Many “Christians” are content to put very little effort into their service to God.  They seldom pray to God or read their Bible and meditate on the word.  They don’t share their faith in Jesus with others.  They seem to think that by just attending the Sunday morning church assembly that they have somehow accomplished what God wants them to do to worship Him; the rest of the week is then theirs to live as they please.  But how does the Bible describe the life you should lead as a true Christian?

First of all, you do not belong to yourself anymore.  You are redeemed so that you now belong to Jesus Christ.  Titus 2:13-14 “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”  Since Jesus died to redeem you, should you not desire to be zealous for good works to serve Him?  The following verse describes how you are to live.  Romans 12:11 “Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”  The word diligence means earnestness or zeal.  The word fervent implies something very hot and glowing.

If fervent is very hot and ice is very cold, something in the middle is lukewarm.  The church at Laodicea was found to be lukewarm.  Revelation 3:14-19 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:  I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” Recently, I was able to go to modern day Turkey and visit the ruins of the city of Laodicea.  It was a pleasant spring day with fields of beautiful wild flowers.  The ruins of Laodicea were impressive.  Across the valley I could see the ruins of the city of Hierapolis (mentioned in Colossians 4:13) where there are hot springs pouring from the ground.  Not far away in another direction was the site of the ancient city of Colossi.  By that site was a small canal with ice cold water that came from the snow covered mountains beyond. The hot springs at Hierapolis would be pleasant for bathing.  The cold streams near Colossi would be pleasant for drinking cold water on a hot summer day.  But Laodicea was between Hierapolis and Colossi. It was neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm – not desirable for anything.

I am sure that Jesus Christ does not want you to be cold for Him; that could mean that you have little faith or reject Jesus.  But He also doesn’t want you to be lukewarm for Him.  The lukewarm church was described as “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” and He was going to vomit them out of His mouth. The only alternative left is that you must be hot for Him.  In other words, you must be zealous for Him.

How do you become zealous for Him?  Zeal is akin to diligence.  Diligence is a combination of hard work and a long-term effort.  Where should you be diligent?  2 Peter 1:5-11 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.  Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  The first two things that you are to give all diligence to add to your faith is virtue and knowledge.  Virtue is moral excellence.  Knowledge must be knowledge of God and His word.  I am convinced that no one can be appropriately zealous for Jesus Christ without being into the word; by that I mean reading and studying the Bible.  If you want to be hot for Jesus Christ, you must begin by being diligent to have moral excellence and to read and study the Bible.

You should be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.  2 Peter 3:13-14 “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”  You should be diligent to enter the rest that God has prepared for you.  Hebrews 4:11 “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”  The example of disobedience was the Israelites in the wilderness who complained and rebelled against God.  Hebrews 6:10-12 “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.  And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”  Don’t become sluggish but be diligent to the end.

Do not be content to be lukewarm for Jesus Christ.  Instead, be zealous for Him.  Zealous to share Jesus with those who do not know Him.  Zealous to serve others as you would serve Jesus.  2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  Be diligent to make your call and election sure.  Begin by being diligent in moral excellence and in reading and studying the Bible.