What is Lukewarmness? -- Part 3

What we are going to be talking about in this message is more about what it means for a Christian to be conSidered "fervent" (which is what the Greek means, and has better understanding in our minds than "hot"), than what is lukewarm. No believer thinks that it is okay to be lukewarm. No believer I have ever personally known thinks it is a favorable condition. It is a spiritual condition to be feared and avoided "whatever the cost", and this will come into clearer focus later into the message. The point is that the goal of an earnest, sincere Christian is to be fervent in heart and spirit.

I think most people understand what it means to be fervent. It would be harder for us to misunderstand this than to understand it. To be fervent in anything is the opposite of relaxed and carefree and taking it easy. To be considered fervent in anything means to be totally committed; to be vigorously engaged; to be completely involved; to be aflame, ablaze, on fire. I have a particular preference to the idea of being steadily directed, for such a purpose of heart and mind comes from the Lord Jesus, Himself, as He said it in Matthew 6:22, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single (steadily directed), thy whole body shall be full of light".

What we say, or think, about our spiritual condition in this regard does not mean too much. All through my Christian life references have been made to persons who were, or are, "on fire for God". Such references have been made about many preachers in particular. Some even make comments like this in regard to themselves. It is better if others make such statements. Remember when Jesus said of John the Baptist that " ... he was a burning and shining light". (John 5:35) Any fervency of speech or action or facial expression or gesticulations mayor may not be from God or of the Holy Spirit. What we are describing here is afervency of spirit; afervency of heart; a fervency of attitude; a fervency of inner devotion to Christ and His cause in His church!

Some years past a church leader who had arisen to very high office within our denomination troubled my own spirit with a closing statement in each of his mailings. He would consistently say at the end of his communications, "Keep your hearts hot for God!". At the time I did not know why this did not come across to my spirit as genuine ... but did with painful clarity as later events unfolded, and deep, dark, and harmful results came to him, his family and the general body of Christ because of his shameful backsliding. You see, such admonitions from any church leader ... even a pastor such as myself .. tend to lead the hearers or readers to assume that such a person is saying that we are to follow their lead ... that they, themselves, are subscribing to such a high standard of spiritual fervency. Why would any church leader instruct others to a level of spiritual fervency that he or she was not experiencing? No one has confidence in a church leader who does not practice what he preaches, and we all know it, even if and when it is unspoken! The point is that simply saying that Christians in general, and church leaders in particular, should "keep their hearts hot for God" is meaningless unless it is true. Our Christian fervency must be discovered in our every day, every hour, every choice and every action living than in clever cliches' that sound super spiritual! I think that both the Bible and our study on this matter will support such a claim. The fervency of spirit we demonstrate throughout our entire walks with the Lord,and our service to Him and His church, is what God counts as good and vital.