{"id":2421,"date":"2018-03-09T12:51:44","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T16:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=2421"},"modified":"2018-03-09T12:51:44","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T16:51:44","slug":"avoiding-a-lukewarm-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renewalministries.net\/avoiding-a-lukewarm-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding a Lukewarm Path"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WID.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2422\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WID.jpg\" alt=\"WID\" width=\"470\" height=\"246\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The following is an excerpt from Ralph Martin&#8217;s newly re-released booklet, &#8220;What Happens When I Die?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This may come as something of a surprise, but Scripture indicates that lukewarm Christians have a chance of being damned. I was surprised, even shocked, when I studied what God\u2019s Word said about this. Jesus\u2019 general attitude toward lukewarmness is vividly expressed in the following excerpt from Revelation:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>I know your deeds: I know you are neither hot nor cold. How I wish you were one or the other\u2014hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth! (Rv 3:15)<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scripture makes clear that saving faith is not just an intellectual assent to certain truths, or even an emotional \u201cborn again\u201d experience, but a commitment of the heart and will to act on and live in accordance with the words that our Savior and Lord speaks to us, in the power of the Holy Spirit. \u201cBe assured, then, that faith without works is as dead as a body without breath\u201d (Jas 2:26).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To profess faith in Christ without the corresponding actions is counted by Jesus as worthy of condemnation:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the \ufb01re. You can tell a tree by its fruit. None who cry out, \u201cLord, Lord,\u201d will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.When that day comes, many will plead with me, \u201cLord, Lord\u201d . . . Then I will declare to them solemnly, \u201cI never knew you. Out of my sight, you evildoers!\u201d (Mt 7:19-22, 23)<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Not to be fruitful for the Lord, not to use well what He gives us, is to run the risk of condemnation. Material possessions, gifts and abilities, time and resources, insights and faith\u2014an unpro\ufb01table use of any of these could result in their being taken away and their owners being declared unfaithful servants. This is what is indicated in the parable of the silver pieces or talents (Mt 25:14-30). The servant who has not made a pro\ufb01t with the master\u2019s money is stripped of the talents he was given and thrown into the outer darkness.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scripture also points out the dangers of becoming so involved in our ordinary, day-to-day lives that we do not remain alert to God, eager to do Christ\u2019s will, and ready for Christ\u2019s second coming. To be nominal Christians, but not to be clothed in righteous deeds, makes one un\ufb01t for the kingdom of God. Being invited into the kingdom is one thing; responding properly is another:<br \/>\n<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>When the king came in to meet the guests, however, he caught sight of a man not properly dressed for a wedding feast. \u201cMy friend,\u201d he said, \u201chow is it you came in here not properly dressed?\u201d The man had nothing to say. The king then said to the attendants, \u201cBind him hand and foot and throw him out into the night to wail and grind his teeth.\u201d The invited are many, the elect are few. (Mt 22:11-14)<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We also become liable for judgment if we fail to persevere in faith and obedience until the end of our lives or until the Lord\u2019s return. Short-lived enthusiasm followed by a drifting back into lukewarmness is just as dangerous. Christians who do not persevere, who return to serious sin or end up denying the faith, will be dealt with severely.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If we sin willfully after receiving the truth, there remains for us no further sacri\ufb01ce for sin\u2014only a fearful expectation of judgment and a \ufb02aming \ufb01re to consume the adversaries of God. Anyone who rejects the law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Do you not suppose that a much worse punishment is due the man who disdains the Son of God, thinks the covenant-blood by which he was sancti\ufb01ed to be ordinary, and insults the Spirit of grace? We know who said, \u201cVengeance is mine; I will repay\u201d and \u201cThe Lord will judge his people.\u201d It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:26-31)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is only one way for Christians to meet the criteria required for eternal life: we must allow the Lord to transform us and make us holy\u2014not just in external actions, but in our hearts and minds and wills.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is an excerpt from Ralph Martin&#8217;s newly re-released booklet, &#8220;What Happens When I Die?&#8221; This may come as something of a surprise, but Scripture indicates that lukewarm Christians [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,33],"tags":[514,515],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Avoiding a Lukewarm Path - 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