This is a hard book to read because it will challenge your faith. As I read some of the other reviews, it seemed like some were looking for any loose thread to not like this book, but the truth is that there are hard truths in this book which are right from the mouth of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul challenges us to test ourselves to see if we are in the faith and this book can be a tool for that very thing. There are many great quotes, but let me start with this one: “the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity.” Chan contests that many Christians want God to be part of their lives, but they do not want God to consume their lives. “They want God up to a point that He doesn’t interfere with their plans and their comfort zones.” It’s not that God doesn’t want you to have nice things, but the question is will we sell everything and follow Him if He asked? Can we be like Job and say “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord!”? I think this is true and it seems evident when you look around at American churches.   We are so focused on improving our own lives that we often don’t realize how blessed we already are and we have forgotten that “to whom much is given, much is required.” Chan challenges us to take a long hard look at the words of Jesus and understand what Jesus meant when He said to “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.”

In addition to Paul telling us to test ourselves, Jesus talks to us about being lukewarm in the letter to Laodicea (Revelation 3). Chan keys in on this passage to show parallels between Laodicea, a growing, thriving, wealthy church that was bankrupt to the truth of the gospel. The book has a lot to offer, but the chapter that stick out in my mind is called “Profile of the Lukewarm” in which Chan provides 18 tests from scripture to see if we are Lukewarm. One of the strongest quotes in the book is from this chapter: “Lukewarm people do not want to be saved from their sin, they want to be saved from the penalty of their sin.”  This is a great quote to ponder because it forces us to consider whether we want Jesus just to pay our bar tab so we can keep drinking, OR do we walk with Jesus out of the bar and pursue holiness? It is a question that everyone who claims to be a Christian must answer. I would encourage you to buy this book if only for the chapter on being lukewarm. This chapter will either move you to be honest about your position before God and hopefully strengthen your faith, though I have seen people get tired of faking Christianity and just walk away.

Lastly, I would add that I am not totally convinced that someone who is lukewarm has saving faith. The American church has gotten real good at John 3:16, but the power of John 3:16 is rooted in the truth of John 3:17-18 and John 3:36. Jesus said that 3 out of 4 people who claim to be Christian are not really saved. It’s true, read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Only the seed of good soil had genuine faith, the other 3 had some sort of emotional experience, usually characterized by confession without discipleship. In closing, I would just encourage you to test yourself to see if you are in the faith because none of us want to delude ourselves until the day we hear the words, “depart from Me, I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:21-23), then it’s too late!  Overall, I found the book challenging, but I was encouraged by the Lukewarm test that showed me some areas where God has been gracious to me and other areas where I need to be more discipline.  5 Stars!