Friday, October 18, 2013

Cold Christianity

In the book of Revelation, Jesus makes reference to spitting a church out of his mouth because they were found to be neither hot or cold.  My fear is the lukewarm spirit Christ referenced matches well with the spirit found in many of our churches found in America.  Cold Christianity is simply not living out what The Bible says to be true.  It is giving verbal accent to the claims of Christ yet not seeing them at work in our own lives.  Cold Christianity is saying Jesus died for our sins yet living day to day like we will not have to give an account on the day of judgment of our every thought, word, and action.  Cold Christianity includes skipping over the reality of hell, forgetting lost people exist, and becoming so preoccupied with self to the point that truth is ignored.

Does reading this bring a reverent sense of fear in your spirit that one day we all will have to stand before a Holy God.  Are you devoted to Christ or are you devoted to the things of this world?  Is your life leading others closer to God or closer to the things of this world?  Radical Christianity (as if there were any other) is not taking a Bible and shoving it down another person's throat.  To the contrary, Radical Christianity is simply living out your life as if what the Bible contains in it is actually true.  We sometimes reference this as having a Christian worldview but what does this actually look like.  The best illustration I have heard comes from David Nasser, a well known youth speaker.  In making life decisions, we use the Bible as a sieve, sifting out everything that doesn't match with what Scripture says to be true.  Think of flour.  Flour is composed of a fine coarse material.  If it's not flour, it doesn't make it through the flour sieve.  David says we often use a coffee filter to explain this illustration but that does not adequately capture the true picture because how many times have you used a coffee filter yet found coffee grounds in the coffee you are drinking.  A sieve is much better in describing how certain life choices that are before us looked at through the lens of Scripture are completely sifted away forever.  In looking at the totality of Scripture, many of our daily choices can't even be forced through the Sieve of Scripture and must be tossed to the wind. 

In his book Radical, David Platt offers a 1 year challenge for believers to 1. Pray for the entire world 2. Read through the entire Word 3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose 4. Spend your time in another context and 5. Commit your life to a multiplying community.  Is this what a radical Christian looks like?  No doubt, these are good things to do and I am a big fan of David Platt's teachings.  However, we can't check these 5 things off a list and say that we have arrived.  Following God's Spirit is much more important in our life than checking off a list.  If you want to be a Radical Christian, simply do your diligent study in The Word and then do what it says in your life!

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