I got to thinking the other day about the word “lukewarm”. What prompted this was thingking about what excites people in churches.
Music excites people. In fact it can become quite a hot topic when we talk about how music may, or ought, or should be used in worship to the glory of God. When I was much younger we used to get quite excited about the symbols of the hippie culture and if what they represented could appropriately appear in Christian communions. I have seen people get quite animated when talking about the annual budget of congregation. Then there are those who get quite worked up over how a person should be dressed when they go to church. I have seen people storm out of church over not finding their Bible and hymn book in the pew they always sat in. Those things are all more or less cultural things. They may have a Biblical principle behind them, but it will more often be something about personal taste.
Then there are those who get excited about mission and diaconal, or some other project. These people believe this is important and that there is something fulfilling in the work of mission and practical help to people. Some are especially gifted and passionate in “selling” their conviction and are able to gain the support of others to join them in the work.
Don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not putting any of these things down. I too have strong opinions about some of those things, and I hope those opinions are driven more by Biblical principle than personal likes or dislikes.
What I am seeking to do here is develop a contrast. What I miss in the life of the Christian church of today is a passion for Biblical, God honouring truth!
A picture that I find very compelling and that springs easily to mind is the reformer Martin Luther stabbing his knife into the table and leaping up before his accusers and defending the truth of Scripture crying out, “Here I stand. I can do no other!”
I remember attending a Synod of our churches when I was still a student for the ministry, and seeing the passion of some of the speakers, and squirming a little at the heat of some of the debates. What strikes me now as I look back, was that while there was heat in the defence of Scripture, I wasn’t aware of any tension among the delegates. Today in contrast we have munch tension but little heat.
Today we get excited about all kinds of things, but the real heart of the defence of the glory of God hardly seems to stir much feeling at all. When a person introduces pagan ideas on prayer into a Christian worship service, few even seem to notice. If someone were to suggest that being good and doing kind acts is as important and perhaps more important than believing Jesus Christ being born of the virgin, who suffered and was crucified for the sins of His people, and who rose again from the dead after three days so that all who by faith ALONE turn to Him are united to Him forever, would there be much interest in debating that! It sometimes seems not.
Our Lord in Revelation 3:15-16 speaks about lukewarm Christians as something He will spit out. The picture here is a person looking to take up a nice cool refreshing glass of water on a hot day, or a person sitting down to a good brew of hot tea, but what they get is something at body temperature. It’s unexpected. It’s unpleasant and disappointing, so they immediately and in digust spit it out.
Lukewarm faith is not pleasing to God. It doesn’t refresh His heart and bring joy to Him. It’s not pleasing to Him, so He spits it out.
The fact is, as is incessantly brought to our attention throughout the Bible – we cannot serve God and man!
God told Joshua and the people of Israel to choose. Their choice was between the idols of the people around them, or the Lord (Josh 24:14-15). Can you imagine the scene? Joshua crying out to the nation “If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then coose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” I imagine a silence lying over the people like a blanket, following Joshua’s challenge. His call was momentous, and the people kew this was from God, and suddenlty the silence was broken, and the people cried out, “No! We will serve the LORD”.
There is no middle ground. It is all or nothing. It is passion for God, or it is lukewarm and fit for nothing but to be spat out.
~ Rev. Albert Esselbrugge
Music excites people. In fact it can become quite a hot topic when we talk about how music may, or ought, or should be used in worship to the glory of God. When I was much younger we used to get quite excited about the symbols of the hippie culture and if what they represented could appropriately appear in Christian communions. I have seen people get quite animated when talking about the annual budget of congregation. Then there are those who get quite worked up over how a person should be dressed when they go to church. I have seen people storm out of church over not finding their Bible and hymn book in the pew they always sat in. Those things are all more or less cultural things. They may have a Biblical principle behind them, but it will more often be something about personal taste.
Then there are those who get excited about mission and diaconal, or some other project. These people believe this is important and that there is something fulfilling in the work of mission and practical help to people. Some are especially gifted and passionate in “selling” their conviction and are able to gain the support of others to join them in the work.
Don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not putting any of these things down. I too have strong opinions about some of those things, and I hope those opinions are driven more by Biblical principle than personal likes or dislikes.
What I am seeking to do here is develop a contrast. What I miss in the life of the Christian church of today is a passion for Biblical, God honouring truth!
A picture that I find very compelling and that springs easily to mind is the reformer Martin Luther stabbing his knife into the table and leaping up before his accusers and defending the truth of Scripture crying out, “Here I stand. I can do no other!”
I remember attending a Synod of our churches when I was still a student for the ministry, and seeing the passion of some of the speakers, and squirming a little at the heat of some of the debates. What strikes me now as I look back, was that while there was heat in the defence of Scripture, I wasn’t aware of any tension among the delegates. Today in contrast we have munch tension but little heat.
Today we get excited about all kinds of things, but the real heart of the defence of the glory of God hardly seems to stir much feeling at all. When a person introduces pagan ideas on prayer into a Christian worship service, few even seem to notice. If someone were to suggest that being good and doing kind acts is as important and perhaps more important than believing Jesus Christ being born of the virgin, who suffered and was crucified for the sins of His people, and who rose again from the dead after three days so that all who by faith ALONE turn to Him are united to Him forever, would there be much interest in debating that! It sometimes seems not.
Our Lord in Revelation 3:15-16 speaks about lukewarm Christians as something He will spit out. The picture here is a person looking to take up a nice cool refreshing glass of water on a hot day, or a person sitting down to a good brew of hot tea, but what they get is something at body temperature. It’s unexpected. It’s unpleasant and disappointing, so they immediately and in digust spit it out.
Lukewarm faith is not pleasing to God. It doesn’t refresh His heart and bring joy to Him. It’s not pleasing to Him, so He spits it out.
The fact is, as is incessantly brought to our attention throughout the Bible – we cannot serve God and man!
God told Joshua and the people of Israel to choose. Their choice was between the idols of the people around them, or the Lord (Josh 24:14-15). Can you imagine the scene? Joshua crying out to the nation “If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then coose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” I imagine a silence lying over the people like a blanket, following Joshua’s challenge. His call was momentous, and the people kew this was from God, and suddenlty the silence was broken, and the people cried out, “No! We will serve the LORD”.
There is no middle ground. It is all or nothing. It is passion for God, or it is lukewarm and fit for nothing but to be spat out.
~ Rev. Albert Esselbrugge
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