In this little sermon, I've entitled it.
Are you hot cold or lukewarm? You remember last Lord's day?
We talked about measuring spiritual growth and when we're
finished with this lesson, I want you to privately ask
yourself. Am I hot cold or lukewarm?
The passes that we're going to be taking is Revelation chapter
3 and beginning in verse 15. I know your works that you are
neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or
hot, so then, Because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor
hot. I will vomit you out of my mouth
a couple of years ago. I gave a series on the seven
churches of Asia and the one that was considered the lukewarm
church was the church at laodicea.
You remember that I was going to take these two verses of
scripture and have a brief sermon on this particular
question. But remember this, when it talks
about the seven churches of Asia, I believe that the seven
churches of Asia were literal churches.
So we're talking about specific things and specific people that
were literal that actually met and worship God, and Jesus
describes them in various ways. But secondly, in addition to
that, they also represent the various conditions that
congregations of the body of Christ.
Can find them self in today, not only congregationally
collectively, but even individually as Jewel
Christians. Okay.
One of the brilliant things about the Lord is so many things
that he wrote were so brilliant because he knew, he always knew
exactly what to say. And if you look at all the seven
churches of Asia, you will find that Jesus uses illustrations
that they could have understood. For example, in laodicea, it was
known for their hot springs. They knew that and sometimes
there would be a hot spring and sometimes there would be a Old
Spring. Now hot is good, and cold is
good, but there were also times when the cold springs in the hot
springs would merge and mingle and it would become lukewarm.
I actually read from one scholar.
That said, this makes it brilliant with the Lord, says,
that people would go and they would dip something down to get
some of these. Some of the water from the
spring thinking, it was either hot or cold, put it to their
mouth, and it would be lukewarm, and they would spit it out of
their mouth. Jesus says, that's what you as a
congregation are Hot springs and Cold Springs.
That's good. You know, I thought about this
morning about coffee, got up really early with my study to
look over this little sermon that I decided to preach today
and I was drinking hot coffee and hot coffees.
Great. And cold coffee is great iced
coffee, but lukewarm coffee is not so great.
We need to do something with it, like heat it up or put some ice
in it, but lukewarm is not. Great.
Let's go back to verse 15, Dan and notice.
What Jesus says he says, I know your works and he says this, you
are neither cold nor hot. Jesus is knowing their condition
and is assessing them by saying you are not hot and you are not
cold. You are lukewarm and what he was
saying from a spiritual perspective.
You're no better than the notoriously lukewarm drinking
water that was in their town. He's taking their spiritual
temperature. Now, why does he say cold nor
hot? Well, hot is.
Obviously we, it's obvious Hot represents this.
Hot represents fervent and on fire.
Now let's not take this further or describe it further than it
really is. Let's make it very basic and
very practical someone that is hot fervent and on fire is just
a faithful child of God. A faithful Christian where God
is number one in their life. God is at the Forefront of their
thinking, they're trying their very best not perfect but trying
their very best to be a Christian and live a Godly life.
That's all that means. Don't think that this means that
they are people that read Some higher level of spirituality.
So what that means, that all our higher level of Holiness is just
talking about a faithful child of God.
And Jesus says, I wish you were either hot or cold.
We understand about hot. But why cold?
First of all, understand this, there's no blessing and there's
no reward in being cold. What is he talking about?
Well, I think that a cold person represents this.
I think a cold person represents an unsaved, sinner a
non-Christian I don't think cold means a Christian.
That quit the church. I don't think it means that at
all. I've heard people interpret this
by saying this, if a person is going to be lukewarm, it's
better to quit the church and be cold.
And the Lord would have more respect for them if they just
quit. I don't believe that's the
context here at all. I think the Lord was saying
this, it's better if you were hot, why?
Because if you're hot the word of God is still working in your
life, you're still aroused by the the words of God.
If you're cold, you're an unsaved sinner.
You're a non-Christian, you know what?
You're not saved in that current condition, but the word of God
still can prick your heart, and you can change and you can obey
the gospel and you can be saved. I think that's what cold means
now. What about lukewarm?
What's it mean to be lukewarm?
I think lukewarm is a self-satisfied Christian,
deceiving himself into thinking that he's safe.
I think it pictures. The person that is pretending to
be something he really doesn't intend to be.
I think that's the one and here's the big word, we always a
bad word hypocrite, that's somebody that's going through
the motions. That's somebody that lives, a
sinful life, for six days, does whatever they want, worldly
life, but they're there on Sunday, their ardor Church.
