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(Clip) Lukewarm Christians
Leonard Ravenhill
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0:00 5:34
Leonard Ravenhill

(Clip) Lukewarm Christians

Leonard Ravenhill challenges lukewarm Christians to move beyond mere confession and embrace a transformative, living relationship with Christ that changes every aspect of their lives.
This sermon emphasizes the need for true salvation that goes beyond just confessing sins and being forgiven. It challenges believers to examine if their lives have truly been transformed by Christ, addressing issues like bitterness, lust, dishonesty, and rebellion. The speaker highlights the importance of being dead to sin and living a life fully surrendered to Jesus, seeking a genuine relationship with God that results in a complete change of heart and actions.

Full Transcript

90% of the people in the nation are not saved, they claim to be. When I went to a malt and I confessed my sins, fine, fine, that's what the preacher said, you confess your sins and you confess them. Do you know they did that in every Roman Catholic church in the country last Sunday? A man needs more than to be forgiven, he needs cleansing, he needs more than cleansing, he needs indwelling, he needs more than indwelling, he needs undoing. If I were to ask you tonight, you're saved, do you say, yes I'm saved. When? Oh so-and-so preached, I got baptized and I'm saved. What are you saved for? Hell? Are you saved from bitterness? Are you saved from lust? Are you saved from cheating? Are you saved from lying? Are you saved from bad manners? Are you saved from rebelling against your parents? Come on, what are you saved from? I'm not asking you tonight, that you one night kneel down and make confession and after that your life was no change, your lifestyle was no different, your appetites were no different, your pair life was no different, come on. Isn't it offensive to say to people, listen you may be a genius, you have a colossal intellect, if you fall out of bed you invent something, but do you know right in the center of you, you're dead, because you've no living relationship with God. Now there are two kinds of people in the world, only two kinds, not black and white, not rich and poor, there are those who are dead in sin and there are those who are dead to sin. If I say most people are half saved, will you know what I mean? I mean this, you go to the cross but you never get on the cross. You go and get your sins forgiven and feel happy and you go do the same lousy thing again the next day, come on, what kind of a salvation is that? The miracle of the new birth is this, that when a man is really born, when he gets this life, he doesn't want that life. Okay, so Paul says if you have risen with Christ or you've been raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not things on the... come on, come on, come on you fellas now. Okay, you're saved and yet I guess you talk more about baseball than you talk about Jesus, is that right? Do you know how you need entertainment? Or any of us, you only need entertainment when you've lost the joy of the Lord. Listen, are you just a Sunday morning Christian? Do you live and move and have your being in Jesus Christ every waking moment of your life? Has he got your thinking? But look at his figure for a moment. Here is a man stretched on a cross. As soon as that man is nailed to the cross, he has no rights of his own. You can take a bucket of filth and throw it over him. You can take a stick if you like and break his legs. You can have a game of pitching rocks and you knock his right eye out, I'll knock his left eye out and so forth. He's no rights. He can be battered and bleeding and broken. I remember going through India, there were bees, there were birds that were this height from the ground. They have about an eight-foot wingspan. They keep their necks in until they fly and then up comes this long neck with no feathers. They look hideous. Their beaks, oh, they must be this length, huge curving. You know what they do? They go onto the arms of the cross as the light comes up, daylight. And those big hideous things reach down and peck out the eyes if they're still there. And they tear the body. And it becomes bloody and the entrails run out of the man and the blood runs on the ground and the doves come out of the city to drink of the blood. Even a woman who saw her husband crucified would never go back in the morning. You didn't see a woman with her arms around a bleeding, horrible, wretched form of a man saying, darling, I love you. And Paul says, that's what the world is to me. It's a system of corruption and rottenness and vileness. It's anti-Christ from the world go. Is the world crucified to you tonight? Or does it fascinate you? Oh, I'm coming down the line. I mean, Jesus isn't looking for some sissies to serve him. He's looking for some men with guts and men with grace and men with determination. You still comfortable to sit in the ballpark and say, here's somebody take the name of Jesus in vain? Look, if you haven't got a hold of this, get a hold of it now. You can't impress God. Let me tell you this, an experience of God that costs nothing, does nothing, and it's worth nothing. What the Church has had in the last 25 years has not moved this nation or this world to God. It's time for something new. And God wants some men who are really drunk, intoxicated with the Spirit of God, who have a love life with the Lord Jesus, and he can ask anything of you and Well, how many of you guys are eating up with lust? You women eating up with jealousy, with pride? Or is it just chronic laziness? You've no appetite for this love letter of God's. You know, I hear people go to conferences, meetings, and they say, boy, that was good. Boy, were we challenged. Every meeting we were challenged. And the question isn't were you challenged, the question is were you changed? I'm going to ask you simply a simple question tonight. How many of you are here tonight? You've come from many parts, and I'm asking you to keep your eyes closed, not look around. How many of you say tonight, I do not know that Christ lives in me. Christ is not indwelling me. I know that.

Sermon Outline

  1. I. The Reality of Lukewarm Christianity
    • Many claim salvation without true transformation
    • Confession alone is insufficient for genuine salvation
    • True salvation involves cleansing, indwelling, and undoing
  2. II. The Two Kinds of People
    • Those dead in sin versus those dead to sin
    • Half-saved Christians who do not fully embrace the cross
    • The necessity of a living relationship with God
  3. III. The Cost of Following Christ
    • Christ’s suffering and loss of rights on the cross
    • The world’s hostility toward true believers
    • The call for men and women with courage and grace
  4. IV. The Call to Genuine Change
    • Challenge versus change in Christian life
    • The need for intoxication with the Spirit of God
    • Self-examination regarding indwelling Christ

Key Quotes

“A man needs more than to be forgiven, he needs cleansing, he needs more than cleansing, he needs indwelling, he needs more than indwelling, he needs undoing.” — Leonard Ravenhill
“There are two kinds of people in the world, only two kinds... those who are dead in sin and those who are dead to sin.” — Leonard Ravenhill
“An experience of God that costs nothing, does nothing, and it's worth nothing.” — Leonard Ravenhill

Application Points

  • Examine your life to ensure your salvation is evidenced by genuine transformation, not just confession.
  • Commit daily to living dead to sin and alive in Christ, setting your affections on heavenly things.
  • Seek to be filled and intoxicated with the Holy Spirit to serve God with courage and grace.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Leonard Ravenhill mean by 'half saved'?
He refers to those who have accepted forgiveness but have not fully embraced the transformative power of the cross in their daily lives.
Why is mere confession not enough for salvation?
Confession without a changed lifestyle and heart transformation does not reflect true salvation or a living relationship with Christ.
What is the significance of being 'dead to sin'?
Being dead to sin means that a believer no longer lives under sin’s power but lives a new life empowered by Christ.
How can a Christian know if Christ truly indwells them?
By examining if their life shows evidence of transformation, desire for holiness, and a living relationship with Jesus beyond just rituals.
What is Ravenhill’s call to action for Christians?
He urges believers to seek genuine change, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and live with courage and determination for Christ.

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