Compromise

Intro

Often from a young age we are told to compromise. We are taught that instead of always trying to get our own way, we compromise so everyone is happy. In my first pastorate I was trying to get away from using a pulpit and just use a music stand. The old communion table was getting a little worn out as well. So I put it in a room on the side until we needed it. Well that went over like a lead balloon. So the board asked me to compromise, because it made people upset. So I brought the pulpit back on the stage, but set it off to the side.

How far does compromise go? Let me bring up some other examples to help get accross what I am trying to say here. Brandon Lake, a fampous Christian musician recently talked about this in an interview. He did not use the word compormise but the idea was compromising the way we singin church to account for the new believers in our midst.

He said “ I would love to see more worship sets and more churches keep Bubba in mind, the guy in the back of the room that got dragged there by His wife and the first song is Holy Holy Holy, Lord God almighty. What does Holy even mean, like Holy Poop. Obviously that is where we want to get to, But give Bubba something He can understand”.

I mean, I kind of get the point of what He was trying to say, but how far do we go to compensate and become seeker sensitive. Is it better to sing songs that could also be mistaked for a song sung to your boyfriend or girlfriend.

What about songs like this, One from one of my favorite rappers - (I would love to see Rick and Collette try this one some time) Can you truly understand fallen man's dilemma See, only a human can substitute for human lives But only God can take the wrath of God and survive See the humanly unsolvable obstacle? With God all is plausible, nothing's impossible True haters'll fight it but the story is certain Two natures united in one glorious person Jesus, the God-Man, official soul reaper The hypostatic union- it gets no deeper.

Now I am not advocating for rap as a part of the worship set, asd fun as that would be, so let me add a worship song. Not a hymn, because I can. another one of my favorite songs. For I can trust the Lord He will turn my heart towards Him And help me bear the thorn So in faith, I follow Jesus On the road not understood For I know that He is working For His glory and my good.

I dont have the answer for this, I know what I believe on the matter, but I will leave you thinking on this one. How far do we go, how far do we compromise our faith and theology for the sake of making others feel comfortable. When it comes to the church, our relationships with those around us how far do we compromise in the effort to be like those around us in the so called attempt to be in the world but not of the world.

Israel struggled with compromise as well, but in a bad way.

What we are going to see is that in being so eager to respond relevantly to the world we accomodate the worlds way of thinking and rather then becoming a light to the world we become the world. Rather we need to worship Jesus as Lord while we we reach out to the world. If Jesus is Lord, then that is something we never compromise on.

1 Samuel 8:7 ESV

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

We start out with the want of a king. But before that we hear a little more about Samuel.

Samuel had gotten older, he got married and had kids, and they where not following God like they were supposed to. They did not walk in his ways, and Israel were concerned. They were right to be concerned over Samuels sons taking over as judge over them.

1 Samuel 8:5 ESV

5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

Ther asking for a king was a bit of a concern. But this is a transition period for the people. They where going to go from being led by the judges to being led by a king.

Samuel considered this wrong

1 Samuel 8:6–7 ESV

6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

There are a few things here that were wrong.

It was sinful - The had compromised their faith with the ways of thge world. They did not want a king for the Lord to help rule over them, they wanted a king because everyone else did as well. They wanted someone to fight for them, to do everything for them. It ws the wrong motives. God had called them to be uniquely his, under His special care. But they wanted to exchange that special relationship they had with the ways of the world. They were essentially throwing away their special status with God to identify wiht the ways of the world.

Samuel seemed to take this as a betrayel. Not just of Him, but of God. It is the age old problem of sin, trying to cross the boundry from who God wants us to be to who we want to be. Instead of longing to be like God it is longing to be like other nations.

It was sinful in it’s timing - I found this interesting as I was doing some reading. Is it possible that God was always going to provide a king for Him, but the right king in the right timing. But upon asking for God for a king to lead them so they could be like all the nations around them they missed the point. there are a few verses that point to a prophecy of a upcoming king.

Genesis 17:5–6 ESV

5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.

Kings shall come from you. Is this God speaking based on His foreknowledge? This was a blessing to Abraham so this is supposed to be a good thing. a future king, God’s timing, God’s king for God’s people.

Genesis 49:10 ESV

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

This is all in reference to a ruler king. So it would appear that a king would come from the line of Judah.

So God had a plan to provide a king for them in His timing, which was going to be fulfilled in Jesus but they jumped the gun.

God wants us to follow Him for His glory for he knows and will provide for our Good.

