Compromise - The Fall of the Church

Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it. Matthew 7:13

Compromise is a funny thing because it stands alone as an oxymoron. It can be good or bad. It has two definitions. The first meaning is: to make concessions. That is a good thing. We all know that no one likes being around the typical “my way or the highway” type of person. A person willing to compromise is one that is much easier to get along with. 

The second meaning is not good at all. In fact, it’s pretty bad. It means to lower standards. We are finding this everywhere in our society today. The standard in manufacturing is lowered to increase profit. Several years ago I purchased a basic coffee maker. It was well made and lasted a long time. When it burned out, I purchased the exact same maker because I liked it so much. This time, the measuring marks on the pot were printed only on one side, whereas last time they were on both sides. I would have never noticed except that I am left-handed which made it very inconvenient. I’m glad I kept the old pot. I guess the bottom line was more important than the minority of customers that it would affect. The coffee maker manufacturer lowered its standards. 

If we know that this is bad for consumers, we also know that this kind of compromise is even worse for the church. But unfortunately it seems to be ignored or even embraced in the church. I truly believe this is why the church has become so irrelevant today. If the church had not accepted this type of compromise years ago, society would not have degenerated into the state that it is in today.

But this is not a new problem. It is all throughout the Bible in the Old and New Testaments. In fact, The Bible Explained podcast is going through the book of 1 Kings and there is a king named Jeroboam who was king of the northern kingdom of Israel after the nation broke away from the tribe of Judah which then became the southern kingdom. You can find that podcast here. 

Jeroboam was the first king after the split, and he decided that he was going to lower the standards of worship for this new northern kingdom. But why would he do something like that? The Bible gives us the reason, and it is most likely the same reason why churches compromise today—to maintain control of the people. 

Jeroboam was afraid that this new nation would desert him and go back to a unified nation if they went and worshiped in Jerusalem which was located in Judah. Jeroboam was afraid that he would lose his kingdom. He was desperate to keep control. 

It’s the same reason churches lower their standards today. The leaders of compromising churches are afraid that they will lose people if they don’t make worship easier for their congregants. They want to maintain control.

God had distinctly told Jeroboam that God would establish his rule forever if he followed Yahweh faithfully. But this new king didn’t believe God, nor did he care about worshiping the true God. It seems like Jeroboam thought any worship was good no matter what type it was. 

It is no different for churches today. Pastors and elders who compromise don’t believe what God says in the Bible. Some don’t even believe in the Bible at all. What other people think guides church policy. We know this is true because as the culture changes, so do the churches. This is never, ever correct. It is also extremely displeasing to God. It also shows no love for Him. 

If you love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

This is Jesus speaking, and His commandments are contained in the Bible. If we ignore it, we ignore Him. That is what many of the modern western churches are doing today. Instead of following the truth of the Bible, the modern church has embraced the “truth” of the world.

The church has ignored the fact that the world has dangerously changed the meaning of words to fit the schemes of the prince of this world, the devil. 

One big example would be that the world’s definition of love is the exact opposite of what the Bible says. The world says that it is loving to embrace the sinful behaviors of people. We have been consistently told that to say anything to anyone is unloving, intolerant, and bigoted. The Bible says to love people by calling out their sinful behavior to bring them to repentance. 

On some have compassion, making a distinction, and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh. Jude 22-23

This verse makes it very clear that people who are living according to the flesh, i.e. the world, are destined for fire. When we follow the world and affirm their behavior we are “loving” them to hell…and that is exactly what the devil wants. Notice we are to hate everything about sin, even the clothing. Just because the world says that we are being hateful, it doesn’t matter, because it’s not true. It’s actually the exact opposite as this verse makes very clear. We are loving these people enough to want them to be saved from the fire. We are willing to risk push back and slander for their sake.

The church should be the defense against the schemes of this world, but unfortunately in many cases it seems to have embraced them. But just because the corporate church is doing this doesn’t mean that the individual has to follow. You see, those who have put their faith in the salvation of Jesus Christ and believe what He says are the church. We don’t have to follow along with the “many” that Jesus talks about in our intro verse. Instead, we can be the few. 

It was the same way in Jeroboam’s time. The few who wanted to follow God left and went to follow Him in the way that He had commanded. We can follow their example. We can believe what God says over what man says. We can take what the Bible says as our complete authority no matter what anyone else says. 

Am I saying to leave your church? Not unless you absolutely have to. Instead, we need to ask God for the ability to stand up for what is right and be an influence where He has placed us. I have found that one of the easiest ways to do this is to just quote what the Bible has to say about the problem. This shows that it is not your opinion, but God’s command. How can the church get back on track if we keep silent? Will it cause problems for us?

Maybe……probably. But that is where we have to come to terms with what is more important—what God thinks or what man thinks. 

If we stand up for what the Bible says, guess what? It will always be worth it, and you will never regret it. We may have to go through some things, but as the saying goes…in the end, God wins.

Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. John 12:31

Discussion:

Share a time when you stood up for truth when it was hard for you to do.