The Gospel According to Lukewarm

Are we neither hot nor cold? Lukewarm? Are we going to be spit out?

Are we falling prey to the heretical teaching of our modern culture, torn from the pages of the Gospel According to Lukewarm?

To each his own. Keep your beliefs to yourself. Prayer should be private. No public displays of affection for God. Why do you have to be such a bore? Loosen up. What makes you think you’re right? How dare you challenge my beliefs!

We’ve allowed society to beat down the image of a God-honoring life to the point where we’re afraid to raise our heads out of our tortoise shells.

The faithful life only appears radical because we exist in a fallen world.

Look at Tim Tebow. What was his crime? Giving God credit for his success? Starting off press conferences with, “First and foremost I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior?” Crazy? Radical?

The honest among us Believers would agree we’ve become neutered, living out our faith in an oatmeal without the butter or brown sugar way. Should this be a concern? Only if our Bible matters to us.

Here is a strong rebuke from Jesus in the Book of Revelation to the church of Laodicea and those of us leisurely enjoying our Sunday morning drives would do well to take notice:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Rev 3:15-16

The painful word here is “deeds” because it means we can’t just sit on our stadium cushions shouting, “Go Jesus go,” in between bites of our nachos. We need to be ON the mission field and IN the game.

What makes our fearfulness unacceptable is we already know we’re on the winning team. The outcome is assured. Why wouldn’t we want a key role in the victory when the trophy is lifted?

You have to wonder if this was foreshadowed with Jonas when the whale spat him onto the shores. Having denied God’s clear instructions to evangelize a fallen city, it took three days in the belly of a whale for him to finally answer the call.

Are we in the belly of the world. Have we heard God’s clear voice and refuse to obey? Are we listening at all?

Which leads us to an important question whether we’re talking about our church or our individual faith:

Are we being radical or are we in retirement?

Are we like Peter, willing to try to walk on water, even at the risk of drowning? Sure Peter made many mistakes in his faith journey, but according to tradition it ended with his bringing Christianity to Rome and dying a martyr as a result of his efforts.

Similarly in the case of Paul, we have someone who insisted on finishing well and exhorting us to do the same, even when it meant he wrote his letters to us from inside the walls of prison.

In fact, if we look to the lives of the Apostles, we consistently see them racing to the finish line, risking everything to share the Gospel without compromise.

What about us? Are we radical in our faith? Or are we in retirement?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you pray mostly for God to improve your circumstances or for Him to provide you with opportunities to share the Gospel?

2. Would you be willing to risk your job or your business if it meant one more person would make it to Heaven?

3. Do you worry more about the health of your finances than you do for the spiritual well-being of those around you?

4. Are you more comfortable “going to church” or in “being the Church wherever you go?”

5. Are you more focused on planning on retirement than on how to finish well?

6. How much of your weekly schedule consists of activities which focus on serving God?

7. Is  your life a radical expression of your faith or are there many people around you who would have a hard time knowing you’re a Christian?

Are we more radical or retired?

If we’re seeming a bit tepid, it’s because we’ve lost our first love. A radical, unyielding, unrelenting, I’ll die for you type of love.

And no, this doesn’t mean whacking people upside the head with Bibles. Or being pushy, finger pointing, hypocritical Christians.

It means living the life God called us to live. Unashamed. Openly. And without apology.

Praising God. Loving others. Being a light in the darkness.

Yeah. Radical.

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