Lukewarm

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

A lukewarm Christian is one who identifies with the faith but doesn't live it with any heat: attends sometimes, prays rarely, avoids anything costly, and treats faith as one item among many. The word is a warning and a self-diagnosis. Christians use it about congregations too — a "lukewarm church" is one that has become comfortable and stopped caring much.

The image is from a letter in Revelation to the church in Laodicea, which Jesus says is "neither hot nor cold" and which He is "about to spit out." The line has scared a lot of teenagers.

Why people say it

Christians believe faith is meant to be wholehearted, and "lukewarm" names the failure to be. It's a useful word for a real problem — comfortable, cultural, undemanding religion — and it's biblical, which gives it force. Preachers use it because it makes people squirm productively.

How to respond

If someone says they've been lukewarm, they're admitting they've coasted and want to change. "What would 'hot' look like for you?" is a good question. If someone calls a church or another person lukewarm, that's a judgment, and it's fair to ask what they mean. If you hear the "spit you out" line in a sermon and it frightens you, know that the same passage ends with Jesus standing at the door knocking — the warning is an invitation.

If you hear it in different churches

Evangelical and Pentecostal mostly, especially in youth and revival preaching. Catholics and Orthodox have the older word acedia — spiritual sloth or listlessness — for the same condition, and treat it as one of the classic sins to be confessed. Reformed and Lutheran churches are less likely to use temperature language and more likely to talk about nominal or "dead" faith.

Where does “Lukewarm” come from?

Revelation 3:15–16, Jesus' letter to Laodicea: "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot… because you are lukewarm, I am about to spit you out of My mouth." The image was local: Laodicea's water arrived by aqueduct and was tepid, unlike the hot springs of nearby Hierapolis and the cold streams of Colossae — both useful, unlike lukewarm water. The point is uselessness, not lack of enthusiasm. "Lukewarm Christian" as a stock phrase belongs to revival and holiness preaching from the 1800s onward, and became a fixture of evangelical youth ministry in the late twentieth century.

Good to know

You might also hear

Common questions