What are some steps to not become a lukewarm Christian?
One of the best ways to stay away from becoming a lukewarm Christian is to continue to be passionate in your walk with Christ. The exact opposite of lukewarm is on fire. Jesus himself said that he would prefer a Christian be hot or cold instead of lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-16).
This is the only place in the entire Bible where the word “lukewarm” is used. Jesus wants us to be passionate about him and our walk with him. Even if a Christian were cold instead of lukewarm, Jesus can do some work to bring that person back in the relationship with him.
So the first step is to search out all that you can when you read your Bible. Reading the Bible raises questions that need answers. If you pursue understanding the Bible to its full extent, it will help you remain passionate for God.
Another way to do this is through prayer and worship. These are open doors to connect with God. The more that we do them, the more we fall in love with Jesus all over again. We grow in him and care about his expectations for us.
Yet another step to take is to get involved in the Christian community. I’m not just talking about showing up to church once a week for service. I’m talking about getting involved with groups, spending time with other Christians.
Spending time with other Christians is like iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). As we spend time with one another, we ask questions and grow in God together. We spur one another on. We encourage each other and make each other want to know God more.
Some of what you will have to do happens on your own. Evangelism, witnessing about Christ to your friends and other people that don’t know the Lord also keeps you passionate for Jesus. They will ask you questions and even reject you. But they do it because you know Christ.
Facing these people by sharing your faith is another way to stay sharp on what you know about Jesus, but also to share the reason why you love him in the first place. Sharing your testimony, or your story, helps you remember your own experience in beginning to follow Christ.
There are probably other steps to take, but these will get you started in keeping you away from becoming a lukewarm, dispassionate Christian. When you read the entire letter to the Laodicean church, they became complacent because they thought they were all that and a bag of chips in the culture.
They embraced the world and thought they were rich and prosperous. They didn’t attribute any success they had to Jesus. Instead, they had embraced their culture so much that they couldn’t even remember who Jesus was.
This can happen easily in our secular culture. You can’t have the world and Christ (James 4:1-8). We can’t pick a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I’m not saying that you can’t interact with our culture. But the more that you do, without examining the philosophies and values of our culture, it will lure you away from Christ.
You must have a balance between your interaction with the world and chasing after Jesus. Stay close to Jesus, and spend time in the world for the kingdom’s sake. The friends you have that aren’t Christians, witness to them and maintain these friendships. But don’t forget that you are a child of God and that the Christian community and heaven are your true home.
