Many “Christians” are content to put very little effort into their religion. They seldom pray to God or read their Bible. They 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.” As a result, you are to be pure and righteous and zealous for good works. The following verse describes how you are to live. Romans 12:11 “Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” 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 3:14-20 “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.” I am sure that Jesus Christ does not want you to be cold for Him. 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 the word of God. 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.
Do not be content to be lukewarm for Jesus Christ. Instead, be zealous for Him. Be diligent to make your call and election sure. Begin by being diligent in moral excellence and in reading and studying the Bible.