How To NOT Be A Lukewarm Christian

The greatest danger might be when you think that everything is fine, or when you are more caught up in day-to-day 'life' than what really matters. Is the mundane and ordinary becoming an enemy of our faith?

Revelations 3: 15-17

I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I’m about to spit you out of my mouth. After all, you say, ‘I’m rich, and I’ve grown wealthy, and I don’t need a thing.’ You don’t realize that you are miserable, pathetic, poor, blind, and naked.

Common English Bible (CEB)

  

This is God's message to Laodicea, the last of the seven churches which were addressed. Are we in danger of being lukewarm?

What is a Lukewarm Christian?

I'm sure that everybody has a different opinion on what a lukewarm Christian is. What can't be argued is how God feels about lukewarm people. When I wonder whether I have become a lukewarm Christian, I think about asking myself the following questions:

Am I being prosecuted for being a Christian? 

John 15:18-21

“If the world hates you, know that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, I have chosen you out of the world, and you don’t belong to the world. This is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you, ‘Servants aren’t greater than their master.’ If the world harassed me, it will harass you too. If it kept my word, it will also keep yours. The world will do all these things to you on account of my name, because it doesn’t know the one who sent me.

Common English Bible (CEB)

This is another tough verse. It seems like we are either part of this world's kingdom, or part of God's kingdom. Lukewarm is clearly whatever is in between. I know that I have avoided talking about my faith because someone didn't like the topic or it would make me unpopular. I also know that there are people who know me, but don't even know that I am a Christian. I think those are lukewarm actions. Here it gets worse: I have often avoided opportunities to talk about God because I was in a situation that would me look like a hypocrite. Have you ever stopped yourself from talking about God because your current actions might do more harm than good for Christianity's reputation? This is another sign of being lukewarm. What if we aren't being prosecuted because life has become too comfortable? What if we have built up a nice life for ourselves in our little circle of fellow Christians and church-goes and since we aren't in touch with non-believers often enough; we don't have anyone to prosecute us? Could that be another way of becoming lukewarm? Think about it, lukewarm water might be lukewarm because it is near hot water, and hot water causes the things around it to heat up because the heat from it dissipates to its surroundings. If the heat from our walk with God is not warming up our surroundings, is it because we are lukewarm?

Paul says in 2 Corinthians (Chapter 11) that he was beaten with a rod three times, was stoned (When rocks thrown at you to kill you. They dragged him out of the city afterwards, thinking he was dead), was shipwrecked three times and drifted in the sea for a night and a day. We know that he was tried in court, spent a lot of time in prison and it is believed that he was beheaded for his faith. If he lived the way that I do today, would he have been prosecuted? How does my vigor and dedication to God measure up to Paul's?

Some believe that the early Christians bore the grunt of persecution so that we wouldn't have to. Does that mean that Paul would be happy with our lifestyles if he appeared in our times? Do you think that he would be so spiritually hot that the world would not like him, even now?

Am I Sacrificing Anything?

Romans 12:1

So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service.

Common English Bible (CEB)

1 Peter 2:5

You yourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Common English Bible (CEB)

  

Both of these verses are in the New Testament, after Jesus offered Himself up as the Ultimate Sacrifice. We are called to offer up our lives as living sacrifices. What have you sacrificed to God lately? Are you living a life of sacrifice? Has it been easy to give up your life to God? And if it was easy, was that then true sacrifice? Does stopping sin count as sacrifice? When I try to stop a bad habit, can I call that 'sacrifice' when I am just doing what makes sense? Look at what you sacrifice most of your life to: that is your god.

Am I being an Effective Christian?

Matthew 28:19-20

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Common English Bible (CEB)

This is known as the Great Commission, something that every follower of Jesus is instructed to do. It is not possible to avoid being lukewarm AND to avoid the Great Commission at the same time. You cannot be 'hot' while not following this command. This is a good indicator of your spiritual temperature.

So how do you NOT be lukewarm?

