Disclaimer: This article isn’t meant to condemn or discourage anyone. The purpose of this article is to help you recognize the evils of Lukewarmness and hopefully draw the heart of those who have strayed away back to God.
Lukewarmness is a very serious topic in our faith, and it’s a trap that Christians of all ages can fall into, including teenagers.
Lukewarm means neither hot nor cold. In terms of our faith, Lukewarmness refers to a Christian who is neither on fire for God nor entirely away from God. In other words, a Lukewarm Christian is someone who professes the Christian faith, but their actions and lives prove otherwise.
To be a Christian means to be a follower of Christ. It means that your entire life should be centered around Christ, this is what being on fire is- it’s a burning love for God and a strong desire to live like him and to serve him. Lukewarmness means sitting on the fence, it means choosing to be neutral in your faith- that is not outrightly denying Jesus but not accepting him either.
You need to understand that in this life, you’re either for God or for Satan, there’s no middle ground. So if you’re a Christian be a bold Christian and follow Christ aptly.
‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.'- Revelations 3:15-16
A lukewarm Christian claims to believe in God and in Jesus Christ his son. They claim to be saved and accept that Jesus Christ died for their sins and rose again. But these people do nothing more after that, they don’t truly repent, and they continue living their life anyhow instead of according to God’s word. Worse, they often conform to the standards of this world and compromise God’s word to suit their sinful lifestyle.
Here’s an article I really like about this subject
With all these beings said, here are ten signs of Lukewarmness and what to do about it.
1. You think God “understands” your sins
God is a Holy God. He is almighty, perfect, and just. God detests sin so much that it caused a rift between God and man. He sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ to die for men’s sins in order to restore man’s relationship with himself. God doesn’t understand sin, he hates it, and he wants all of us to flee from sin.
Don’t confuse this with struggling with sin. It’s one thing to sin occasionally and continually repent, and it’s another thing to keep on sinning comfortably.
If there are sins you struggle to win in your teenage years, repent of them and bring them to God in prayer. Beg and ask him for grace and will not do it again. Don’t keep living in sin and under the falsehood that God will understand because he is a loving God. God is indeed a loving God, but he is also a just judge, and justice doesn’t tolerate sin.
"The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence." - Psalm 11:5 ESV
"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community."– Proverbs 6:16-19
2. You only refer to scripture when it’s convenient to justify your actions
Have you ever heard someone use “Only God can judge me” to justify their wrong actions? Or perhaps you’ve been told or have told someone that the Bible said we should “be our brother’s keeper” during exams thus encouraging exam malpractice? If this sounds like something you do, there’s a high chance you’re a lukewarm Christian.
Lukewarm Christians have little to no reverence for the Bible and for the scriptures, they only live by it when it’s convenient and when it fits their choices. When it goes contrary to what they want, the Bible becomes just another optional book.
Recognize that the Bible is the true word of God and make a decision to live by it. Ask God to help you to regularly study his word and to put them into practice.
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."- Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
3. You think radical Christians are doing too much
As a teenager, it is very easy to fall into this trap by joining those who ridicule Christians whenever they stand up for their faith or talk about the gospel. Such teenagers are usually seen as overzealous and are often objects of contempt among their fellow teenagers.
A Lukewarm Christian may go to church every Sunday and pray every now and then but still delights in committing sins and living outwardly as if they’re non-Christians for fear of being mocked or laughed at. For most of them, their Christianity ends once they’re out of the church, they neither accept nor practice the things taught in church.
Because they’re used to this lifestyle, seeing genuine Christians who actually follow the truth and whose lives are guided by God’s word can often be intimidating and unsettling. They can get offended, mock, or even hurl insults at good Christians by calling them names like “Holier-than-thou” and “assistant Jesus”
Admittedly, there are Christians who are very legalistic and judgemental and this does not justify their actions. But seeing a fellow Christian who is unashamedly living by the truth and feeling like they’re doing too much or that they should tone it down a bit can be a scary sign of Lukewarmness.
If you realize that this is you, then you should pray about it. Also, you should try to be friends with people who are bold about their faith and whose lives are guided by the truth. Their good influence will rub off on you.
Romans 8:31-32
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
4. You only pray to God when you need something
Imagine you had a friend that only called you when they needed something, that wouldn’t make you feel good right? So imagine how God feels if the only time we pray to him is if we need something.
Prayer is how we communicate with God. It is an integral part of our Christian life. We ought to pray anytime and every time, without ceasing because a prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.
Don’t be a toxic Christian that only wants to use God for his blessings. Pray daily and ask God for the grace to pray. Start your prayers with Thanksgiving and adoration and pray to commune with God, not just to ask for things from him.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18 NLT
5. You think Christ is one of the many ways to get to heaven.
Jesus clearly states that He is the only way to heaven and that no one goes through the Father except by Him. Choosing to believe otherwise as a Christian leads you into the fallacy that all religions are valid and ultimately lead to heaven. This error is what leads many acclaimed believers into taking Christianity lightly because they believe there are other options.
Surely, there is freedom of religion and everyone is entitled to their beliefs, so it is not our duty to force anyone into Christianity. However, truly believing that Jesus Christ is not the only way would be calling him a liar and we know that our Saviour doesn’t lie.
