Are You a Lukewarm Christian?

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Are you a lukewarm Christian? It doesn’t sound like the best place to be, does it? I mean, we don’t like lukewarm things much, do we?

We don’t like lukewarm coffee or water. We like things to be either hot or cold typically. So what IS a lukewarm Christian and, when it comes to your faith, are you hot or cold or lukewarm?

Here’s how you can know which one you are. Read on to learn more!

What Does it Mean to be a Lukewarm Christian?

So let’s begin by defining what a lukewarm Christian is.

Well, since lukewarm food or drink means it is neither hot nor cold, being a lukewarm Christian means the same thing.

It means you are neither hot nor cold. You are not on fire for the Lord but you’re not completely living in denial of Him either. It is living with faith in the Lord but that faith isn’t exactly being walked out.

Revelation 3:14-19 says:

To the angel of Messiah’s community in Laodicea write: “Thus says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Originator of God’s creation:  I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. Oh, that you were either cold or hot! So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of My mouth. 

For you say, ‘I am rich, I have made myself wealthy, and I need nothing.’ But you do not know that you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked. 

I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may dress yourself and so the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed, and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent.

TLV

“I will spew you out of my mouth”.

The Greek word for “spew” is emeō which means ‘to vomit’.

Imagine something so distasteful that it makes you want to vomit it out.

This is not just a Christian who lost their ‘spark’. This is a Christian who just isn’t living as a Christian at all.

Just look at the next verses.

It says “I have made myself wealthy, and I need nothing.”

This is a believer who has turned to the world and believes they can do it all themselves. They no longer need Messiah. They made THEMSELVES wealthy. They NEED nothing.

These are like the virgins who let their lamps run out of oil. They feel they have enough.

They don’t need to prepare or wait longingly. They can manage just fine all on their own.

This is not just a complacent believer. This is a believer who is blinded by their own abilities (“buy eye salve and anoint your eyes so you can see”).

I Have a Wedding to Get To!

Do you long for Jesus? Do you wake up in the morning just full of anticipation and a desire to be with Him?

I will admit, I don’t always! I mean, who likes waiting, right?

Sometimes life gets in the way and I feel overwhelmed! I can get run down by things and lose that anticipation I had. 

These days I am dealing with chronic pain and it’s all I can do to get out of bed, let alone do so with excitement!

But I need to remember, I have a wedding to get to! I am betrothed and my Beloved is preparing to come and get me!

Your Beloved is coming for you too! Are you waiting with expectation and excitement for Him? It could be today! It could be tomorrow! Are you ready for Him?

There is a parable about some other women who had a wedding to get to!

Is Your Lamp Ready?

As I said, we all dislike waiting and I especially don’t like it when I am waiting and someone is late! And not much is worse than when your groom is late for the wedding! Can I get an amen ladies?

Well, this bridegroom was late! In fact, he was SO late that the ladies went to sleep!

But, in the midnight hour, they heard the call!

Matthew 25:1-13:

The Kingdom of Heaven at that time will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. 

The foolish ones took lamps with them but no oil, whereas the others took flasks of oil with their lamps. Now the bridegroom was late, so they all went to sleep. It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here! Go out to meet him!’ 

The girls all woke up and prepared their lamps for lighting. The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both you and us. Go to the oil dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 

But as they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Later, the other bridesmaids came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they cried, ‘Let us in!’ But he answered, ‘Indeed! I tell you, I don’t know you!’ 

So stay alert, because you know neither the day nor the hour.

CJB

We Can’t Be Foolish

There were the virgins who were wise and kept their lamps ready. They knew that the Bridegroom could come at any moment and they wanted to be ready. They waited for him with anticipation and we know this because they prepared!

Then there were others. They knew the Bridegroom would be coming at a time they didn’t expect, at literally any moment, but they weren’t waiting with anticipation. How do I know this? Well quite simply, they weren’t ready! 

They didn’t bother to prepare. They took on a “oh, I’ll get to it later” stance and didn’t bother until the Bridegroom was arriving! 

But by then it was too late. They missed out because they had to then go and buy the oil and by that point, the door had been shut to them.

They weren’t longing for the Bridegroom. They had other things they had their minds on.

We need to long for Jesus the way a bride longs for her groom. We need to long for Jesus with the anticipation of a bride who is waiting for her wedding day! 

We as a church often don’t have that anticipation. I don’t often have that anticipation. I am often a lukewarm Christian! 

