A lukewarm Christian does more harm to the body of Christ than Satan ever could. It was lukewarm Christians that I first encountered as a young teen when I gave my life to Jesus.
I started attending a church and was utterly surprised to find other youth who seemed serious about their salvation experience too.
But it didn’t take long for my joy to turn into disappointment as I watched them compromise their Christianity just to follow the world and the ways of the flesh more than keeping with the principles of scripture.
I couldn’t understand how others could be so calloused towards Jesus Christ, yet claim to love Him.
I began to feel isolated and alone. I wasn’t born into a Christian household. I was the only believer in my home – a 14 year old kid in the hood with a fire in His heart for Christ. But as I continued hanging around those lukewarm believers, it wasn’t long before the fire in my heart began to grow dimmer and less intense.
I started to believe them when they said that I was too intense and taking this God thing too seriously. So I started relaxing a little.
And it wasn’t long before I was no longer as interested in Christ or His ways as I once was before. From there it became an easy spiral ending in a lifestyle of sin and a feeling of complete estrangement from God.
It took me close to TWENTY YEARS to dig out from under the effects of allowing myself to become tainted by the compromised lives of lukewarm believers.It almost killed me spiritually.
But for the grace of God and His undying commitment to rescue His own from the sins we so easily get ourselves entangled into, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now writing this. I would be languishing away in a prison cell somewhere – or worse.
Thank God He loves us better than we love Him!
When God asked me to shoulder this burden of responsibility of warning His children to repent and return home to Him – I jumped into it headlong. Because I can relate. This is why I write about the topics I deal with.
I know the backslider lifestyle well: I lived it personally. I also know what it takes to avoid backsliding. So let me help you if you’re finding it difficult to meet friends who encourage your sincere devotion to Christ.
If you’re serious about walking with Jesus, obtaining salvation and making it into His Kingdom – do yourself a HUGE favor and find some believers who are absolutely totally committed to living right for God. Dump those lukewarm friends for those who love Christ more than they love the world.
It’s better to deny yourself friends and pals in the short run in order to obtain salvation in Christ, than to miss out on entering His kingdom for all eternity – just because you wanted to dabble in worldliness while attempting to serve Christ.
God will only allow us to have one master – not two. It’s either Him, or He has to let us go and do our own thing. I did mine for many years. And boy ol’ boy did I pay the price! I honestly feel like Jonah in many ways had it better than I did!
If you’re already estranged from Christ, and you can remember a time when you loved Him with all your heart and soul – excited to go to church – elated about serving Him anyway you could – and you’re not there any more – it’s time to get that fire back! Return to the purity of that first love.
God will cleanse and forgive you of even the most horrible lifestyle. Trust me – I’m living proof of that. But you gotta ask Him to help you.
If you’re sincere, believe me when I say: before you can find the words to even ask, He will already be moving to answer you! That’s how excited He is about having you back again.
And that’s the kind of love our God has for His children.
By Mack Major – (Picture: Facebook)
