Lukewarm Christianity: Lesson #2

Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Christ? Or do the words halfhearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better?

I plead the fifth...

The following are from a chapter called Profile of the Lukewarm in Crazy Love and my reflections:

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.

Guilty: Guilty, guilty, guilty! "God, help me stop sinning. Amen." Psh! He already did you idiot. I've probably prayed that prayer a million and a half times.

I don't get it. I'm a horrible sinner, He is a holy God. He probably hates me and I deserve death. What do I need to do to get him to love me? Stop sinning obviously.

Stupid, human logic. I've already been set free. I was bought at a price. He became sin, who knew no sin that we might become his righteousness; approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him.

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus."
-Romans 3:23-26 NLT

LUKEWARM PEOPLE 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.

Guilty: Jesus is for Salt, small group, my quiet times, my prayers, and Sunday mornings. Ok, Jesus, do your thing. I'll serve you in these moments. Ready, set, go!

Yes, I'm a light in those moments but I really feel like when I'm in class, for the most part, I keep my light hidden. Outside of church my actions probably don't reflect my faith. I like to think that my morality is enough. Jesus didn't say; " I have come that they may have morality..."; my morality is great but it is just a part of who I am. If I truly want my peers to notice a difference I must change my life! How do I do this? Through my actions. James 2:17 says, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

Silly me. I can do all the "actions" in the world at church, around my Christian friends, and behind closed doors but if I'm not acting out my faith publicly it's no good.

"Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments I act with my entire will." -Oswald Chambers

Anything less is merely existing...let that eat at you.

LUKEWARM PEOPLE are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves of the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.

Guilty:

"Why shouldn't we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God's purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, "Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine." If God can accomplish His purposes in the world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?" -Chambers, again

Broken heart. I actually already understand this. I think it's completely natural for me think of all the crushes I've had. Have any of them "materialized"? No. I've experienced that heartbreak multiple times. I can tell you it hurts. A lot. At the time, my heart was broken. But today I can tell you that I can look back and count them all as blessings.

For whatever reason God has given me insight into this. Every time I fall for a girl I get those feelings. I love them. I'd like to imagine a future with them. It's funny how foolish I can be. Each time it ends up not working and each time I'm left with a broken heart. I always ask God why he does this to me. Why do I always feel like I'm losing?

I've lost the battle. But the war isn't over yet. And like the saying goes, in the end God wins.

All these girls are amazing, Godly women. I've never been attracted to any of them based on looks alone. I'm not shallow. So I feel like it's not fair that God seems to be toying with me when it doesn't work the way I want. I want control. I want safety. It's my natural reaction to grab hold of the reins and try to control the horses.

God's controlling them though. Each and every time I can list off a plethora of reasons why I was attracted to a girl. It's heartbreaking to have my hopes crushed. My hope is restored though when I realize that God isn't finished with me. I am overjoyed to realize that my future wife(or bachelorhood, but hopefully not) is the women God created for me!

Now, my problem is this. How do I adopt this perspective for every trial of my life?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

Read the book. These are just three of the eighteen of them listed in the book and I was convicted by nearly all of them.