So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
Revelation 3:16
I'm convinced more than ever that God is done with the lukewarm church. He's drawing the battle lines for the last battle as I type this. The Bible warns us against this type of church and I'm not just talking about a church in the sense of the building or religious organization but church as in the believer. It is we, the believer who make up the church.
The role of the church is to deliver the message of eternal life so that believers may have life abundantly and eternally. Today though we deliver a watered down feel good theology. We're more concerned with what people think of us and how they may perceive the message of the Gospel than we are with sharing the truth of the gospel with them.
We as a church are doing an incredibly poor job of conveying this basic message. The result is that there are millions of people who go to church regularly, good honest and loving people, yet they do not have eternal life. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS. Matthew 7:21-23
It is the responsibility of the church (believers) to be sharing the gospel of Christ, to be spreading the hope that we have. Do you want to see your brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandparent or cousin go to hell? How about your neighbor or your best friend? That is the reality of what's going to happen to them if they don't repent and accept Christ as their savior. Do you want them to sit before God and have Him tell them "Depart from me"? Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; Matthew25:41 The Bible makes it clear. If they will not spend eternity with God in heaven then they will be spending eternity with the Devil in hell.
"But they are a good person" I often hear cried from the lips of the saved concerning a loved one. I'm sure they are a good person, but good compared to whose standards? Man's? The worlds? The question isn't are they a good person by man's standard but are they a good person by God's standard Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 Absolute perfection is the standard God sets before us. A perfect God, in a perfect heaven, requires perfection. It doesn't matter if the lost person has only broken a couple of God's laws, it only takes one. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:10 It just takes one sin to make us guilty.
I must confess that even though I grew up in the church, over the years I fell prey to the lukewarm spirit that inhabited most of them today. I had come to learn and believe that the role of the church was to gather people in order to worship God, serve and volunteer. The more members of a church, the "better" the church was. This is the problem!
This is where I beg to differ and what many people will disagree with. The main purpose of the church is clear and is what Paul and Barnabus set out to do in the book of Acts. They weren't talking about events, living your best life or finances. They spoke the truth with power, authority and fire and those that listened and obeyed received eternal life.
"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. "Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 'BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.'" As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles."For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'" When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:38-48
Power! There is power in the gospel message. Why would we neglect it? Why would we want to see anyone go to hell, especially when we have the ability, no… the duty to share the gospel that saved us? Within the kingdom of Christ, there is no gray area. His words and teachings cut like a knife. It's just that over time we've added our own thoughts and reasoning to the scripture. We've grayed it out.
The role of the Church is to bring the true and saving Gospel to the people. Now go be God's people for God's glory!
I'm convinced more than ever that God is done with the lukewarm church. He's drawing the battle lines for the last battle as I type this. The Bible warns us against this type of church and I'm not just talking about a church in the sense of the building or religious organization but church as in the believer. It is we, the believer who make up the church.
The role of the church is to deliver the message of eternal life so that believers may have life abundantly and eternally. Today though we deliver a watered down feel good theology. We're more concerned with what people think of us and how they may perceive the message of the Gospel than we are with sharing the truth of the gospel with them.
We as a church are doing an incredibly poor job of conveying this basic message. The result is that there are millions of people who go to church regularly, good honest and loving people, yet they do not have eternal life. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS. Matthew 7:21-23
It is the responsibility of the church (believers) to be sharing the gospel of Christ, to be spreading the hope that we have. Do you want to see your brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandparent or cousin go to hell? How about your neighbor or your best friend? That is the reality of what's going to happen to them if they don't repent and accept Christ as their savior. Do you want them to sit before God and have Him tell them "Depart from me"? Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; Matthew25:41 The Bible makes it clear. If they will not spend eternity with God in heaven then they will be spending eternity with the Devil in hell.
"But they are a good person" I often hear cried from the lips of the saved concerning a loved one. I'm sure they are a good person, but good compared to whose standards? Man's? The worlds? The question isn't are they a good person by man's standard but are they a good person by God's standard Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 Absolute perfection is the standard God sets before us. A perfect God, in a perfect heaven, requires perfection. It doesn't matter if the lost person has only broken a couple of God's laws, it only takes one. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:10 It just takes one sin to make us guilty.
I must confess that even though I grew up in the church, over the years I fell prey to the lukewarm spirit that inhabited most of them today. I had come to learn and believe that the role of the church was to gather people in order to worship God, serve and volunteer. The more members of a church, the "better" the church was. This is the problem!
This is where I beg to differ and what many people will disagree with. The main purpose of the church is clear and is what Paul and Barnabus set out to do in the book of Acts. They weren't talking about events, living your best life or finances. They spoke the truth with power, authority and fire and those that listened and obeyed received eternal life.
"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. "Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 'BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.'" As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles."For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'" When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:38-48
Power! There is power in the gospel message. Why would we neglect it? Why would we want to see anyone go to hell, especially when we have the ability, no… the duty to share the gospel that saved us? Within the kingdom of Christ, there is no gray area. His words and teachings cut like a knife. It's just that over time we've added our own thoughts and reasoning to the scripture. We've grayed it out.
The role of the Church is to bring the true and saving Gospel to the people. Now go be God's people for God's glory!
