The Spring of Lukewarm Christianity
Can a Lutheran and a Baptist agree on the subject of baptism? Can a Seventh-day Adventist agree with a Catholic on the subject of the day of worship? Can a Presbyterian and a Pentecostal agree on styles of worship? No, never! In a non-denominational church, of course! (Now, one would think that it is a wonderful thing to agree but compromising the truth is a horrible thing to do. Compromising will cause us to be lukewarm and we know that Jesus does not like that because he says in Revelation 3: 16-So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth). While all of these churches may seem similar since they all believe that our savior is Jesus Christ, the Bible is the word of God, the Holy Spirit guides us, and that we have a future waiting for us after death, they also have different beliefs regarding each subject. The doctrines behind these subjects are sensitive and differ among all of these denominations but they can be compromised in a non-denominational church.The only thing that is indisputable, unquestionable, is the love of Christ. While we all can agree that Christ loves us and love should be preached every single time, it is also necessary to speak of matters that are difficult to understand. Preaching anyone that Christ loves them will not bring them to a change. That person will continue believing that they cannot lose their salvation, they do not have to obey the moral commands which God has set up for us to follow-a guideline which is so perfect, one that comprises everything-the 10 commandments. It is necessary for us to believe that we cannot save ourselves, that only Christ can save us. But, we also need to love Christ. It is grace that will save us but it is our love for Christ that will bring others to him. We need to know the truth in order for us to speak to others and obtain a Christ-like character.
A non-denominational church service is usually very emotional. Talking about love can get you gooey very quickly. What happen to reasoning together with God? (Isaiah 1:18). What happen to worshiping him in spirit and in truth? (John 4:24). “Love is a powerful tool! It is the 2nd greatest commandment and it sums up all commandments of the bible.” Preach love but preach the whole bible. One thing that we should also realize is that God will get rid of sin because he loves us. He wants us to stop suffering. This is the reason that sin must be done away with (Revelation 21:4).
There are a lot of non-denominational churches out there and they are usually filled with people. There are so many members in them because people fear labels. People fear being specific, thus being “extreme, radical, a bigot”. Hence leaving room for acceptance of everything. These churches don't usually preach doctrine, they do not give the people the solid food that they hunger for. They give them baby food…things that are easy to swallow such as the love of Christ. What about spiritual meat like the day of the Lord-when his judgment will come? (2 Peter 2:4, Hebrews 9:27, 2 Corinthians 5:10) What about the wages of sin? (Romans 6:23) The moral laws of God? (Exodus 20:1-17) What about prophecy? (Revelation 19:10). These things require a solid doctrine, they require verses to back them up, and they require deep bible studies.
We must be soldiers for God and preach the testimony of Jesus Christ. We need to take a stand for the truth and not worry about labels and feelings. The only judgment we need to care about is the one that comes from God. May the Lord be with you all.
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