct.
They want to please themselves and not be obedient to God’s Word and teachings.
Judith Bond
Quite so Judith.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Thanks Bill
After reading the check list I felt like each line was either a upper cut or a eye gouge simultaneously being slapped about with a wet fish.
THANK GOD for verse 19.
Daniel Kempton
Yes quite right Daniel
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Thank you Matt, for this link to a great teacher, David Pawson.
David Skinner, UK
Great article Bill.
Dorian Ballard
Hi Bill,
Good day
Can I ask if you know any good churches in the Philippines? Thanks…
Francis Kreuk
Thanks Francis. I have never been there so can’t really help you on this one. But some of my readers might.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
He asks this searching question: “Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? When confronted with this question I need look no further than the example of Peter when he said he was ready to die with Jesus, what happened then? When the crunch came, he fell apart – moral of the parable – be careful as to what you say and think about any aspect of your walk with God for only He knows how much you love Him or how much faith you have, being a Christian is really the ultimate lesson in humility because when you look at God and what He reveals of himself in the Bible, you are forced (if you are honest with yourself) to admit that you are in a lot of trouble without Him! I think a more accurate picture of where you stand with God is your daily thoughts, words and deeds, are you constantly reviewing your thoughts, words and deeds? If you find any sinful things among them, are you then moved to ask God’s forgiveness? Examine ourselves to see that we are in the faith says it all!
Steve Davis
Hi Bill,
I am always inspired and challenged by your articles, but this one literally brought me to tears. The list by Francis Chan is a great check-up tool as you so eloquently put it. It’s amazing how we can so easily start to drift. It’s also interesting how easily we can see -and point these things out- in others, yet if we were to be truly honest with ourselves we would always see this in us to some degree. I read this sentence, “Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.” and it hit me that I’m not being all I can be. Through the veil of tears there was nothing more to do than simply cry out to God, “please Lord, don’t let this be me!”
Great article Bill.