The Hot, the Cold and the Luke Warm.
Scripture puts it this way; I wish you were either hot or cold, but seeing you are neither I will spew you out of my mouth.
So what do we make of this, how do we break it down?
It’s time to distinguish between the hot, the cold and the lukewarm.
Taking the words at face value makes no sense it’s meaning has to be unpacked.
First of all there are two different issues at stake here not just one.
Many assume the hot are believers, the cold unbelievers with the lukewarm tepid Christians; wait not so fast. The first part is correct the second needs to be looked at along with what constitutes the lukewarm.
Everyone knows what hot and cold represent; it is a question of temperature they easy to distinguish; it’s either one or the other, it’s not complicated. Like it is in the natural; so it is with the spiritual.
Zealots by definition are ‘hot’ or passionate while the ‘cold’ are more detached; therefor they can’t work up a sweat. Easy to understand, right.
Atheists nowadays especially the online ones are not cold by the definition of the word or any stretch of the imagination; to the contrary in fact.
When they attack faith it is with the same zeal zealots reserve for their beliefs. So there’s a peculiar contradiction at work. Believers have a reason for their fervour; non-believers don’t; what they have is just emotionalism.
A passionate atheist doesn’t have the same ring to it neither does a fervent unbeliever.
Following this logic if one is not hot or cold they in-between; so by this standard they are lukewarm.
In a nutshell believers are the ones graded as either hot or cold so it’s their level of commitment that separates them; but for the in-betweens it is unbelief AND posture.
The premise is the uncommitted or less committed believers can change but unbelief is another story altogether. They choose to believe a lie we are told.
It is an attitudinal problem; with wilful ignorance, double-minded doubt or an axe to grind at the heart of it.
The always-in-doubt and the perpetually offended fall into this bracket as do deconstructionists apostates and so on.
The doubting are like students who are always learning yet never reach any understanding, in the end they forget the purpose of study and end up confusing themselves. And the offended? Well, the word speaks for itself.
Continuing with this theme; consider the idea the gospel is an offence at a basic level; until it is illuminated and people grasp it; then they are offended no more.
Think about, mull it over; I wish you were either hot or cold!.
That is because the alternative is ……..much worse.
