It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hallow-hearted prosperity.
Frederic D. Huntington
"The feedback I received from other Christians reassured me that...I was good enough, 'godly enough.'
But this went against everything I was reading in the Bible, so I eventually rejected what the majority said and began to compare all aspects of my life to Scripture. I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced'...Most of us what a balanaced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering."
"The Bible says to test ourselves, so in the next few pages, I am going to offer you a description of what...lukewarm people can look like. As you read these examples, I encourage you to take a searching, honest look at yourself. Now who you want to be one of these days, but who you are now and how you are living today:
LUKEWARM PEOPLE attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe 'good Christians' do, so they go. ('The Lord says, 'These people come to near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lipsm, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men' - Isaiah 29:13).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE 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 that 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. ('Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?' - Isaiah 58:6-7)
LUKEWARM PEOPLE are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God. ('Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything or our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.' - 1 Tim. 6:17-18)
LUKEWARM PEOPLE feel secure because they attend church, make a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling us a 'Christian nation.' ('Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven' - Matt. 7:21. 'Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation' - Amos 6:1).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE 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 - they have life figured and mapped out. They don't depend on God on a daily basis - their refrigerators are full and, for teh most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. ('And he told them this parable: The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I will do, I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night you life will be demanded from you. Then wyou will get what you prepared for yourself?' Ths is who it will be for anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.' - Luke 12:16-21, see also Hebrews 11)
LUKEWARM PEOPLE probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially santized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong. ('Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hyprocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.' - Matt. 23:25-28)
This profile of the lukewarm is not an all-inclusive definition of what it means to be a Christian, nor is it intended to be used as ammunion to judge your fellow believers' salvation. Instead, as 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, it is a call to 'examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.'
We are all messed-up human beings, and no one is totally immune to the behaviors described in the previous examples. However, there is a difference between a life that is characterized by these sorts of mentalities and habits and a life that is in the process of being radically transformed."
* Chan, Francis. Crazy Love: Overwealmed by a Relentless God. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2008.
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