Pastor Jack Hibbs is issuing a bold challenge to believers everywhere: stop making excuses and start living with spiritual urgency.
In a recent message titled “Don’t Be a Lazy Christian,” Hibbs laid out a firm yet uplifting call to action, warning that passivity in the Christian life is not only unbiblical but dangerous. “Being lazy in any area of life is never good,” he said. “Christianity is not designed by God for us to kick back. Heaven awaits us, but until that time comes, we are to be busy about our Father’s business.”
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Preaching from Romans 12:11, Hibbs reveals three traits that should mark every believer: diligence, fervency and service. “If we do not maintain a diligence at what we’re doing as a believer, we’re going to grow cold and become complacent,” he said. “We are to be fervent in spirit, hot. A hot commitment to the Lord Jesus.”
But Hibbs said it’s not just about personal enthusiasm, it’s about resisting a spiritual laziness that he believes is sweeping through the church. “There’s no such thing as a lazy Christian, not in God’s dictionary,” he said. “This is a big deal in our day and age right now. I think this is part of the satanic drug that is floating in the atmosphere, where you’re starting to see people right in the midst of battle falling asleep.”
One of the key indicators of spiritual laziness, Hibbs said, is procrastination. “I’ll read next week. I’ll do that tomorrow,” he said, listing common excuses. “If you live by ‘I’ll do it tomorrow,’ you’ll never do it. Because it’s always tomorrow.”
Hibbs challenged listeners to stop coddling their comfort and start confronting their flesh. “Your body’s the problem,” he said. “My body thinks it’s in charge all the time. And you have to tell it, ‘Get back here. Sit down. Let’s go to a prayer meeting.’”
Citing his daily 5:00 a.m. live prayer broadcast, Hibbs invited believers to rise early and press in. “Whatever you’re doing, your body’s saying, ‘I’m fine, don’t bother me.’ And I’m saying to you: make yourself hurt. Set your alarm. Get up. Join me live.”
He explained that discipline breeds spiritual growth, and neglect leads to lukewarm faith, a condition Jesus strongly rebukes in Revelation 3. “Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth,” Hibbs read. “That’s the word Jesus is using, vomit. He’s saying, ‘I’m sick.’”
Hibbs elaborated on the imagery, noting that Laodicea’s lukewarm water supply made people physically ill, while neighboring cities like Colossae and Hierapolis offered refreshing cold water and healing hot springs. “Jesus said, ‘I wish you were cold, I could be refreshed by you, or I wish you were hot, I could be ministered to by you,’” Hibbs explained. “But lukewarm? That’s worthless.”
He encouraged Christians to take a hard look at their spiritual temperature. “Was there ever a time when you were more passionate about Jesus than you are now?” he asked. “Laziness is the greatest thing to destroy all of that.”
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For Hibbs, the Christian life is not about comfort but obedience, sacrifice, and love for others. “If I believe that God is taking care of me, then I can focus on others. I don’t have to take care of me,” he said. “I’m called to take care of you. You’re called to take care of me, because He has promised to take care of us.”
Complacency has no place in the life of a follower of Christ. In Hibbs’ words, “Don’t be sloppy with your agape. Don’t become lazy. Don’t be a lazy Christian.”
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
