Let me start by saying that if you are trying to base your salvation on any level of works then you are wrong. It is only by the grace of God through our faith that we have eternal life. This is the correct portion of Prince's theology. It is known as the grace of God. It is central to our faith. The problem is not grace but hyper-grace, where everything else is dismissed in favor of it. The law now becomes anathema to hyper grace teaching. For mentioning the law at all I have been called a "law preacher" - whatever. If I am a law preacher then so was Jesus Christ:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5: 17-19 (NIV)
Prince and the hyper grace crowd always insist that they are not encouraging sin but that is exactly what they do. I have heard Creflo Dollar, who is now on the hyper grace train, insist that Christians do not need the Ten Commandments! He must not be concerned about these verses from Matthew where Christ warns that anyone who teaches people to lay aside the law will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven!
So what is God saying in the lukewarm verses from Revelation? Prince said on the television show that people mistakenly think that this has to do with whether a Christian is on fire for God or cold as ice and slipping away. He then mockingly dismisses this in favor of his hyper-grace theory. In doing do however he threw away the truth. The key for Prince was why Jesus would say that He preferred the cold then if these cold Christians were back-slidden? Well, if he had relied upon the shoulders of those who have exposited the Bible he may have reviewed Strong's summary:
Cold - [psychros] : "in mind: of one destitute of warm Christian faith and the desire for holiness."
Oops. So cold here actually means in the greek to be cold of mind. It has absolutely nothing to do with being under the law. In fact, it means that you have lost your desire for holiness - which brings us back to the law! Once again, this is what happens when you abandon hermeneutics in favor of pursuing your pre-decided outcome. So then what about the notion of lukewarmness? Beloved the only thing God hates more than a lack of faith is a hypocritical faith. That is what lukewarmness is referring to. Not some divinely revealed nonsense about mixing grace and law. The hot Christian is on fire for God but the cold Christian is at least not fooling anyone. The lukewarm Christian however can lead people astray, damage the witness for Christ, and stagnate a church. Remember these Revelation verses are from the letter Jesus is writing to the Church at Laodicea. They were so hypocritical in fact that they were believing they were the opposite of what they truly were:
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. - Revelation 3: 17-18 (NIV)
How many modern churches do we have like this? Rich in money but poor in the things of God. Thinking they are all that and a bag of chips but in reality they are wretched, pitiful, blind and naked. You see God wants the cold person to come back to Him but He wants the lukewarm person to stop being lukewarm, one way or the other. The lukewarm Christian does not feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit anymore because they think they are right. They think they are OK. They think they are rich. At least the cold person has a chance of deciding to come back home like the Prodigal Son.
