The Gospel in Twenty Questions (12 page)

If Jesus is calling
us to be zealous for God, then we have three serious problems. The first is
that zeal is a subjective term. No matter how zealous or enthusiastic you are,
there will always be someone more zealous who makes you look lukewarm by
comparison. You lead two people to Jesus, but they lead a hundred. You fast
monthly, but they fast weekly. You go on a short-term mission trip to Canada,
but they relocate their family to a nation that persecutes Christians. On your
own, you appear to be a pillar of the church. But compared to them, you’re a
lukewarm slacker. You’ll wonder, “Am I doing enough? Will Jesus spit me out?”

But
don’t panic because it won’t be long before you meet someone who is doing less
than you. “I’m no Billy Graham, but compared to this person, I’m hot, hot,
hot!”

These
are silly examples because this is a silly way to think. It is the nature of
the Pharisee to make comparisons
—
“Thank God I am not like other men”
—
but
God doesn’t grade on a curve. His standard is perfection, and all of us fall
short
—
even that zealous missionary who took his wife and kids to Taliban
country. Religion deals in relatives, but God deals in absolutes.

Defining
lukewarm-ness in terms of your performance will make you insecure about your
standing with God. This leads to the second problem: a call for more zeal
promotes dead works.

The
lukewarm-ness of the Laodiceans put them in danger of being spit out or
rejected by the Lord. No one wants to be rejected by Jesus, so the usual
implication is that you should be
doing more stuff
. You gotta pray more,
witness more, travel more, volunteer more, study more, and give more.

But
think about this for a second. Since when did we buy into the idea that our
works make us pleasing to God? This is self-righteousness straight from the
tap. Jesus is not calling for works because that would amount to an admission
of defeat. It would be like he was saying, “My work remains unfinished,” or
“I’m the author but not the finisher of your faith.” How absurd.

To
try and improve upon the perfectly perfect and completely complete work of the
cross is to repeat the mistake of the Galatians. This is what Paul said about
them:

Only crazy people would think they could
complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. (Galatians 3:3, MSG)

The Contemporary
English Version translates Paul’s words like this: “How can you be so stupid?”
The Darby Bible says this: “Are ye so senseless?” In the words of the Bible,
those who trust in human effort are crazy, stupid, and senseless.

Contrary
to what you may have heard, we are not in a Mr. Enthusiasm contest. God is not
watching to see if you are hotter or more zealous than your brothers or sisters,
and Jesus isn’t going to spew you out if you don’t hand out a gazillion tracts.
Carnal zeal gets you nowhere with God.

The
third problem with defining lukewarm-ness in terms of zeal is that Jesus says
we’re better off cold. Either hot or cold is good, but lukewarm is bad. If
Jesus is talking about enthusiasm, why would he say it’s better to have none
than some? Why is it better to do nothing than something? This doesn’t make
sense.

Some
define cold as being totally opposed to God. “It’s better to be wholly hostile
to God than in two minds.” I know theologians excel in the art of making dumb
ideas sound plausible, but this one takes the cake. Why would Jesus wish anyone
to be opposed to God? This makes no sense either.

Lukewarm is what
you get when you mix hot and cold. Being hot or cold is good, but lukewarm is
bad. Jesus is saying, “I wish you were one good thing (hot) or the other (cold)
but not both mixed together (bad).”

Now
what are two good things that, if mixed together, give you something bad?
Here’s a hint: What were the Galatians mixing together? Answer: law and grace.
Grace is good and the law is good, but mix them together and you’ll end up with
something toxic.

Why
does Jesus say it’s better to be cold than lukewarm? Because if you live under
the stone-cold law, you will quickly recognize your need for the grace that
flows from the white-hot love of your Father’s heart. The law is good because
it leads you to Jesus.

Why
is it bad to be lukewarm? Because if you mix law with grace you’ll reap the
benefits of neither. Dilute the law and you diminish its power to condemn.
Dilute grace and you diminish its power to save. Do you see? We need
unadulterated law to reveal our great need, and we need pure, untainted grace
to receive from his great supply.

The
Pharisees were lukewarm because they diluted the law. They took the hard laws
and made them easier. They emptied the law of its power to condemn and so did
not recognize their need for grace.

The
Galatians were lukewarm because they diluted grace. They took the favor of God
and mixed it with a little circumcision law. They knew that we are saved by
grace but they didn’t know we are also kept by grace.

Are
you lukewarm? You are if you think you can impress God with your law-keeping
performance or if you think God gave us grace to help us keep the law. Don’t
you see? You can’t live under both grace and law any more than you can have a
hot and cold shower. It’s one or the other, not both.

Lukewarm religion
is the result of mixing that which cannot be mixed. But what does mixture look
like? For the Galatians it was grace plus circumcision, but today mixture
appears in subtler forms.

Mixture
is price tags on the gift of grace. It’s a little law but not the lot. It’s
unconditional love with conditions. It’s unmerited favor you have to work for.

Here’s
an example of mixture I have heard preached:

Favor is found by serving. Your job is to
obey; God’s job is to bless. If you’re not serving, you’re not experiencing
favor.

In other words, you
have to obey before God will bless you with his grace and favor. That’s mixed
up. It’s prostituting the love of God for the price of service. It’s a
monstrous attempt to manipulate a response from the Maker of heaven and earth.
That’s not faith; it’s Frankenfaith.

