Our Lukewarm Faith Will Be Rejected On Judgement Day
Spiritual Complacency and Self Deception
We Christians deceive ourselves by thinking that all we have to do is show up to church on Sunday morning. We think that we can continue our lives as we want and we will go to heaven. We hear that all we need to do is “Believe in God“, and our belief goes as far as acknowledging that Jesus saves us. Yet that knowledge does not translate into the transformed life that Jesus commanded us to live through repentance. Instead we have a lukewarm faith, acting outwardly religious but rejecting the power (the Holy Spirit) that could make us godly (2 Timothy 3:5). This was the case with the Laodicean Church in Revelation 3:14-22.
The Laodicean Church was full of unconverted, pretend Christians who attended church and practiced “religion”. But their inner state was one of self-sufficiency and self-righteous complacency. Their material comfort gave them false sense of security and independence. They thought their comfortable lives were evidence of a good spiritual state with God, but the Lord saw them as “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). They claimed to be Christians, but their hearts were unchanged, and their hypocrisy was sickening to God. Jesus commanded the Laodicean Church to earnestly repent. And incredibly, He even had to request that the church open its doors to Him (Revelation 3:19-20). He warned the Laodicean Church that because they were lukewarm that He would reject them. Likewise, Jesus will reject our lukewarm faith on Judgement Day.
Satan Tempts Us To Sin To Separate Us From God
The Laodicean Church had lukewarm faith as it put one foot with God (so it thought) and one foot with the world. The “world” is defined as “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The Bible identifies Satan as the “ruler” of this sinful world (John 16:11, John 12:31, John 14:30, Luke 4:5-6, Ephesians 6:12).
Satan is ensuring that the world sets its sights on sinfulness to separate us from God. He does this by distracting people from pursuing God, tricking people into believing that they can live a life of sin and still be saved, or that they can find happiness in wickedness. That is Satan’s purpose and plan to destroy mankind whom he hates. Satan got Adam and Eve to disobey God and bring about their own fall by deceiving them into believing that disobeying God’s command will make them wise “like God”. They believed Satan’s lies over God’s commands.
It is interesting to note that Satan, who fell from heaven because of his pride and ambition to be “like God” (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:2, 9), convinced Adam and Eve that they would be “like God” if they also rebelled against Him. Today, Satan continues to tempt mankind to disobey God to keep them from salvation in Jesus Christ. He wants to prevent them from ascending to the heavenly glory from which he fell. He and his demons know that their time is short and want to oppose God by taking as many souls they can with them to eternal punishment (Revelation 12:12, Matthew 8:29, Mark 1:24, Mark 5:7, Luke 4:34, Luke 8:31).
Lukewarm Faith Is Idolatry
God expects full submission and devotion to Him the same way a husband or wife expects of a spouse. Anything less is idolatry, which is often described as “adulterous” in the scriptures. The inconsistent, noncommittal, and complacent nature of lukewarm faith makes this so-called “faith” idolatrous. It is not really faith at all, but a temporary belief system where believers conveniently stand by God or abandon Him according to their purposes and circumstances.
The Lord deserves true faithfulness and complete commitment from those who claim to be believers. Lukewarm faith dishonors God and robs believers of salvation, while it deceives believers into thinking they have it. Lukewarm faith prevents believers from fully committing to God because believers place their own wills over God’s will. Their wills are driven by the enticements of this world. We must understand that the world and its desires will pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:17). The Good News is that Jesus has overcome Satan’s sinful world for those who believe in Him (John 16:33). So if we fully submit ourselves to God, we will be able to resist Satan and he will flee from us (James 4:7).
Many Christians Will Abandon Jesus
However, the Holy Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons (1 Timothy 4:1). For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will navigate towards teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Lukewarm faith makes believers susceptible to heresy. It will also cause believers to abandon Jesus and turn to the world when they face tough circumstances.
