Daily Devotional

A lukewarm person is “neither cold nor hot.” He neither sees his spiritual inadequacy nor is he actively being transformed by Christ. As a consequence, he has a false spiritual satisfaction.

Remember, we’re talking about the church here. These may even be people who pay tithe, who do outreach, who even teach or preach. Others admire them. These lukewarm Christians pat themselves on the back and think, “Well done, you.” They are content with—even proud of—their “respectability.”

Is this what Christ wants of us? Are we to be like the Pharisee in the parable instead of the tax collector, he who gloated, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men”? (Luke 18:11). The Pharisee was perfectly satisfied with himself, yet Jesus declared that the tax collector, not the Pharisee, was the one who was “justified” (v. 14).

Of the smug lukewarm Christian, Jesus says, “I will vomit you out of My mouth.” That’s a violent reaction. But it makes Christ’s point crystal clear: He is nauseated by a lukewarm Christian, someone with whom Christ is unable to abide. This is a person who thinks he doesn’t need repentance or reform. He goes around confidently professing the name of Christ, but he is nothing like Christ (Matthew 7:21–23). In so doing, he is actually working for the enemy. It is reprehensible enough to smear Christ’s character in the mud, but it is something else altogether to mislead searching souls by having the form of godliness and no power (2 Timothy 3:5). But that’s what a lukewarm Christian does.

He thinks he’s done what it takes to be saved. He doesn’t understand the gospel; he hasn’t experienced grace. And the tragedy about it is that in this state, Christ is unable to reach him. Christ knocks, but the lukewarm Christian thinks He is just another solicitor and declines to answer the door.

That’s the difference between being lukewarm and being hot or cold. When you are hot, you are in a state of remorse for sin and seeking after God. Being hot is filled with zeal and holy enthusiasm. But being lukewarm is the toxic state of not knowing your true condition before God. You think you are saved when you are still in need of saving. Many in the churches today fit this description. Do you?

Lord, help me to see my true spiritual condition. Shake me out of my mediocrity. Bring me to a place where You can reach me.

For Further Study: Psalm 139:23, 24; Matthew 6:24; 2 Timothy 3:1–5