This lie also discourages us from sharing the gospel with people from other religions, because we don’t see the need for it. Nevertheless, we should read the gospel of John thoroughly, seeking divine wisdom so that we can understand just how important and urgent the gospel is in our lives and that of others.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 NLT
6. You’re unwilling to sacrifice anything for the kingdom of God.
Christianity is all about sacrifices. Our Savior Jesus Christ, the founder of our faith showed us a perfect example when he sacrificed his life for us. We as Christians ought to make sacrifices as well. The Bible clearly states that anyone who wants to be a follower of Christ ought to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus.
This does not imply that we will live miserable lives, but it implies that we will have to make sacrifices. We will sacrifice our time, resources, energy, dreams, and ambitions (the ones that go against God’s will.) Oftentimes, these sacrifices will be hard, but God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us, and they’ll be worth it in the end.
As mentioned earlier, Lukewarm Christians only want to take and take. They see God as a genie who’s supposed to provide all their wants. Such people can’t sacrifice anything for the kingdom of God, since they’re only after themselves and their well-being.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33 NLT
7. You’re ashamed of identifying as a Christian
As a teen myself, I understand how hard and ‘uncool’ it may seem to tell someone that you’re going to church for a Christian fellowship, or how lame you can seem for not wanting to join the gang when they’re getting drunk, smoking, watching porn and doing other sinful things in the name of fun.
But being a Christian requires you to be bold. You should be bold enough to say “I am a follower of Christ, and I can’t go against his laws and his teachings for the sake of men.” This will be hard at first, but trust me, it’ll get better with time. You might lose friends or even become unpopular, but don’t be scared, God is a rewarder and he will surely recompense you for all the troubles.
In addition to this, even though you may lose friends because of your faith, you will meet good people of faith who will build befitting relationships and aid your walk with God.
8. There are no fruits in your life
As if this isn’t obvious enough, evidence of a lack of fruits is a strong indicator of Lukewarmness. The Bible describes the fruits of the Holy Spirit as evidence in a true Christian believer. (Galatians 5:22-23.) These fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
If you’re an acclaimed Christian and yet people can only attest to your bad character, something is deeply wrong. You need to repent of your bad attitudes and ask the Holy Spirit to help you manifest his fruits in your life.
But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these.
Galatians 5:22-23 GNBDK
9. You’re comfortable with the sin around you
Christians see the wrong going on around them and don’t sit back idly or even support it. A Christian should always oppose evil, even if it’s not beneficial to him. Even if there’s nothing you can do about it outwardly, a Christian ought to pray and not get involved in any wrongdoing, at least not intentionally.
If you compromise or even support evil, there’s a high chance that you’re a lukewarm Christian. Keeping quiet when you ought to speak is also supporting evil. By refusing to speak, you have given subtle consent to the evil happening around you.
I want to mention that speaking up isn’t always easy, especially as a teenager surrounded with usually more opposition than support. Personally, I find it difficult to speak up sometimes too. However, the Christian walk is a very difficult one, and we need to push past our comfort zone if we truly want to live our faith.
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."- James 4:17(ESV)
10. You love the things of this world
The Bible makes it clear that you bring a friend into the world makes you an enemy of God.
Does it mean that God wants you to hate everyone that isn’t a Christian, or hate everything that is outside of church? No! But it means that you should not follow the evil ways and corrupt systems of this world. We should not let our lives be guided and directed by what those in the world are doing because we’ve been called and set apart to be God’s people.
Loving the things of this world means loving the corrupt system, greed, covetousness, immorality, and wickedness is a clear red signal. It also means placing the desire for riches and fame over God and over his will.
The practical ways in which these things are evident in a lukewarm Christian teenager is when they do not mind doing things like cheating, stealing, fornication, indecent dressing, exam malpractice, and so on. They do these things even though they know it is wrong in God’s sight because not doing them can tarnish their cool persona which they do not want.
The only way to deal with this is to sincerely seek God in prayer and to spend time in God’s word. Doing so will expose you to the promises that God has for his children, and slowly but surely, you’ll start to value Christ above all the pleasures of this world.
"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord"- Joshua 24:14
“You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”- James 4:4
Words of encouragement
Do not be discouraged if you find yourself having one or more of these signs. If anything, it is a sign for you to repent and return to God humbly. Remember that God sent the letter to the church in Laodicea to warn them to turn to him, it was a clear expression of his love for them in that he wanted them to change and not be punished.
Likewise, when confronted by your shortcomings, don’t shrink back in fear or disdain, rather consider it an invitation to become more Christ-like and radical in your faith walk.
I hope this article helped you, please leave any questions or comments down below. If there is anything we missed that you wish to add, also leave a comment below. Please share this article with someone and also subscribe to stay updated with our weekly posts.
And as always, Stay Safe, Stay Happy.
Godly Youths Hub 
Wow, this is really goes in-depth.
Spotted some things that may have unknowningly made me lukewarm but I will ask for God’s forgiveness and grace.
LikeLike
I’m glad you found it useful, I pray that God helps you in the right path
LikeLike