They're pretending to be something they never intended to
be. That is a lukewarm Christian.
And Jesus said that they this congregation they were all
lukewarm but there's another reason to there's another reason
to please get this. Have you ever stopped to
consider that a lukewarm Christian will do more to harm
the church than an unsaved sinner?
You know why? Let's just use me.
Okay, let's just put it all on me.
Let's just say, I'm not living like I should Let's just say
that I am living a life that is worldly or sinful that I'm
participating in sinful practices in the presence of
others that I should not. But I profess to be a member of
the church. I profess to be a Christian and
I tell people that I'm a Christian, what happens is
people that are in the world, compare their life to mine and
they say this, I'm as good as he is, or I'm better than he is.
In fact let me just tell you but all the things that Frank does a
lukewarm Christian will do more harm than an unsaved center.
Now I have to tell you this okay got to say this most people that
don't want to obey the gospel and become a child of God and
change their life. They make the decision first
then they look to somebody else and their example and justify
their choice. I believe that I believe a
person will do exactly what they want to do and then figure out a
way to blame somebody. D or cause somebody to be the
culprit as to why they won't. And that is the clear thing that
we always hear there's Hypocrites in the church or in
the religious world, right? We hear that all that is is
somebody justifying their behavior because they don't want
to do what's, right? It's somebody that's living a
double life. When we do that, we do more harm
than an unsaved Center. Burton Coffman says this though,
he said this church had lost its enthusiasm Zeal and excitement
concerning their, holy religion. Through the Ages, they have come
to stand for the most disgusting thing on earth, they had become
a fat lazy self-righteous into place at church basking in their
own presumed achievements, but completely unacceptable to the
Lord, very strong words, very strong words indeed.
So in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 15 Jesus says, I know your
works. I've assessed you, you're not
hot. Or cold.
But I wish you were cold or hot but you're not the next verse.
So then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot.
I will vomit you out of my mouth.
I have to say something to, that's I really want you to get
this. We don't ever want to have the
words come out of our mouth. Get in or get out.
Or you might as well just quit. Don't ever let those words come
out of your mouth to somebody that's struggling.
Spiritually. You know why they just might
quit? We don't want that.
Do we? I know the father that 20 some
years ago told his daughter that was struggling spiritually you
got to get in or get out and if you're not going to get in you
might as well get out. You know she did she got out.
You know, all these years have gone by, you know, where she is
out. We don't want to say that at
all. What we want to say is, is get
in. Stay and hang on, don't quit,
don't you? Dare quit.
Even if you're hanging on by a thread, don't you dare give up.
You hang on. That's what we want to tell
people because you know why we're going to find that.
If you're lukewarm, you can still get hot.
Hold that thought Burton Kaufman said this.
Do about the idea of being lukewarm.
He said this shows the contrast between the hot and medicinal
Waters of hieropolis and the cold, pure Waters of colossi.
There's the distinction, thus the church was providing neither
refreshment for the spiritually weary nor healing, For the
spiritually sick. You got to, you got to get hot
is what the Lord say. So let me just say this in
conclusion, I told you it's going to be short little sermon
I've done that has been 10 minutes.
Heart is fervent and on fire for the cause of Christ.
What is that? That's a faithful Christian.
If you're trying to live a Christian Life That's you.
If God is first in your life that is you that is you as a
child of God, what's cold? That's the unsaved sinner.
That's never obeyed. The gospel is that you today?
If that's the case, all you have to do is obey the gospel be
baptized for the remission of your sins and guess what.
You can be hot. A faithful Christian lukewarm.
Though is the hypocritical member living, a double life and
is self-satisfied with his current condition.
I read one scholar. One time that said that a
lukewarm Christian. Unfortunately, one of the
dangers, he doesn't even know. There's a problem, just going
right along. Satisfied and content just going
right along. So let me ask you this.
As I said, I would do this at the end of our lesson.
Let me ask you the question. Are you hot?
Are you cold or are you lukewarm now?
If you're cold. Come believing in Jesus.
Repent of your sins confess, his name as the Son of God and be
baptized in water for the remission of sins.
Now, if you're lukewarm, maybe you're looking at this passage
that we noticed and it seems kind of harsh.
Let me tell you what, the Lord said, this is all you have to
do, this is beautiful. The Lord said in verse 19 of
Revelation chapter 3, as many as I love.
Get that as many as I love. I rebuke and chasten.
Therefore be zealous and repent. That's all you got to do,
repent. Make those changes in your life.
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