“³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die:

⁵ For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:3-5

Sadly there are untold thousands who sit among the congregation on Sunday morning who believe themselves to be rich, increased with goods and have need of nothing.  Seeing they see not that they are wretched, miserable, poor and naked (Revelation 3:17).

“¹⁵ I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out of My mouth.”  Revelation 3:15-16.

They are neither hot nor cold.  In spite of their zeal and sincerity they are in fact lukewarm.  Jesus says He would rather them be hot.  That is understandable, right?

However, the Lord also said He would rather them be cold instead of lukewarm.  The lukewarm sit in their pews, sincere but sincerely wrong.  They do many spiritual things yet walk not in the Spirit.  In need of  nothing, they have devised their own philosophies and methods to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil.  The sanctimonious ceremonies and long held religious traditions appeal to the flesh of man.

In short, the lukewarm bring reproach to God because they attach their worldly methods to the work of God.  They go under the guise of Christianity just to soothe their conscience.  You will probably see many of them dressed in their best Halloween attire in a couple of weeks.  At least the cold do not claim Christianity, therefore their deeds, albeit “good” deeds, do not bring reproach to God.

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3.

Poison, when accidentally ingested, remains poisonous.  Eve was deceived by satan.  “You shall not surely die” satan declared to her.  “Your eyes will be open and you shall be as little gods” said satan (and Kenneth Copeland by the way) in his plan to deceive Eve and she ingested the poison fruit that separated her from God.  She was not longer spiritually alive unto God but dead in her sin and trespasses through deceit.

“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15.

Please allow me to say it again, sadly there are untold thousand who sit in the church pews every Sunday morning who are zealous for God.  They sincerely love the Lord.  However, week after week satan’s ministers, who have been transformed as ministers of righteousness, are ministering seeds of death to the congregation.  They are ingesting poison, albeit unknowingly, and they are spiritually decaying and lethargic.

“The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.

There is life and life more abundantly in the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His redeeming work on Calvary’s Cross.

Recognize the seeds that are being planted in your spirit.  Is it Jesus Christ, Who He is and what He has done to break the power of sin in the Believer’s life or is it another gospel and another Jesus that goes under the banner of Christianity yet presents humanistic psychology as another method to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil.

Prayerfully consider.

-Donna Clark Warren