Lukewarm Christians

Before December 2024, I was definitely a lukewarm Christian, at least for a large number of years.

“If someone claims, “I know him well!” but doesn’t keep his commandments, he’s obviously a liar. His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.” ~ 1 John 2:4-6 (MSG)

Since awakening in July 2025 and receiving messages and visions that certainly were not from this world, I saw something profound.

There are many who claim the name of Christ as part of their identity and proclaim they are Christians.

However, they did not welcome LGBTQ or any marginalized people. They did not love them.

They thought they were superior to other humans.

If we, as self-proclaimed Christians, live in this way, then we overestimate our own worth. 

Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is God on High. But humans?

No human is worthy without the covering of Jesus Christ.

If we do not give money, energy, or time to those poor in material or poor in spirit…

If we lived just like everybody else in the world…

If we kept on focusing on ourselves, kept on taking more than we give, kept on consuming more than we produce…

If we kept on focusing on amassing the wealth of the world instead of serving and growing…

If we didn’t follow the laws of society because we felt we didn’t need to…

If we cheated governments on taxes and justified it, saying that they’re corrupt and wouldn’t know how to wisely use the money anyways…

If we continued sinning, living a life of sin, because we did not want to pursue sanctification…

If we kept on worshipping money, achievements, superficial sexual attractions, chasing wins, chasing being right, chasing validations from humans…

If we made excuses, saying that “it's not possible to be perfect anyway, so why bother trying?”… 

If we willingly ignored the Bible, God's Word, the Living Word, the Voice of God, who is God…

If we said things like “If God doesn’t accept <xyz>, then that’s not a God I want to follow or believe in”…

Then, we would’ve invented a god using our mind, while using the true God for our own purposes.

We would have dared to define God using human minds—a blasphemy that almost all humans do today. But we would’ve done it worse because we went to church and claimed to be Christians, bearing His Name, yet we still did this.

There's a difference between ignorance and purposeful ignorance.

I don’t know where the believers who remained purposely ignorant and rebellious as they passed from this world are today.

I don’t know where the believers who are purposely ignorant and not following God today will go after they pass from this world, especially if they don’t repent and turn their lives around.

I don’t know.
But I do know that if we’re still alive in the physical world, then there’s still time to repent.

God doesn’t seek perfection, but He seeks obedience.

He knows our hearts and minds.

He’s looking at intentions and actions because He knows lips often lie.

God never asked for believers.

He asked for followers.

Followers are a subset of believers and have Eternal Life, and the Holy Spirit lives in them.

Satan, fallen angels, demons, and all of the dark spirits of the world all believe in God.

Yes, even pawns of darkness believe in the Truth.

They don’t just believe. 
They know it all to be true.

They knew God from the beginning of their existence.

They hear the name of “Jesus” and tremble.

They tremble because they saw it all.

They saw and remembered their downfall and the pending judgment of their eternal suffering.

They saw God come to earth as Jesus and win over sin, and therefore death, and therefore Satan, and his entire kingdom.

Yet, they do not follow God.
They continue rebelling.

We need to follow Jesus because that's the perfect example that God gave us, Himself, in human form.

Jesus sees every single human alive today as the SAME.

He is NOT divisive without righteousness and love. 

He is Righteousness.

He is Love.

God sees ALL humans as imperfect.

As long as we have one single deviation from our original design, we are already imperfect. 

We are already corrupted by Adam and Eve's original sin.

“You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others. The same God who said, ‘Don’t commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Don’t murder.’ If you don’t keep even one of these laws, it’s as if you broke them all.” ~ James 2:10 (MSG)

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” ~ Romans 3:23 (NIV)

ALL sins are deviations from our original design. They are what separates us from God and eternal life.

The Bible is so clear about this that if any self-proclaimed Christian acts or even thinks unlovingly, they should look deep into themselves, search their heart, pray, and ask God to search their heart and surface the sin that's causing them to be judgmental and divisive without love.

Any Christian who does not welcome people of ALL races, faiths, sexual orientations, gender identifications, backgrounds, or ANY characteristic and traits, needs to first look within themselves, repent, and take action to change themselves.

"It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor." ~ Matthew 7:3-5 (MSG)

No human has the authority to judge for salvation. 
Only God can judge us and determine our final destinations.

