Lukewarm

I have been really captivated and intrigued by the idea of a “lukewarm” Christian lately. I have been questioning myself, my faith, and my walk trying to decide what my weaknesses were. Knowing that God would spit me out of his mouth if I was lukewarm (Revelation 3:16), scares me to death, as I am sure it does most people.

But thinking about it, I wonder if this statement is an oxymoron. Is there even any room for a lukewarm Christian? Scripture “leaves room” for Christians making mistakes, and Christians needing conviction, and so on and so fourth. But the reality is, you either live your life for Christ, or not. So where do these “lukewarm” people come in? In regards to your walk with God they really don’t. If you are lukewarm, God is just as repulsed by your sin as he is with nonbelievers. I am not saying its wrong to make mistakes, because we are human. We are going to make mistakes no matter what. What I am saying is, if you are lukewarm, you make a mistake, and don’t seek to change it. Making you just as cold as nonbelievers.

This idea comes from a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. And although I have not read the book, I have read parts and seen a few videos. A few months ago, someone from my sorority handed us an outline of the scripture given in the book about lukewarm Christians. I didn’t pay much mind to it until recently and it holds a lot of truth.

So I felt the need to share it with you guys:

Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. (Isaiah 29:13)

Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra, it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? (1 Chronicles 21:24, Like 21:1-4)

Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right in times of conflict. They desire to fit in both inside and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. (Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1, Matthew 23:5-7)

Lukewarm people don’t want to be saved from their sin, they want to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They are only sorry because they know God will punish them, not because they are truly sorry. They don’t believe that this new life with Jesus will be better than the old sinful one.(John 10:10, Romans 6:1-2)

Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expects of all of his followers. (James 1;22, James 4:17, Matthew 21:28-31)

Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors. They do not want to be rejected nor do they want to make people uncomfortable. (Matthew 10:32-33)

Lukewarm people gauge their morality of goodness by comparing themselves to the secular world. They are satisfied, because they don’t see themselves nearly as horrible as the guy down the street. So they must be okay. (Luke 18:11-12)

Lukewarm people love God, but do not love them with all they have…..heart, soul, and strength. They are quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of devotion isn’t possible for the “average” person. (Matthew 22:37-38)

Lukewarm people love others, but do not love others as much as they love themselves. Their love for other typically depends on who loves them in return. Their love comes with strings attached. (Matthew 5:43-47, Luke 12:12-14)

Lukewarm people serve God and others, but their are limits as to how far they are willing to go. (Luke 18:21-25)

Lukewarm people think more about life on Earth than eternity in Heaven. Daily life is focused on the day’s to-do list. They rarely consider the life still to come. (Colassians 3:2)

Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, but rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. They are quick to point out that “Jesus never said money is the root of all money, he only said that the LOVE of money is.” Numbers of lukewarm people feel “called” to minister to the rich, and not the poor. (Matthew 25:34, 40. Isaiah 58:6-7)

Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves form feeling to guilty. They do the base minimum, to do what is “good enough”, without requiring too much of them. (1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46)

Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaved to the God of control. They are scared to sacrifice and take risks for God. (1 Timothy 6:17-18, Matthew 10:28)

Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a confession of faith at age 12, got baptized, came from a Christian family, vote republican, or live in America. (Matthew 7:21, Amos 6:1)

Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens, they have their savings account. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they stopped believing in God. (Luke 12:16-21, Hebrews 11).

Lukewarm people probably drink or swear less than average, but besides that they really aren’t that different from a typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong.

So that is the scriptures and such. I know I have been convicted reading some of them. I don’t take credit for this by any means, I just know it has helped me, so I passed the message on!

Soooo….. are you BURNING HOT, LUKEWARM, or ICE COLD?