K060. Jesus said, "So then because thou art lukewarm .., I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Rev 3:16 KJV) (1)

Compared with what Jesus said in John 3:16 (which I realized today), Rev 3:16 sounds like a hard saying that was not likely to come out from the mouth of a loving God who loves us while we are yet sinners - John 3:16 KJV  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Hence, I can understand why many 'grace' preachers made a big fuss of it on all the hard sayings of Jesus which they find it hard to make sense in the 'gospel' that they preach. They would just brush off all the hard sayings of the Lord as obsolete teachings not applicable to them who are under the new covenant.

While I do understand the concern of the ignorant preachers or believers who will take the hard sayings of the Lord so negatively that they find it hopeless to believe in the Lord any more, I find it ridiculous to use that as the basis (or excuse) to eliminate (or discredit) all the hard sayings of Lord as obsolete (or useless) teachings for us.

Please think, Will you say that the laws of our country against the cheaters, the rapers, or the robbers, are 'hard sayings' for the people too? Will you say that the criminal laws have become obsolete because our society or our churches are too righteous to have those laws? No. If those laws are still applicable in our society or churches, how much more applicable would the laws of God be in our imperfect world or imperfect churches too?

Of course, we don't want our children or teach our children to be rapers or robbers and we won't expect our children or ourselves to be rapers or robbers too; however, we won't go around and say that the laws are no longer applicable to us.
Similarly we do not want our believers and teach our believers to be lukewarm too; however, we would never preach that the Lord's warning against the lukewarm people are no longer applicable to us, especially when the Lord had shown us that almost all the seven churches were seriously warned by Him in Revelation 2-3.

However, it is sad to know that many so-called positive 'grace' preachers today would want to paint only the positive picture of the Revelation's churches to the people, saying that their churches or most churches today would never be condemned as the lukewarm people; instead they say that they would be praised as the great churches who will shine from glory to glory. Of course, I do not deny that there are churches who may grow from glory to glory, but we do not have to boast about it blindly or radically, especially when many churches today are still living short of the glory of God and still walking in the blindness or nakedness created by their false doctrine. Many churches will still need the 'wake up' call.

Of course, no one would like to give or preach warnings if there is a choice; it is stressful and negative to everyone. However, when there is urgency, do we have a choice? Of course, no one would enjoy activating the tsunami alarm to create the stressful scene too. But when someone knows that there will be a great earthquake and that there is a high possibility that the tsunami will be coming, does he have the choice to keep quiet and do nothing? No, he must do something if he is responsible to those who are around him.

Similarly the hard sayings of the Lord in Mat 7:15-23 and Rev 3:16 are  like the tsunami warnings. They are serious enough for us to warn others even though we know that it will make many people stressful and unhappy. But, if we choose to say nothing, we are no better than the 'lukewarm' in Rev 3. The Lord has warned us that many false prophets will rise in the last days. They will keep arguing that they do not need any warning from the Lord and that they can never be the 'lukewarm', when ironically they are the most likely lukewarm that the Lord will spue out from His mouth.

We know that the Pharisees had the form of laws and godliness; and yet they fell. What make us think that the lukewarm preachers would not have the form of the law, the form of grace, or the form of godliness too? In fact, Paul had warned us that there is a 'form of grace' which can never save too? - the perverted grace:
Heb 10:26-31 KJV  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  .. (28)  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:  (29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?  (30)  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.  (31)  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
2Ti 3:5 KJV  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Since I have shown you some questions about 'godliness', which I've started with Rev 3:16 and John 3:16, I will now complete it with more answers about 'godliness' with the following Bible verses:
1Ti 3:16 KJV  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (Please read it with the previous verse too (v15) ".. that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God .."
2Ti 3:16-17 KJV  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  (17)  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

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