Defining Lukewarm

Adapted from the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. —Revelation 3:14-17

For years, many of us have misunderstood what Jesus meant when He called the Laodicean church “lukewarm.”

We’ve been taught that being “hot” means being passionate for God, “cold” means being hostile to God, and “lukewarm” describes Christians who are spiritually apathetic or halfhearted. But this interpretation misses the profound geographic and cultural context that would have been crystal clear to the original audience.

This is why understanding the background of the Bible is so important.

The Water Crisis of Laodicea

Picture the wealthy city of Laodicea, boasting of its resources and self-sufficiency. Yet beneath this prosperity lay a fundamental problem that every citizen lived with daily: their water was utterly useless.

Just six miles north, the city of Hierapolis was famous for its hot mineral springs. These steaming waters cascaded down white travertine cliffs, creating natural therapeutic baths that drew people from across the region. Hot water had a purpose: it healed, it cleansed, it restored.

Eleven miles to the east, Colossae was renowned for its cold, pure mountain waters. Crystal clear and refreshing, these waters satisfied thirst and revived weary travelers. Cold water had purpose: it refreshed, it satisfied, it gave life.

But what about Laodicea, you might ask?

Despite all their wealth, they had to pipe in their water through Roman aqueducts from springs five miles away. By the time this mineral-heavy water reached the city, it arrived (you guessed it) lukewarm: too cool for therapeutic bathing, too warm for a refreshing drink. Archaeological evidence still shows us the calcified pipes, thick with lime deposits, a testament to water that served no useful purpose.

Image of calcified water pipes at Laodicea from the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary

The Real Meaning of Lukewarm

When Jesus said, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot,” He wasn’t expressing a preference for spiritual hostility over spiritual apathy. He was using a metaphor every Laodicean would instantly understand.

Their lukewarm water was useless: it couldn’t heal like the hot springs of Hierapolis, and it couldn’t refresh like the cold streams of Colossae. It was functionally worthless, good for nothing except to be spat out in disgust.

Jesus wasn’t talking about the temperature of their passion. He was talking about the effectiveness of their faith.

Useless Christianity

The Laodicean Christians weren’t lacking zeal; they were lacking impact. Their works were barren and ineffective. Like their city’s lukewarm water, their faith served no useful purpose. It didn’t bring healing to the broken like hot water, and it didn’t bring refreshment to the spiritually thirsty like cold water.

These believers probably attended church regularly. They likely participated in religious activities. But their Christianity was functionally useless. It didn’t transform lives, didn’t meet needs, didn’t advance God’s kingdom, and didn’t reflect His character to a watching world.

This is what made Jesus want to “spit them out of His mouth”. Not their lack of enthusiasm, but their lack of effectiveness.

The Self-Sufficient Trap

Laodicea’s wealth had bred a dangerous self-sufficiency. “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” they declared. But Jesus saw their true condition: “You are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”

When we become comfortable in our prosperity, whether material, spiritual, or social, we risk falling into the same trap. We maintain the appearance of faith while losing its transformative power. We become like lukewarm water: present but pointless, existing but not effective.

A Call to Usefulness

Jesus doesn’t want you to choose between being passionately hot or hostilely cold. He wants your faith to be useful. He wants your Christianity to accomplish something meaningful in His kingdom and in the lives of others.

Will your faith be like hot water: bringing healing, restoration, and cleansing to those who are hurting? Will it be like cold water: offering refreshment, encouragement, and life to those who are spiritually thirsty?

Or will it be lukewarm: technically present but practically useless, maintained but meaningless, claiming the name of Christ but accomplishing nothing in His name?

The Choice Before Us

The call to the Laodicean church, and to us, isn’t to manufacture religious excitement or choose spiritual indifference. It’s to make our faith effective. It’s to ensure that our relationship with Christ translates into real impact for His kingdom and genuine service to others.

Don’t let your Christianity become lukewarm water, present but powerless, claimed but ineffective. Let it be hot with healing grace or cold with refreshing truth. Let it be useful in the hands of the One who calls you to follow Him not just in name, but in transformative action.

The question isn’t whether you’re passionate enough. The question is whether your faith accomplishes anything that matters for eternity. That’s what Jesus is really asking of His church, not more temperature, but more effectiveness.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” – Revelation 3:20

If you benefited from this explanation of Jesus’s use of Lukewarm, consider gaining similar insights from the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary—On sale this week!