Why did Jesus speak so strongly against lukewarm faith?

The first and most terrible characteristic of the Laodiceans is indifference to Christ. As regards Christ they are neither "cold nor hot." They have neither the worldly infidel's hatred of Christ, nor the true Christian's jealous love for Christ. They see no beauty in His Person; they put no value upon His work. As regards the Person and work of Christ, in the "church" of the Laodiceans you may think what you like, hold what you like and say what you like. It is all a matter of indifference. In the sight of the Lord this indifference is fatal. To express His abhorrence of this deadly indifference to Himself, the Lord uses terms of loathing and contempt such as He never used of Thyatira with all its corruption, nor Sardis with all its dead formality. The fact that the Lord can say He will spew them out of His mouth, proves that He views them as professing Christians. He never speaks thus of the heathen. It is the profession of the Name of Christ to enrich and improve a man who is totally indifferent to Christ, that is so loathsome in the sight of Christ.

Laodicea follows. Lukewarmness characterises the last state of profession in the assembly. It is nauseous to Christ; He will spue it out of His mouth. It was not mere want of power, it was want of heart — the worst of all ills. This threat is peremptory, not conditional. It brought irremediable rejection. With this want of heart for Christ and His service, there was much pretension to the possession of resources and competency in themselves; "I am rich," whereas they had nothing of Christ. It is the professing assembly accounting itself rich without having Christ as the riches of the soul by faith. Therefore He counsels them to buy of Him true and approved righteousness, clothing for their moral nakedness, and what gave spiritual sight; for they were, as respects what Christ is and gives before God, poor, naked, and miserable, and specially so. This is Christ's judgment of their pretended acquisitions according to man. However, as long as the assembly subsists, Christ continues to deal in grace, stands at the door and knocks, presses reception of Himself in the closest way on the conscience. If any one, still in what He was going to spue out, heard His voice and opened, He would give him admission to be with Him, and a part in the kingdom.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would that thou wert cold or hot. Thus, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spue thee out of my mouth." Being neutral in principle and practice, they were half-hearted toward Christ. Nor is any place more likely to generate neutrality than an outwardly true position, if self-judgment be not maintained with godly sincerity. The more one stands in the forefront of the battle, with the responsible testimony of God, the more His grace and truth are in letter brought out before others, if there be not also walk according to the light, sooner or later comes a lapse back into neutrality, if not active enmity. For heart and conscience are not animated and governed by the power of God's Spirit through living faith in Christ. Indifference to all that is good must follow; and the only kind of zeal, if zeal can so exist, will be for what is of the first man, worldly, and bad.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot" (verse 15). This is latitudinarianism. It is not ignorance that works this deadly mischief, but the heart remaining indifferent to the truth, after it has been fully brought before it. Such an one does not want the truth, because he feels the sacrifice and the separation from the world which must ensue, if it be really followed. We ought to bear, wherever there is unwilling ignorance; but indifference to truth is quite another thing, and hateful in the sight of the Lord.

"Neither cold nor hot" - it is not the cold of no profession of allegiance to Christ at all, nor the hot of hearts that truly love Him. The state is lukewarm; this is indifference and latitudinarianism which comes from want of heart for Christ. There is no zeal for Him, no hatred of sin, but rather an easy, self-satisfied toleration of everything, which regards all religious beliefs as alike good, provided there be sincerity. Modernism with its denial of the deity and virgin birth of Christ, etc., is characteristic of the Church today. It is not ignorance that produces luke-warmness, but the heart remaining indifferent to the truth after it has been fully brought out. Such an one does not want the truth, because he is not willing to make the sacrifice it calls for, or separate from the present evil world.

The condition and judgment of Laodicea are now given — "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. So then became thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (vv. 15, 16.) Though bearing the name of Christ, and presenting itself in the world as the church, such was its moral condition, the principal feature of which was indifference, springing from the want of heart for Christ, and expressing itself in that spurious charity which regards all "religious" beliefs as alike good, provided there be sincerity. There is consequently lukewarmness, no zeal for Christ, and no hatred of sin; but a mild self-complacent toleration of all, and of all things; and connected therewith the substitution of humanity for Christ, and, as a consequence, philanthropy for religion. As has been written long ago, "It would not renounce Christ, would keep up profession, but would sacrifice nothing for Him, it would keep the church's place and credit, yea, claim it largely on many grounds as a body; but spiritual power, in individual association of heart with Christ or trouble for Him, was gone."

