I just finished reading Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity by Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney. Near the end of the book (p. 143 ff), they ask a series of questions to ask of nominal friends, though they are probably good to ask of ourselves as well.
Do you love God? In your heart, do you desire to follow Him, worship Him, and obey Him? Does your professed love for God stretch into action? Does it have any practical effect on your life? Would others characterize you as one who loves God? Do you adore God? Do you want to adore Him? (See John 14 for more on this point).
Do you love the Bible? Do you want to follow the One whom it reveals, Jesus Christ, and follow His commandments? Do you enjoy reading the Bible and take nourishment from it? Do you struggle to read it and possess little desire to obey it? Do you care about the Bible? Do you seek to understand how it should be interpreted, or do you care more about how it fits or does not fit with your natural prejudices and opinions? Do you believe the Bible is true? Is it all true, or are only parts of it true (Psalm 119).
Do you love living out and sharing the gospel? Do you monetarily support other Christians in need? Do you share the gospel with lost people? Do you care if someone is lost? Is that a concern that comes quickly to your mind when talking with another person? Do you pray much for the salvation of lost sinners? Do you want people to be saved? Do you attempt to live out a Christian life in front of other people? Do you inconvenience yourself to present the gospel to others? Do you suffer in any form for the sake of the gospel? Or is your life free of the sting associated with vibrant Christianity lived out in a pagan world? Do you seek to win family members to Christ? Or do you assume they're fine? Do you ask them penetrating questions or do you simply assume that they are saved? When dealing with others, are spiritual concerns first in your mind? (Romans 10).
Do you love Christians? Or are they like any other group of people out there? Does your love take on a practical form? Do you desire to serve other questions? Do you care when you hear about suffering Christians in other countries? (1 John 3).
Do you enjoy church and draw nourishment from it? Is church endlessly boring to you? Do you like Biblical preaching? Do you see the need to be confronted about your sin? Do you avoid church in order to avoid being "judged" or "condemned?" Do you love interaction with other believers? Do you want to support the local church? Do you want to support missionaries? Does the spiritual good of other people concern you? Is it more important for you to do your favorite things on Sunday or to worship God with other believers? Do you continually struggle with finding the motivation to go to church? Do you want to go to church? (Acts 4).
Does the matter of eternity concern you? Do you want to go to heaven? Do you not want to go to hell? Do you believe in heaven and hell? If so, does your belief take any actional form? Do you desire to go to heaven to worship God for eternity? Do you want to go to heaven because that's where your favorite people and things are? Do you think about hell? Do you live as if eternity is real? (Revelation 20).
Does the Bible shape your ethics and morals? Or do you just go with what you feel at a gut level? When there is conflict between your natural inclinations and what the Bible says, which side wins? Do you ever change your mind as a result of reading the Bible? When making political, ethical, and moral decisions, do you consider scriptural teachings, or do you base your decisions on your moral sense? Do you want the Bible to shape your ethics? Does the Bible affect what you watch, read, and listen to? Do you ever avoid or turn off content that is Biblically offensive? Do you care if content is moral or immoral in an explicit sense? (1 John 1).
This was from the angel to the church in Laodicea: "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."-Revelation 3:15-22
2 comments:
Do you think we are asked to "leave Laodicea" individually, or this is a call to the corporate or individual church as well? What do we do if the church itself is Laodicean?
Not to put you on the spot...just left wondering about that, and came back to ask. :-)
Gen,
I think if we consider the counsel of the rest of scripture, individual lukewarm Christianity is certainly not desirable. There is such a culture of "I said the sinner's prayer, so I am all good" in the church today. I see many people who either discount or don't know about Matthew 7:21-23. We are saved by grace, but our goal is righteousness. If there is no evidence of new birth, one must wonder if it ever occurred.
I also think it is a call to the church; certainly the call to the Laodiceans was a call to the church. I am encouraged by moore and more churches who talk about sin along side of grace. We need to know what we are saved from and if we only talk about life issues and ignore sin, we are not preaching the full counsel of scripture.
What do we do if the church is Laodicean? Pray, exhort, confront? Let me know if you have thoughts.
Meanwhile, I pray that I continue to work out my salvation with fear and trembling.
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