Neither Hot Nor Cold
By: Laura Ackley
Verse of the Week: “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Rev. 3:1).
Extended Reading: Revelation 3:14-22, Luke 14:34-35 A Christian is a person who has had their lifeless heart of stone replaced with a new heart of flesh that beats with new affections for Jesus Christ. Indeed, they are filled with the Holy Spirit of God Himself (Ezek. 11:19, 26). They are completely new creations in Christ—the old person is gone, and a new person has been recreated anew in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17).
When one is “saved” their old self dies for good—their life is no longer their own as they have committed their heart and soul to follow Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King of all. The “old” that passes away upon one’s conversion is the person’s sin nature as they are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, declared holy saints in His sight, and bestowed the honor as adopted sons and daughters of God. Christians are completely changed by the power of God; they are “born again” (John 3:3). This radical transformation in the life of a believer is not brought about by their own personal power and strength; rather, it is a miracle performed within them by God Himself that can never be undone based upon their faith alone in Christ alone.
So, is it even possible for a true believing Christian to be so unmoved and unchanged by Jesus that they blend in with the rest of the world? Is a Christian able to live their lives without Christ as the priority, to continue in their fruitlessness, or lack conviction in regard to their habitual, willing sins? Maybe for a season; there are dark nights of struggle that last for extended seasons. But, if the long-term trajectory of one’s life lacks evidence of Jesus’ lordship and the Holy Spirit’s impact, this is a person that cannot possibly know and be known by the Christ. It is an impossibility to come to Jesus and remain unchanged. In John 3:3, Jesus told us plainly that in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, a person must be born again—regenerated, recreated, reborn in Christ.
The Word is actually quite rich with warnings to those who claim Christ yet are lacking evidence of rebirth. It is quite a serious matter addressed time and time again by multiple Biblical authors. For example, Jesus addressed the church in Laodicea about this problem saying, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either hot or cold! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16). In James, such people were referred to as “adulterous people” as James explained that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). Additionally, in 2 Timothy 3:5, Paul explained that there are people that have an “appearance of godliness,” yet the power of God is not evident in their lives proving that they are not truly His. Probably one of the most heartbreaking verses on this topic came from the mouth of the Lord Jesus as He explained to the crowd around Him, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven” (Matt. 7:21). The plain truth gleaned from combining these verses is that we are either all in with Christ, meaning Jesus is actually the Lord of our lives, or we are completely lost and not in Christ at all.
Let’s think about it like this, when we really believe something, action inevitably follows. For example, if we really believe that the sun burns our skin, we will put sunscreen on our children to protect them. If we really believe that a tornado is coming, we will take shelter. If we really believe that we were once under the wrath of God due to our sins and Jesus took our punishment on the cross in our place, our lives will change—our genuine faith will shape our actions and we will follow Jesus—the one who loved us and gave Himself up for us. Now, we must not become confused, Jesus “saved us, not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). We are absolutely not saved by our good works or performance in following Jesus. We are saved by God’s mercy as He regenerates us in the Holy Spirit. This regeneration will result in action. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (Jam. 2:26). A professed faith that is void of Holy Spirit empowered works indicates that Jesus is not the Lord of one’s life. This is a dead faith—a faith that doesn’t lead to salvation. While works do not save, a lack of works reveals an unchanged heart and a spiritually dead life. In short, good works are not what saves us; instead, our Salvation will produce good works. This is why Jesus explains, “by their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:16).
In many churches, the idea of “born again” is tragically lost. It has been replaced with what has become an actual theological term to refer to a predominate movement in Christianity: “easy believism.” Easy believism is essentially the teaching that if a person expresses belief in Jesus or says that they prayed a prayer at one point in their life, then they are declared unquestionably saved for all eternity. It’s that easy, right? No fruit? No commitment to following Jesus as one’s Lord? No problem… if you prayed a prayer at one point. When this person is asked, are you a Christian, they will likely go on to explain that they walked the aisle and repeated a prayer after the minister. The truth is, “one time in my life I prayed a prayer” is not evidence of regeneration. While there is nothing wrong with being led in a prayer to repent of sin, confess belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and submit one’s life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the emphasis of the “sinner’s prayer” is often upon performing the work of praying “magical” words for salvation while failing to communicate that to be a Christian is to die to one’s former life and to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. The life of a born-again Christian will unquestionably be evidenced by commitment to following Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior until one’s dying day. It is as Jesus explained, “but the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13).
Remember the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13? Jesus addressed this exact experience. In Jesus’ first sowing seed example the Gospel was shared, but the Gospel was immediately devoured by Satan and the hearers never professed faith in Jesus at all. In two other examples, the Gospel is shared, and the people initially receive it with joy, enduring for a short time… but time revealed that whatever these people were feeling inside wasn’t genuine faith because they fall away from Christ and never return to Him—they bear no fruit. They might have walked an aisle and prayed a prayer due to an emotional experience after hearing the Gospel, but it “proved unfruitful” (vs. 22) and these people “fall away” (vs. 21) because these people were never born again and never truly committed their lives to following Jesus as Lord. If they had, then they would never leave the hand of God, because when Jesus saves, it is forever. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Only in Jesus’ last description of people receiving the Gospel does the person actually experience eternal life, experience saving faith, and produce lasting fruit.
In conclusion, let’s remember, when Paul came to Corinth—He didn’t ask them, “at any point in your life did you profess faith in Jesus?” Instead, he exhorted the congregation saying, “test yourself, examine yourself to see if you are in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5). It is clear, there must be ongoing fruit in our lives if we claim to be saved, filled with the Spirit of God, and created anew in Christ. Of course, it only makes sense, if the Spirit of God indwells us, we will be changed! Since where we will spend eternity is the most important thing we need to figure out on this earth, we do well to heed Paul’s advice. We should examine our lives and see, are we in the faith? Or are we just people that say “Jesus is Lord” when it is convenient, but our lives reflect the opposite? We might fool others with our good deeds, occasional Christian Facebook posts, and church attendance. We might even fool ourselves, but we will not fool the One who searches hearts. “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:19).
If by the power of the Holy Spirit, you feel convicted of your sin and recognize that you have never truly surrendered the control of your heart and life to Jesus, come to Him. Anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus Christ as Lord in faith shall be saved, washed, sanctified, made righteous, reborn, regenerated, recreated, and filled with the Spirit of God forevermore. If you recognize that you have been living a fruitless life for your own kingdom and glory, repent and believe in the saving Good News of Jesus Christ. He took your place on the cross. The punishment for your sins has been paid. Come to Jesus and ask Him to fill you with His Spirit and change you from the inside out!
Glory to God!
Come to Jesus.