| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians” Our Bible verse for today: “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.” Revelation 3:15-16 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Don’t be a lukewarm Christian” Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher and theologian who lived in the 1800s. Although he wrote extensively on a wide variety of Christian topics, one he was especially passionate about and vexed by was lukewarm Christianity. He even questioned whether lukewarm faith in Christ was real faith, or perhaps if it indicated that the person’s initial profession of faith in Jesus wasn’t sincere. Kierkegaard said, “Spiritually understood, there are always two victories: a first victory, and then the second by which the first victory is preserved.” The first victory Kierkegaard was referring to is salvation itself. The second is the Christian life lived well – in a manner worthy of that salvation. One should lead to the other and if it doesn’t, we should wonder if the first was genuine or not. The great British preacher of the same day, Charles Spurgeon, believed that too. He was especially bothered by the gushing reports about the large numbers of people who professed faith in Jesus at emotionally-charged evangelistic rallies, and how few of them sometimes followed through on those professions. Spurgeon remarked, “It is foolish to declare in a moment what would take a whole lifetime to fully determine. Yes, Christ saves us in a moment, as we genuinely repent, but it’s in the process of life, through failure and faithfulness, that victory shows it’s colors.” Likewise, in Romans 8:37 the Apostle Paul taught that we are “more than conquerors” as a result of our faith in Christ. What could he have meant that we are “more” than conquerors? He meant that beyond the fact that Jesus has saved us from the eternal punishment due for our sins – more than the fact that we have that victory, we also are empowered to live victoriously now. We are more than just one-time victors – we are ongoing champions when we live faithfully in a way that honors the Lord who saved us. As Revelation 3:15-16 so vividly and graphically teaches, lukewarm and casual Christianity is an insult to Jesus. Considering what He did for us, He deserves better from us. If we truly understand and appreciate our salvation, how could we not be passionate about serving and pleasing and worshiping the Lord who saved us? A lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron. It’s a contradiction in terms. Or, at least, it should be. How could a person who has been saved from eternal damnation – who knows and it and truly believes it, be indifferent about it? Let’s not be lukewarm Christians. Being so calls the sincerity and genuineness of our faith into question. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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