What did Jesus mean exactly when He said He'd spit the lukewarm Christians from His mouth for being neither hot nor cold?

A quick background:

Because sin destroys the world that He so loves, God hates sin to the uttermost. Just stumbling at one point of the Law makes one guilty all. See James 2:10-

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble at one point he is guilty of all."

One tiny sin ruins every good work done and sullies every commandment kept under the Law. Just a tiny speck of sin in man makes him unacceptable to God, even if he has done a gazillion good works and does His best to keep the Ten Commandments. According to the Law, he must be punished with death. Even we would be appalled if an earthly judge let a criminal go without serving his sentence. "The wages of sin is death" and God the righteous Judge will exact judgment to the uttermost. His righteousness and justice demand it. He cannot overlook even the tiniest sin.

This does not seem fair, until we realise the truth which is expressly stated in God's word: the reason why we are not committing particular sins or why we have not been devoured by Satan as Judas was is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear- 1 Corinthians 10:

12"So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."

If God was not screening and filtering, those who are pridefully boasting in their strength to stand like Peter did before he denied Christ would see their true sinful selves. It is God's restraining hand that restrains man from crumpling into the sins-ridden mass of flesh that man is of himself. His word addresses this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

“24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

If God lifted off His restraining hand that restrains us from devolving into committing heinous sins and let us rely on our human effort and will-power at keeping the law in order to be saved, godly or for whatever reason, we would all devolve into heinous sin and see how utterly lacking in good we are of ourselves. We see by Grace that of ourselves, our will-power to obey the law and live right is utterly useless and that there is no good whatsoever in man as was Peter's experience after he boasted in his strength to not deny Christ and fell flat on his face three times and Paul's too as recorded in Romans 7:18-

“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But as he did with Eve, Satan preys on Pride and Arrogance in man's arm of flesh (human effort at attaining godliness aka being good like God) that will fail and causes many to say:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law, live a godly life and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power. Since I can do it, others must too. They are just lazy and love to sin.”

Doesn't get more arrogant than this: God says man cannot. His word says even man's best attempts at producing righteous works is like a menstrual rag in His sight:

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Isaiah 64:6.

Instead of humbling himself under the mighty hand of God, man responds to God's "No one can..." with that boastful "I can." Just as it was with Peter who exalted himself against the knowledge of God when he told Christ that He was wrong about his then upcoming denials. After he failed, Peter was humbled. Did you know that he wrote I Peter 5-

5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Only those who have failed need God to “perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle” them. Peter was writing about his experience of denying Christ and his restoration through God’s saving Grace.

After he sinned, Peter realised that Christ was right. He saw the utter foolishness of trusting in human effort aka arm of flesh at accomplishing anything much less keeping God's law, looked utterly to Christ for salvation and restoration and went on to do exploits in Christ.

Judas committed a similar sin of betraying Jesus as Peter did. But unlike Peter, Judas looked to himself to make things right. He sought his redemption from his sin by trying to return the 30 pieces of silver in line with the law's dictates on restitution which he could not even carry out properly. A seemingly noble thing to do in man's fallen logic. But the arm of flesh will fail. God's word whose ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than man's calls Judas' action Pride and Foolishness. Matthew 1:21 says of Christ-

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Like many churchgoers today who still think that God is out to get them for and not save them from their sins, Judas got depressed and suicidal. Eventually he was devoured by Satan who came to "steal, kill and destroy." Before Satan can kill and destroy, he has to steal the word that we are righteous in God's sight through the blood of Jesus alone and not through any percentage of human effort at trying to be godly. Good works are fruits/evidences of salvation in Christ. They are not conditions. It is sad that when some pastors preach 1 Peter 5 (Be sober, be vigilant...,) it is usually in the context of:

"Do your best to not sin and keep the law in order to be godly (be like God) so that the devil will not catch you napping and devour you."

This same false doctrine that was preached to Eve in Eden and which Judas followed is the shortcut to being devoured by Satan. This the way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12.)

Because God so loved us and does not want any to perish but have everlasting life, He gave His own beloved Son to die for our sins so that all who believe in Him can live the abundant life in Christ. Our sins for His righteousness-

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Now to the "neither cold nor hot"-

Think of our salvation in Christ in terms of everyone writing an exam for which the price of failure is death and where failing one question means a score of zero. For us to pass this exam (be saved from eternal damnation, sin and addiction, oppression, sickness, in essence to “not perish but have eternal life,”) we need a perfect score of 100%; no more, no less. You break one law, keep the rest and you are still guilty of all- James 2:10-

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble at one point he is guilty of all."

But everyone has already failed at least one question. All have sinned; there is none righteous- Romans 3:10-

"As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;""

Because God so loved us, He gave His own Son to die for us so that we can have the requisite 100% score that will give us life; this is the only brand of righteousness that cuts it with God-

"By one man's disobedience many were made sinners so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."

Also Romans 5:9- "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Also Isaiah 53:11. Isaiah prophesied of Christ's suffering for us in Isaiah 53. See the result of His decease which He accomplished at Jerusalem in Isaiah 53:11-

"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."

But many people hang on to their between 0 - 99% score (human effort at keeping the law and doing good works) which is as good as zero because of the stain of sin that everyone has (all have sinned…; also break one law and you're guilty of all.) Plus, this is how God sees that Pharisee-type percentage of (self-)righteousnessthat many hold on to-

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Isaiah 64:6

These ones have also been cut off from Christ for their efforts:

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." Galatians 5:4.

