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The kingdom of the Lord is one of the primary themes of the Bible. God desires to reign over the hearts and lives of men. It was rebellion against God’s authority that lead to the fall of man and our ruined state from which Christ had to redeem us. And to be restored and reconciled to God means more than the forgiveness of sin and the promise of going to heaven one day; it also means that we submit to God and to His authority, which in this age has been given to Jesus Christ, His Son. Therefore, we honor Jesus as the Lord and King over all kings.

There is much confusion over the ‘kingdom of the Lord’ today. What kind of kingdom is it? Is it here or is it to come? Are all men part of it or is it made up of only certain people?

Matthew 4:12-17 “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus came preaching the good news of His coming kingdom, that it was “at hand.” Well, was it, or are we still waiting for it? Let’s turn to the word of God for answers.

First John, then Jesus, came preaching the good news of the kingdom. The word kingdom, merely refers to Christ’s reign in the earth or the rule of God over men. The message of both men was simple: the long-awaited kingdom of the Messiah was at hand. That’s Bible language. The rule of God was about to commence. It was imminent. But, there is a great deal of confusion about that. There was in Jesus’ day and people are still confused about it today. Not over the fact that the Messiah would rule over a kingdom; nearly all who believe that Jesus is the Messiah believe that He is a king. The confusion is over the concept of His rule, the nature of His kingdom, and when the kingdom came or will come.

Let’s look at the great misunderstanding that people had about the kingdom in Jesus’ own day. The prophets had all foretold of a coming Messianic king who would one day rule on the throne that David had once occupied. The great hope of the Jews was that their king would come and deliver them. But what did that mean to them?

David and Solomon represented the glory days of Israel to the ancient Jew. Israel was sovereign, secure and prosperous during those early years, but it didn’t remain that way for long. After Solomon died and his son took over the throne, the kingdom was divided: there were the northern tribes and then there was Judah. Trouble would follow God’s people from then on because they sinned and rebelled against the Lord. God handed them over to their enemies and His people became captives and servants. For example, there was the long period where the Jews were carried off to Babylon and were captive there. Their beloved, holy city of Jerusalem was laid waste, the walls broken down and the temple destroyed.

They eventually returned from Babylon, but it wasn’t the same. During the intertestamental period– that is the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments– they came under the rule of the Romans. In fact, this was not very long before Jesus was born. Their political fate shaped and molded their concept of the promised Messiah. Instead of anticipating a Messiah who would break the fetters of sin from their hearts and souls, they were looking for a Messiah or leader who would break the yoke of the Roman Caesar from their necks. You see, they resented the rule of the Romans, particularly paying taxes to the Roman government. Tired of being subjects to other kings, they yearned to have their sovereignty back. So, that was the mindset of the Jewish people during those last years of the intertestamental period and at the time that Jesus was born into the world. It is essential that we understand that historical basis. That’s what they wanted and expected in a Messiah and His attendant kingdom. They envisioned a powerful leader who would arise and lead their liberation from the Roman government, making them a sovereign nation once again.

Well, they misunderstood all of their prophets as well as God’s promises about a kingdom. So, with these misconceptions in place, when John the Baptist came before Jesus, heralding the soon coming kingdom, the news was met with excitement by many. John told the people to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins in anticipation of the Messiah and His kingdom, for it was at hand. We read about how John baptized multitudes of people who responded to his preaching.

Matthew 3:1-2 “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

John, being the harbinger of Christ says, “the kingdom is at hand.” It is near. The long awaited promise is about to come to pass. Had you lived in John’s time and heard him preach that message, how would you have interpreted it? Regardless of what you thought the kingdom represented, wouldn’t you have understood that whatever it is, it is about to be established? How else would they have interpreted John’s statement , “the kingdom is at hand?” It’s very hard to imagine them hearing John preach, while envisioning a kingdom that was still thousands of years away. So, in the lifetime of John, the kingdom was near.

Well, John fulfills his ministry and steps aside. He is put in prison and Jesus begins His ministry. So, what did Jesus preach?

