Obsessing about lukewarmness Rev. 3:16

[Ribosome]

what does that verse really mean? does it mean a christian can lose salvation? Jesus says he will spit out the lukewarm christian.

this is a link to a website that explains that verse: Why did Jesus speak so strongly against lukewarm faith?

that article seems to state that jesus was also talking to true believers, not just professors, when he said he will spit them out for their lukewarmness... doesn't that mean they will lose their salvation?

this is a quote from the article: "The Lord rebukes and disciplines the true believers in the church of Laodicea, commanding them to repent. He sees their lukewarm attitudes as “shameful nakedness” that needs to be clothed in the white garments of true righteousness. He urges them to be earnest, or zealous, and commit themselves totally to Him, for He will reject their lukewarmness by spitting them out of His mouth."

 

[raven1]

Hi, did your doubt about God come back. If so I am so sorry.

 

[peggy sue]

what does that verse really mean? does it mean a christian can lose salvation? Jesus says he will spit out the lukewarm christian.

this is a link to a website that explains that verse: Why did Jesus speak so strongly against lukewarm faith?

that article seems to state that jesus was also talking to true believers, not just professors, when he said he will spit them out for their lukewarmness... doesn't that mean they will lose their salvation?

this is a quote from the article: "The Lord rebukes and disciplines the true believers in the church of Laodicea, commanding them to repent. He sees their lukewarm attitudes as “shameful nakedness” that needs to be clothed in the white garments of true righteousness. He urges them to be earnest, or zealous, and commit themselves totally to Him, for He will reject their lukewarmness by spitting them out of His mouth."

most misquoted verse in history, the whole context behind this verse concerns the town he was addressing, they had a water problem, they would have understood what Jesus was saying to them, the water they had was not cold as it is from a good fresh spring, and neither was it hot so as it could be useful but their water supply was tepid water and its not a safe source for drinking.........did you ever wonder why Jesus would wish they were either hot or "COLD" what good would a cold Christian be? you can check this out for yourself, google "Laodiceans water supply"

 

[Ribosome]

raven: no my doubt about God's existence has not come back... it comes back for short periods of time sometimes though.

peggy: i appreciate your help, but the link i gave to the article explains the water supply part. it still however claims that by cold water it means a unsaved person who is against God.

does anyone else have any knowledge on this subject? my OCD been bothering me about this issue.

 

[Paige_something]

Hello,
I too have struggled with this question as my nature tends to get a bit OCD as well (but you’ll be pleased to know that I no longer struggle with these Verses – we’re more than conquerors through Christ, after all!).

In these times of anxiety, take a step back and remember that Scripture does not contradict itself. In 1 John 4:18 (NKJV), The Bible says: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love”.In Romans 5:8-9 (NKJV) The Bible says: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”


In Romans 5:17 it says that through Jesus Christ we have the abundance of grace (abundance speaks of something which is great in amount, and grace is God’s undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour), and the gift of righteousness (therefore, it is not a reward for anything good that we could do, and it isn’t something we could earn). Jesus Christ loves you, He is your perfect Father, and nothing can separate you from His love – not any of your fears! Your faith in Him alone has caused God to say that He does not remember your sins and your lawless deeds any more (Hebrews 8:12). So what am I trying to say? – I’m trying to say that God isn’t basing your salvation on your performance. There are many verses which state that we’re saved by grace through faith, and not through our performance (check out Ephesians 2:8, Romans 4, Titus 3:5, Romans 8:1, Galatians 3:24-25, and Matthew 11:28-30 for a few more examples, but this list is in no way exhaustive!).


Now that we’ve got this as our foundation, I’ll continue with what others have told me in response to this question etc. I’ve been blessed with being surrounded by many spiritual leaders who have poured their experience and security in God’s love and grace into my life. So, when I asked them if lukewarm Christians were still saved, here’s one of their responded:


She responded by saying that this verse isn’t about condemning these believers. Jesus was comparing them to the water supply in the area, just to say that the way they lived their lives was not pleasing to Him. When people tasted the water in this area they’d want to spit it out because it didn’t taste very nice – God isn’t saying here that He’s going to send these believers to hell. Rather, He is just using a natural comparison that they’d understand, not to illustrate that they would be condemned, but to reveal that the way they lived wasn’t pleasing to Him.

She also quoted Isaiah 42:3 (NLT) which says:

“He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
He will bring justice to all who have been wronged”


She used this Scripture to say that even if we just have a “flickering” interest in Jesus, He can work with that! He’s not going to condemn you – rather, as you simply rest in His love and grace in your life, and as you focus upon Him and His finished work, He will fan into flame this passion for His name! – Honestly, He loves you! And once you get a greater revelation of His love, it will calm all of you fears, and it will empower you to love both Him and those around you (1 John 4:19, Zephaniah 3:16-17)


I’ve also heard a few other explanations about these verses. I’ve heard that these people Jesus was
addressing were people who didn’t feel that they needed a saviour anymore. & from your worries about these verses I can tell that you know that you need a Saviour, just like we all do!


Also, a grace preacher who I love, called Joseph Prince, gave his explanation of these Verses in his book ‘Destined to Reign’. Part of what he said is this:


“…This verse has always been preached as if it was about our actions and behaviour. But Jesus said that He would rather we be cold or hot, and not lukewarm. This wouldn’t make sense if He was referring to actions and behaviour, because wouldn’t being lukewarm for Jesus still be better than being completely cold? Why would He want the Church to be cold (if they weren’t hot)?...


…The Lord was saying that He would the Church be cold - entirely under law, or hot – entirely under grace. You see, if you were at least completely under law, it would lead you into despair and into the saving arms of Jesus. The law would unveil to you your sinfulness and inability to keep the full measure of it, and this would cause you to see your need for His grace. But when you have a mixture, where you believe in grace, but still hold onto the law, you neutralise the convicting power of the law to bring you to the end of yourself so that you will cry out for the grace of the Saviour. This is why you cannot be cold and hot at the same time, or be both for the law and grace at the same time. The moment you attempt to balance grace with the law, you neutralise both, and each covenant is robbed of its full effect in your life. You become lukewarm because of the mixture, and God hates mixture because it robs you of the power to reign in life through the abundance of His grace!”


In a commentary of The Bible I have, the man says about Revelation 3:19, “The Lord’s love for The Church is seen in the fact that He rebukes and chastens it. If He did not care, He would not bother. With lingering tenderness, He calls on this nominal church to be zealous and repent”


So, God loved these lukewarm believers too!

You’ve got nothing to worry about!