Are You a Lukewarm Christian?

Well, first of all, let me answer this question for you without even knowing you.  No, you are not a lukewarm Christian because there is no such thing:

Revelation 3:15 & 16
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. "

 

2 Corinthians 6:14

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

 

Romans 12:1 & 2

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

 

1 John 2:15 &16

 

" Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

 

Matthew 12:33-37

 

"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

 

 
You are either a follower of Christ or you are a follower of the devil.  There is no in-between.  I am not suggesting that a Christian does not make mistakes.  Certainly we sin everyday.  However, I am suggesting that we are daily trying to turn from our sins and fix our eyes upon the Cross.

So, ask yourself, are you lukewarm or are you a follower of Christ?  You can find out by asking yourself the following questions:

1)  Are you spending time with Him daily in prayer and in His Word?

2) Are you surrounding yourself with people/fellowship that are encouraging you to fulfill the convictions that the Holy Spirit has laid upon your heart?  If your close friends are lukewarm, they are helping you pack for Hell.  I realize that is a bold statement.  But if your closest friends are lukewarm, they are influencing you.  They are encouraging you to enjoy both worlds.  But Jesus strictly warns against that.  He will vomit those people out of His mouth.  Jesus is pretty clear about how He feels about those trying to live for themselves and Him.

3)  Are you DAILY telling others about Jesus'  love and sacrifice?

4)  Is there a passion that burns inside of you for others to be saved?

5)  Do you spend more time pursing spiritual things or selfish things?  For example, do you spend 5 days a week at soccer practice and games, but no days a week out witnessing?

My goal here is not to judge you, but to challenge you.  Often, when I look at my own heart, I find that I get my eyes focused on things of this world and not things that are eternal.

 

2 Timothy 3:4

"Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;"

You see, I should love God more than love things that please my flesh.  I certainly am not suggesting that if you are not perfect, you are lukewarm.  Rather, I am saying, lukewarm people are content trying to serve two masters.  They serve Jesus with their lips (and occasionally with their lifestyle as long as it doesn't interfere with their personal goals), but they serve themselves with their works.

 Matthew 15:8

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."

For example, you may go to church, go to an additional Bible study, help with children's classes and never curse....yet in the same week, you may also......watch television that is not honoring to God, listen to wordly music that curses or speaks of unglodly things, dress in a way to "fit in", even if it is slightly immodest, attend and participate in all the same socials that the unbelievers attend, and focus upon yourself the rest of the week.

Please understand me, we are ALL selfish.  But someone who is lukewarm is trying to be like the rest of the world as much as possible.  Maybe they're not out drinking and doing drugs, but maybe they are attending school prom because "that is what you do" despite it having immodest dress, inappropriate dancing, and ungodly music. 

A lukewarm person often does what their flesh wants and throws God in on the side.  As long as their schedule permits, they are more than willing to help with any church function (for this makes them feel good).  They teach their children not to curse, to have premarital sex, or to hit someone else, but they allow them to watch television shows that reinforce what they're trying to teach against.

This subject is near to my heart because I was in this place for so long.  I loved God, I wanted to serve Him, but I wanted to serve myself more.  So I did.  I can't imagine dying in that state standing before God trying to justify my actions.  I couldn't.

I want to know that on Judgment Day that despite my failures and sins, I was daily trying to live for Him and not myself.

It's a daily battle with the flesh.  The devil is so sly.  We think of him as this evil creature (which he is), but he is a fox in sheep's clothing.  We sometimes forget that.  He tells us that we "deserve" time off, that we "deserve" a break.  When we start to wonder if something is on the line of sin, instead of us asking if it's edifying, he encourages us by telling us to look at someone else. 

When we compare ourselves to others, it is very dangerous.  Why?  Because we are comparing ourselves to the world's standards and not our own.  I used to always think of myself as a "good" Christian because I did not do much of what even the Christians were doing.  Looking back, I realize how sinful I was, and still am.  The closer I grow to God, the more I realize I need Him.  We need to compare ourselves to God's standards, not our own, or even the local church's.