Mark 1:14-15 “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Jesus picks up the message begun by John. He says, “The time is fulfilled.” In other words, it’s now time. This kingdom that God has been promising you for hundreds of years is at hand. The time is right. There are many, many people who believe that the time wasn’t right. In fact, most preachers that you hear today not only contend that the kingdom still has not come 2,000 years after Jesus spoke these words, but they even suggest or imply that the rejection that Jesus faced by the Jews meant that God delayed the kingdom until another and still future time. If only the Jews had received Jesus as the Messiah, then He would’ve established the kingdom then. But because they instead rejected Him, the time just wasn’t right. Their doctrine of “dispensational premillennialism” says that one day the Jews WILL receive Him and that will be the time that He finally takes up His rule and sets up His kingdom.

But what did Jesus say? “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom is at hand.” Friend, nothing takes God by surprise. Nothing caught Jesus unawares. He’s omniscient. God knew that the Jewish nation would reject His Son. The apostle Paul would later say this:

Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law…”

That is, when the time was right, God sent His Son. Jesus came exactly when God determined that He would come. God’s calendar was not off by one day! When Jesus came, He said, It’s time. The time is fulfilled. Prophecy was being fulfilled. ALL of the pieces were being put into place, and the kingdom was at hand. Now, again, would anyone listening to Jesus walk away with the idea that He was promising something that was still at least 2,000 years away from fulfillment? Who could believe that? No, they may have misunderstood what He meant by a “kingdom,” but they understood that whatever the kingdom was, it was very near. It was imminent.

Then we see that Jesus sent out the twelve and commanded them as follows:

Matthew 10:5-7 “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 There it is again, nothing has changed. Later, Jesus sends out seventy others to preach from city to city, and instructs them thus:

Luke 10:9 “And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”

 The sad thing is, most of them were going to miss out on the kingdom, but that didn’t prevent Jesus from doing what He said He would do. Over and over again, inspiration says that at that time, 2,000 years ago, in the first century, the kingdom is at hand, the kingdom is nigh. Think about how preposterous it is to suggest that the rejection of the Jewish leaders somehow took the Lord by surprise, and that He had to alter the long-standing plan of God and put the church in the place of the kingdom. I mean, God sends Jesus in the fullness of time, He comes saying that the time is fulfilled, get ready because the kingdom is at hand, but all of a sudden, things go sour and God has to back up and delay the promised kingdom…I have more faith in the foreknowledge and wisdom of God than to believe such a thing!

Not only did John, and then Jesus, and then Jesus’ disciples come saying the kingdom is at hand, but long before that, the Old Testament prophets prophesied the timing of the kingdom—hundreds of years before Jesus even came, the Holy Spirit inspired them to write of the very season and time when the kingdom would come. The Holy Spirit guiding the Old Testament prophets was very specific about this, and if they would only heed their own scriptures, they would’ve recognized what all was taking place when Jesus came.

For example, take the prophecy of Daniel. 600 years before Jesus was born, Daniel was carried off to Babylon, and while he was there, the king had a dream about this powerful man or great image of a man, with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron and feet of iron and clay. Remember reading that in the book of Daniel? King Nebuchadnezzar was perplexed by his dream, so he called on Daniel to interpret the dream (Daniel 2:31-44). Daniel explains to the king that this image with the various parts represented four great kingdoms or empires that would arise. He begins by describing the Babylonian empire that was in power at the time. He said that it was represented by the head of gold, as it was a mighty and powerful kingdom. But he said that a lesser kingdom was coming after that one, that being Medo-Persia, according to Daniel 8:20, which arose in 539 B.C. and was represented by the chest and arms of silver in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Then, about 330 B.C., we see the rise of Greece. That’s the third kingdom, according to Daniel 8:21. Then come legs of iron and the feet of iron clay, in 63 B.C., which was the Roman Empire, which was in power during the days of Jesus and was later divided into several parts. This was the last great kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision.

What was the point of all of this? What would happen after these kingdoms arose? Listen to Daniel: Those kingdoms’ days were numbered.

Daniel 2:35 “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”

 Then look at verse 44.

Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

When would the kingdom come? It would appear in the days of the Roman Empire. A kingdom that would never be destroyed would come during those days; a kingdom that would be superior to ALL other kingdoms.

Fast forward 600 years:

Hebrews 12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:”

That sounds familiar: a kingdom that will stand forever and not be destroyed. Here the writer says “we receiving a kingdom…” He didn’t say, “One of these days, a kingdom will come.” The saints THEN, to whom he was writing, were receiving a kingdom.

So, if the first century Christians were receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and Daniel says that the indestructible kingdom would come in the days of the kings leading up to the first century, the Roman Empire, can’t we conclude that the kingdom came during the first century? We surely can.

Mark 9:1 “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”

When would it come? He says in the lifetime of some of those to whom Jesus was speaking. Not thousands of years later, but before some of them tasted of death. Some of them died before it came, but Jesus says some of them did not. They were still alive. That means it wasn’t very far away.

So, when did it come? When was the kingdom established? Notice that Jesus said that it would come during their lifetime, and it would come with power. Do we ever read of any of these people to whom Jesus was speaking seeing power fall from heaven? Sure we do. Let’s narrow it down. Just before ascending back to heaven, Jesus told His same disciples who were with him in Mark 9:1 this:

Luke 24:49 “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

The “promise” that He spoke of refers to the Holy Spirit. We’re getting closer.

Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…”

Well, when did that happen? Go forward just a few days and one chapter.

Acts 2:1-4 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it say upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

There’s the power that was brought by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the promise of the Father. And what did Jesus say would come “with power”: The kingdom. When did it come: on the day of Pentecost. When was that: in the first century, around the year A.D.33. What kingdom was in power at that time: Rome, Caesar; the fourth in this line of kingdoms of which Daniel spoke.

So, the Holy Spirit came with power upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Jesus told them that in their lifetime the kingdom would come with power. But someone says that was the church that came there on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2–the church, not the kingdom. Note the words of Jesus in this familiar passage:

Matthew 16:18-19 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven…”

Yes, Jesus built His church and it came in the lifetime of His disciples. What do keys do: they let you inside. In other words, the church would be established and Peter would use the keys of entrance to the kingdom. (You see that the church and the kingdom are used interchangeably.) Isn’t that exactly what happened on Pentecost? The church was established and Peter preached the first gospel sermon that resulted in more than 3,000 people being baptized into Christ, saved from their sins and added to the church. With that in mind, read what Paul wrote:

Colossians 1:12-14 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

That is exactly parallel with Acts 2. When they were made free from sin, they were translated into the kingdom. When they received the remission of their sins in Acts 2, the Lord added them to the church.

You see, the kingdom came 2,000 years ago and you can be in it today. The doctrine of “dispensational premillennialism” is so popular, so widely embraced and so often taught by the televangelists of our day. But, friend, it is patently false. It misunderstands the very nature of the kingdom, just as the Jews of Jesus’ own day misunderstood it. Even His disciples did not have a very clear understanding of the kingdom. Jesus said that His kingdom was “not of this world” (John 18:36). Well, if it’s not like other kingdoms, what kind of kingdom is it? Where is it? How does it exist and how can I be a part of it? Lord willing, we’ll take up those questions in our next study.

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Today, we’re going to look at one of the most timely warnings for us that can be found in the New Testament. It was spoken by the Lord to one of the churches of Asia Minor near the end of the first century. Christ sent messages to seven churches positioned throughout that part of the world, and most of them contained urgent warnings of judgment to come and admonitions to those churches to wake out of their spiritual sleep and prepare for what would take place. The church throughout the Roman Empire was under attack by the Emperor Domitian, who demanded that they refuse to worship Christ and instead call Caesar “God.” Christians were suffering the consequences of refusing to do so, and many would be executed by the Romans.

But in the bustling and prosperous city of Laodicea, there was a church that was carnally minded and so enriched and distracted by the pleasures and treasures of that world that spiritual things were just not that important to them. Jesus tells John to relay this message to them:

Revelation 3:14-19 “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.”

