Lukewarm Church
So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. — Revelation 3:16
Jesus rebukes the lukewarm church
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: This is what the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says: [15] ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. [16] So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. [17] Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.
—Revelation 3:14-17
I am fortunate to be given the opportunity each day to share the truth of Christ to people that have not heard the Gospel message and to do so one-one-one in person or through online missionary outreach, or in small groups when our church ventures into the local park to give away free ice cream and have conversations with people about matters of eternity.
The conversation is generally oriented toward how the person stands in relationship to God’s commandments. Now each of the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam acknowledge that an eternal relationship with God is based on how “good” the person is and how their goodness is judged by God.
Yet the distinction between how “good” and how God judges the individuals performance of “good” is what separates the three Abrahamic faiths.
If you ask most people what you have to do to get into heaven (assuming they believe in heaven or an afterlife), the overwhelming response will be some form of “be a good person.” Most, if not all, religions and worldly philosophies are ethically based. Whether it’s Islam, Judaism, or secular humanism, the teaching is common that getting to heaven is a matter of being a good person—following the Ten Commandments or the precepts of the Quran or the Golden Rule. But is this what Christianity teaches? Is Christianity just one of many world religions that teach that being a good person will get us into heaven? Let’s examine Matthew 19:16–26 for some answers; it is the story of the rich young ruler.
And behold, someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” [17] And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” [18] Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; [19] HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” [20] The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” [21] Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” [22] But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. [23] And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [24] And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” [25] And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” [26] And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
—Matthew 19:16-26 LSB
Was He Good Enough?
The first thing we note in this story is that the rich young ruler is asking a good question: “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” In asking the question, he acknowledges the fact that, despite all his efforts to be a good person thus far, there is something lacking, and he wants to know what else must be done to obtain eternal life. However, he is asking the question from the wrong worldview—that of merit (“What good deed must I do?”); he has failed to grasp the true meaning of the Law, as Jesus will point out to him, which was to serve as a tutor until the time of Christ (Galatians 3:24).
Therefore the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. —Galatians 3:24
The second thing to note is Jesus’ response to his question. Jesus asks a question in return: why is he inquiring into what is good? Jesus gets to the heart of the matter, namely, that no one is good and no one does good except God. The young man is operating under a false premise: that a good person is able to earn his way into heaven. To make His point, Jesus says that, if the young man wants eternal life, he should keep the commandments.
In saying this, Jesus is not advocating a works-based righteousness. Rather, Jesus is challenging the young man’s suppositions by showing the man’s shallow understanding of the Law and human ability.
The young man’s response is telling. When told to keep the commandments, he asks Jesus, “Which ones?” Jesus continues to gently show the man the error of his ways by giving him the commandments that deal with our relationships to other people.
You can almost sense the frustration in the young man’s response when he tells Jesus that he has kept all of these since his youth—he insists that he’s been a good person. The young man’s response is ironic.
In saying he has kept all those commandments since his youth, the rich young ruler has broken the commandment regarding false witness.
If he were truly being honest, he would have said that, as hard as he has tried to keep the commandments, he has failed. He has not been a totally good person. He has a shallow understanding of the Law and an inflated opinion of his own ability. Also, he has that feeling that he is not a good enough person, and he asks Jesus, “What do I still lack?”
Jesus then confronts the young man’s self-righteousness. He tells him that, if he wishes to be perfect—a truly good person—he must sell all that he has and come follow Him. Jesus has perfectly diagnosed the man’s “lack”—his attachment to his wealth. The man’s great wealth has become an idol in his life. He claimed to have kept all the commandments, but in reality he couldn’t even keep the first one, to have no other gods before the Lord! The young man turned his back on Jesus and walked away. His god was his wealth, which he chose over Jesus.
Jesus then turns to His disciples to teach them a principle: “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
This was shocking to the disciples, who held the common idea that riches were a sign of God’s blessing. But Jesus points out the obstacle that riches often are, in their tendency to fuel self-sufficiency.
His disciples ask, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus answers by reminding the disciples that salvation is of God: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Who can be saved? If left up to man alone, no one!
Why is being a good person not enough to get you into heaven? Because no one is a “good” person; there is only One who is good, and that is God Himself.
Former Muslim at Lukewarm Church
This Saturday, I was out in the park and meeting and talking with many people that were there with their kids, playing tennis, skateboarding in the skate park, enjoying the swings and jungle gym, and even a “bounce house” was in the mix. I happened to be talking with a father that was there with his daughter who had been playing tennis in the park.
I asked the father if he attended a local church. His response that he did attend and it happened to be a mega-church that I had attended for 20 years. I asked him if he was growing in his faith while a part of that community. I also asked if he and his family were connecting to the sermons of the senior pastor and mentioned him by name. He shook my hand and addressed me by that pastor’s name. That is when I presumed that he did not attend very often. 🤔
We continued the dialog and I asked him what he liked most about that specific church. He said that since he was a born in a Muslim family and his Grandma was still a practicing Muslim, he was uncomfortable at churches that were to strict in their doctrine. Specifically he said that he wanted a church that would not “push Jesus as the only way to salvation” since he perceived that was too “fanatical” and he departed Persia (Iran) with his family many because of what he perceived as fanatical religion.
So this father was comfortable in the lukewarm seeker-friendly church and it was clear why. In a manner similar to the rich young rule, he had found a home in a location that would not hole him accountable for his sin.
He was uncomfortable in being at any church that made him accountable in his sin, and to have a pastor that would remind him by presentation of the full counsel of God.
Perhaps it was a comfort for him that the pastor’s weekly messages was mostly about living in an “good way” with multiple applications and family analogies with carefully selected verses that steered clear of conviction?
Did this father know what the Apostol Paul referenced in 2 Timothy 3:16?
All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness — 2 Timothy 3:16
This father in the park did not want to know that Jesus is the only One who can save. When he sensed the direction of our conversation, he quickly departed. This was just too much for him to accommodate.
If you happen to reside in a seeker-friendly lukewarm church, you are cautioned because you might be comfortable in your lack of accountability.
No one can keep the Law perfectly. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible also says that the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23a). Fortunately, God did not wait until we somehow learned to be “good”; while we were in our sinful state, Christ died for the unrighteous (Romans 5:8).
Salvation is not based on our goodness but on Jesus’ goodness.
If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). This salvation in Christ is a precious gift, and, like all true gifts, it is unearned (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8–9).
The message of the gospel is that we can never be good enough to get to heaven. We must recognize that we are sinners who fall short of God’s glory, and we must obey the command to repent of our sins and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Christ alone was a “good person”—good enough to earn heaven—and He gives His righteousness to those who believe in His name (Romans 1:17).
❤️❤️❤️