The Cost of Compromise

Introduction

Well, good morning!

If you have a Bible and I hope that you do, go ahead and open it with me to Genesis chapter 34.

Last week, if you were with us, we watched something really powerful unfold — a moment of reconciliation between two brothers who hadn’t spoken in decades. Jacob and Esau finally came face-to-face, and instead of revenge, we saw grace. God took two men marked by pride and pain, and He rewrote a story of mercy. It was one of those rare moments where you can almost feel the weight lifted off the page, right? — when what’s been broken finally starts to heal.

But this week… the tone shifts again. Because as soon as Jacob settles down in Shechem — just a few verses later — the peace we saw last week unravels into something very dark, something violent, heartbreaking. Genesis 34 isn’t an easy chapter to read. In fact, it’s one of the hardest in the book of Genesis. There’s no mention of God’s name in the entire chapter. No prayer, no altar, no act of obedience — its just compromise, corruption, chaos. This is one of those chapters you don’t hear preached very often. It’s why I’m so committed to expository preaching, because naturally (in my flesh), I wouldn’t have picked this passage to preach.

This story, it’s a powerful reminder that sin doesn’t take long to find its way back in when we stop walking closely with God. We become complacent and then we begin to compromise.

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Listen, a few years ago, I read an article this week, a dam in South America collapsed unexpectedly. Engineers discovered later on there were small cracks that had formed in the foundation — invisible to the eye, but spreading quietly underneath. And by the time anyone had noticed, it was too late. Millions of gallons of water had broken through in matter of seconds, of course, wiping out everything in its path.

You see, here’s the thing — the failure didn’t start with the collapse. It started with the compromise no one took seriously.

That’s Genesis 34 in a nutshell.

Jacob’s family doesn’t fall apart in a moment; it erodes slowly, one small compromise at a time. The cracks were already there — a heart settling near the world instead of obeying God fully (because again, Jacob’s not perfect…even after encountering God…He’s a sinner like the rest of us). He was a father who should’ve led but instead stayed silent. And listen, when compromise goes unchecked, it always leads somewhere — to corruption, to chaos, to consequences.

But listen — even in a chapter where God’s name’s never mentioned, His grace, its also never absent. Because by the time we reach the next chapter — Genesis 35:1 — we hear God’s voice again:

“Arise, go up to Bethel…”

It’s as if God’s saying, “Jacob, it’s time to come home again.”

And so, here’s what we’re gonna see this morning: When God’s people compromise with the world, corruption follows, chaos spreads, and only grace can restore what’s broken.

And so, with that, let’s look at this passage together — Genesis 34, beginning in verse 1. Would you stand with me as we go to God’s Word?

Genesis 34:1–31 ESV

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite (Hiv-vite), the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.” Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done. But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.” Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites (Pair-a-zites). My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

Thank you, you can be seated.

[Prayer]

If you’re taking notes…I have 3 points for us…number 1, Compromise leads to corruption…number 2, Corruption leads to chaos…and then number 3, Chaos leads to consequences.

Keep your place there in your Bible and let’s walk through this together.

I. Compromise Leads to Corruption (vv. 1-5)

Point number 1, Compromise leads to corruption.

Look at verse 1 with me again:

“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.”

Now let’s stop right there. On the surface, this doesn’t sound too threatening, right? Dinah, she just “goes out to see the women of the land.” But guys — this verse, its loaded with warning.

Remember — Jacob had just settled near Shechem (Genesis 33:18). But if you flip back one chapter, God told him where to go — “Arise, go up to Bethel” (Genesis 31:13). If you remember, Bethel was the place of God’s presence, the place where Jacob first met Him. But instead of going all the way back to Bethel, Jacob stops short. He pitches his tent within sight of Shechem — close enough to enjoy the comforts of the world, but far enough to quiet his conscience.

That’s compromise.

Jacob obeyed partially — and partial obedience is still disobedience.

One old Puritan put it this way: “The devil has no objection to your worshiping God, if only you will not worship Him wholly.”

Jacob’s compromise sets the tone for his family’s corruption. His daughter Dinah wanders off into the world her father chose to settle near. She’s not going out to evangelize; she’s going out to see — to look, to mingle, to explore. And that one decision opens the door for disaster.

Parents, I want you to hear this…because this is a huge problem for us in our current context: when we live near the world instead of separated unto God, our children, they’ll always go further than we intended them to go. Jacob pitched his tent NEAR Shechem — Dinah, she walked into Shechem.

