There are many people who go to church, but they have no personal relationship with God. Some of them even know some scripture. It seems that people want to do Christianity and church without God. They just want to pick and choose what they like in the bible and base their set of beliefs around their preferences and add some church traditions to go with it. They believe they can have Christianity their way, like Burger King.
Then there are some true Christians that only want God in a very limited way. They love the traditions of the Church but God is not invited at all to move how he may want to move. If anyone starts feeling God’s presence and starts to express it that person is promptly corrected or asked to leave.
We shouldn’t be surprised of these things. In the Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy, he teaches us that people will have a form of godliness but deny the power of God in 2 Timothy 3:5 KJVS. He says:
“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
Some people want just enough God to make them feel good about themselves. They want to continue to live the lifestyle they want and they don’t want God to upset their program. The Apostle Paul warns us to turn away from such people.
If a relationship with God is not your motivation to identify yourself as a “Christian,” then you are not a Christian at all. First and foremost, you have to accept Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
The Apostle Paul explains how to be saved in Romans 10:9-10 KJVS.
[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
After you make this confession, you must seek a relationship with God. This is not just a one-time deal where you say a prayer and bam. you’re saved for life no matter how you live. I know some people believe that, but there is no scriptural basis to support that belief. The bible from Gensis to Revelation is about God trying to get people to seek a relationship with him. God did the hard work by sending Jesus to pay for the sins of mankind. Our job is to accept Jesus and make him not just Savior but Lord. Lord means you give up trying to live your life like you want instead you spend time reading and studying the bible and spend time with God to find out how he wants you to live and the purpose he has for your life. You will find that the bible reveals the heart of God for mankind. If you are newly saved, I recommend you read the Gospel of John in the New Testament first.
Remember our “good works” can’t get us in heaven. The only admission ticket to heaven is your relationship with God but just like any relationship we change over time as we grow in our relationship with God because we develop a desire to please him.
We can’t claim to be a Christian or just do church without God. He must be the reason and motivation.
We also can’t just put him in a box in Church or in our lives. We just can’t just give God a little bit of ourselves and a little bit of our church services. It’s all or nothing. Jesus told the church of the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:15-16 NKJV:
[15] I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
[16] So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
The KJV Life Application Study Bible gives some background information and a great explanation of these verses.
“3:15 Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities, known for its banking industry, its manufacture of wool, and a medical school that produced eye ointment. But the city had always had a problem with its water supply. At one time an aqueduct was built to bring water to the city from hot springs. But by the time the water reached the city, it was neither hot nor refreshingly cool—only lukewarm. Lukewarm water makes a disgusting drink.”
“3-16 The church in Laodicea had become lukewarm in faith and thus distasteful and repugnant. The believers didn’t take a stand for anything; apathy and indifference had led to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ, the church had become hard-hearted and self-satisfied. It was destroying itself. God won’t use an apathetic, self-sufficient, nominal Christian. Don’t settle for following God halfway. Let Christ fire up your faith and get you into the action.”
Jesus is saying he is not pleased with people who just have enough religion to make them feel good. He wants people who are on fire for him.
We all know it’s hard to witness to people who know something about Jesus and know some bible scripture who go to church occasionally but have no real relationship with God. This is why Jesus said he wished you were either hot or cold. A cold person who doesn’t know about Jesus or have religion is a lot easier to bring into a relationship with God because they can see their need for him. A religious lukewarm person becomes dependent on religious traditions and their own Christian beliefs that they have chosen to incorporate in their lives while discarding other parts of the Christian faith the bible teaches. It’s dangerous to hang around people like that because you open yourself to compromise. If you’re not careful, you will adopt some of their behaviors and beliefs and become just as watered down and lukewarm as them. That is why the Apostle Paul warned Timothy to stay away from such people.
In James 4:4, the Apostle James gives us a stern warning. He says;
James 4:4 KJVS
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
The Passion Translation gives a wonderful and clear translation of this verse. It says:
James 4:4 TPT
You have become spiritual adulterers who are having an affair, an unholy relationship with the world. Don’t you know that flirting with the world’s values places you at odds with God? Whoever chooses to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy!
We compromise our salvation when we start accepting the world’s values that are prohibited by God in his Word in our lives and in our churches. We become God’s enemy when we allow these things. There is no such thing as Christianity your way because of God’s grace.
God will not be mocked. He will not allow his grace to be abused. Grace gives us the power to live a life pleasing to God. It’s not a license to do you and live like you want to in a way that is contrary to God’s Word and believe that you are good with God because you said the sinner’s prayer.
The sinner’s prayer is just the introduction and the invocation to a lifelong relationship with God, just like a marriage proposal is just the first step in starting a lifelong marriage. No man with integrity will ask a woman to marry him without the intention to stay committed and faithful to her for a lifetime and no woman with integrity would accept the proposal for marriage without the intention to stay committed and faithful to him for a lifetime. God expects no less. He expects a lifelong commitment and faithfulness when you say the sinner’s prayer for salvation. He also expects you to daily learn of him to learn his ways and what he expects from you, just like you learn these things from your spouse after you get married. You start to learn daily, more things about your spouse and what each person expects from the other. It’s like that with God also.
Don’t allow yourself to have a false sense of security. God is a holy God. God is love, but he is also a God of judgment. No person will be saved unless it’s by the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus will only cover those who are truly repented and sincerely want a relationship with him. Grace without repentance and turning away from sin will not save you. You must turn from sin, and when you do sin, repent immediately. No one is perfect, but God has made a way to be forgiven as we choose to walk through life with him. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-26 KJVS:
[23] …If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
[24] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
[25] For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
[26] For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.
Jesus is saying in this passage that we must deny ourselves daily and live how God wants us to live. Jesus is not talking about actually losing our life by dying. He is talking about giving up our desire to live like we want in order to live for God. If we decide to live like we want without God, we will be condemned to an eternity in Hell, but if we live our life with and for God, we will enjoy an eternity with him in Heaven. It doesn’t do any good to gain fame and richest in this life just to suffer an eternity in Hell. If you are ashamed to identify yourself as a Christian believer, Jesus will be ashamed of you in the presence of God the Father and the Holy angels.
The bible is clear. God is not pleased with watered down lukewarm Christians. If you want to be a follower of Christ you must take up your cross daily by choosing to do God’s will daily, reading and studying the bible, and spending time with him. This is the only way to eternal life. The first step is accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Deborah K. Givens, Admin