Well, it’s easy to see the parallels between that ancient congregation and churches today, isn’t it? Especially churches here in America. If Jesus wrote a letter to the church of which you or I are a member, would it be a similar rebuke? If He were to write a letter to you or to me personally, would it contain such a warning? Today, we will look at the many manifestations of this terrible sin that Jesus names among the saints: the sin of lukewarmness.

It should get people’s attention when Jesus says to believers that He will spew them out of His mouth; that their sin, in effect, makes Christ sick. Most of us probably share that sentiment when it comes to the foods we eat and the things we drink. If you like coffee, you probably like it reasonably hot, or perhaps you like the newer frozen varieties that have become popular. But I don’t know many people who like coffee that is in between or room temperature. Many find it so repulsive that they immediately spit it out. We find things that are supposed to be cold or hot that have become lukewarm to be rather intolerable. Jesus says this was the spiritual condition of the church at Laodicea.

Revelation 3:15-16 “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.”

You know, faith is a serious matter. A lot of people treat the church and its work more like a club or society, but in the eyes of God, it is to be everything to its adherents. God certainly gave His very best and His all to bring the church into existence, as Paul tells us.

Titus 2:14 “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

It was no light or flippant thing for God to invest all that He did in the salvation of the human family, to invest all that He did in your soul and mine. He delivered His only begotten Son into the hands of cruel and wicked men to be put to death so we might be saved and have the privilege of being citizens of His kingdom. Jesus Christ emptied Himself of all of heaven’s glories and pleasures to come to this sin-cursed world and die an ignominious death, according to Paul.

Philippians 2:8 “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

The church is not only the result of great sacrifice on God’s part, but it was also the result of great planning and design on His part. He was in no way indifferent or lukewarm when it came to mankind, nor is He today, despite the fact that men are so lukewarm and apathetic toward Him. In view of all that God has invested in the church, it’s no wonder that God told the church at Laodicea that their lukewarm state of mind, their smug, lazy, carefree attitude toward such urgent spiritual matters repulsed Him. The Lord certainly reacts that way to a lukewarm religion. Yet, lukewarmness characterizes Christianity in America in the twenty-first century. I want to mention four areas in which I think if we are honest, we’ll agree that we are very lukewarm today.

One: Sin

Most of us know that sin is not a good thing, but we’re a lot more indifferent about it than God is. There are a lot of churches indifferent toward sin today. They say so very little about it, you would have a hard time saying they are alarmed by the sins that characterize our modern society by what you hear preached from their pulpits. However, let me assure you that sin is a serious thing in the eyes of God. In Ezekiel 16, the prophet was denouncing the sins of Jerusalem. They had committed several abominations, including the sin of fornication, and their degeneracy is spelled out in disgusting terms. To top it all off, God said that they had practiced the worship of Molech by sacrificing their own children to that false god.

Ezekiel 16:20 “Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,”

What he’s really saying is, Has sin become so light of a thing to you that you can bring yourselves to this point of degeneracy? Yet, that’s what’s happening in regard to sin today–even among those who profess to follow Christ, unfortunately. We have descended into degeneracy and depravity to the point that very little that shocks us anymore. Just about any type of behavior is not only tolerated but has become so commonplace that we’re not surprised when we hear of nearly anybody engaged in any kind of a scandalous and sinful lifestyle. Today, anything goes. Sin has become respectable even. We’ve brought it out of the bars and houses of ill repute and we’ve piped it into our living rooms night after night. Today, you can turn on the television and in seconds, on nearly any channel, you can find a program that glamourizes filthy language, immoral conduct, drinking, drug use, fornication, adultery and other forms of sexual deviancy, and on and on the list goes. But read what Paul says:

Ephesians 5:3-7 “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”

Paul says that sin is a serious matter. So much so that a person can’t be saved and continue living in sin. You know, we need to be reminding people of that today. The apostle Paul was alarmed when he heard that the church at Corinth was harboring an incestuous fornicator. This man was involved in an immoral relationship with his stepmother. But that wasn’t the only problem. Paul was upset with the church because they were looking the other way while this man continued on in his sin. Maybe he was a man of wealth and influence and for that reason the church looked away. Regardless, Paul says that that shouldn’t have been their reaction. They should’ve been concerned.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.”

