I’m going to get lambasted for this one. But there’s simply too much at stake.
The two 3:16’s are both spoken by Jesus.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Amen. Wow.
Revelation 3:16: “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Terrifying.
A few questions for you:
Do you follow Jesus in public or do you prefer to keep it private?
Your answer to this question is really important. Hint: following Jesus in private is not following Jesus.
Do you like the supposed social benefits of church, being on the worship team, being followed on Instagram, doing your best to copy EVERYTHING about those hero guitar players of the prominent worship teams, down to the way they post on Instagram?
Do you love the attention that comes from having the best and newest gear, getting the most followers, receiving compliments after worship times?
Now, I’m not condemning buying the gear that another skilled guitar player has. I do that! Most times, a quick way to make those sounds is to buy the same or similar gear. I’m condemning buying that gear as an ultimate end. Buying that gear with no Christ-driven purpose. Buying that gear with no intention of using it to bring glory to God with the platform you’ve been given.
More questions…
Why do you play on the worship team? What’s your purpose? Glorifying yourself or bringing glory to God? To be viewed as “cool” or to decrease so others see God as supreme?
Where are you finding your identity? Are you finding it in Christ (Col. 3:1-3) or in a famous “Christian” guitar player (an idol)?
Where does your drive to serve come from? Because you want to be just like the cool dudes on Instagram, or because you are so in awe of God’s redeeming plan through Christ that you can’t help but use the talents he’s given you to bring glory and honor to his name?
Last question.
Would you give it all up—the attention, the activity, the gear, the income— to prove your allegiance to Christ?
We’ve never met. You could say that I don’t know your heart. True. But you could do a better job at proving where your allegiance lies. Let me explain.
I am so concerned at your presence on Social Media and the theme of your websites. That’s the ONE way I, and many other people, know you and what you hold dear. And your posts and website suggest nothing of your allegiance to Jesus Christ. Nothing.
That you posted a pedalboard shot on Sunday morning does not suggest your allegiance to Jesus Christ.
That people know you play in church does not suggest your allegiance Jesus Christ.
And it certainly doesn’t tell people what they need to do to be saved from eternal separation from God.
Some of you have a HUGE audience. And you’re completely wasting it. If you were truly sold out for spreading the Gospel for the glory of God, then you would use it to speak truth to those who are in darkness, and to encourage those who are running the race. Yes, you would. That’s the litmus test. What do your actions show about where your allegiance lies?
If you truly believe John 3:16, you must believe Revelation 3:16. How terrifying is the thought that Jesus may spit us out of his mouth for being lukewarm?
“Wait, you mean I have to do and say things that tell people I’m a Christ-follower? Like, I have to be obvious about it? My actions and desire to obey (or lack of desire) matter? I have to know and share the true Gospel, even on Social Media?”
Yes. Yes. Yes. Read Matthew 10:33. Not saying anything at all is the same as denying. Stop trying to skirt the issue. Then read Matthew 7:16. Then read 1 Corinthians 10:31. Nothing in your life should be off limits. The call is total surrender to Jesus at any cost, all for the glory of God; that’s why he made us (Isaiah 43:7).
My fear is that you don’t understand, or have never been told, the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and thus, have never truly repented of your sins and trusted in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If you have, you would have no choice but to use your platform to spread the truth. You wouldn’t be so YOU focused.
God is holy.
God is just. If man does not repent, he will sharpen his sword (Psalm 7).
We are not holy. We have fallen short of the glory of God. Nothing we can do in our own power will change that (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6).
Sin demands payment. The penalty is death (Romans 6:23). Separation from God.
God is love, so he responded to our dilemma by coming to earth as the God-man Jesus Christ, living a perfect, obedient life as a man, thus satisfying the law. He died a gruesome death on a Roman cross, while taking on the full wrath of God, so those who trust in him don’t have to.
He died. He was buried.
Jesus was fully God; therefore, he could not be defeated. After three days in the grave, he rose, completing our justification.
To be saved, man must admit and confess their desperate condition before the Lord (Psalm 51), confess and believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9; Acts 16:31).
Man’s call for the rest of his days is to spread the gospel (Matthew 28:18), glorify the Lord (Isaiah 43:7) and be completely satisfied in all who God is.
That’s the gospel.
Tony Reinke says it like this:
“We are spreaders of God’s glory. To be made in God’s image means, at a foundational level, we were created to show the world how precious and deeply satisfying God is. If people look at our lives and see only self-absorption, they get the light-sucking side of a mirror, and we fail to be what God fully created us to be, for we fail to cast the grandeur and magnificence of God back into the world.”
Brother, sister. I’m calling you out. Not as a perfect follower of Jesus Christ. I am so far from that. But as a servant of the Lord who desires to—as much as this sinful, wicked man can—honor him publicly, LOUDLY, through my actions, through my marriage, through my parenting, through my service…with my entire life.
Look at your life. Honestly. Be humble enough to evaluate it next to the commands in Scripture. Does it resemble anything of being a glory spreader?
Sure it does.
The real questions is, Who’s glory are you spreading?
People are perishing.
First, make sure one of them is not you. Let Paul Washer’s words sink in:
“If a person professes faith in Christ and yet falls away or makes no progress in godliness, it does not mean that he has lost his salvation. It reveals that he was never truly converted.”
Second, we have work to do. Repent. Believe. Use your God-given talent and platform to spread God’s glory by sharing his beautiful, TRUE gospel. On purpose.
For an amazing presentation of the Gospel, visit this website.