We are called to lovingly correct and teach one another, addressing sinful behaviour while remembering that only God judges hearts.

We are called to be holy, a different people, righteously divisive, rooted in love and truth, with a constant desire for all people to obtain salvation, eternal life, and be delivered by Jesus, God.

We can never say anything about a specific person's salvation. That's only known to God. If any self-proclaimed Christian judges as if they were God, then I fear for their salvation.

Lukewarm Christians bear His Holy Name while choosing not to follow despite hearing the Good News and believing it.

Lukewarm Christians' actions cause non-believers to suffer more. They lead people astray when they do not stand out. They conformed to the world and often behaved far worse than non-believers. It’s much harder for someone to believe in God when they have met people who claim to know God but live a life of obvious sin and do not overflow with the Fruit of the Spirit: 

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.” ~ Galatians 5:22-23 (MSG)

Jesus, God, declared:

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

~ Revelation 3:15-22 (NIV)

Once in a while, I can meet a true warrior, one with thick skin because he or she knows they are nothing without God. They are not afraid of judgment because they know they must carry their cross daily, and like curious children with minimal egos, are always open to knowing if they are on the right path or not.

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The New Testament is explicit that belief without discipleship or obedience is not the faith Jesus or His apostles taught. It repeatedly warns that merely claiming to believe while living no differently than the world is self-deception.

Here are the clearest teachings:

Jesus on false believers

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father.” ~ Matthew 7:21–23 (NIV)

Jesus separates professors of faith from practitioners of obedience. Even those who did miracles in His name were rejected because they “practice lawlessness.”

Jesus on lukewarm believers

“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.”

~ Revelation 3:15-16 (MSG)

The “lukewarm” are those who claim faith but live comfortably like the world — neither denying nor following Christ fully.

This is how I felt about a close friend of mine, who I suddenly realized was a lukewarm believer. As I drew closer to Jesus and was transformed, I felt disgusted by his way of life. I felt this way because I was too close to this person and couldn’t be. It was God who divinely separated us. Not sure for how long. But I’m certain it is God’s Will for His greater plans.

James on dead faith

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?”

~ James 2:17-20 (NIV)

James explains that intellectual belief — even correct doctrine — without transformed action is lifeless. Genuine faith produces visible fruit.

Paul on worldly living

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” ~ Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

“Friendship with the world is enmity with God.” ~ James 4:4 (ESV)

Paul and James both warn that blending with worldly values contradicts genuine discipleship. Faith in Christ always leads to moral and spiritual separation from the world’s patterns.

John on knowing God

“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” ~ 1 John 1:6 (NIV)

“Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” ~ 1 John 2:4 (NIV)

John makes it binary. Knowing God means obeying Him. Otherwise, one’s claim is false.

The New Testament consistently teaches:

• Belief without obedience = self-deception.
• Faith without transformation = dead faith.
• Claiming Christ while living worldly = spiritual lukewarmness God rejects.
• True disciples not only believe but follow, repent, obey, and endure.

So in the words of Jesus, God Himself:

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ~ John 8:31-32 (NIV)

Those who believe but do not follow are not truly free — they remain enslaved to sin and self, despite their profession of faith.

On Sin

There are different degrees of sin.

“Jesus answered, 'You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.'” ~ John 19:11 (NIV)

And there is one single unpardonable sin.

"Listen to this carefully. I’m warning you. There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God’s Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.” ~ Mark 3:28–30 (MSG)

The above isn’t a casual slip of words.

It’s a hardened, persistent rejection of the Spirit’s testimony about Jesus.

In other words: continually refusing God’s Spirit, so that forgiveness can’t reach you—not because God’s mercy is too weak, but because you’ve cut yourself off from it.

This unpardonable sin must be taken seriously with urgency.

Many people think that we simply will just "not exist" after death on earth.
This is one of the Great Lies Satan invented, and it's extremely effective in keeping humans away from eternal life.

Satan is a master of deception, and his craft is lying. He loves it when humans forget. The more we forget, the better.

Hell is not a physical place.

Hell is where God is nowhere to be found.

Imagine the worst of life on earth that you have seen, heard, or experienced.

It's far worse than that because God's still here on earth, working.