Jesus’ letters in Revelation are bookended by a frightening theme—lukewarmness. Jesus sees the greatest immediate threat to his church not as doctrinal error or moral compromise, though both are important. He sees the greatest threat in lukewarm passion for him, a loss of your first love.
What causes our faith to turn lukewarm? Here are three questions to ponder upon.
Why Do Lukewarm Christians Stop Praying?
This is the primary thing Jesus points to in his letter to Laodicea: Because they feel so rich and self-sufficient, they don’t pray. We usually attribute prayerlessness to a lack of discipline. If I asked you if you’re happy with your prayer life, and you said, “No” (which you probably would), and I asked, “Well, what keeps you from having the prayer life you should?” you’d probably say, “I just lack self-discipline. I get so busy during the day, I just forget. There’s not enough time in the morning; I’m too tired at night.”
I’m not saying those reasons are irrelevant. They do matter. But that’s not the real reason. The real reason you don’t pray is pride. You don’t see God’s help as that essential. You are “rich,” “needing nothing.” That’s why you don’t pray. You know how I know this? Because there have been times in your life when you’ve prayed. Moments of desperation. Moments of crisis. Moments of incredible need. You prayed when you were overwhelmed and didn’t see a way out. You didn’t need self-discipline to cry out in desperation; you did it reflexively. But these days? Well, you don’t feel particularly desperate … so you don’t pray.
The single-best book on prayer I’ve ever read is Paul Miller’s A Praying Life. In it, he says,
“If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you really need in life. You’ll always be a little too tired, a little too busy. But if, like Jesus, you realize you can’t do life on your own, then no matter how busy you are, no matter how tired, you will find the time to pray.”
Think of prayer like breathing: I’m never too busy or too tired to breathe. I don’t require accountability partners to remember to breathe. None of my buddies has to call me up at 11 each morning or when I’m traveling and say, ”Now, J.D., just wanted to hold you accountable for your breathing. You made a vow to ‘breathe more.’ And I’m holding you accountable.” No, I breathe instinctively because my body craves air, no self-discipline required.
Here’s Paul Miller again:
“A praying life isn’t simply about a morning prayer time; it is about slipping into prayer at odd hours of the day, not because we are disciplined but because we are in touch with our own poverty of spirit, realizing that we can’t even walk through a mall or our neighborhood without the help of the Spirit of Jesus.”
Here’s how this might look for you. You say, “God, I can’t do my marriage right without your supply of power. I can’t raise these kids without your guidance. I can’t face the temptations of this day without your strength. I won’t make the right decision, or say the right words, or love my friends the right way apart from your Spirit doing those things through me, so I’m here crying out for your help.”
Why Do Lukewarm Christians Minimize Sin?
Lukewarm Christians aren’t really that serious about their private sin for two reasons: First, they are not terrified of being separated from God’s power. When you know how much you need God, you’re scared of doing things that cut you off from his power. I think of it like air in a SCUBA tank. The first time I went SCUBA diving, I wasn’t thinking much about the air tank. It works, I’m good. But when it nearly ran out, and I started to panic, everything changed. Now, when I’m underwater, I stay constantly aware of how much air is left, because I don’t want to be in any situation without it. I don’t even want to approach being without it. I feel that way about God’s power, too. I don’t want to entertain anything that cuts me off from it.
The second reason a lukewarm Christian isn’t scared of sin is that they are just not driven that much by a love for Jesus. The lukewarm Christian might avoid sin because it makes them look bad or feel bad. But think of it like this: If the only reason I stay faithful in my marriage is that I don’t want all the problems that unfaithfulness would bring into my life, is that really love for Veronica? (Answer: Duh, no.) In a good marriage, your main reason for wanting to be faithful is your love for your spouse, a desire to honor your spouse and not to hurt them, not simply how much an affair would embarrass you or bring hardship into your life. Francis Chan says, “Lukewarm Christians don’t really want to be saved from sin, only from the penalty of their sin.” Ouch.
Why Do Lukewarm Christians Only Turn to God in Crisis
I see it all the time: Some sudden need, some life-scare, brings someone running back to God. You lose your job. You get divorced. Your spouse threatens to leave you. You start having problems with your kids. You have a pretty significant health scare. So you come back to church, and you get serious.
Honestly, that’s nothing to be ashamed of: God often uses needs to bring you back to him. As I always say, “Sometimes God puts you flat on your back so you will at last be looking in the right direction.” But here’s the question: Are you just trying to use Jesus to fix something in your life? Or are you coming to him because you realize he is your life? If it’s the first, you’ll ditch Jesus as soon as everything’s going well. If it’s the second, you’ll cling to him no matter what.
A lot of us would like to live with Jesus, mostly in timeout. You remember timeout, right? You did something obnoxious and got on your parents’ nerves, and had to go sit in a room or stand in the corner until your parents were ready for you to come out again. This is what we do with Jesus. You keep him in timeout until you need him. Then you run to him: “Oh, Jesus, come out and help me!” Which he does. But then, when you don’t think you need him anymore, you say, “Back in timeout!”
Or if you sin really badly, you think that gives him license to come out of timeout and clobber you with punishment, so after you sin, you run to church to ask forgiveness and make an offering. But then you say, “Okay, Jesus, I’m safe now. I got forgiveness, and now you can’t punish me, so … back in timeout!” Your relationship with Jesus has little to do with love, worship, and gratefulness toward him. You’re just using him. Jesus didn’t die for you to use him. He died to create a bride who would love him and seek him. His passion for us calls forth passion for him.
Can Spiritual Busyness Hide a Lukewarm Heart?
I can tell you with pretty good accuracy what a lukewarm Christian looks like because, in many seasons of my life, I’ve been one—even after becoming a pastor. There’s been a tendency, for example, to let my ministry work replace my relationship with God. I would read the Bible primarily to preach it, not to love and walk with Jesus.
Here’s a statement I heard that really smacked me in the face: “You’ve become a full-time pastor and a part-time follower of Jesus.” Could that phrase be used of you? You’ve become a full-time mom/businessman/student … and only a part-time follower of Jesus.
Pride and self-sufficiency always breed lukewarm passion. On the other hand, the poor, the desperate, those consumed by guilt and brokenness—they know they need God and they cling to him.
How Can a Lukewarm Christian Return to Jesus?
The good news is, there’s a way out. Jesus doesn’t confront the lukewarm because they’re beyond hope. He confronts them, in love, so he can fire their hearts with love again. No one wants you to draw near to God more than God himself. He wants to fellowship with you, and he brings so much joy with him when he comes in.
Do you sense a lukewarm heart in you today? Admit it, confess it, and offer it up to Jesus—and watch as he floods your heart with a love and passion you’ve never known.
Pastor J.D. completed his Ph.D. in Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick-fil-A, serves as a Council member for The Gospel Coalition, and recently served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor J.D. and his wife Veronica are raising four awesome kids.
"Editor's Note: Pastor JD Greear's "Ask the Pastor" column regularly appears at Christianity.com, providing biblical, relatable, and reliable answers to your everyday questions about faith and life. Email him your questions at [email protected]."
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