Let me ask you something...Do you want to glorify God or just do enough to get into Heaven? 
Certainly we are not saved by works...don't get me wrong.  Regardless of how much you do for the Kingdom, the only thing that gets you into Heaven is based off of the blood of Christ alone.  However, many of us think we are saved.  We are sorry and have confessed our sins before the Lord.  However, we have not truly repented.  Someone who is repentant and saved WILL show works.  Works are a RESULT of your Salvation, so if you do not HAVE works, one might righteously question your salvation.

To repent is to TURN from your sin.  You are so sorry for your sin that you will do everything in your power (with God's help) to turn completely from that sin.  It doesn't mean that you never mess up again, but if you do, you are disgusted with your sin and you continue to keep your eyes upon the Lord and turn toward Him.

Many of us live in sin everyday.  I have written a post upon gluttony.  It's so accepted and even joked about in the pulpit.  Yet, as Christians, sin should disgust us.  We should not be laughing or making excuses or justification for our sins.  We are to compare our lives to Jesus, not to others.

When we do this, we see our sin for what it really is.  Compared to Jesus, our righteousness is as filthy rags.  If we were to compare it to others, we might mistakenly view it as goodness.

My challenge for you today is to evaluate your life.  First of all, evaluate your Salvation.  I'm not asking you if you grew up in church, said a prayer, and live a good life.  I am asking you if Jesus Christ has CHANGED your life.  Did you confess your sin before God?  Did you repent and call upon the name of the Lord?  Do you believe that there is only one God who sent His perfect Son to die on a cross in shame in your place and that He rose again three days later?  Did you turn from your ways?  Are you still turning from your sin?  If you can't answer yes to all of these questions, you need find Jesus right now! 

If you are truly saved, let me ask you, what are you are doing to further His Kingdom?  How many people have you personally led to the Lord?  Certainly there will be much sowing of that we will never get to reap.  However, if we are truly daily living for God and telling others about Him, we will reap some.  It's sad to think, but many Christians have not even led ONE person to the Lord.

Our whole purpose in life is SUPPOSED to be to tell others about Him.  Instead, we choose to live our own life and tell others about Jesus...as it comes up (which is often never).  My friend, I am speaking to my own heart here as I write this. Please do not think I'm telling you what you should be convicted of.  I'm telling you what I am personally convicted of in my own life.  I'm telling you because I believe that many of you are feeling that same conviction now.

Think about it.  We could have a real REVIVAL in this Country, in our World!  Don't you want to be apart of something big for the Kingdom?!  If each individual person would live for God, a revival would be natural.  Are we ready to turn from the "pleasures" of this world?

 

When Timothy speaks of lovers of pleasures instead of lovers of God, he doesn't mean we are not to have any fulfillment, but that our fulfillment will be in God.  We may really find pleasure in reading a book, hunting, shopping, eating, or anything.  Alone, all of those things can be good things!  In fact, they can all be edifying.  However, they can also become addictions.  Do you love those things more than you love serving God?  You don't have to answer that question.  Your life answers that question.  How do you spend your time?  Serving God or serving pleasures?  What do you think about most?  God or pleasures?  What makes you overfilled with joy?  God or pleasures?


If you answer any of these questions with pleasures, you need to seek your relationship with God.  Are you in a relationship with Him daily?  That would be the first thing to do to rectify your relationship. 

Secondly, I would make sure you are in a constant environment of like-minded people...whether it be church or friends...don't associate with friends you have hobbies in common with.  It is more important to associate yourself with those who will encourage you to walk with God, not make sure you have someone to talk about hunting with.

Do you WANT to serve God above yourself?  If not, I would suggest you evaluate your salvation.

"Have you no wish for others to be saved?  Then you're not saved yourself, be sure of that!"  -Charles Spurgeon

I want to live a life that is on FIRE for God.  I don't want to straddle the line of sin.  I want to do things that are only NOT sinful, but that are PLEASING to my Lord.  I want to honor Him with my life.  Oh, I have so far to go.  Often, I get discouraged looking at how sinful I am.  But thankfully, my sin is covered under the blood and I have a desire to keep pressing forward:

Phillipians 3:14

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

So, where are you?  Are you lukewarm?  Are you hot?  Are you cold?  Where do you want to be?  I encourage you to comment below and share your heart on this issue.  May each of us encourage one another to be hot and to be striving to overcome flesh in order to be pleasing to our Lord!