Matthew 24:12

24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold.

Acts 18:25

18:25 He had been instructed in ¹  the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm ²  he spoke and taught accurately the facts ³  about Jesus, although he knew ⁴  only the baptism of John.

Colossians 4:12-13

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁵  of Christ, ⁶  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁷  in all the will of God. 4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ⁸  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

James 5:16

5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. ⁹ 

James 5:1

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ¹⁰  over the miseries that are coming on you.

James 1:22

1:22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves.

James 4:8

4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ¹¹ 

Revelation 2:4

2:4 But I have this against you: You have departed ¹²  from your first love!

Revelation 3:15-16

3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. ¹³  I wish you were either cold or hot! 3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going ¹⁴  to vomit ¹⁵  you out of my mouth!

[18:25]  ¹ tn Or “had been taught.”

[18:25]  ² tn Grk “and boiling in spirit” (an idiom for great eagerness or enthusiasm; BDAG 426 s.v. ζέω).

[18:25]  ³ tn Grk “the things.”

[18:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “knowing”; the participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistameno") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[4:12]  ⁵ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁶ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁷ tn Or “filled.”

[4:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.

[5:16]  ⁹ tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[4:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).

[2:4]  ¹² tn The Greek word translated “departed from” (ἀφίημι, afihmi; L&N 15.48) can actually be used of divorce (L&N 34.78), so the imagery here is very strong.

[3:15]  ¹³ sn Laodicea was near two other towns, each of which had a unique water source. To the north was Hierapolis which had a natural hot spring, often used for medicinal purposes. To the east was Colossae which had cold, pure waters. In contrast to these towns, Laodicea had no permanent supply of good water. Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful, but it would arrive lukewarm. The metaphor in the text is not meant to relate spiritual fervor to temperature. This would mean that Laodicea would be commended for being spiritually cold, but it is unlikely that Jesus would commend this. Instead, the metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing spiritual healing (being hot) or spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them. It is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.

[3:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “I intend.”

[3:16]  ¹⁵ tn This is the literal meaning of the Greek verb ἐμέω (emew). It is usually translated with a much weaker term like “spit out” due to the unpleasant connotations of the English verb “vomit,” as noted by L&N 23.44. The situation confronting the Laodicean church is a dire one, however, and such a term is necessary if the modern reader is to understand the gravity of the situation.