Are we Lukewarm?

(The following was published in the bulletin at St Charles Bible Church – May 20^th , 2018, St Charles MN)

     I have several restaurants now that cater to my thirst for HOT coffee.  So, I don’t have to ask the waitress anymore—when I come in, she will pour a tall cup of coffee, take it to the microwave, and then bring it to my table.  I do try to faithfully reward them for their kindness. 

     To Jesus, lukewarm drinks are disgusting.  He makes the comparison of His Church being like water that is neither hot nor cold.  “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth.”  (Rev 3:16)   One conclusion I am coming to—the pews in lukewarm churches are occupied with lukewarm believers. 

     What the popularist calls “the church” hasn’t fared so well in recent years.  The Catholic Church in the US has paid out more than $4 billion, according to new research carried out by the National Catholic Reporter (NCR).  A growing group of Southern Baptist women called for Paige Patterson to be removed as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), due to what they claimed was his “unbiblical view of authority, womanhood, and sexuality.”  I was dismayed by several of the churches that are listed in Wikipedia’s ‘article’ called “List of Christian denominations affirming LGBT”.  “The question is whether evangelicals will remain true to the teachings of Scripture and the unbroken teaching of the Christian church for over two thousand years on the morality of same-sex acts and the institution of marriage.” (Jeff Johnson) Also, the “church” has been enticed with “get rich” schemes by “Prosperity Gospel” preachers, who not only preach, but practice lavish lifestyles.  The lukewarm church of Laodicea has been with us for a long time!  The words of warning by Jesus for the Laodicean church isn’t “Will they survive?” but rather, “Will they be disowned?” by the very Person they propose to be representing. 

     To us who are fundamentalists, the warning of Jesus, “I will spit them out of My mouth”, begs the question, “Who IS Jesus talking about in His letter to the Laodicean church?  Are these “lukewarm attendees” even saved?  If they are, what is Jesus threatening will happen to them?  This passage of Scripture to the church at Laodicea sounds like the Old Testament book of Malachi.  “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on My altar!”  

That cup of coffee I was talking about.  It won’t stay hot without some attentive intervention.  What does that say about the church?    

 Pastor Jim B

   ’47 / ’56 St Charles MN

Doris Jean H

’44 / ’55 Manheim PA