I have struggled for many years with this question. When I have asked, often people will say "only God knows" or "a person's faith journey is personal" and while I can appreciate those sentiments, I don't believe they are wholly factual. God has given us discernment so that we may know. That is part of his will. And a person's faith journey, while in part personal, is and should be done in the community of believers. Therefore, it's a very important question to ask and be discerning of. Is this person a Christian? What kind of Christian? Are they a true, on fire, follower of Christ? Or are they a lukewarm, but saved Christian? Or are they a Christian in name only, but no in action? These are very important distinctions that should be made, not as a way of judging a person, but as a way of discerning wisdom and knowing who to believe and not to believe.
I have been plagued with this question for so many years, because I know so many lovely people who are wonderful and I would love to believe are on-fire-for-Christ Christians. But their fruits and actions do not display the work of God in their lives and it becomes difficult to believe that. On the other hand, I know people who claim to be Christians who, again I would love to believe is true, but who don't even show basic remorse for sin. For this reason, it has always been a little cloudy for me about who is who and discernment is not my most refined spiritual gift. God's been peeling back the layers and simplifying it for me, so that I can understand a little bit better how to tell who is who and I hope this helps you like it helped me.
First, we need to understand there are 3 distinct categories of people. Hot, Lukewarm, and Cold. Hot people are the followers of Christ who are saved and serving God. Cold people are not believers in Christ and will not receive eternal life. Lukewarm christians are described in Revelation 3:15-16.
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
So here's the best I can do to simplify the distinctions by their characteristics:
Hot
-Saved person
-Follower of Christ
-Sins are Unintentional
-Repentance WHEN they become aware of their sins
-Longing need for God that comes from humility
Lukewarm
-Saved person
-Follows Christ when it is convenient to do so
-Sins are Unintentional
-Repentance IF they become aware of their sins
-Apathy for God that comes from pride
Cold
-Unsaved person
-Follows their flesh, the world, and sin
-Sins are Intentional
-No repentance, No remorse
-Distaste and Disbelief for God that comes from pride
From this list, it's quite easy now for me to distinguish between who is saved and who is unsaved and still needs Christ. There's a faultline that runs between Hot and Lukewarm, but there is a canyon between Lukewarm and Cold.
A hot or a lukewarm person, both are saved. They know God. The difference then becomes intention. Is this person pursuing God in their lives? Are they voting their values based on God's principles or based on what they believe are their "rights"? Rights that are not God given are not rights that a believer should pursue. For example, a young girl that I used to know argued with me recently that she believes women should have the right to choose an abortion. She said that it is unkind and un-Christian to present God in a way that forces a raped person to carry an unwanted child to full term, because it makes God seem so cold and uncaring towards the woman. I explained that as Christians, God knew who to give this child to and planned this pregnancy to happen in this way before he even created the world. This is part of His good plan and His way of making beauty out of ashes. Her logic actually means that someone like me, who has gone through a brutal divorce following years of abuse and neglect, should be allowed to post-birth abort my children, because they remind me of the trauma I experienced while in the marriage. It's not a logical argument and it is harmful, because it does not represent that God is sovereign and in control. She argued back that we shouldn't let a book like the Bible dictate what is kind and unkind to people and many of these raped women don't even know God, so that's not a fair argument. I understand from a secular mindset how what she is saying makes sense, but then does this person actually know God? After understanding all of this, no I do not believe she does. You can not be a follower of Christ and vote against what Christ would vote for. You could be a lukewarm Christian I suppose, since salvation is not something that can be taken away and this person could be just unaware of the sin, however when the truth is brought to light, as it was in this case, what should follow is realizing, remorse, and repentance. In the case of a non-Christian, what will follow is argument and an insistence on being right instead of recognizing the sin. So a good way to distinguish between a lukewarm person and a cold person would be to call their sin to light and see how they respond - either in repentance, or in refusal to acknowledge the sin. Repentance indicated a lukewarm Christian. Refusal indicates a cold person.
I would also like to remind you readers that we shouldn't confuse people in this world about where our alliance stands. If you are so lukewarm that people have to wonder if you're saved, that's a very serious issue. We are not called to look like the world. We are called to be very different. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom. My daughter asked about this word recently, ambassador. It means a person who comes to a new country, from another country as a representative of that country that they come from. So when we say we are ambassodors of the Kingdom of Heaven, what we are saying is that we call KOH (Kingdom of Heaven) our home country and we are citizens of that country. We are only here on KOE (Kingdom of Earth) on mission, to represent our home country and the interests of our home country. That means we should vote along what the people of our country believe. We should be representatives in this country, of that one. We do not call this country our home. Lukewarm Christians, while saved, do not have this understanding and are not good ambassadors. They have given in to the culture that they find themselves currently living in and while they can be reminded by another ambassador and come to remember the truth, they should have inately in them, the desire to represent their country well and the humility to remember that they are on mission here.
Again, going back to that verse in Revelation, which speaks of Lukewarm Christians. The whole Revelation 3:15-21 says:
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
It is not too late for Lukewarm Christians to become hot. It is too late for them to be cold though, so don't behave in a cold way. You are saved. You did answer the door when He knocked. He has come in and wants to eat with you. He wants to remind you of whose you are and where you come from and what your mission is on this earth. He wants to welcome you into the feast and to sit with him. You are leaving so much blessing on the table, by behaving in the ways of this world. God has called you as His ambassador and if you will not do that job well, He will find others to do it, but you will not see the blessing of that job well done. I want to stand before God one day and for Him to say "well done, my good and faithful servant." That sounds so much better then being spit out!
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