I mentioned that I was reading this book by Francis Chan entitled Crazy Love. This is not a book for the faint of heart - Chan smacks you right in the face with an urgency for the church in America to step up and be the biblical church, not some American construct of what we want the church to be. I want to reference chapter four - People of the Lukewarm. Chan seeks to awaken the church from it's slumber lest it become lukewarm and is spit out of Christ's mouth (Rev. 3: 16). Take note of Chan's thoughts and questions:- Has your relationship with God actually changed the way you live?
- Do you see evidence of God's kingdom in your live?
- Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words half-hearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better?
Lukewarm people:
- Attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe "good Christians" should do.
- Give money to charity and the church - as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living.
- Don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.
- Call "radical" what Jesus expected of all His followers.
- Rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. (Hmm, how does this statement relate to our vision statement?)
- Guage their morality or "goodness'"by comparing themselves to the secular world.
- Do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to.
- Probably drink and swear less than average; but besides that, they really aren't very different than your typical unbeliever.
I think you get the point. Thoughts? Comments? And to think, this is only from one chapter. Read it if you dare.....then let's talk!
3 comments:
Hmmmmm, where do I start? We're studying the same thing in our SS class and our Youth Pastor just gave a message on this same subject Sunday, and will present the continuation this coming Sunday. The book we're reading out of in SS is "Living on the Edge," (Dare to Experience True Spirituality) by Chip Ingrim. He centers his thoughts around being a Romans 12:1 Christian. Ingrim says that the command to "offer your body" to God is not some way to gain His approval; it's our way of saying thank you to God in the light of all he has done for us. We're just on chapter 5, but it really hit's the heart of America's church. Many in the church are cultural Christians, instead of an authentic follower of Jesus Christ. Ingrim even threw in the words of G. K. Chesterton, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found and not tried." Interesting, eh?........If you want to hear more on this pull up the web site www.LivingontheEdge.org/r12. and listen to the audio messages. Comments?
Love what you say about comparing ourselves to the secular world. SO TRUE!! I read that book and am currently reading Radical, they are both wake up calls to what God truly wants us to be doing.
Yes, Revelation 3:16 is interesting and frightful. The NIV notes Col. 2:1-5 as a reference mentioning Laodicea. Colossians indicates that that the Laodiceans were probably having a real struggle to understand and accept the Gospel and allow it to transform their lives.
Another note (on Rev. 3:16) and an explanatory video (I'm sorry; I do not recall the title) indicate that Jesus' comments used the water supply as an analogy. the cold water, snowmelt from surrounding mountains, refreshed those who drank it. The hot springs were healing. In summer, after the snow had melted, the water was lukewarm, and as with water near hot springs, was highly mineralized and tasted awful. Hence, the spitting out of the church that would neither refresh nor heal.
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