Has your relationship with Goad actually changed the way you live? Do you see evidence of God’s kingdom in your life? Or are you choking it out slowly by spending too much time, energy, money and thought on the things of this world?
Are you satisfied being “godly enough” to get yourself to heaven, or to look good in comparison to others? Or can you say with Paul that you “want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil. 3:10)? Is that too much Jesus for you?
The American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of the American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally & seriously are rarely considered. That’s for those “radicals” who are “unbalanced” and go “overboard”. Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.
Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ or his stuff? Do the words halfhearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better?
The Bible says to test ourselves. The next few statements will help you do this. Be honest, assess who you are today, not who you want to be one of those days…that day may never come. If need be-repent & move forward with a new mind!
Lukewarm people do this:
1. Attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. Check yourself: Isa. 29:13
2. Give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy & safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? Check yourself: I Chron. 21:24, Like 21:1-4.
3. Choose what is popular over what is right when they are conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside the church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance & giving than what God thinks of their hearts & lives. Check yourself: Luke 6:26, Rev. 3:1.
4. They don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful life. Check yourself: John 10:10, Rom. 6:1-2.
5. Are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do no act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Luke warm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of ALL his followers. Check yourself: Kames 1:22, James 4:17.
6. Rarely share their faith with neighbors, coworkers or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. Check yourself: Matt. 10:32-33.
7. Gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. Check yourself: Luke 18:11-12.
8. Say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives. Check yourself: Luke 9:57-62.
9. Love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; its’ only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Check yourself: Matt. 22:37-38.
10. Will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they will give. Check yourself: Luke 18:21-25.
11. Think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do the intently consider the life to come. Regarding this, C.S. Lewis writes, “ If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” Check yourself: Phil. 3:18-20, Col. 3:2.
12. Are thankful for their luxuries and comforts and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. They are quick to point out, “ Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only the love of money is.” Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel “called” to minister to the rich; very few feel “called” to minister to the poor. Check yourself: Matt. 25:34,40, Isa. 58:6-7.
13. Do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring too much of them. They ask, “ How far can I go before it’s a sin instead of How can I keep myself pure as the temple of the Holy Spirit, They ask, “ How much do I have to give?” instead of “ how much can I give?”, They ask, “how much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible?” instead of “ I wish I didn’t have to work, so I could sit here and read longer!” Check yourself: I Chron. 29:14, Matt. 13:44-46.
14. They are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are salves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God. Check yourself: I Tim. 6:17-18, Matt. 10:28.
15. Feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age 12, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. You are not safe because you wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling us a Christian nation. Check yourself: Matt. 7:21, Amos 6:1.
16. Do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them-they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live live-they have life figured out and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Check yourself: Luke 12:16-21 also Hebrews 11.
17. They probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Check yourself: Matt. 23:25-28.
This list is no all inclusive of what it means to be a Christian not is it intended to be used as ammunition to judge your fellow believers’ salvation. Instead it should be used as 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, to examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith.
Jesus ask for everything. But we try to give Him less. Jesus said, Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. This isn’t a cute little analogy Jesus was using. He is addressing those who aren’t willing to give everything, who won’t follow him all the ay. He is saying that lukewarm, halfhearted following is useless, that it sickens out souls. He is saying that this kind of salt is not even fit :for the manure pile.”
Wow, How would you like to hear the Son of God say, “ You would ruin manure”?
This excerpt comes from the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. My eyes are opened further and I am only getting to Chapter 5 of 10 chapter. Lord help us all!
