Lukewarm Christians turn away from God’s truth rather than change their lives because of it

Without a doubt, nothing tests our sincerity to honor God more than putting a Biblical teaching in front of us we are not comfortable following, as many will look for loopholes, others will ignore the Bible in favor of their own opinion, but a small few may actually change their lives, regardless of the cost

Introduction

Despite the endless volume of worship songs professing commitment and love for God, people’s public declarations to renounce old ways, and all the tear-filled apologies that flow when people fall under conviction, not everyone who claims repentance will overcome their sins, walk in freedom or live with eternity as their number one priority for one simple reason: they do not want to

2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death

This is the saddest article I have ever written as the vast majority of Christians do not value their relationship with God in a way that inspires them to completely change their lives, as they continue to live for the world, rather than for God’s kingdom in a way that pleases him, nor do they live in a way that is worthy of the gospel itself

Philippians 1:27-28
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you

The truth is, many authors, pastors, church leaders, etc…, teach easy, soft messages designed to reach the widest audiences possible, but these messages do not train people for spiritual maturity, nor do they inspire life-changing conviction regarding sin

With that said, this article is going to address one of the biggest issues within Christianity: lukewarm believers who mistakenly think they are living a life that pleases God, but are actually living as enemies of the cross, as they claim to be Christians, but willingly, out of preference, chase after the world rather than God’s kingdom

Philippians 3:18-19
For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach,and their glory is in their shame.Their mind is on earthly things

Revelation 3:16
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth

This article is in no way meant to judge anyone, as I lived for decades as someone who did not fully honor the gospel due to drugs, bad relationships, partying, greed, and all sorts of things, but I know that walking away from these things was only made difficult because I did not want to let them go, and I was not struggling against them with sincerity

Lukewarm Christians Shrink Back From Tough Messages They Do Not Want To Hear And/Or Look For Loopholes When They Feel Uncomfortable

Without a doubt, we have all been in situations where a piece of God’s truth jumps out at us as being more difficult to live by than we feel comfortable with

Maybe we came across something in a sermon, a passage in the Bible or maybe it was even part of someone’s testimony, but there are things that genuinely make us draw back when we first hear them or think about applying them in our lives–do not be upset at this, accept it as being a totally natural, normal part of our growth

Instead of beating ourselves up, or expressing self-righteous, indignant emotions when we run into something that sounds difficult or does not feel “right”, think about it like this:

As we strive for God’s standard of supernatural righteousness, we will of course run into teachings that make us uncomfortable, it is beyond illogical to think everything God wants us to do, and think, is going to be completely acceptable and easy, the only thing resisting God’s truth in these moments is the fact we have not matured in a particular area yet

Just because we do not like something God tells us, does not mean it is untrue

It is important to be humble when faced with difficult teachings, as Paul told us it not only takes training to understand what God’s will is, but it also takes effort and work to find it pleasing as well–this only happens after our minds are transformed, no longer hungering for the ways of the world, which is not exactly an overnight process

James 4:6
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble

1 Peter 1:14
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will

As we continually seek righteousness, we are inevitably going to run into things we either do not understand, or flat out do not want to apply to our lives, but the way we respond in these moments is very telling of our relationship with God

For example, look at how the Apostles responded to Jesus when he told them to forgive their brothers seven times seventy–they instantly stumbled on this teaching, but instead of resisting, arguing, making excuses or nodding their heads with no intention of applying Jesus’ teaching, they immediately asked Jesus to increase their faith so they could accept what seemed impossible to them–amazing!

Luke 17:3-5
If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him

The apostlessaid to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

By contrast, look at how the rich young ruler responded to Jesus when he called him out

Mark 10:21-22
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me”

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth

I find this particular story earth shattering, as this individual was standing before Jesus, and is told the “one thing” he lacked before being given treasure in heaven, was the ability to let his wealth go

Think about that, letting go of his attachment to wealth was the *one* thing this young man needed to do in order to inherit an eternal reward, but instead of happily giving what he had to the poor, he turned away without even a word

“Oh, but I would never do that, I would give everything I own if it meant going to heaven”

Oh really!