This is why churches should be vigilant about their doctrines. As believers in Jesus, we are physically in this world, but are to be set apart from the world’s sinful values (John 17:14-15). We rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us towards holiness. Whoever wants to be friends with the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:4). And we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). The Lord will not share our hearts with another and tolerates no rivals (Exodus 20:3-4, Exodus 34:14, Nahum 1:2, 1 Kings 18:21).
Why Holiness Is The Goal
Because God is holy, He cannot tolerate sin and sin breaks our relationship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2). God wants us to repent from our sins and become holy in our inward disposition. He wants us to maintain an upright environment for Him to operate within our lives. Consider that in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, the Sower only produced his crop from the good soil environment (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15). Likewise, without this inner state, a person could not bear the spiritual fruits from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) that God expects. This person will instead pervert the things of God despite his or her efforts to serve Him.
This is why God commands us to be holy. We are to be holy because He is holy (Leviticus 19:2; Leviticus 20:7; Leviticus 20:26; Leviticus 21:8; Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:7). As His children we should reflect His image so we can bear proper witness of Him to the world. The Holy Spirit seeks to destroy lukewarm faith and replace it with a committed, fervent, and true faith in Christ. The true faith in Christ empowers us to change our lives as well those around us.
Repentance Is The Answer
Repentance is an inner change of heart and mindset that leads to new behavior. It makes believers refrain from sinful tendencies while embracing holiness and desiring to do God’s will. It attacks lukewarm faith. Throughout the Old Testament, God had sent prophets urging the Israelites to obey God by repenting of their sins. And from the start of His ministry, Jesus repeated this message (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15). Jesus preached that repentance is necessary to be a part of the Kingdom of God (Heaven). Jesus instructs us to seek this kingdom first above all things (Matthew 6:33), so that it resides within us (Luke 17:21). The dwelling of the Holy Spirit within us establishes us as citizens of this Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit continues to lead us to repent everyday and strive for holiness. And we cannot accomplish this major task on our own.
A person who has truly repented of sin and exercised faith in Christ will give evidence of a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:19–23; James 2:14–26). To repent of sin requires acknowledgement of sin. And because many of us Christians may not feel we sin as severely as a common criminal for example, we may regard ourselves as “nice” people that have nothing to repent for and that we are “good enough” for heaven. First, it is our error to lessen our sin because God hates all sin equally. The person who keeps all of the laws except one is just as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws (James 2:10). Second, we should not compare ourselves to others when we should compare ourselves to Christ, for everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard (Romans 3:23) in one way or another.
Unfortunately, this faulty thought process causes many well-meaning Christians to make the same mistake as the Pharisee in Luke 18:11-14. He thought he was better than the tax collector next to him because he considered himself less of a sinner in comparison. Jesus justified the tax collector, who humbled himself before God and asked Him for forgiveness. As a consequence of this faulty thinking, of “lessening our sins”, we risk being disobedient to Christ by not trying to repent from our sins and thus practicing empty religious traditions with a hypocritical lukewarm faith.
Repentance And Faith Go Together
Repentance goes together with true faith. Because if we truly believe that Jesus our Savior, we’ll change our minds about how we view sin and ourselves. And if we repent, it is because we trust that Jesus is the Lord who saves us. And repentance causes us to desire to be obedient to God. Please note that repentance is an ongoing activity that we must engage in the rest of our lives till death. We will never be sinless. However, if we stay the course, asking God for forgiveness along the way, and remaining obedient to the Holy Spirit, Jesus will acknowledge us as belonging to His own Kingdom on Judgement Day.
What results from a repentant life truly transformed by Christ? Having transformed minds and hearts then transforms our character to be more like Christ. This leads to righteous living and loving our neighbors the way Jesus wants us to. We also bear witness to non-believers with how we live our lives. And our works for God become true blessings to others, letting our light shine before all, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). It begins with transformed minds and hearts. This is what we should strive for as Christians.
