"So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:16)
These are the words of the Lord Jesus to the church in Laodicea. It had once been a church that was in love with Jesus. It had once been a white hot church. But now Jesus says they are lukewarm, and in fact nauseating to Him. The word spit is a modest translation of a word that literally means to vomit.
All my life I have read this to be a word to "lukewarm christians", but is it? Has there ever been a greater oxymoron than "lukewarm christians." A Christian, a genuine Christian, is one who has come to experience the incredible love of God through Jesus Christ. They have been given an incredible gift of the person of the Holy Spirit to live in their heart. They have been set free from the powers of the kingdom of darkness and become a child of the king. How can someone who truly knows God through Jesus Christ be lukewarm?
The counsel that Jesus gives to this church to buy "white garments to clothe your nakedness" and "salve to annoint your eyes so that you may see" are suggestive of salvation experiences. Could it be that the church in Laodicea was full of lukewarm religious people who have never been born again? Perhaps verse 20 is actually an evangelistic text after all. "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."
So today, let me ask you a question. Are you white hot crazy in love with Jesus, or are you absolutely cold and indifferent? Or perhaps today you would say, "I am lukewarm." Maybe it is time to do what Paul suggests in 2 Cor. 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith."
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Try Faith in God
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act." (Ps. 37:5)
We often talk about having faith in God, but do we really trust in Him? In this psalm, David says that God will act in our behalf. But notice when He does, when we commit ourselves to absolute dependency in Him through the proposition of faith.
The Bible talks about faith, and describes faith, and gives us many illustrations of faith, but it never really defines faith. A careful study of Hebrews 11 suggests that a working definition of faith might be something like, taking God at His word and then acting upon it. Romans 10: 17 lets us know that faith is built upon the word of God. It is resting in the truth that God has committed Himself to act upon.
We speak of having faith. Many times, however, we have a vague willingness to really trust God. We pray and say that we are trusting Him, but we really hold on to the issue that we are needing to exercise faith about just in case. Faith becomes real when we surrender absolutely to God and God alone. We become so committed to the trust in Him that if He does not act we have no other option and we are at risk.
Look again at the promise of this verse. "Commit your way to the Lord." That is the command. Surrender fully the matter at hand to God's care. Turn loose of it, completely. "Trust in Him." That is not simply a restatement of the first phrase. It is the assurance that the command here means depend absolutely on God alone. Look at the absoluteness of the promise. God will act. It does not say He might act, but He will act. When does God act? When you have surrendered completely to His sovereign control. Will He do what I want? He will do what is right and what is best.
We often talk about having faith in God, but do we really trust in Him? In this psalm, David says that God will act in our behalf. But notice when He does, when we commit ourselves to absolute dependency in Him through the proposition of faith.
The Bible talks about faith, and describes faith, and gives us many illustrations of faith, but it never really defines faith. A careful study of Hebrews 11 suggests that a working definition of faith might be something like, taking God at His word and then acting upon it. Romans 10: 17 lets us know that faith is built upon the word of God. It is resting in the truth that God has committed Himself to act upon.
We speak of having faith. Many times, however, we have a vague willingness to really trust God. We pray and say that we are trusting Him, but we really hold on to the issue that we are needing to exercise faith about just in case. Faith becomes real when we surrender absolutely to God and God alone. We become so committed to the trust in Him that if He does not act we have no other option and we are at risk.
Look again at the promise of this verse. "Commit your way to the Lord." That is the command. Surrender fully the matter at hand to God's care. Turn loose of it, completely. "Trust in Him." That is not simply a restatement of the first phrase. It is the assurance that the command here means depend absolutely on God alone. Look at the absoluteness of the promise. God will act. It does not say He might act, but He will act. When does God act? When you have surrendered completely to His sovereign control. Will He do what I want? He will do what is right and what is best.
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