Am I A Lukewarm Christian?

Revelation 3:16

So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Something our Senior Elder (SE) had been bringing up in church recently was the idea of being a lukewarm Christian, meaning you are neither hot nor cold.

No one likes lukewarm tea. Some people like it hot, some people like it cold. But no one enjoys it when it's mid.

The other day, I heard a story about a girl who went out on a date with a guy. She liked him, and he seemed to like her, but he never got back to her. "I can't bear it if he never gets back to me! Even if he told me he wasn't interested, at least I would know. Better than waiting and not knowing if he likes you or not."

Better hot or cold than warm.

A visual metaphor my friend taught me was "butter on the pan". You know when you put cold butter on a searing hot pan? It immediately sizzles. From a solid lump to liquid butter in less than a second. That's what our hearts should be like when we are touched by God's love.

Now imagine you're heating up the pan, but it's only lukewarm. The butter stays cold; it can't do its job. How annoying.

I used to be very lukewarm in Christ.

In the spirit, I was that cold pan; my heart a chilled lump of butter.

I might have told you earnestly that I loved God, but was I really hot in my love for Him? No.

My form of prayer was uttering a line here or there.

"Lord, I hope you bless this work day."

"Lord, I pray that you help me financially."

"Father, I ask that you help me deal with this difficult person."

Uttered and forgotten, uttered and forgotten.

Sin started to creep into my life. Old sins that I had stopped before, but now I was starting to rationalise that they were okay.

Some weeks, when I went to church, I would go through the whole worship session without God piercing my heart. Then I'd fight off sleep during the sermon.

Where was my relationship with God? I knew something was missing, but I didn't quite confront it head-on. And yet, I felt that emptiness in my heart every day. I was duller, and I came to accept it as the norm.

When a church member shared the following checklist, it spoke to my heart.

What does it mean to be a lukewarm Christian?

• Loving God in words, but not discipline

• Attending church but avoiding transformation

• Wanting blessings without lordship

• Being convicted occasionally but consistently unchanged

In essence, you're neither here nor there. You're in the middle, and the middle is arguably the worst place to be, because you can get convinced it's okay to stay there.

Signs of a lukewarm faith

• Prayer feels optional

• Sin becomes normalised

• Worship is routine, not heartfelt

• You fear people's opinions more than God's voice

• You avoid uncomfortable truths

Outwardly, one might look like a good Christian. But in the spirit, there is no deep relationship with Christ.

You might ask, is it really that bad? Surely this isn't worse than being an outright sinner? Romans 12:11 asks us to be fervent in spirit, and Matthew 24:12 says that where lawlessness abounds, love grows cold (or weakens).

I remember the first time I truly found Christ. It was incredible to me that the omnipotent and omniscient God of ALL things would even bother to care about me. It brought tears to my eyes whenever I thought about it, and my heart felt like it would explode from joy.

Not that we need to stay in that honeymoon phase forever, but a "hot" passion for Christ is required, I think, if we are to be Christ-like and true sons and daughters of Him.

How to stop being a lukewarm Christian?

Building on the notes my church member shared with us, here are actionable steps you can take to reactivate your passion and become hot again.

• Examine yourself honestly Have you become spiritually comfortable? Are there truths you are avoiding about your relationship with God?

• Repent quickly Repent to Christ that you may return to Him. Even if you may not feel it now, simply tell God that you want to repent and ask him to help you.

• Rekindle the Word and prayer Personally, this helped me rekindle my relationship with God the most. Identify where you're at and take it up a notch. As for myself, even if I read only one verse a day, I would meditate on it for a short while. And where I had been praying for a few moments previously, I started doing uninterrupted 5-minute prayers.

• Remove spiritual distractions What are the things in your life that are numbing your spirit man? Guard what enters your spirit, and focus on feeding what stokes your appetite for Christ.

• Pursue accountability Isolation feeds indifference. When you have brothers and sisters in Christ with whom you can share your journey openly, you will be encouraged to keep going. Find one person you can talk to about feeling lukewarm, then update them regularly.

Fighting lukewarmness is a process

When I was lukewarm, the world felt dim, and life felt dry. Each day just felt like a routine. And yet, despite knowing how Christ was the colour and nourishment to my life, I still felt so much intertia about reading the Bible or praying.

It took God's grace to lift me out of it for a season, but grace isn't always meant to cover us till the end. Grace is there to cover us until we can bear trials and processes on our own.

So if you're struggling in your relationship with Christ and feeling lukewarm, try one of the pointers above. But I believe the fastest and most efficient way to become hot again without slipping is to find accountability in a community.

Reach out to someone in Kingdom Advance Community for help.

God bless.

The original message our church member shared with our community: