Why is it bad to be neither cold nor hot (Revelation 3:15)?

We are not left to our limited vision, and partial knowledge, for we have the judgment of the One who can say, "I know thy works." First, the One who knows has to say, "Thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot." On the one hand, the great mass in Christendom are not "hot." They have no zeal for Christ; they are not reached by His grace, moved by His words, or constrained by His love. On the other hand, they are not “cold”. They make a religious profession but at the same time are totally unconcerned by the attacks on His Person, and the denials of His work. Christendom is marked by indifference to Christ. Further, indifference to Christ will always entail toleration of evil. The truth may be set aside by error; the inspired word given up for the infidel notions of men, and the grossest worldliness practised on every hand, but, in the last phase of Christendom it is all a matter of indifference.

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.

"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" (vers. 15, 16). The Lord cannot abide lukewarmness. What Laodicea had not got was heart for Christ, and the great thing for you and me to have is heart for Christ, affection for Christ. That is what He prizes above everything — affection for Himself That was lacking, hence the peremptory threat of spueing out of His mouth. That is the final rejection of the Assembly on earth as the candlestick or responsible vessel of the testimony of Christ.

When will that be? At the moment of His coming for all that is real in it. Laodicea is what the Church has become today, evidenced by lack of affection, coupled with immense pretension. It is the professing Assembly boasting of resources in itself "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" — that is self-complacency, and self-congratulation without having Christ as the riches of the soul by faith. What deeper poverty could there be? Hence the next word: "And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" — that is how He regards what professes to be His Church in this scene, and records His judgment of its pretended acquisitions according to the scientific infidelity of the last days. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire" — that is divine righteousness; it had not got that. How few know today what it is to be before God in all the blessed acceptance of Christ, and know that He is their righteousness, and that they are "made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21). He counsels all such to buy gold, "and white raiment, that thou mayst be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." That is practical righteousness, that in which we shall shortly find the Bride arrays herself Further He says, "And anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see" (ver. 18). People often say, I do not see all this about Laodicea. Do you not? Then you have not got eye-salve. You cannot buy that down here; no servant of God can give it to you. You must go to the Lord. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (ver. 19).

There is no commendation here whatever, but the solemn pronouncement of His knowing them to be neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm (v. 15). As one has said, it is merely the warming up of a dead body. There is an effort to put on a show of reality, but actually there is indifference toward the Lord personally and toward His claims. This is what characterizes the last public, widespread state of the professing Church just before the true Church is raptured to heaven. One who is cold at least does not pretend to be a Christian and thus may yet be awakened and saved, but proud indifference stiffens itself against repentance. This whole condition will be spit out of the Lord's mouth, i.e., totally rejected, for faith is utterly lacking (v.16).

We see in verse 17 that the Church at Laodicea had a very good opinion of itself; it was saying that it was rich, increased with goods, and had need of nothing. But the Lord who searches hearts and wants reality says, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot . thou art luke-warm." Such is the real state of the Laodicean Church, of the present condition of Christendom, which Laodicea portrays. This is its true condition as discerned by the all-seeing, all-knowing Christ.

"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.

"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.

This is Laodiceanism. So repulsive does the Master declare it to be, that one need not wonder that most are unwilling for it to be their lot, or that it can be, as it is, the last recorded phase before the church is traced no more on earth. People vainly dream of progress, and flatter themselves. "Thus because thou art neither cold nor hot, I am about to spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and am grown rich, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and the miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold purified by fire." They wanted everything that was characteristic of Christianity: "gold" or divine righteousness in Christ, "that thou mayest be rich"; "and white garments," or the righteousnesses of saints, "that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not be manifested; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see." They had lost the perception of what God values. All was dark as to truth, and uncertain as to moral judgment. Holy separateness and savour were gone. "As many as I dearly love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and am knocking: if any one hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." The Lord presents Himself even there in His pitiful way to meet their every want.

"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.

(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.

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, in the next place, exposes the cause of the condition He condemns, and, though He has pronounced judgment, He indicates the remedy: "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. 17, 18.) As may be gathered from Deut. 8, and other scriptures, the danger in the wilderness for God's people is that of murmuring and unbelief, the danger in the land, when surrounded with blessings, is that of self-sufficiency and self-exaltation. It is into this latter danger that Laodicea has fallen. Possessing all the light of the word of God and familiar with the spiritual blessings which are the church's acknowledged portion, she forgets the source of her wealth, and ascribes all to herself. It is she who is rich and increased with goods, and has need of nothing. In other words, she makes everything of man, and nothing of Christ — save to use His name for her own exaltation. "In Laodicea, all that they professed to have, all that man could estimate the value of, was false and human. I do not mean mere outward riches, but all that could give a larger pretension to wisdom and knowledge and learning, perhaps a pretended fuller view of Christianity itself."

The great feature in the address to Laodicea is that they are lukewarm — neither cold nor hot. Surely, we may say, we have had the cold state in Sardis: death is cold enough. We have had in Philadelphia the Lord reviving things — something which we may call heat. Now the mixture of these two things produces this lukewarmness of which He speaks. It is not heat, as in Philadelphia; it is not cold, as in Sardis; but, so to speak, the effect of the heat is only sufficient to change the cold into lukewarm — nothing more. There has been the effect of the truth, — the truth must always have effect, God's word never returns to Him void, without doing something, without making its mark on souls in some way. But then, it may make its mark in two ways. It may be in blessing, as God designs. Oh, surely, what He wants is blessing; but, on the other hand, if it is not received so as to become blessing, what then? It has effect still, but in increased responsibility and corresponding judgment. And if Christianity fails (for it is the history of professing Christianity that we have been looking at) — if Christianity fails, if, when God brings forth the treasures of divine truth, yet there is no due reception, no blessing for the mass, no real revival at large is produced by it, what then? He has nothing else to do — judgment must come. He must wind up the whole state of things.