I sure hope you didn’t miss yesterday as we defined what is hot, cold or lukewarm. Because the Laodicean believers were not “hot” in their passion for the gospel nor even refreshingly cold, because they were tepid, lukewarm, Jesus said he would “spew or vomit” them out of His mouth. This is a more intense word than “spit.”

They were neither “cold nor hot;” they were not pagans but not sincere believers; they did not oppose the gospel but neither did they defend it; they were doing no great harm but neither any great good; they didn’t have a bad reputation but they weren’t distinguished by holiness; they were not irreligious but neither were they very excited about God’s work. In a word, church was something they did on Sundays and that was it.

There are two phrases in verse 17: “thou sayest” and “thou art.” They said they were one thing, but Jesus “the Faithful and True Witness” said in reality they were something quite the opposite.

The Laodicean believers said they were “rich,” “increased with goods (wealthy)” and had “need of nothing.” “Rich” refers to an abundance of material blessings, a thick budget with investments to spare. “Increased with goods (wealthy)” refers to increasing in wealth. They kept on acquiring more and more things. They had “need of nothing.” Because of their bank accounts, they did not need to ask anything of man or pray for anything from God.

In today’s terms, we are in trouble when we have so much that we also no longer need God and stop praying!