“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16.

I have often thought about the hot and cold in Christ in terms of emotion or zeal for the Lord.  The temperature of a Christian was, to me, vertical.  However, I have come to realize hot and cold is more like the game of Hunt the Thimble.  The closer we are to the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, the hotter we are.  The lukewarm churches have turned the Bible into a history book and Jesus into a man who was born thousands of years ago or is soon coming.

“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:8-9.

Once a relationship is established with Jesus upon salvation, our fellowship begins with each other instead of the Lord.  What is suppose to be Biblical unity in the faith has become a religious community of self-righteous and proud believers.   As we fellowship with one another, twisting the scriptures to glorify us instead of the Lord, the lump becomes leavened.  We have neglected to allow His light to shine on our darkness and reveal to us our true condition.  We are proud of our condition instead of humble.   We are never taught trust because we were too busy rebuking the test instead seeking God for understanding.

There are many who gage one’s spiritual temperature by emotion.  If our faith is placed anywhere other than Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, we are indeed the ones who are lukewarm.  Our faith waivers to and fro based on our efforts and not His finished works.  Our faith in Jesus’ requires submission of our ways to learn the ways of the Lord.  The spiritual “Thimble”, if you will, is how close we are to the Truth for “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24.  When we take our emotions out of the way, how hot are we?  – Donna Warren