God
doesn’t bless us in accordance with our works of service but in accordance with
the riches of his grace. If you don’t believe me, look to Jesus, who is the
greatest blessing God has ever given us. How much service had you done before
Jesus died for you? None. If God gave us his Son while we were yet sinners,
what will he withhold from us now?

The
gospel declares we have been blessed with every blessing in Christ Jesus
(Ephesians 1:3). All the blessings of God come to us through Jesus alone. No
blessing comes any other way.

“But
Paul, we need to serve and obey in order to
experience
God’s blessing.”
That’s simply not true. The only requirement for experiencing God’s favor is
wanting it. Grace isn’t given to those who work, but those who believe.

Don’t
drink the toxic cocktail of mixture. Don’t fall for the lie that says grace is
for sale. Jesus shares the stage with no man. His is a perfect work. Our works
do not improve it. If you are feeling pressured to perform for Jesus, hear the
good law, which says, “You can never do enough,” and then hear the good news of
grace, which declares, “But Jesus has done it all!”

God never makes us
sick, but did you know it’s possible for people to make him feel sick? This is
the reaction the Laodiceans elicited from Jesus.

So then, because you are lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:16, NKJV)

Many Christians
worry that Jesus will reject them and spew them out of his mouth. Perhaps this
is something that troubles you. Don’t worry. It’s not going to happen. You are
part of the body of Christ. Jesus doesn’t vomit out body parts.

So
what makes Jesus nauseous? A good way to tackle this question is to think about
all the people Jesus met when he walked the earth and ask, “Who made Jesus
sick?” Was it the sinful? No. Jesus is a friend of sinners. Was it those living
meekly under the law? No. Jesus loved those who made an honest attempt to live
by the law (see Mark 10:21). Was it those who had faith but no law? No. Jesus
marveled at such people (see Luke 7:9). Was it his disciples, who were
sometimes thick-headed and carnal? No. Jesus loved his disciples and called
them his friends (John 15:12
–
15).

So
who made Jesus sick?

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful
outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. (Matthew
23:27, NKJV)

Nothing nauseated
Jesus like religious hypocrites who prescribed rules which they themselves did
not keep.

The
Pharisees liked to cast themselves as God’s men, busy with God’s work, but they
were phonies. Their high regard for the law was little more than lip service.
Jesus wasn’t fooled. He knew that if they had been honest about the law they
would’ve been silenced by it (see Romans 3:19). Yet the Pharisees were
outspoken and proud. They strutted around exalting themselves while criticizing
others for not being as good as they were. This hypocrisy made Jesus furious.

You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will
you escape being condemned to hell? (Matthew 23:33)

No one would deny
the Pharisees were zealous for God. But theirs was a carnal zeal based on the
lie that says we can make ourselves righteous. Jesus said they appeared
righteous on the outside, but on the inside were “full of hypocrisy and
wickedness” (Matthew 23:28). Instead of submitting to the righteousness that
comes from God, they sought to establish their own.

Now
let’s jump back to Revelation 3.

The
traditional view is that the Laodiceans were complacent and lackadaisical, but
I suspect they were as zealous as Pharisees. Their religious activity was well known.
Jesus said, “I know your deeds.” What were the Laodiceans doing? It doesn’t
really matter, but we do know Jesus was not impressed.

You say, “I am rich; I have acquired
wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Revelation 3:17)

The
Laodiceans were full of religious pride. Like the Pharisees, their attitude
was, “We’ve got it made and don’t need anything from anyone.” Instead of being
silenced by the law, they were boastful and self-assured. Instead of
acknowledging the poverty of their empty lives, they bragged about their
self-sufficiency.

Jesus
went to the cross so that we might be liberated from sin and redeemed from the
condemnation of the law. To respond with an attitude that says, “I need nothing”
is to insult the Spirit of grace and trample the Son of God underfoot. It’s to
stand with the Pharisees in smug self-righteousness and brag of how much you
are doing for God. 

Jesus
surely loved the Laodiceans, but he found their religion hard to swallow. It’s
not hard to see why. What could be more nauseating to Jesus than the attitude
that says, “You died for nothing.”

Now we begin to
understand why Jesus called the Laodiceans “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked.” If they had lived under the law, they would’ve known this already, for
the law reveals our poverty and shame. Paul looked into the mirror of the law
and said, “What a wretched man I am” (Romans 7:24). Even without the law they
should’ve known this from their own guilty consciences. But the lukewarm
Laodiceans didn’t know they were wretched, so Jesus had to tell them. It’s not
that Jesus is in the condemning business, but you will never appreciate the
grace of God if you don’t see your need for it.

And
this is why manmade religion is so dangerous. Nothing will keep you out of the
kingdom of heaven like the lie that says, “I can make myself good enough for
God.” And nothing will keep you from the grace of God like the faithless quest
for self-improvement. Sin will kill you, but religion will inoculate you
against the only cure.

Who’s
wretched and pitiful? It’s the one living in the pigpen of self-sufficiency.
Who’s poor? It is the one who rejects the riches of God’s grace. Who’s blind?
It is the one who does not see what Jesus has done for him. Who’s naked? It is
the one clothed with filthy acts of self-righteousness.

There
are those who say, “I am rich and do not need a thing” and those who say, “I am
poor and have a great many needs.” Only the latter can be saved, and in Christ
they are saved to the uttermost.