What Paul is saying is they should’ve been filled with righteous indignation and concern for this man’s soul which was in peril. But they were going on, seemingly not bothered by it. They were glorying in themselves as a church, and Paul says they ought to have been ashamed and saddened by what this man was doing and the kind of life he was living.

1 Corinthians 5:4-6 “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”

In other words, they were to disfellowship this man. They were to not continue in fellowship with him. They were to cut him off. Sin is a disease; it’s like a cancer: you get the cancer, or the cancer will get you. But we don’t look at sin in the church that way today. Rather, we look for ways to justify it or at the very least overlook it. We’re indifferent towards sin. But God is not. The Bible teaches that God is going to judge sin one of these days and those who refuse to repent of it are going to be lost. That is not something to be lukewarm and unconcerned about.

Two: What the Bible says

Frankly, there are many in religion today who claim to believe the Bible. They pay a certain amount of lip service to the Bible, but their preaching and practice tell a very different story. Long ago, an important question was asked of the prophet Jeremiah by King Zedekiah:

Jeremiah 37:17 “Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD?”

That’s a great question. One that we should ask every time that we open the Bible. Every time we are confronted with a decision. Is there any word from the Lord? How can I be saved? How can I prepare for eternity? Is there any word from the Lord about that? What church should I be a member of? Has the Lord revealed anything in His word about the church that He built, what it consists of, how it’s identified? What kind of worship should we offer unto God? Are certain practices right in the sight of God, or do they belong outside the realm of worship? What does God say about that? Is there any word from the Lord about that? How should we live our lives? Is that just up to us, or has God spoken about those matters?

But the fact is, many people aren’t looking for a word from the Lord today. They’re looking to explain away what the Lord has already said, to get around what He has said in His word. Instead of eagerly asking, Is there any word from the Lord? we indifferently shrug and ask, What difference does it make? Why would God care? Why should we care? The Bible makes very little difference to the masses today if something is popular or if avoiding the difficult truths of the Bible will make for peace and a large crowd on Sunday. But the Lord’s word is not something to be ignored or to be indifferent about.

Psalm 119:126 “It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.”

What he’s saying is that God would vindicate His word by pouring out His judgment on those who disobeyed Him. Do you know that there is a Day of Judgment that is coming for a world that has relegated the Bible to essentially an ineffectual, irrelevant antiquity? Yet, God is going to judge us in the by and by, by the measuring stick of His word.

John 12:48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

He’s not going to judge us by what the latest Rasmussen or Gallup poll says or by what the media says on the news every night. He’s not going to judge us by what the President says or by what the Supreme Court rules or Congress legislates. He’s not going to judge us based upon what our friends or popular culture or Hollywood dictates to us is right or wrong. He’s going to judge us by the yardstick of His word. That means we dare not shrug and act as if it doesn’t matter what God’s word says.

I want to ask you a very serious, introspective question: Are you indifferent toward the teaching of the Bible? You can carry a Bible to church, you can even read the Bible and say that you love and care about what the Bible says, but when it comes down to it, are you indifferent toward what the Bible says? The Bible says that baptism is necessary to be saved.

Mark 16:16 “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

1 Peter 3:21 “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”

Jesus commanded a person who places his faith in Him to be baptized. Does that concern you? Do you try to explain that away and convince yourself and others that Jesus really didn’t mean what He said, and a person can be saved whether he’s baptized or not? Is there any word from the Lord about that?

Paul says in Ephesians 4:4 that there is only one body and Colossians 1:18 teaches that the body to which Paul is referring is the church.

Ephesians 4:4 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;”

Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

But do you contend that one church is as right as another and that a person can be saved in any church, not just the one the Lord established?

Jesus said that those who worship God “must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Do you believe that any kind of worship is acceptable to God as long as it’s heartfelt and sincere? You see, if so, you are at odds with God’s word. These are just a few examples of the gross indifference to the teachings of the Bible that we see today. But again, the Bible will be the rule of judgment when we stand before the Lord and we can’t afford to be indifferent about it.

