You might be lukewarm if . . .
A thought-provoking, soul-searching list of eighteen signs that characterize the lukewarm Christian. Distilled from Francis Chan’s book entitled Crazy Love.
1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. Isaiah 29:13
2. Lukewarm people 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 and safe to give, they do so, After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? 1 Chronicles 21:24, Luke 21:1-4
3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1, Matthew 23:5-7
4. Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly 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 one. John 10:10, Romans 6:1-2
5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers. James 1:22, James 4:17, Matthew 21:28-31
6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their 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. Matthew 10:32-33
7. Lukewarm people 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. Luke 18:11-12
8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives, their money, and their thoughts, but he isn’t allowed to control their lives. Luke 9:57-62
9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you 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. Matthew 22:37-38
10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love for others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is a little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, who kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. Matthew 5:43-47, Luke 14:12-14
11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. Luke 18:21-25
12. Lukewarm people 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 they intently consider the life to come. Philippians 3:18-20
13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Matthew 25:34, 40, Isaiah 58:6-7
14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without requiring too much of them. 1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46
15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them sacrificing and risking for God. Matthew 10:28
16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.
17. Luke warm 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 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. Luke 12:16-21
18. 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 sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 14:34-35
(HT: Micah Fries & Don Brown)
People who think they have it all figured out apply a label to everyone that doesn’t meet their standard.
People who have it all figured out aren’t ever worried that they sound arrogant as they’re “just speaking the truth.”
People who have it all figured out don’t oversimplify; they just state the obvious in plain language.
Yes, I am aware of the irony of these statements.
I’m very challenged by that Bill – am sensing a worrying familiarity with many of those points!
I see that the church as a whole is in a lukewarm state…because of fear, wanting convenience and thinking that is inline with the carnal nature and not with the new nature/mind of Christ. I see that Christians are living an Old Testament Christianity. The focus that the OT believers had was to follow the Law. Their lives centered around their behavior…whether they were following the rules and then what would need to be done if the rules were broken. Their behaviors (if and when they sinned) were the measurement of how spiritual they were. Everything revolved around the Law…and being good was THE focus.
How ever, God chose to create a whole New Testament based on the sending of His Son that would totally save and fulfill the demands of the Law. In principle, old wine cannot go into a new wineskin…it will burst. God intended that we would not mix the new ways with the old…because one fulfilled the other already…because one made way for the new way. A new commandment I give to you… & the law would be written on our hearts & love fulfills the law & we serve God not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law, but instead by the new way, by the Spirit & etc…..
The New Testament is extremely specific that when we focus on our behavior and try to be good, we can’t be. INSTEAD, the bible (NT) says to focus on the things of the Spirit (love, peace + etc) which takes the focus off ourselves onto others (ALL the fruits of the Spirit are “other-centered” and not self-centered)…and when we focus on loving as our daily motivation…when our mind if renewed and we focus on loving as our prime motivation, our behaviors automatically begin to change because (Rom. 13:10) “Love does no wrong to anyone…”. When you get busy loving the people around you…when you focus on them…one of the by-products is a maturing ~ a changing. This new kind of life takes faith, cause the old way of thinking (carnal nature) would want us to put the focus back on ourselves and be the ones in control again.
Another WONDERFUL by-product of looking outward and making love our motivation is the bright lite that our lives will become to the world!
Most people I know and have known try to live good lives with good morals…most people in the world endeavor to try and obey the laws of their land and be good citizens…so, us focusing on our goodnesses or lack of sinning (as something that makes us good witnesses to the world) does not make us any different from the world. BUT what WOULD make us different is if we would truly be the body ~ hands and feet ~ of Christ and love the people around us as He would. The word Christian means “little Christ”. If we loved i.e., smiled at the cashier, was considerate of those around us and honestly loved each person we met people would naturally either be drawn to us cause we ARE truly different…or on the other hand hate us cause of how our lives challenge them. The light that we would carry if we truly loved in this way would shine so brightly and powerfully that barely a word would need to be said. Love fulfills the Law. I will dare to say that it trumps every other scripture that we think tells us to try and be good or righteous. Loving will take care of everything if we allow God to make us into that New Testament believer that conquers evil (in himself and others) with the ingrediants of the 1st Cor. 13 love.
Thank you for reading…