Obedience Shows You Actually Believe In Jesus and Love Him
We serve a loving, merciful, patient, and gracious God, but we must remember that He is also Judge and we have only a short time to do His will. Everyday we are alive is an act of God’s grace that we should not take for granted. Jesus makes it very clear that He requires we deny our own ways, take up our crosses, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24) and that unless we repent from our sins, we will all likewise perish (Luke 13:3-5). Christians are warned to be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves (James 1:22).
There are those that Jesus said, “honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6). This phrase is very telling of those with lukewarm faith. We say we believe in Jesus, but do we truly believe in Him enough to actually obey Him? Jesus says “If you love me, you will obey my commandments” (John 14:15). Also “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me” (John 14:21). These verses establish the connection between obedience to the Lord and loving Him. What commands are we to obey?
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”. That is the First Commandment. The Second Commandment is to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
Loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, requires the Holy Spirit to transform us in these ways. Too many self-processed Christians have accepted the idea that “Jesus is Lord” intellectually in their minds and call that “belief”. But their minds, hearts, and souls are not fully committed to Jesus. Their ways of thinking and living are still in line with the world’s values. This is because they have not sought the Holy Spirit to transform them and help them fully observe this First Commandment as Jesus commands them to.
Faith Goes Beyond Belief
Confessing belief is only the beginning of our salvation journey with God. Transformation by the Holy Spirit is the next step which happens hand-in-hand with repentance. Unfortunately many Christians are complacent and do not seek this transformation, as is evident in lukewarm faith. We cannot effectively perform the Second Commandment to love our neighbor without doing the First Commandment. First, we must “Love the Lord” by obediently committing to a life of holiness He wants for us. Then we will be equipped with the fruits of the Holy Spirit to be able to love our neighbors, not the way we would, but the way Jesus would. And we cannot effectively do this without the help of the Holy Spirit who conforms us to be like Christ. By helping us repent, the Spirit gradually replacing our works of the flesh with His fruits of the Spirit. Note in the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9), Jesus warns us to produce these spiritual fruits in our lifetime otherwise we will be “cast into the fire”.
The Holy Spirit instructs us on how to become holy and live out Jesus’ commandments the right way as he helps us produce these spiritual fruits. Jesus tells us that God freely gives the Holy Spirit to those who earnestly seek Him. He urges us to “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9-13). Therefore, fostering a personal relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit is of paramount importance for every Christian. We need to learn about His will for our individual lives to be obedient. And Jesus will acknowledge our relationship with Him on Judgement Day.
Knowing Jesus Versus Knowing About Jesus
Please understand that knowing Jesus is not the same as knowing about Jesus. Just because we know about Jesus does not mean that we have a relationship with Him. Jesus says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27-28). Jesus “knowing us” implies us having a personal relationship with Him where we hear from Him, communicate with Him, and follow Him in obedience. He further emphasizes the relationship between obedience and belief when He asks, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus is seeking obedience from his followers. He does not care how much you know about Him.
Jesus challenges believers to examine if they are actually making Him their Lord through their obedience to His word. Likewise, Paul urged believers to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). To ensure our faith in Jesus is not lukewarm faith, we must constantly exercise this self-examination. And we must nurture our relationship with the Holy Spirit, every day, putting Jesus first above our own will. This is how we make Him Lord over our lives. Complacency in our walk of faith is not an option because Jesus established the Kingdom of God is for seekers.
