When I first began this blog 6 months ago, I had to come up to speed fairly quickly on how to develop a webpage and also what exactly a blogger talks about. As I learned quickly, study the word and the topics will come. But I still had yet to identify an audience. All along I thought it should reach everyone, believers, non-believers, mature Christians and “newborns” in Christ. But as the posts have been written, one thing has become clear, while I welcome all readers and pray that everyone benefits not from my words but from the Word of God, I feel I most relate to those Christians who are pursuing a walk of mediocrity, because that best described my life at one point. It’s for those, who like I was, are lukewarm that I devote this post.
Jesus speaks very strongly regarding this type of person in Revelation 3:15-16 with reference to the church of the Laodiceans, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Think about the language that Jesus uses here. Because they are lukewarm, they’re not worthy of anything, literally spit out of His mouth. The problem is that those of us who are satisfied to maybe attend church once a week, if at all, are no different than the Laodiceans. They believed they had no need for anything else, that they had it all, satisfied to straddle the fence of the world with their belief. Christian, this simply cannot be. I know that many of you reading this are happy with your current lifestyle. You feel free to live how you please, whether it be partying, promiscuity, foul language, pornography, whatever it might be that you’ve allowed to creep into your life and replace God in your heart. But can you imagine something as frightening as the above verse? You are spiritually starving, just like I was, merely an average Christian or even below average. What kind of life is that to live? You made the decision to accept Christ as Savior, but now you’ve forgotten your first love. Revelation 2:4 Just as I discussed in the License to Sin series Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 you CANNOT continue in a life of sin just because you are saved. Dear Christian it’s imperative that you lay your current lifestyle down at the foot of the cross, pick up your own cross and follow Jesus daily. If not, then why make the decision to believe Christ as your Savior in the first place? “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 Will you open the door?
Prayer: It’s because of Jesus’ love for us that He offered up this warning. Do you love Him so little that you refuse to make Him Lord of your life? That you would choose to follow the world daily then follow Christ daily? Pray now that Jesus restores your soul Psalm 23:3, that you submit to Him as Lord of your life and all of the rest of the things just fade away.
Additional Study: Isaiah 29:13 Romans 6:1-2 James 4:17 Matthew 22:37-38
In his book, “Crazy Love,” author Francis Chan boldly proclaims that a closer examination of that passage would magnify the simple fact that if Jesus would want to spit (spew; vomit) the lukewarm from His mouth, then He also will not allow the lukewarm into Heaven. Chan goes on to say that there are just two classes of people: the saved and the unsaved. There is no such thing as “nominal” or “lukewarm” Christian. Putting those two words together creates a false negative.
If we deny His name on earth, then He will deny us before our Father in Heaven. It’s one thing to believe in Christ. Even Satan does that. But it’s a whole other thing to receive Him fully into our hearts, serve Him daily with our lives, and proclaim Him boldly to a lost world.
Great post, John. Thank you for sharing these important lessons!
Thank you Angela for following up with those truths!
John