What God Requires
God requires to be represented by a fiery Church…two things are intolerable to Him – insincerity and lukewarmness. (E.M. Bounds)
The Lukewarm Church
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
(Revelations 3:15-17 NIV)
This rebuke to the church in Laodicea has always made me uncomfortable. Because there are areas of my spiritual life where I’m lukewarm.
What cures rampant lukewarmness in the Christian church? Persecution. Because Christians turn either red-hot for the Lord, or ice-cold. Some believers draw back and hide. Others seek Jesus in a deeper way and become unstoppable.
No one remains lukewarm.
As for E.M. Bounds’ insincerity reference, re-read the story of Ananias and Sapphira.
I downloaded this image from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
Corrie ten Boom says it best.
You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have. (Corrie ten Boom, Concentration Camp Survivor.)