Three: In service and devotion to Christ

Empty seats in places of worship across the land today testify to this sad reality. Shrinking and dwindling churches testify to the fact that people are indifferent about service to Christ. Many who even claim to believe and follow Jesus are indifferent about His kingdom, about the assembly of the saints, about the work of the local church. Nearly every church leader that I know laments the lack of zeal and fervor in his congregation today. The Romans were told to offer their very bodies as a living sacrifice to God.

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Yet, we’re in a generation of what you might call “casual Christians” which is really an oxymoron. You might as well talk about a heavenly devil as to talk about a casual Christian. Nonetheless, isn’t that the attitude that is displayed by many professing Christians today?

Look what Jeremiah said about his fervor for the Lord’s word a long time ago.

Jeremiah 20:9 “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”

The Lord’s word was consuming to Jeremiah! It deeply convicted him. He couldn’t be silent about it. It wasn’t just a sermon preached on Sunday. He couldn’t lay it aside and forget about it or push it to the back of his mind. Is the word of God like a fire in YOUR bones? If you rarely or irregularly go to worship God with the rest of the church, can you really say that the word of God is like a fire in your bones if you make excuses for why you can’t go to worship or can’t put the Lord and His kingdom first in your life? Is your heart really aflame for God if you have little interest in going to hear the word of God preached and if you don’t yearn to learn more about Him and His will and draw as close to Him as you possibly can?

This is the message that is lost on so many people today: With Christ, it is ALL or it is NOTHING. Remember what He told the Laodiceans.

Revelation 3:15 “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.”

He would rather they be completely cold and uninvolved in the church. It would essentially have been better for them to be unbelievers than to be lukewarm, claiming to believe in Christ and follow and love Christ, but really be indifferent and full of apathy concerning their souls and the work of Christ. The church at Laodicea had relatively easy lives. It was a wealthy city. They were living in pleasure and ease, and they really thought they could place God in a small niche in their lives, like many seem to believe today. But Jesus said that won’t do.

A terrible campaign of persecution was about to sweep over the seven churches of Asia, and Christ says that their brand of religion would not survive the coming storm. The modern brand of American religion isn’t going to survive either. Many of us may be in for a great shock when the days become so dark and difficult for the church like they’ve been in other periods of history. The easy street, secularized, watered down version of Christianity will NEVER stand the test if times of true persecution return, and they certainly won’t stand the test of Christ’s judgment at the end of time, regardless.

Four: Our own souls

Even in the church sometimes, people really give very little thought to their eternal destiny, to their souls, to where their souls stand in the eyes of God. We all know we’re going to die one day but we certainly don’t think it’ll be today. We don’t want to think it could be tomorrow. So, we don’t treat our souls with a lot of urgency, tending to be rather indifferent about our souls. If we think about death, we worry about whether or not we have an adequate life insurance policy, about whether our loved ones will be taken care of and if we have all of our affairs of earth in order. Maybe we obsess about what kind of legacy we will leave behind and so forth. But we don’t give a lot of thought to where we’ll be when we close our eyes in this world and open them in the next. We’re like the rich farmer.

Luke 12:19-20 “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”

Jesus put it like this:

Matthew 22:2-5 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:”

They failed to realize the great opportunity that had been given to them, just as millions upon millions today fail to realize just how valuable their souls are, how short life really is, and how precious every invitation they hear truly is. Are you lukewarm about your soul today? You wouldn’t be if you really understood how important it is in the eyes of God; if you truly know the high cost that heaven paid for it. You wouldn’t be so casual if you could, like Paul, get a momentary glimpse into the glory world at the home that awaits the prepared and the saved. You certainly wouldn’t be so indifferent about your soul and where you truly stand with God if you tasted the fires of hell and the awful horrors that await those who obey not the gospel.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, more important, more urgent, and more pressing than your soul and preparing it for eternity. If you’ve been putting off obedience to the gospel, if you’ve been delaying being baptized for the remission of your sins and embarking on a new Christian life, I hope you’ll stop today and realize that you’re making a foolish mistake. I truly hope you’ll stop worrying about the things that don’t matter and you’ll attend to the things that DO and that make an eternal difference.

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