Don't Go Cold
The greatest danger for believers is not outright rebellion but gradual spiritual coldness—losing the fervor of our first love for Christ. This opens the door to sin and makes us vulnerable to Satan's deceptions. God's Word warns us against drifting into lukewarmness and calls us to abide in Christ, maintaining moment-by-moment fellowship with the Lord who loves us.
1. The Danger of Going Cold in Our Love
The big danger for believers is going cold in their love for their Lord. This opens the door to sin and evil. Satan's key strategy against believers is to distract and deceive them, so they drift away from moment-by-moment fellowship with the Lord who loves them.
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another."
Jesus calls us to abide in Him—to remain, continue, live in Him. Abiding means maintaining constant fellowship, keeping His words in us, continuing in His love. This is the remedy against going cold: staying connected to the Vine, bearing fruit, loving one another as Christ loved us.
2. Case History: The Church of Laodicea
The church of Laodicea is the biblical case study of a church that had gone cold. They were neither hot nor cold but lukewarm— spiritually complacent, self-satisfied, and blind to their true spiritual poverty.
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
Laodicea was lukewarm—neither passionately hot for God nor refreshingly cold. Their wealth and self-sufficiency had blinded them to their spiritual poverty. Christ stood outside knocking, calling them to repent, be zealous, and open the door to renewed fellowship. The remedy: recognize your true spiritual state, repent, and invite Christ back to the center of your life.
3. The Remedy: Test Yourself Regularly
Paul gives the Corinthian church—and us—the remedy to keep from going cold: examine yourself. Regular self-examination keeps us spiritually alert and prevents drift.
"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"
Test yourself. Prove yourself. Know yourself. Regular spiritual self-examination is essential to staying spiritually alive.
Four Areas of Self-Examination:
a) Test Yourself: Am I Dealing with Sin Quickly?
Ask yourself: Am I dealing with sin quickly? Am I studying God's Word often? Am I praying often through each day? Am I speaking of the Lord daily? These basic questions reveal whether we are maintaining spiritual vitality or drifting into coldness.
b) Prove Yourself: Am I a Worthy Servant?
Am I serving the Lord productively? Is the fruit of my life spiritual or carnal? A life bearing spiritual fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.) proves we are abiding in Christ. Carnal fruit reveals we have drifted.
c) Know Yourself: Do I Know My Gifts and Weaknesses?
How well do you know your spiritual gifts? How well do you know your old sin nature weaknesses? Self-knowledge helps us serve effectively and guard against the specific temptations that would pull us away from Christ.
d) Christ Is in You: Practice His Presence
Hourly through each day, is there a deep and meaningful exchange between you and the Lord? Is prayer and the inner dialogue about life and issues a real and present reality? Practicing the presence of Christ keeps us from going cold.
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you... At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
The Comforter (Holy Spirit) abides with us forever. At that day (Pentecost onward), we know: I in the Father, you in Me, I in you. This is the reality of Christ's indwelling presence. He manifests Himself to those who love and obey Him.
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."
If the Spirit of God dwells in you, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Christ is in you. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you and gives life to your mortal body. Practice this reality daily.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
I am crucified with Christ, yet I live—not I, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live is by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. This is daily reality: Christ living His life through me.
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"
The great mystery: Christ in you, the hope of glory. This indwelling Christ is the guarantee of future glory and the power for present godliness.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. When His Word fills our hearts and minds, we stay spiritually alive and hot for God.
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."
Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. Rooted and grounded in love, we comprehend the vastness of Christ's love and are filled with all the fullness of God. This is the antidote to spiritual coldness.
4. The Laodicean Trap: Distraction by Worldly Success
The church at Laodicea had gone cold through the distractions of the wealth of this world. Like Demas, they had gone astray from the true path the Lord had for them and chased after money, power, social status, respectability, and influence. They sought a comfortable life rather than a spiritually active life.
"For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia."
Demas forsook Paul because he loved this present world. The love of worldly things—comfort, wealth, status—draws us away from passionate service to Christ. This is how believers go cold: gradually choosing the world over the Lord.
The Laodicean church was still meeting, still had all the trappings of a church, but without the loving, real, and powerful life of a church. They needed to deal with their situation of distraction and open the Word again, so that the Holy Spirit's ministries could begin afresh within them.
Conclusion
Don't go cold. The danger is real, and the path is subtle—gradual drift, increasing distractions, love of the world, spiritual complacency. But the remedy is clear: abide in Christ, examine yourself regularly, practice His presence moment by moment, and let His Word dwell in you richly.
Christ stands at the door and knocks. If we hear His voice and open the door, He will come in and fellowship with us. Let us be zealous, repent of lukewarmness, and return to our first love. Let us stay hot for God, bearing fruit, loving one another, and glorifying the Father through lives fully surrendered to Christ.