The condition and judgment of Laodicea are now given — "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. So then became thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (vv. 15, 16.) Though bearing the name of Christ, and presenting itself in the world as the church, such was its moral condition, the principal feature of which was indifference, springing from the want of heart for Christ, and expressing itself in that spurious charity which regards all "religious" beliefs as alike good, provided there be sincerity. There is consequently lukewarmness, no zeal for Christ, and no hatred of sin; but a mild self-complacent toleration of all, and of all things; and connected therewith the substitution of humanity for Christ, and, as a consequence, philanthropy for religion. As has been written long ago, "It would not renounce Christ, would keep up profession, but would sacrifice nothing for Him, it would keep the church's place and credit, yea, claim it largely on many grounds as a body; but spiritual power, in individual association of heart with Christ or trouble for Him, was gone."

Such was the condition of Laodicea as discerned, and infallibly discerned, by Christ; and it was nauseous to Him; He abhorred it, and therefore declares irrevocably that He will spue it out of His mouth. He does not say when He will do so; but the decree has gone forth from His lips, and will never be recalled. Its meaning is, that He will totally, and for ever, reject the assembly as His public witness, His responsible light-bearer in the world. This is its primary application; but surely every individual believer may learn, both for instruction and warning, that nothing, no state or condition, is so displeasing to Christ as lukewarmness or indifference.

The Lord by His word fastens upon the root of all the evil, giving in a sentence the character of the condition which manifests such failure and which is the occasion for His expressed judgment. "I know thy works," He says, "that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Care or concern for God's glory there is none, and anything like faithfulness of heart is entirely wanting; nor is there that entire absence of movement in divine things which is an opportunity for the application of the word in the convicting power of the Spirit to the conscience; all is utter and complete indifference. God's word is known and the truth no doubt assented to, but in all the well-satisfied carelessness of those who are contentedly self-occupied and whom the Apostle describes (2 Tim. 3) as "traitors, having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." The keen edge of the word is thus turned away from the conscience and so nothing can stop the sickening course of unabashed self-satisfaction and self-occupation, but that rejection by the Lord which will make manifest even to man in the world all its nauseousness.

(Vv. 15, 16). So absolutely has the Church failed in its witness for Christ, that, in the last stage, the Lord can find nothing to commend. All He finds is a state that is utterly nauseous to Him. He says, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot." The Lord sees a condition that has neither the coldness of death, as in Sardis, nor the warmth of devotion, as in Philadelphia. There is that which, in His sight, is more hopeless to man, and more dishonouring to Himself than the coldness of death; for the Lord can say, "I would thou wert cold or hot." He sums up this condition, in its last phase, in the solemn words, "Thou art lukewarm." What is this but indifference to Christ, and, what is always linked with indifference, toleration of evil? In the last phase of Christendom there are those who take the name of Christ, and make a profession of Christianity, but, when tested by the great question, "What think ye of Christ?" are found to be utterly indifferent to Him.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see." (vv. 15-18.) Such was the sad state of the church of Laodicea, such the sad picture of the professing Church in one of its last phases. There is not the gross corruption of Thyatira, nor the hopeless deadness of Sardis, but what is even more offensive to Christ, whose name is turned into a means of self-exaltation, instead of being an object of love. There is activity in the name of Christ, abundant works, abundant self-complacency, but heartless indifference to his person.

This grieves Him more than anything else, and it is against this that His sternest denunciations are directed. Only here does He speak of casting the Church out as too nauseous to be endured: "Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I will spue thee out of my mouth." What solemn words! addressed not to a scandalously corrupt or languidly torpid church, but to a church where there was clearly much work done in Christ's name, together with large outward results. So satisfactory were these in its own estimation that it became blind to the truth, and was boasting of its wonderful success at the very moment when, in Christ's estimation, it lacked everything of real value.