Ouch!

So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth, Revelation 3:16.

Who said this?

God.

Who did he say it to?

A church.

What does it mean?

"The person who is neither cold nor hot is an abomination to God. God is no more served by dud individuals than a marksman is served by a rifle that, in the moment of decision, clicks instead of firing." -- Kierkegaard

Lukewarm indecision -- halfhearted commitment -- finds no home in the radical claims of Christ. He requires a clear "yes" or "no." No middle ground. No wishy washy response. No grey area. Christ prefers a hostile rejection to a "maybe." He prefers radical obedience to "I'll see."

Lukewarm indecision indicates that we haven't grasped either the impact of Jesus' call or the substance of his message. Therefore, lukewarm indecision meets with a gesture of disgust -- "I'll spit you out of my mouth!"

God can't stomach indifference. He won't tolerate it. It's an affront to him. He expectorates unresponsive, middle-of-the-road disinterest.

Charles Williams suggests that "the whole labor of regenerating mankind has to begin every thirty years." What starts out with passion often ends in pathetic sluggishness. Spirit-power dissipates into indifference. Spirit-empowered lives dwindle into going through the religious motions. We live in the gray shadows of religion long after the Spirit has been grieved and gone away.

Apathy is the sin of the 21st century church.

We're lukewarm. If we're not careful, we'll become little more than divine spit!