"Lukewarm" Christians
A popular Christian teacher was commenting on what he called
“Lukewarm” Christians. Here are a few examples of what he describes as
“Lukewarm Christians.” They give money as long as it doesn’t “impinge on their
standard of living.” They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re
merely sorry because God is going to punish them. They are moved by stories
about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They rarely
share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They give Him a
section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to
control their lives. There were more
examples, along with scriptures I believe are out of context, but when I read
this I get upset. This is nothing more than legalism. He makes an assumption as
to what a Christian should be doing and then judges others based on his bias.
He has created his own law and a law is of no use unless you have someone to
compare yourself with. In this case, I bet he believes that he is not a
“lukewarm” Christian and that he is living up to the standards he judges others
by. There is a phrase for people like him, too; fruit inspector. A fruit
inspector is someone who goes around judging the behavior of other Christians as
if others are accountable to them rather than to Jesus Christ. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you
judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured
back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your
brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your
brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is
in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove
the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck
from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:1-5).”
To be lukewarm is to lack enthusiasm.
Why do so many Christians lack enthusiasm? It is because of the condemnation
heaped on them by teachers like this one who is judging them for not living up
to the standards the teacher feels is acceptable. Well, Jesus said that your
righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20). If
that isn’t enough, He went on to say to be as perfect as your Father in heaven
(Matthew 5:48). How is this teacher living up to these standards? He is not and
never will. Therefore, he is a hypocrite. If you want people to show enthusiasm
for the faith, teach them the truth of who they are in Christ. Tell them they
are holy, blameless, free from condemnation, totally forgiven, righteous,
unconditionally loved and accepted by God, among other things, because of their
faith in Jesus Christ. This will eventually result in the works so many want to
see. But, even then, we are not to judge them because they are the works God
prepared for them to do and He does them in an through the individual. God is
the one who completes the work He began in you and He doesn’t put you under law
or condemn you during the process. Do not be a slave to a teacher, but let the
Teacher set you free.
"Punishment" for Sin
In the previous post I mentioned how a pastor said that
“lukewarm Christians” aren’t truly sorry for their sin; they’re merely sorry because God is
going to punish them. If God punishes us for our sins, does it really matter if
we are sorry or not for committing them? Does a loving God still punish us for
our sins? If we are going to be punished for our sins, our life will be one of
fear. When you are afraid of someone, in this case God, you really cannot have
a relationship with them. You cannot receive love from somebody who is going to
punish you. Questions will arise as to whether someone who punishes you for
your sin even loves you to begin with. The joy of your salvation cannot last
when you are afraid and not being loved. A person who is afraid avoids that
which is causing them fear. Fear of God results in not going to church, not
reading the Bible, not sharing Christ, engaging in sin to find an escape from
the fear and perhaps having no interest in God at all. In fact, you are left
pondering if the death of Jesus Christ really was for you or if the burden of
your sins has now fallen on your shoulders. So much for coming to Jesus for
that light burden and rest He spoke of.
“For you did not
receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption
by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father (Romans 8:15).”” As Christians, God is our Father. The word Abba is an Aramaic
word that would most closely be translated as “Daddy.” It was a common term
that young children would use to address their fathers. It signifies the close,
intimate relationship of a father to his child, as well as the childlike trust
that a young child puts in his “daddy.”
Therefore, you cannot say that God is
your “Daddy,” whom you have a “close, intimate, relationship” with, if you are
afraid of Him. Furthermore, to be in bondage means the state of being a slave.
A slave is a
person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. If you
are in bondage to fear, then you are fear’s slave. You are its “legal property”
and are “forced to obey” it. That means everything you do in your life as a
Christian will be filtered through the prism of fear. Fear will in essence be
your god. The Bible says, “There
is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do
with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).”
Fear will be your god because if there is no fear in love, then there is no
love in fear. If perfect love drives out fear, then fear drives out perfect
love. If fear has to do with punishment, then there is no punishment in love.
Your entire Christian experience is turned on its head if you accept that God
is going to punish you for your sins. When you sin, God does not punish you,
Jesus took that punishment for eternity. There is no need to seek forgiveness
of that sin because Jesus took that sin and God no longer is counting your sin
against you. What you do when you sin is go to your “Daddy” in Heaven, resting
in His grace and mercy for you and ask Him why you didn’t trust Him when you
sinned. That is a God of love and forgiveness. That is our Father.
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