The Danger Of Not Having A Personal Relationship with Christ
In contrast, Jesus calls out false disciples in Matthew 7:21-23. He talks about how he will deny a lot of people who will call him “Lord” on Judgement Day. Some even claim to have even performed miracles in His name. He instead tells them that he never KNEW them (read: had no personal relationship with them) and calls them evildoers. Although they acknowledged Jesus as Lord, they did not make Him their Lord over their lives, by engaging and allowing His Holy Spirit to point out their sins (known and unknown) and conform themselves, their hearts, and minds, to that of Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1-2). Part of the Holy Spirit’s role is to convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement (John 16:8). The New Testament warns us not to resist (Acts 7:51) nor grieve the Holy Spirit of God. This is because the Holy Spirit seals us for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
We know that we have come to know Christ if we obey his commands and live as He did (1 John 2:3-11). This is impossible to do on our own. It is only possible through the Holy Spirit who establishes our relationship with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Truth” and our “Advocate”. Jesus sent us the Spirit to help us believe with real faith, not lukewarm faith, and follow Him in obedience (John 14:16-17, John 14:26). He promises that “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23). Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only way to the Father (John 14:6). God’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and Jesus will raise them up at the last day (John 6:40).
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). This means we don’t need to wait till we get to heaven. We can begin to experience eternal life right now through this special relationship with Him while the Holy Spirit is molding us to be part of the Kingdom of God! And we have the free will to choose to be part of His kingdom right now while we’re alive. But if we continue to reject the Holy Spirit or ignore Him till we die, then we have essentially chosen to reject God forever, meaning eternal condemnation in Hell. Because we don’t know when we’ll die, it is important to not procrastinate in addressing our spiritual condition. Hence, Jesus’ urgent message to all believers to repent as the “Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
The Role Of Churches
The passage in Matthew 7:21-23 is a sobering message for all churches. It demonstrates that many self-professed Christians will not inherit eternal life as a result of lukewarm faith. Churches are often distracted with other activities over what our Lord intended His church to perform. It could be prioritizing administrative tasks, church traditions and religious practices, music, church growth strategies. These are not necessarily bad things, but when prioritized over God’s priorities then they become a stumbling block. They must proclaim the gospel and make disciples, teaching them how to follow Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:38-39). It is therefore imperative that church leadership keep the church focused on what is truly important and not get caught up with other matters, for eternity is at stake for all church members and their generations.
That mission first starts within the church to ensure spiritual growth and maturity within the congregation. Then the church will be well equipped to minister to others outside that community. Church leadership should construct and encourage mechanisms to foster true church fellowship amongst members. This goes beyond the typical “coffee hour” small talk. Leadership should openly and strongly oppose destructive unchristian behaviors within the community, such as gossip. Then church members can feel comfortable being vulnerable and transparent about their personal and spiritual issues they need help with. It will also ensure that true community is built rather than a group of superficial relationships.
Pastors, ministers, and other church leaders should strive to submit to and be led by the Holy Spirit. They should not be led by their own ambitions, politics, ideologies, or worldly desires. That way they would provide the right leadership for God’s churches by remaining focused on what matters. And as churches seek first the Kingdom of God, our loving, faithful Father and Lord will take care of the rest (Matthew 6:33).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit helps Christian churches around the world “walk the walk” as Jesus expects, bearing fruits of repentance, and to not embody the lukewarm faith of the Laodicean Church by compromising with worldly standards. We pray their pastors and church leaders will be led by the Holy Spirit. We pray they prioritize and promote what The Spirit wants to accomplish through your churches above anyone else. And we pray not to have Him standing outside the church door waiting to be welcomed in. May their hearts and minds are open and obedient to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and correction not only on a church level, but also in the individual lives of church members so that they can fulfill God’s destiny for their lives.
Lead church members to commit to studying Your Word and having daily prayer time with you at home. May they share praises and testimonies with each other, bear each other’s burdens, encourage each other when weak, and love one another. Have them pray for each other against Satan who attempts to block them from the transformative holiness that Jesus wants. Guide them towards true and loving fellowship as members hold each other accountable in their walk with Jesus Christ.
And help all churches remember that they do not own their churches, but that their churches belong to You. Your Word says not to worry about provision, but to seek first the Kingdom of God and Your righteousness. So in faith, Your churches will put Your Will first, above their own needs, desires, customs, and traditions because You know what is best for Your churches and You will provide. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