We need to long for Jesus the way a bride longs for her groom. We need to long for Jesus with the anticipation of a bride who is waiting for her wedding day! Click To Tweet

Pregnant With Anticipation

When a woman finds out she is pregnant, she doesn’t yet know the day or hour she will give birth, but she knows the season! She waits with eager anticipation for the day she holds her child. And we should be waiting with that same anticipation because we also know the season!

And as the pregnant woman becomes more excited and expectant as the time draws closer, we too should become full of excitement and anticipation as the day draws closer.

But as a church, we are not doing that.

As a believer, I am often not doing that. 

My former Rabbi, when asked by anyone when he thought Jesus would be coming back, would answer “today”! 

They would ask “today???”

And he would say “yes, because whatever day Jesus comes back is going to be called, ‘today’. So don’t worry about when, just worry about being ready when He does!

Whatever day Jesus comes back is going to be called, ‘today’. So don't worry about when, just worry about being ready when He does! #jesus #revelation Rabbi Moshe Laurie, Author of Living in God's Army Click To Tweet

Signs of a Lukewarm Christian

What are the signs of a lukewarm Christian?

The biggest sign is pointed out in Revelation. It was directed at the Church at Ephesus. Now even though they were not labeled as lukewarm, this is often the cause.

Revelation 2:4:

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

The greatest sign of a lukewarm Christian is a lack of passion for their faith!

When someone comes to Messiah, they are often full of wonder! They want to learn everything they can about their newfound faith. 

They read the Bible, go to Bible studies, learn to pray and they are just full of excitement.

But sometimes, that excitement wanes. Sometimes when they are faced with skepticism from others, it eats away at that wonder! It can place a weight on them.

They may experience spiritual attacks that leave them a little less than enthused.

Life gets in the way and they get busy or experience hurt or grief.

Little by little that light they had in the beginning, that passion for the things of God, begins to wane.

And sometimes that light never shines, like the seed that falls on stony ground, it never takes root.

Sometimes a person gets saved and they are left to fend for themselves! They don’t know about prayer or Bible study and they just feel their faith didn’t offer them anything more than the world.

Maybe it’s a believer who, over time, got comfortable. Maybe they’ve been saved a minute and they think they have it all figured out. They don’t pray as much or read the Bible because they are comfortable.  They become lukewarm Christians before they even know what hit them!

Like a married couple who gets comfortable over the years and they don’t do the little things for each other anymore, don’t spend time together because of kids and careers, don’t court each other because they are tired, our faith can take a similar path.

We get complacent.

We become lukewarm believers.

And Jesus says He prefers if we were cold rather than this! Why?

Better Off Cold

Why on earth would a person be better off cold?

Because a person who is cold doesn’t dabble. They don’t bounce in and out of their relationship when it’s convenient or when they need help.

A person who is cold knows where they stand.

A lukewarm Christian is like the guy you date who calls you for a week and then you don’t hear from him for a month. Then he calls you and wants to get together. So you do because you like him and you want to give him another chance. And then he goes dark on you again.

Compare that with the guy you have one date with and never calls you. Which would you prefer?

Well, I prefer the guy who calls, sweeps me off my feet and wants nothing more than to spend time with me! That would be the “hot” one (sorry…but no reference to how he might look! Jesus used the word ‘hot’, not me!)

But out of the two above examples of the guy who never calls and the one who calls when he feels like it, I would prefer the cold guy! At least I know where he stands!

When you are cold, there is no pretense or hypocrisy. 

The Bride of Messiah

You are the bride of Messiah Yeshua! You are betrothed! The Word is your ketubah or marriage contract. 

It outlines what your Bridegroom will do for you and what He expects from you as well.

It is your love letter from a Bridegroom who has gone to prepare a place for you.

John 14:2-3

In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be.

TLV

In the ancient Jewish wedding, once a couple was betrothed, the bridegroom would leave his beloved’s home with his father and proceed to prepare a home for her, often a room in his father’s house.

He tells her these very words. He does not know when he will return for her. Only the father will determine that when he sees the room is ready and sufficient for his son to bring home his bride and build a family there.

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and, when the Father has determined, He will tell His Son to go and get His Bride.

Will you be ready? Will your lamp be full of oil? 

Don’t let the door shut! Wait for Him expectantly and with anticipation like a Bride because that is what we are!

Be on fire for Him!

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

CJB – Taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society.  Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.