A Cold Christian is a Useful Christian: How Culture Opens Us to the Bible

In the past two Intercultural Cohorts I have had the opportunity to speak about the importance of knowing the cultural context of the Bible. If you have been through any classes with Professor Jeff Wiema, you probably know the significance of being lukewarm in Revelation 2:14-22. 

In light of the historical and cultural context of the time Dr. Wiema argues that hot-lukewarm-cold is actually measuring the usefulness of someone’s spirituality rather than a spiritual spectrum of maturity. With this in mind, I have asked the cohorts how useful hot, lukewarm, and cold water is. It is easy to think of how useful hot and cold water is - coffee, and cleaning for the former; drinking and helping with inflammation for the latter. It is harder to find uses for lukewarm water. One person from the cohort suggested using lukewarm water for washing a baby - not too hot and too cold. Another person said lukewarm water can be used for defrosting meat, however, that caused some debate in the group. 

Unlike the metaphorical significance argued by the old tradition of kind of spiritual spectrum of maturity (this word lukewarm is only used once in the Bible and is not widely used in Greek literature), lukewarm water was understood as being less desirable and therefore less useful than hot or cold water in Greek culture. Hot water could be used for cooking and cold water could be used for drinking; especially in that culture there is no real use for lukewarm water (babies were tougher back then and also there were no freezers for frozen meat). This interpretation is supported by the geographical context. The church in Laodicea was intimately connected to two other churches, Colossae and Hierapolis. All three were nearby and were planted and supported by Epaphras. The city of Colossae gained cold water directly from Mount Cadmus. Hierapolis gained hot water from their famed hot springs. In contrast, Laodicea’s increasing population forced the city to gain water from a hot mineral spring five miles away. By the time the water arrived through the aqueduct, it was lukewarm: useless just like the vain deeds of the Laodiceans. The cultural, historical and geographical context helps us understand Jesus’ image of lukewarmness more clearly and more accurately. 

The second question we pondered in the cohort is why the traditional interpretation of lukewarm has been so prevalent within many Christian communities. As we discussed this, one possibility arose: just as we were unaware of the cultural reality of Revelation, we are not aware of our own cultural biases that we project onto the Biblical text. 

Unbeknownst to many of us, church culture has been impacted by the Protestant-work-ethic and many of us have adopted something Tim Keller and others call a middle-class spirit. In contrast to the poor in spirit that approaches God with the plea, “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me,” (Mark  10:47) we approach God with all the things we have done and worked for and ask: “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

This interpretation of being lukewarm has been so unquestioned and so pervasive because it is so comfortable. If we can control our salvation based on our good works, we find assurance in ourselves and we can look down on others who are not like us (the lukewarm or the cold). We may remain unaware that things like the protestant work ethic, moralism, individualism and other ‘isms’, worldviews and milieus are the aspects of culture we eat, breath and have our being in. It cannot be set aside as we approach scripture, rather we must be aware of it and evaluate it based on the scripture and tradition which is also influenced by their own cultural contexts. 

A great purpose of Revelation 2 reveals to us the character and person of the divine and human Christ. As ruler of God’s creation, Jesus is also gloriously rich (Phil 4:19). From his stores, Jesus invites the Laodiceans to buy and invest in things that will last (Matt 6:19-24) for he knows the dangers of material wealth (Mark 10:22-25). While he has the authority to take from the Laodiceans and tear down their doors, Jesus is also meek and mild. He “advises” and knocks. Jesus invites this wayward church to eat with him, to become his bride and to rule with him. This demonstrates the self-humiliation of Christ (Phil 2:1-18) for the sake of others - a stark contrast to Laodicea’s self-sufficiency. This picture of Christ also reminds us of our constant dependency on him. We are only victorious because Christ is the victorious one. As a result, we cannot say “we do not need a thing” in and of ourselves. Rather we can proclaim “we shall not want” for Christ is our good and faithful shepherd (Psalm 23). 

The only response to such grace is the blessing of being poor in spirit. Through Intercultural Ministry and programs like Intercultural Cohorts, the Spirit of Jesus is teaching us to be humble and curious as we trust in his grace and love more and more for revelation of the character of God and how such is displayed in and through culture.