“I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.” Luke 6:47-48
There is a problem going on in America and many places all over the world today that was also going on 2000 years ago: Lukewarm Christianity. While studying, learning, and going through the Gospel of Luke for Press Bible’s next book, I have seen more than ever Jesus’ passion for His followers to truly follow Him. For it to be more than talk, more than a religion box that we check; more than a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. Speaking through John in Revelation 3:15-19, Jesus even says that He would rather us be cold than lukewarm. In other words, He would rather us not live for Him and say we don’t, than proclaim to be a Christian and our lives not reflect it.
How do we obey His commands? How do we live a life reflecting the character of God? How do we dig deep and stand on solid rock? How can floodwaters rise, tragedies happen, temptations come our way, and we stand firm?
We have to be well built. What does it mean to be well built?
Being well built doesn’t mean we never mess up, Paul addresses this internal struggle in all of us in Romans 7:21-25. So it doesn’t mean we never sin, but it doesn’t excuse us from actively striving towards Christ. Being well built means we must discipline ourselves to run our race well 1st Corinthians 9:24-26. In light of Luke 6:47-48, Jesus likens this idea of being well built to, “[Someone who is] listening to my teaching and then [who] follows it.”
So we must follow His commands. Following His commands is not something we do to just be good, but something that happens when we act out our geniune love towards our God and others.
Have you tried to tell someone that they need to follow God’s commands and hear, “Were are not bound by the law, not by our works by His Grace, Ephesians 2:7-10. We shouldn’t use the amazing gift of grace to excuse the standard that Jesus has set. Also, James 1:20-25 instructs how must live as well.
I have noticed the inconsistencies in my life results when I take His Grace for granted—“Cheap Grace.” Living in a constant state of “Cheap Grace” is how I define “Lukewarm Christianity.”
So how can we get past this “Lukewarm Christianity” problem?
Once we get past behavior modification and see our actions as an act of love towards our Savior and others, then our choices will begin to change. I know in my life when I’m near to God, when I spend time in His Word, when I pray to Him daily, when I pursue Him with all that I am, when I talk with other believers, and when I give my time to others, obeying His commands come more naturally. It comes out of the overflow of my life, which then helps me follow Jesus’ teachings, resulting in the ability to, “stand firm when the floodwaters rise and break against the house,” ultimately resulting to being “hot” spiritually. Sorry for the long run-on sentence!
So I pray that we might continue to live a life built on a solid foundation, a life attracting people to Jesus. That we transition out our natural bent to be complacent and lukewarm. I pray that if your foundation is about to collapse that you would start building—begin praying, reading His Word, or asking a friend for help. It’s not easy to remain steadfast in our faith, but by His “Costly Grace” there are new mercies every morning and we have God who is redeeming, unfailing and He, is the master builder.