THE ROAD TO COMPROMISE
INTRODUCTION
The road to compromise involves a large scale effort to undermine God’s Word, to eliminate godly values, with a desire towards secular domination rather than godly leadership. There is government intrusion that seeks to dominate every aspect of life; to recreate and adjust life to a desired agenda, including Marxism and Socialism, cousins of Communism, the enemies of democracy!
We are witnessing nations cave into demands of ungodly leadership that seeks to dominate and control through deceptive practices. We are witnessing the youth of the land being programmed into new revolutionary ideas that would usher out traditional ways of life that are Biblical sound and nourishment to the soul.
We are witnessing dramatic changes that have blinded many with its allurements; not realizing how domineering such influences are! We are witnessing a lessening influence of the church as it accepts new cultural lifestyles that are an affront to godly values. There is increased participation as the tentacles of ungodly persuasion continue to blossom forth; with little or no reproach!
The Road to Compromise
The Church
The road of compromise has been ongoing for a long time but is now openly proclaimed as healthy for the nation. In regards to the church it was noted: What once would have shocked Christians is now commonplace. There is much that does not disturb the church like it once did. Many Christians have been lulled into believing that all is well.
There may be small victories, a revival here, a church doing a good work there, but where is the moral outrage necessary to petition God for a new reformation or another great awakening? A new generation of believers has allowed worldly influence to dominate the church; after having been an example for the world, but now the world is setting an example for the church!
Diminish in Number
Apostle Paul wrote: Let us (Christians) not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober (self-controlled). For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us (as Christians), who are of the day, be sober (aware), putting on the breastplate of faith, and love; and for a helmet the hope of salvation; for God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:6-9).
Godly influence in the church is lessening as saints of God diminish in number and influence; with replacements not of the same caliber as before! Let us not sleep, as do others, is a call for genuine Christianity as the road to compromise continues to blossom forth.
Church Walking with
the World
In a poem entitled “The Church Walking with the World” (author unknown) reveals: The World said: Your preachers are all too old and plain. They frighten my children with dreadful tales that I do not like to hear. They talk of judgments, fire, pain, and the doom of the darkest night. They warn of a place that should not be thus spoken to ears polite! I will send you some of a better stamp, more brilliant and fast, who will show how men may live as they please and go to heaven at last. So she called for pleasing, deemed gifted, and great, and learned; and the plain old men who had preached the cross were out of her pulpits turned.
Those words, written a long time ago, address what is being experienced today; with many allowing the seed of deception, the road to compromise, to set in with little concern! The road to compromise paints a picture that has been enhanced with all its trimmings. The terms “appeasement and tolerance” have become the norm, with spiritual application of yesteryear no longer an influence as before, allowing compromise to set in, with seeds of corruption and ungodliness overriding once held moral values!
Worldly Attributes
Many seek worldly attributes rather than a spiritual walk enhanced by conformity to God’s Word; which requires a withdrawal from worldliness. Apostle John wrote: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father (God) is not in him (1 John 2:15).
It was noted that the term world signifies the evil desire and sin that continues to be a part of human existence. Apostle Paul wrote: Come out from among them (the world), and be you separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing (sinfulness of man); and I will receive you. And will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).
Abundance of Ungodly
Influences
The road to compromise is increased through an abundance of ungodly influences, made readily available at one’s fingertip, by an advanced electronic age. There is a programming of the mind that enhances ungodly lifestyles, being openly proclaimed with pride, becoming acceptable to ungodly leadership, painting a picture of acceptance rather than rejection! The term compromise is noted as being midway between two extremes, as an accommodation in which both sides made concessions, to bind by mutual agreement, a commitment to something derogatory or objectionable, a compromise of character or right, and making concession for a supposed gain.
All these features play into picture as the road to compromise takes root! The Word of God leaves not room for compromise. Apostle Peter noted: The prophecy of Scripture is not of any private interpretation. For prophecy (the Word of God) came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spoke as they were moved (directed) by the Holy Ghost (that of God’s Spirit) (2 Peter 1:20-21). The road to compromise is ushered in when man undermines God’s Word; with the result of deceit being ushered, disguised as truth!
Result of Compromise
Prophet Isaiah gave warning (woes) to those who embarked on the road to compromise: Woe to them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight (Isaiah 5:20-21); which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from Him (Isaiah 5:23)!
Isaiah then identified what the road to compromise would entail: Therefore as the fire (tongues of fire) devours the stubble, and the flames consume the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord, and despised the Word of the Holy One (Isaiah 5:24)!
Justifying the Wicked
The road to compromise has opened the door towards justifying the wicked rather than the upright! The scale of justice is no longer weighed towards upholding the truth but politically motivated toward an unequal balance that weighs in on the current wind of dissension! There is governmental influence that seeks to weigh the balance towards injustice, rather than justice!
Laws are being passed that do not support justice; rather with the wind of change seeking to dominate the land with an unhealthy and ungodly environment. It was noted that we are living in a very permissive day when the world is so tolerant to most any and all kinds of standards and lifestyles. This permissiveness and tolerance is the result of a self-willed and carnal minded society.
Way of the Upright
Scripture reveals: The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he that keeps his way preserves his soul (Proverbs 16:17). It was noted that upright individuals, are upright in heart, walk the path of God’s commandments, and shun the paths of sin, abstain from all appearance of evil, escaping evils others have fallen into.
He that keeps his way preserves his soul refers to the way in which the upright walk; who ponders the path of his feet and turns neither to the right hand nor to the left, observes the road he is on, to keep it, and not go out of it.
Such a man preserves his soul from many
snares and temptations, troubles, dangers, and evils, which he would otherwise would
embrace. Jesus said: Enter you in at the
strait gate; for wise is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to
destruction, and many there be which go in thereat (Matthew 7:13).
When a Church Compromises
It was noted that when a church walks on the road to compromise; it pursues social status rather than sanctification (being set apart to God), financial security rather than sacrifice (worship), prestige rather than the presence of God, and respectability rather than the moving of God’s Spirit. Many seek to follow the Lord but at the same time entertain the road to compromise as did King Solomon. Scripture reveals that Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statues of David his father, but sacrificed and burnt incense in high places of pagan worship (1 Kings 3:3).
The road to compromise, in Solomon’s case, was his desire to please his pagan wives. What has so intrigued the modern day Church to walk away from strict adherence to the Unadulterated (Pure) Word of God? Apostle Peter wrote: It had been better to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered.
But it happened to them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire (2 Peter 2:20-22). It was noted that the illustration of the dog and sow vividly portray the folly in doing so!
God's Provision
God made a provision for those who have entered on the road to compromise: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive heir sin, and will heal their land (restoration) (2 Chronicles 7:14).
It was noted that while this promise was originally given to Solomon regarding the people of Israel, it is applicable to all who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith. This verse is a high expression of God’s loving readiness to hear the prayers of a repentant people!
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