Charles Spurgeon, he said, “If you can’t make the world godly, the world will make you worldly.” And that’s exactly what we see happen here.

Verse 2:

“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite (Hiv-vite), the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.”

And so, what began as curiosity, it ends with corruption. Sin always escalates — It’s never gonna stay manageable. Dinah’s curiosity, it meets Shechem’s lust, and the result is devastation. The Hebrew word here for “humiliated”, its used elsewhere to describe deep shame — this isn’t romance; it’s violation.

And don’t miss this: the corruption of Shechem didn’t just happen in a vacuum. It was born out of a society that had no fear of God. Dinah stepped into that world — a world without boundaries, without reverence, without holiness — and guys, she suffered the consequences.

You see, when we drift from the fear of the Lord, the fear of sin disappears. And when sin loses its horror, corruption becomes normal.

Verses 3 and 4:

“And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, ‘Get me this girl for my wife.’”

Now don’t be fooled by the word “love.” This isn’t love — this is infatuation dressed up in religious clothing. The world loves to baptize sin with sentimental language. He “loved her,” he “spoke tenderly to her.” But what he really wanted was to keep what he had already taken.

That’s how compromise talks: “I know it’s not God’s way, but it feels right.” “I know what Scripture says, but we love each other.”

Listen, I wanna say this as compassionate, as loving as I possibly can…the minute your emotions start to justify your sin, you’ve stopped following Christ and you’ve started worshiping yourself. Some of you need to hear that.

Verse 5:

“Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.”

And right here, this is the tragedy — Jacob says nothing. The man who wrestled with God, now he won’t even speak. No prayer, no outrage, no leadership. All we see is silence.

Compromise silences conviction.

Jacob had lost his moral authority long before Dinah ever lost her purity. When you live near Shechem, you lose the power to speak against Shechem.

It’s like Lot sitting at the gate of Sodom — by the time corruption shows up, your voice no longer carries weight.

Guys — this is where we have to stop and ask: Where have we pitched our tents?

You might not be in Shechem physically, but maybe you’ve set up camp close enough to the world that your family feels comfortable there.

You scroll what the world scrolls. You watch what the world watches. You excuse what the world excuses. And you wonder why corruption keeps showing up in your home, with your kids, in your jobs.

Don’t fool yourself — compromise always looks small until it spreads. No one falls overnight; they drift. And the drift always begins with comfort.

Maybe you’ve stopped going “all the way to Bethel.” You’ve made peace with sin that once broke your heart. You’re still religious, but you’re no longer repentant.

You’ve learned how to sin comfortably — and that’s the most dangerous place to be.

J.C. Ryle, “A small leak will sink a great ship. A small spark will kindle a great fire. A little compromise with the world will end in your soul’s ruin unless it be stopped.”

So again, here’s a question, as we reflect on this point: Where have you stopped short? What Shechem have you settled near — where are you compromising in your entertainment, your relationships, your priorities, your worship?

Because if Genesis 34 teaches us anything, it’s this — the moment we stop walking closely with God, sin starts walking closely with us.

Guys, we gotta get out bed with the world…because if we’re not careful…we’ll find ourselves in situations similar to this.…Or men…listen to me…we’ll find ourselves leading our families into situations like this or responding like Jacob in these kind of situations. Heck, some of the things we let our kids do…some of the relationships we let our kids walk into, you’re already like Jacob…you know its wrong, but you let it happen anyway. I said this last week, we gotta stop being wimps…and we gotta start standing on what we know to be true. Put on your big boy pants, start leading your family. It’s okay for them to hear the word “no.” And listen, sometimes the answer for us…its no. We’ve gotta learn that. We trust God, we trust His Word…and so we live by it.

Because again, if we compromise, it’ll always lead to corruption…which leads us to point number 2.

II. Corruption Leads to Chaos (vv. 6-24)

Corruption leads to chaos.

Look with me at verse 6 again — “And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.”

Listen, here’s where corruption begins to spread. What started as one man’s sin, it’s now become a whole community’s compromise. Sin never stays personal — it’s contagious. It always seeks company. When Hamor steps in, he doesn’t come to repent or to make things right; he comes to rationalize what’s wrong. He’s not grieving sin — he’s trying to negotiate it into something respectable.

That’s what our world does, right? It tries to sanitize sin — to call evil “love,”…rebellion “progress.” We hear that all the time: “Don’t be judgmental… times have changed… everyone deserves to be happy.” But listen — truth doesn’t evolve, and holiness doesn’t go out of style. What was sin in Genesis 34, its still sin in 2025.