Lukewarm Christians Walk Away From God’s Truth All The Time By Holding Onto Sin, Seeking Worldly Things, And Rejecting His Word When They Do Not Understand Or Agree With It

As exaggerated as the example of the rich young ruler seems, Christians walk away from God like this all time in their daily lives, and usually over a lot less

Without even exchanging great amounts of riches for sin, Christians shun God all the time when they: stay in non-Christian relationships they just do not want to let go of, hold jobs they sacrifice all their time to because it means they can earn a lot of money, have pre-marital sex, buy clothes/cars/houses/whatever because they enjoy the way people’s admiration feels, seek reassurance and happiness in food, watch inappropriate movies and listen to worldly music, go out and party all the time, etc…

Looking at our own lives, if Jesus told us to give up that *one* thing we love so much, I guarantee not everyone would pass the test

Mark 8:34-38
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.For whoever wants to save his lifewill lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels

Even though Jesus commanded it, the equation of trading earthly gain for eternal riches is beyond simple, but we still manage to struggle with it, only because we are not properly valuing our heavenly reward like we should

However, beyond the stumbling blocks of worldly temptations and sins, it is very common for lukewarm Christians to draw back when they come into contact with Biblical truths they do not feel comfortable following

I have seen this happen with concepts ranging from whether Christians should marry non-Christians to deeper theological points such as whether all Christians are guaranteed entrance to heaven the moment they become Christians (that is a totally separate conversation!)

However, there are two types of lukewarm Christians in these types of scenarios, ie: people who are unaware of the Bible’s teachings, and people who think they hold a theologically accurate opinion

In both cases, Christians who reject God’s Word in favor of their comfort zone, often rely on irrational, spiritually immature logic that is completely baffling

To illustrate some illogical reactions, let us look at what usually happens when lukewarm Christians are confronted with the idea of marrying non-Christians, as the only way to ignore what it says in the Bible about this topic, is for Christians to use personally subjective logic that explains why their point of view, however contradictory to the Bible, is valid, ie:

2 Corinthians 6:14-15
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

“God wants me to be happy, and this person makes me feel loved”

“They are open to the idea of God, who are you to judge whether they will become a Christian or not someday”

“If God did not want me to have this relationship, he would not have put it in front of me”

“If we really love each other and are committed, God does not mind”

“That rule is so harsh, God loves everyone equally and wants us to be in the world loving those outside the church”

Seriously?

Where in the Bible does it say we can overrule God when we do not feel comfortable with what he says–that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, at least the rich young ruler did not stand there and rationalize why letting go of his wealth was not necessary for salvation, he respected God more than that!

Which is ultimately what rationalizing our point of view as being “right” over God’s wisdom is all about, having a lack of respect for God

Lukewarm Christians only follow God when it is comfortable, selectively rejecting God’s truth when following it requires an uncomfortable change of heart or lifestyle

Further to this, we are called to obey God fully, not partially, as a reflection of our love for God, all the excuses in the world cannot hide the fact that lukewarm Christians love the world more than they love God

John 14:15
If you love me, you will obey what I command

Romans 1:5
Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith

2 John 1:6
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands

We know the world holds a lot of temptation, and distraction, but how does God feel about lukewarm Christians who only follow him when it is comfortable–buckle up

Would We Ever Choose To Express Hatred Towards God Or Make Ourselves His Enemy

The passage below is shocking, but James was very clear about how those who live as friends of the world express hatred towards God, making themselves his enemy

James 4:4
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God

This is a very challenging verse for many, so I looked up “friendship” in the Greek to make sure I understood James’ intent, and it means “mutual longing for, belonging to”

Based on this, we see James is saying if the world regards us as one of its own, we are in a lot of trouble, which lines up also with what Jesus taught as well

John 15:18-19
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own

This does not mean we should be hated by everyone because we are Christians, but our level of righteousness should be repulsive to the world, just like the world’s level of sin should be repulsive to us

John talked about the importance of living this way as well

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever

When we live partially for God, and partially for the world, we openly demonstrate how God’s love and righteousness is not something we are comfortable changing our lives to accommodate, which is why living for the world, in any way, is so heavily warned against in the Bible

No one ever became spiritually mature because they consistently chose the world over God

Also, this is what Paul meant when he said Christians live as enemies of the cross when their lives do not exemplify the holiness, purity, and life-changing nature of God’s power–he fiercely warned against even associating with people who called themselves Christians but lived in open denial of God’s truth

Philippians 3:18-19
For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things

1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat

2 Timothy 3:1-5
There will be terrible times in the last days.People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them

Those are some strong statements!

It is important to note these verses do not advocate rejecting all Christians who sin, as they are specifically addressing those who habitually, willingly, out of preference, live sinfully yet call themselves Christians

As we continue on our journey towards righteousness, we must carefully examine our lives to see what areas we have not yet given over to God, setting our hearts, minds, spirits and bodies to love God with all we are, honoring his sacrifice out of sincere love–all the time, not just when it is comfortable

Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good

Facebook Comments

comments