We are warned in 2 corinthians that w eare not to be unequally yoked with non believers. This not only deals with marriage but also in any close personal relationship.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10: Romans through Galatians b. Minor Digression—Call to Holiness (6:14–7:1)

Do not form any relationship, whether temporary or permanent, with unbelievers that would lead to a compromise of Christian standards or jeopardize consistency of Christian witness. And why such separation? Because the unbeliever does not share the Christian’s standards, sympathies, or goals.

The danger is compromise. It was once referred to me like us standing on a chair and the close relationships we form with the world like people standing on the floor. It is easier for them to pull you off the chair then for you to pull them up onto the chair. Mind you this illustration was in reference to dating evangelism.

It is a warning that though we are called to be sent into the world, we must be on gaurd that our faith is not compromised by the world. So then are we living for Jesus as King or are we allowing the world to compromise our faith.

Samuel’s warning

with a worldly king would come some sacrifices. God told Samuel to warn them all that would happen if they were to have a king over them, it would go much better for them if they wanted to follow God and his plans for them. So it is not the monarchy in itself that the Lord is condemning but rather the type of monarchy they are asking for.

warnings they were given - These are all opressive requirements.

He would conscript your sons for war - The king was going to go to battle for them, but at the expense of their own kids. The king ot be was goiong to need chariots, horses to run the chariots and men to drive the horses. They would all come from the people.

The men would also be taken to command armies, to plow the kings fields and reap the harvest. Not their own crops and fields but the kings fields.

The daughters were not going to be left out either, they were going to have a role to play in this new kingdom. They were going to serve as cooks, bakers, perfumers and such.

There fields and crops would be taken.

The animals of the people will be taken as taxation.

So essentiall;y, they would be taxed heavily, and now we are still reaping the consequences of this! I remember working in a uniuon, and getting the pay check and all the mass amount of things they took off my cheque. If I had cattle and crops, I am sure they would have found a way to take that as well. But the thing was they where warned, there was something they could do about it.

1 Samuel 8:18 ESV

18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

complain all you want, they were told, God would not listen to there complaints because they were warned. Samuel listened to what they wanted, as God told Him to do, they wehre going to have a king over them, but it is why they wanted a king that is the problem.

1 Samuel 8:20 ESV

20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

someone to go before us and fight our battles, to be like other nations.

God had always gone out before them to fight their battles. sure it was only when they put their trust in God did he fight their battles for them. We fight our battles on our knees, knowing that it is God alone that wins the victory for us. It is true then and it is true now. They missed this.

It is easy to trust in God when things are going well, but what about when the armies are knocking at our doors. It is a lot easier to trust when there is a standing army at the wait., When we can prepare on our own for the battles ahead. It is a lot hrarder to trust when we have to give up control of our lives, of everything to God. It takes great faith to turst in God.

God calls us not to take the easy way out, but to humble ourselves before Him and trust in Him.

Which leads us to 2 points I want to remind you of the path we are supposed to follow.

Jesus is LORD and King

all to often we become more like the Israelites of old then we care to admit. We forsake the Lordship of Jesus for the ways of the world. But we need to remember that Jesus is Lord and King.

The statement that Jesus is LORd is a profound statement. He is the creator of the universe, the covenant making God who will always keep His promises no matter what. If Jesus is who He says He is, then he is the one true king, the only one in which we must give our lives to for He also came to giuve His life as a ransom so we may not have to take the consequences for our sins.

We may have earthly leaders that we are called to follow. But Jesus is the one on which we stand, when the world tells us to forsake the truths of the word of God then it Is Jesus truths that we are to stand upon no matter the cost. Jesus is Lord.

When to Compromise

There are times to compromise and then there are times to stand firm. We compromise on where to eat, we compromise on what to do for fun, we compromise on where to put the pulpit. But we must never compromise on the truth of the word of God.

Siome churches have started to compromsie the truth for the sake of reaching out to the people that do not know God, watering down the gospel for the sake of the truth. That is something I will nevr do. I will always strive to seek and preach the gospel to the lost.

The bible tells us that we are not of the world but sent into the world, that we are to become all things to all men so that we may reach many. But never at the expense of the gospel.

Israel forsook God to become more like the nations, and the great caution that we have as well is beware how closely we align ourselves with people who do not love and follow God. The reason being is it seems like we are much more prone to wander away from our faith, the more we align ourselves with the temptations that come with following the world. Unless we are closely humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God we will be prone to fall to temptation.

This is why we are not so eager in the church to conform to the world for the sake of reaching out to the world. Yes there is a balancing act, how far is to far. But if we are ceasing to become salt and light to the world but rather just a place that does good things then we have lost the point.

1 & 2 Samuel Contemporary Significance

Only the man who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and unresistingly lets his yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way. The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it. But for those who willingly submit, the yoke is easy and the burden is light