Cold-Blooded Christians

As one reads this article, I would suggest that they reference two passages of scripture. The first is 2 Peter 2:9-14 and the second is 2 Timothy 2:19-26. In these passages one will find the spiritual basis for the thoughts in this writing.

We have all heard the story of the frog which is placed in a kettle of cold water under which a fire has been built. Slowly but surely the water heats up until the frog is finally cooked to death without ever realizing what is happening. Supposedly, this happens because the frog is a cold-blooded creature which adjusts its body temperature with the ever warning water until it is too late.

If this scenario happened with a warn blooded creature, it would not be long before the animal would sense that the water was getting too hot for them and they would come out of the pot. That would happen to you or me because we are warm blooded. It can get very uncomfortable in a tub when the water is too warm much less in a pot where it is rising to the boiling point. Because we make our own body heat we would discover very quickly that things were not just right.

But, I would submit to you that, where temptation and sin are concerned, we are often cold-blooded creatures spiritually. Many times, satan puts a person in his caldron of sin and starts turning up the heat. Because the person is cold-blooded spiritually, they just adjust to the heat satan is increasing until it is too late and then they find that they are being destroyed. If they had the right spiritual relationship with the Lord and maintained a warm-blooded relationship to Him then they would have been aware of the fact that satan was turning up the heat and they would have repented and jumped out of the caldron before their lives were wrecked.

What causes a person to be cold-blooded spiritually? Until a person is saved, he is naturally cold-blooded where sin is concerned. He is not sensitive to sin and loves the things that satan leads him to do. He even wonders why everyone else doesn’t get involved with what he is doing. Everyone has to be saved to be a warm-blooded Christian. It happens in no other way. Only when the Holy Spirit comes does he realize he is boiling in sin. After salvation he becomes a warm- blooded Christian and knows the difference in being in satan’s caldron and in the Savior’s Hand.

But once a person is saved, being cold blooded can still occur if they live a disobedient life before the Lord. Disobedience hardens the heart to the Lord’s guidance and puts a distance between us and the protective power of the Lord. A cold-blooded Christian is referred to by the Apostle Paul as a carnal Christian. When you were saved, God did not take away your freedom of choice where sin is concerned. Christians can choose to sin but in doing so, they are in rebellion toward God and they are acting like the frog in the kettle and allowing satan to turn up the heat and destroy their witness and their life. Disobedience will lead a person to accept the sin in their life. At that point they voluntarily become a cold-blooded person spiritually and satan will begin to turn up the heat and the person won’t know it until its too late because disobedience takes away God’s protection and blessings. And, one of the great blessings of being saved is that a person is given the ability to know when he or she is in satan’s caldron.

If a person is careless about their humanity and think that they can control themselves by their sheer will they will fall victim to satan. We must be smart enough to accept the fact that we live in the flesh and we cannot control it very easily. Satan attaches himself to the flesh and he is much stronger than we are. Many people will find themselves making provision for the flesh and they will be jumping in and out of the caldron all the time. Unfortunately, many will find that, like the frog in the kettle, they stayed in satan’s caldron too long and it is all over.

If one is irresponsible about spiritual matters, he will be a candidate to become one who finds themselves in the caldron with the heat slowly being turned up. When a person rejects the need for salvation, they are voluntarily choosing to live as a cold-blooded person and they won’t be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as he calls them to repentance. One of the greatest things a person can do is to be sure that they study God’s Word. It will protect a person and direct them as to how they should live. It tells a person how not to become a cold-blooded Christian and get boiled to death in the caldron. God’s Word makes us sensitive to sin and equips us to live a Godly, warn-blooded Christian life which honors God.

Another characteristic of those who find themselves slowly boiling in the devil’s caldron is that they are lighthearted about Jesus. He really did leave heaven for us. He really did take on our humanity. He really did suffer for us. He really did die for each of us. He really was resurrected for us. He really does intercede for us daily and He really does want everyone to be saved. He did not die on the cross for us with the idea that His people would be cold-blooded where sin in concerned and not be aware of when satan is trying to destroy us. He also didn’t die for us with the expectation that we would continue to live as we always had lived before we claimed Him as our Savior. He gave us the ability not to be slowly cooked to death before we know it as was the frog in the caldron. He gave us the Holy Spirit to make us a warm-blooded Christian who can be aware of when we are displeasing Him where sin in our lives is concerned. He also gave us the privilege of repenting and living a life pleasing to God.

So, when satan tries to trap a Christian to jump in his kettle as he turns up the heat, remember that the Lord gave you the ability through his Holy Spirit to know when you are in danger because you are able to discern that the heat is being turned up and you can repent and get out of satan’s caldron before it is too late and your life is ruined.

As a Christian you are not like the cold-blooded frog who was unable to discern when the water was getting too hot for him to survive but you are sensitive to sin and its destructive nature and the Lord will show you the situation you are in and the danger you are encountering. The Lord guides us into a warn-blooded relationship with him, always aware of when satan is turning up the heat on us and leading us to repentance and a right relationship with Him.