Christian Living

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October 26, 2011 – The Cure for Compromise
6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as David his father did. – 1 Kings 11:6 AMP
King Solomon compromised God’s Word. He married many women from foreign countries, something the nation of Israel had been strictly forbidden to do by God. These many marriages in turn led Solomon’s heart away from God. This compromise on the part of Solomon led to the division of the kingdom of Israel.
Christians throughout the ages found themselves in the same situation as Solomon. You see, Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter after signing a peace treaty with Egypt (1 Kings 3:1). It was proper for him to seek to have peace, but against the direct will of God to take a foreign wife. In the New Testament, the Corinthian church rationalized that they could go on sinning because Jesus had forgiven all sins (1 Corinthians 6:12). It was great that they had knowledge of their forgiveness, but ungodly to not recognize the need for repentance. In the late first century, the church at Pergamum held to compromised teachings of God’s Word (Revelation 2:14), which led to warnings for their repentance. The only positive out of that situation, was that Jesus gave them a chance to repent.
But concession on the part of Christians is not limited to times past. I am well aware that people in general do not live out God’s Word every day. But, when Christians and churches join the fray of society, it’s time for us to sit back and wonder where we all went wrong.
There are countless ways in which Christians compromise their beliefs today. Some merely go through the motions and have the appearance of a Christian, but don’t live it. Some know the Word yet they refuse to give up certain sinful behaviors in their life. And some lead others astray through twisting the Scriptures to meet their own ends. Situations such as this as well as others are evil in the sight of the Lord.
One particular way I see compromise this time of year is at Halloween. I was not saved when our two oldest children were the age to go trick-or-treating. We would dress them up in spooky attire and carry them out. After I was saved we no longer took our children out on that night, but we did attend a function at church. Functions such as this are many times called something like a Harvest Festival or Fall Carnival. And you guessed it; many times these functions are scheduled sometime around Halloween.
This whole Halloween thing in the church has arisen out of both parents and churches compromising their beliefs. They both share in the blame. Churches have compromised because they have chosen, at the insistence of parents no doubt, to make this event an outreach to the masses as an alternative to Halloween. It’s good to have an alternative for families on a day that in reality glorifies wickedness. But the ones I have attended in the past seemed more like a carnival and not an outreach. There were kids in costumes, free games, free food, and no message to those who were supposedly trying to be reached. Churches that hold such events show their members as well as others that there is little difference between the light they should have and the darkness that is exalted in the worldly celebration of Halloween.
Churches can make the choice in leadership to not give in to parental pressure, but parents should do a better job in educating their children about being set apart from the world and not conforming to it (Romans 12:2). Just because the world deifies this day does not mean we should shun it completely, but we can use it as an opportunity to bring light into darkness. Teaching our children to follow God is more important than them having a bunch of free candy, and it’s a lot healthier for them in both the short and long term.
Now don’t think I’m saying that Halloween is the only compromise I see in the lives of Christians or in churches. That seemed like a great example for both sides, especially considering the time of year. Compromise is everywhere in the Christian world. Some Christians compromise everyday when they use the internet. Some do business illegally. Some gossip. Some even have a bad case of road rage on the way home from work. The world of Christians is sometimes not very different from the world of anyone else.
Churches on the other hand, compromise by choosing to make themselves more like the world. Some ministers have begun to water down Christianity to mold the religion into whatever they want it to be. Some churches have coffee shops and no prayer rooms. And the pastor and praise band seem more like rock stars and idols rather than people who just love and want to serve God. How and when will it stop? I have no idea. It just seems to be getting worse daily.
What’s the cure for compromise? Be like David. David was a man after God’s heart, and yes, he sinned. He even committed adultery and murdered a man because of his affair. But when confronted with his sin, he repented and he went after God. I think too often when Christians are confronted with their sin they make excuses instead of repenting. They blame their sin on the world, their circumstances, or even a distant relative from their childhood who made them that way. It’s never their fault. After all, Christians are supposed to be perfect, right?
David was a man after the heart of God and messed up. When he did, he repented and went after God and never made excuses. That’s the cure for compromise: repent and go after Him. It takes more than a nice suit, shiny shoes and your car parked in the lot every time the church doors are opened. If you are constantly looking to the world for ideas on how to make your services more appealing, instead of looking to Gods word for strength to be set apart, more than likely, you are compromising. If we always follow Him, there will never be compromise, and we will not ever need to search for the cure again.

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