Avoid Being Lukewarm Series

Avoid Being Lukewarm

Revelation 3:14-22

Rev. Brian Bill

March 21-22, 2026

Many years ago, we took care of a ten-year-old boy named Kyle for a few hours while his mom had an appointment. We felt especially close to him and his brother after I did the funeral for their father, who died while saving his two sons from drowning.

Somehow, during dinner that night we got on the topic of vomiting. Since I’m still a little boy at heart, I challenged Kyle to think of synonyms for vomit. We went back and forth with terms like barf, hurl, throw up, retch, blowing chow, heave, upchuck, regurgitate, puke, and tossing your cookies. We were laughing so hard tears were running down our cheeks. Our daughters found it funny as well. I’m not sure Beth appreciated it.

When Kyle’s mom came to pick him up, she wanted to know if he had behaved. I was still laughing and said something about how funny he was. That alarmed her so she asked him what he had done. He smiled impishly and said, “We were just thinking of all the words we could for ‘vomit.’”

I reached out to Kyle this week and asked him what he remembered about what happened next: “I can’t remember what all we came up with at dinner, but I can just about recite verbatim what my mom had to say, ‘Kyle Thomas Walker, I am so embarrassed! I can’t believe you would talk that way at a PASTOR’S HOUSE.’” My response of, “‘But mom, he started it! I was just playing along!’ was met with a swift, ‘HE HAS FOUR DAUGHTERS, HE WOULD NEVER START A CONVERSATION LIKE THAT!’”

I tried my best to take all the blame, but she wasn’t having it because she was sure a pastor wouldn’t talk like that. I remember my daughters throwing me under the bus, but she still refused to believe I had started it.

Kyle sent me a follow-up text a few minutes later: “I remember the next Sunday at church she grabbed me by the collar and marched me over to you to apologize again!”

Maybe you’re also wondering why a pastor would talk like this. I’m aware it doesn’t seem appropriate for a dinner table conversation, or in a sermon at church, right? But Jesus used even stronger language when speaking to a church in Revelation 3:16: “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” The word for “spit” literally means “to vomit, to expel, or to spue.”

As funny as I found our conversation that night, this is not funny at all. Jesus is saying that half-hearted, indifferent, lukewarm faith makes Him sick to the stomach. He used these stark words not to push people away, but to wake them up and call them back into a vibrant relationship.

Lukewarm believers are nauseating to Jesus.

The letter to this seventh church in Revelation 3:14 begins like the other six: “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write…” As we’ve established previously, the “angel” is either an actual angel assigned to the church, or it’s a reference to the pastor of the church. The church in Laodicea did not receive any praise or props from Christ. Instead of commendation, they were severely corrected.

There are some distinguishing traits of the city of Laodicea that will help us understand, interpret, and apply this passage.

• Laodicea was an important and wealthy city, known as a center of finance.

• It was also famous for its fashion, especially soft, black wool which was produced as a luxury item.

• There was a large medical school in Laodicea which was known for its discovery of eye ointment for vision problems.

• Laodicea was wealthy, sophisticated, and self-sufficient, but it couldn’t supply its own water. To solve the problem, they engineered an impressive aqueduct system, channeling water from Hierapolis in the north. This city was known for its hot mineral springs, useful for healing and therapeutic baths. To the east, Colossae had cold, refreshing mountain water, which was life-giving, especially in a hot climate. By the time the hot water traveled six miles, it had cooled down. And when the cold water traveled ten miles from Colossae, it had warmed up. Add to that the mineral deposits collected along the way, and what arrived in Laodicea was tepid, stale, and often nauseating.

• When a devastating earthquake occurred in A.D. 60, Laodicea refused any help from Rome, choosing to rely on their own resources.

• The church in Laodicea was initially mentioned in a favorable light in Colossians 4:15-16: “Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.” Something happened to turn a vibrant church into something that made Jesus want to vomit.