“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” – Revelation 3:15-16
I can’t picture God throwing up because of a person’s lack of passion. I can’t picture God throwing up, period.
Author’s note: I did say I was going to write about the opposite extreme of the obedience spectrum. I finally found the time to do so.
This is not to question the salvation of some Christians. This is more of a reminder of what the Bible tells us; that we are saved for a reason. Yes, God loves us so much that He gave His Son to die on the cross. By accepting the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, we died to our old selves and let Christ live in and through us. Yes, He not only lives IN us, but THROUGH us as well.
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance” – Ephesians 2:10
Most of us know it already – that upon accepting Christ, there should be a change within us; in the way we speak, think, act and live our lives. Yes, it doesn’t have to happen overnight. Yes, it’s a process, but the point is that it’s happening and at some point it should manifest. I remember Timothy Keller in one of his messages: “Good works are not means to be saved. Rather, they are signs that you are saved.”
James puts it in a very straightforward manner:
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. “ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. – James 2:18
This is not to say that faith alone cannot save you; that you need good works in order to be saved. Rather, this is to say that a claim should be backed up by evidence. Faith is manifested in a changed life through good works. It is a byproduct of the salvation you and I have received in Christ Jesus, and He tells us that we are to do it whenever we can in whatever way we can, as long as we have the power to do so.
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow” – when you have it now with you. – Proverbs 3:27-28
You can sit back, relax and view your faith as your ticket to heaven. But faith in Jesus is more than just your ticket to eternal life. It’s also a license to change the world, just as what Christ and His disciples did.
