“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,

I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:16.)

This is one of the most irritating and commonly used expressions any Bible-believing Christian will regularly hear, if they are one of the few and faithful street evangelists throughout the world, at any given time in the history of the Church.

I am referring of course to Bible tracts that we give out and have done as long as we’ve been saved. If there’s one thing that I still find difficult to comprehend, it is the brush off that professing Christians like to give to people like myself and others. I expect unsaved people to argue, scoff, reject or just walk on by, by why do so many people, who then have the audacity to say they are Christians and are ‘already saved’ or ‘I’ve got my own way of doing things,’ respond to true servants of the Lord with such utter contempt (Matt. 18:10?)

There have been many times when I’ve found myself either pleading with such people to take a tract to pass on to somebody who isn’t saved, to almost being reprimanded because it’s not ‘everybody’s calling to share their faith.’ Such people think they need a special anointing to witness for their Saviour (1 Cor. 3:6).

I remember speaking to an old Plymouth Brethren (this church is now on its last leg) and he told me that only 40 years ago when their evening Sunday service would end, the whole church would walk into town (about a mile away) and preach and sing to those passing by. Nobody stayed at home and nobody said it wasn’t their calling; they all wanted to witness for Christ Jesus (Rev. 2:4).

Today in England this doesn’t happen anymore (for those that do still take the message on the streets, most of these churches have been bewitched by the ecumenical movement, so subsequently they take a watered down and ‘broad message’ with them.) The best one can hope for would be for some faithful lay people, doing a sporadic witness for Christ. One Pentecostal woman, whose church is very large in size and also very wealthy, told me that her church didn’t go on the street anymore, because the council wouldn’t let them bring all their instruments in. Can you believe this? Her church wanted to put on a concert, not preach the Bible and because they weren’t allowed to do it their way, they abandoned the town altogether (Rev. 3:17).

Incidentally, there isn’t one passage in the Bible that ever recorded the Apostles using music for evangelism.)

Friends, may I remind you that if you are born again, it is just as much your responsibility to witness for Jesus Christ, as it is for the top Bible scholar at any university in the world (Matt. 10:32-33).

With 150,000 people dying and most of them going to Hell each day, shouldn’t today be the day you get busy for the Lord. Our job is to PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE (Mark 16:15).

Finally, Charles Spurgeon also understood this type of attitude and problem with the professing Christian:

“Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.”