Yet others attempt to take not all but only some marks from Grace (God's freely given 100% righteousness in Christ) to "complete" their own score (righteousnesses from works of the Law.) These ones say:

“I know that I am not perfect but God will see that I’ve tried my best to be godly, do the rest and bless me.” or

"Yes we are saved by Grace but we still have to try to keep the law not for justification but as a guiding principle for morality and so that we will not perish but have eternal life."

One leg on Mount Zion and the other on Mount Sinai. Beloved of God, our best can never cut it with the Most High God. It takes ONLY the blood of Jesus (no additives whatsoever) to be right with God and escape the full wrath of the Law. But such as follow that mixture doctrine are not totally under Law and not totally under Grace. This part-Law/part-Grace mixture is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ speaks of in Revelation 3. This is an abomination to the Lord. Look what Christ says of this lukewarm church in Revelation 3:

15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see."

These ones feel that they have some good in them and that they are still "okay.” They strive to keep the Law to get some righteousness and think “Jesus will understand, see how hard I tried and do the rest.” They do not know that their garments of righteous works are like filthy rags in God's sight or realise that they need white garments (Christ's righteousness) to cover their nakedness. They are like Adam and Eve who saw that they were naked and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. God provided them with perfect covering obtained from the death of an animal. Likewise, only God can provide the satisfactory means of redemption from sin.

Can you imagine Adam and Eve trying to “complete” God’s work of covering them with animal skin by adding worthless fig leaves to their perfect covering? Whatever man does to cover his nakedness that is sin is akin to wearing worthless fig leaves. It is either animal skin (God’s righteousness that we have as a gift of Grace) or fig leaves (man’s works of the Law.) Never both. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins.” Only the blood of Another - Christ's - can permanently take away the nakedness that is the sin of the world and God Himself provided “the Lamb of God” for this purpose. Romans 5:9 says of God:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

The “hot” in Revelation 3 is definitely not “keeping the Law in order to gain right standing with God” as many teach; this would mean getting cut off from Christ (Galatians 5:4). This would also mean that “cold” is having a total disregard for the Law. Christ said:

“I could wish you were cold or hot.”

Why would Christ wish for us to have a total disregard for the Law? He came to fulfil the very same Law for us! His death for us in no way diminishes the Law. Rather, His death magnifies the Law. That is how holy and upright the Law is- only the sinless blood of the Son of God can fulfill its righteous demands and save from the consequences of disobedience.

Christ said: “I could wish you were cold or hot.” Better to be totally under Grace, where you get to enjoy the full benefits of our Lord's goodness including living a godly life; or totally under Law where you see that you can never pass this exam by your own efforts (like Peter who fell flat on his face three times after boasting) and thus be driven to Grace.

Clothed with His gift of righteousness to us in Christ, God sees us as righteous, even though we are guilty of many sins- Romans 5:16-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins."

A common refrain of even churchgoers to this truth of Grace is: "So you are saying once we are under Grace, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?”

Beloved of God, beware preachers of the above doctrine of demons that equates righteousness in Christ with lawlessness. Beloved of God, God's Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Matthew 1:21 tells us what Christ's job description is: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Christ- Grace Himself - tells us in (John 6:43-46) what He is doing in the life of every believer:

“Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do My work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."”

Beloved of God, how can these two things - being saved from sins/put together by Grace Himself and continuing to live in sin - how can they co-exist? How can the blind receive sight from Christ and continue to be blind while living in Christ? How could the Israelites that were saved from the sting of death (sin nature) and its deathly effects (acts of sin that lead to death) continue to wallow in their symptoms when their were wholly upon Jesus and not distracted by their silly efforts to save themselves? Christ Himself gave us this typology of how we are saved from the sting of death and its deathly effects in John 3.

Believers, flee from any pastor that posits this kind of horrid antichrist argument that says that righteousness in Christ/under Grace is licence to commit sin. What a horrid antichrist doctrine it is. Such only display their cluelessness about God’s saving Grace and their unbelief in His power to save even the vilest offender who truly believes from his sins. Such trust in their arm of flesh/human effort for the attainment of godliness (be like God) but distrust the power of Christ to transform believers to godliness and right living. Let's take our blessed brains to church. Like Peter before he denied Christ, many are yet to see the futility of trusting in themselves. This is how seriously God hates sin: to the same degree that He loves us, so much that He gave His Son to die for our sins so that we can freely receive His gift of righteousness that frees us from the wages of sin; so that we can be free from sins that hold us captive; so that we can produce "a harvest of good deeds for God" (Romans 7:4) and also reign in life.

Think of an oncologist dad whose beloved and helpless child has cancer. God hates sin but so loves the helpless sinner- that's all of mankind by default. With Christ as our Righteousness and Strength, our Abba Father has excised the cancer that is the sin nature from our lives. See Colossians 2:11-

”When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.”

And He doesn’t just leave us to manage things on our own after this spiritual circumcision. His Spirit dwells in us forever. He continually supplies us with the Holy Spirit (spiritual chemotherapy that is sure to work perfectly) causing all of the symptoms of the sin nature (acts of sin that lead to death) to disappear. We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are being transformed by the Spirit of the Lord, not our silly attempts at keeping the Law in order to be godly. In Him, we get to live in triumph over sin and death. See Romans 5:16-17-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

Believe Right and you will Live Right