Now that we have an idea of what a lukewarm Christian is (very harsh and revealing words indeed), we can look at how to do better. Realizing how lukewarm we have become is one thing, changing is another. Promising to change often doesn't cut it. We need something more that will actually work. That something is JESUS. Here are a few ways to heat it up:

Meaning (Relationship)

Has your spiritual life been reduced to a to-do list? I have always dedicated a quiet time to God every day. I spend this time reading the bible, listening to worship songs or praying. I have caught myself just going through the rituals of reading/singing/talking just to get through it and move on with my life. This can apply to church as well.  Do you just go to church because it is the day and time to do so, and then go back to a normal life when you're done? I think that it's sometimes like we do the minimum requirements to feel like we're still 'in it'. I often read the bible, for example, and totally forget what I've read an hour later. The difference is that God has become a thing to do, instead Someone to meet.

 

I have a friend called Ethan. He is my best friend. I can talk to him for hours. It is not an effort to talk to him. I enjoy his company. I can talk to him about almost anything, like my struggles with work or how I've been feeling lately. It's also nice to catch up with how things are going with him. I'm interested in how well he is doing at work, how it's going with his girlfriend and whether he's slowly but surely reaching the goals he's set for himself. Most of my family has met Ethan. No one at my work has, yet I have spoken about him to almost all of colleagues at work. When someone brings up the weekend, for example, I will add that I'm probably going to go out with him on Friday night. I've also shared many stories about the crazy things we've got up to or funny situations we've landed ourselves in. 

 

Let's compare my relationship with God to my relationship with Ethan. Who do I spend more time with? Who do I open up to more? Who do I talk about more? Who has a bigger impact on my daily life? Scary! I know the creator of the universe who knows everyone and can do anything. Talk about a powerful contact! I have a Father who cares for and protects me. If my physical dad was the owner of the world, I would probably look and act a lot differently. 

 

This shows the difference between imaginary play-play and reality. How real is your relationship with God? Do you really believe that He exists? Or that He is right here, right now? Am I doing a chore, or meeting with God? 

Priority

How high is God on your priority list? What if God demands to be number 1? It's easy to work for 8 hours a day: because you have to survive. It's easy to watch TV for hours: because it satisfies a desire to relax. Where does most of your money go? Where does most of your time go? Where does most of your mental thought go? What part of you does God satisfy daily? What part of you does God want to satisfy daily?

 

Now think about this: How would your life look like if God was priority number one? Would you be happy? Would your life be better? Would the world have positively changed compared to now? Would more people be going to heaven?

Environment

Proverbs 27:17

As iron sharpens iron, so friends sharpen each other’s faces.

Common English Bible (CEB)

 

Hebrews 10:24

And let us consider each other carefully for the purpose of sparking love and good deeds.

Common English Bible (CEB)

 

Have you sharpened someone else lately? And have you been sharpened by someone recently? We underestimate the power that our environment has on us. A big reason why it is easy to become a lukewarm Christian is because our environment is too easy. It is too easy to mix light and darkness without anybody noticing (or noticing). I've seen great results when I was put in an environment where I was forced to stretch. Would I have grown if I wasn't in that environment? Certainly not. I need to actively look for environments where:

I can grow and be sharpened into the powerful offspring of God that I am

And

I can challenge and encourage others to do the same

Purpose

 Exodus 9:16

But I’ve left you standing for this reason: in order to show you my power and in order to make my name known in the whole world.

Common English Bible (CEB)

 

Romans 8:28

We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Common English Bible (CEB)

 

 

Do you have a burning purpose that God has placed on your heart? Have you answered the calling that God has called you to? Paul (who we looked at earlier) was passionately driven by the purpose that God gave him. Purpose has the astounding power to turn you from a lukewarm believer into the burning sensation that is changing the world every day. What if God has a purpose for you to fulfill and is waiting for you to be ready for Him to show you? What if you already have this purpose in your heart but time has faded it away?

We are feeble, flimsy people. But that's okay, because God can be the perfect one. He knows that we are not perfect, but He loved us anyway and sent Jesus to pay for our shortcomings. So how do I do all of these things, even when I keep failing? I pray and ask God to help me. I can't do anything without the power of The Holy Spirit. I can pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to move in me and empower me to do His Will, no matter what it is.

I look forward to hearing your response in the comments below.