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And so, after that, we see Jacob’s sons return, verse 7 says, “the men were indignant and very angry.”

Finally, someone reacts, right!? At least somebody in the family still feels something. But here’s the problem — their anger, while understandable, isn’t guided by righteousness.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry and do not sin.” There’s such a thing as righteous anger — a holy hatred for evil — but this right here isn’t it. This anger has no prayer, no restraint, no submission to God’s justice. It’s just personal vengeance masquerading as zeal for holiness.

And then in verse 8, Hamor speaks — “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter.”

Can you see what he’s doing here? He’s trying to turn wickedness into romance, to justify a crime with emotion…“He loves her,” he says. That’s the same logic our culture uses when it calls lust “love” or when sin’s excused because “it feels right.”

Listen, corruption thrives when we try to negotiate with sin instead of naming it. The moment we start dressing sin in softer language, we’ve already started losing the battle. When we rename sin, we remove its sting. And when sin stops stinging, repentance stops happening.

Look at verses 9 and 10 with me again:

Hamor continues, “Make marriages with us… dwell and trade in the land.”

Do you see the temptation here? Economic gain, social advancement — “You can be one of us and still keep your faith.” It sounds appealing, doesn’t it? It’s the same whisper that comes to us today: “Don’t be so narrow… you can have God and the world too.”

That’s the lie of the world. It always offers comfort in exchange for compromise. But the moment you take the deal, you’ve sold your distinction.

John Calvin wrote, “The greatest danger to the church is not persecution from without, but pollution from within.” And that’s exactly what’s happening here. Israel’s identity as God’s covenant people — a people set apart — is being tempted to merge with the pagan world around them.

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Let’s keep going.

The sons of Jacob, they then answer “deceitfully.” They propose circumcision — not as a holy covenant sign, but as a trap…which is hypocrisy cloaked in religion. It’s men using the symbol of God’s covenant for their own revenge.

I mean what a picture of chaos! Everyone in this story — from Hamor to Jacob’s sons — they’re all acting without reference to God…And listen, when God’s voice is silenced, chaos fills the void. No one prays. No one seeks the Lord. They all just scheme.

You see, once corruption takes root, even good things — things that once carried deep spiritual meaning — they get twisted into instruments of sin. Religion without repentance is always dangerous — it looks holy on the outside, but it’s rotten on the inside. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 23:27, “You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones.”

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Verses 18 through 24:

Hamor and Shechem agree. They go back to their city, they sell this plan by appealing to greed. Verse 23: “Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours?”

Do you hear that? The goal isn’t reconciliation — it’s acquisition. They don’t want unity; they want profit. Sin’s never satisfied with peace — it always wants possession.

This is the chaos of corruption: what began with lust turns into deception, and greed, violence. The city of Shechem becomes a vivid picture of what happens when a community, or a family, or even a church stops fearing God — everyone begins doing what’s right in their own eyes, which is what we see in Judges (Judges 21:25).

When reverence disappears, restraint disappears. When holiness is forgotten, chaos becomes normal.

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Guys, let’s be honest — we know chaos doesn’t start in the streets; it starts in the heart. It starts when men stop leading and start negotiating with sin. When parents stop disciplining and start excusing. When churches stop preaching holiness and start preaching comfort.

Listen — when corruption enters the camp, chaos always follows. You can’t invite Shechem into your home and then expect Bethel’s peace to remain.

Some of us, we’re living in that chaos right now — our homes are tense, our marriages are fragile, our hearts are restless — and we keep wondering why?…But could it be because, like Jacob, we’ve stayed silent while corruption’s crept in?

Charles Spurgeon once said, “The first step toward the Church’s decline is tolerating what God condemns.”

That’s the warning of Genesis 34: when we try to manage sin instead of killing it, it multiplies. And we’ve seen that so much in our modern day. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we’ve been asked to compromise with other churches in the spirit of “unity.” And when we don’t, we’re called unloving, or harsh, even evil — for standing on what the Bible clearly teaches.

But guys, unity without truth is just a slow drift toward Shechem. And the moment you start drifting from truth, chaos isn’t far behind.

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For much of the 20th century, the U.S. Forest Service, they followed a strict “fire suppression” policy. But many years ago, firefighters discovered something strange about forest management. For decades they stopped every fire, thinking they were protecting the forest. But over time, dead wood built up, and when a spark finally came, the entire forest exploded in uncontrollable chaos.

That’s what happens spiritually when we suppress conviction instead of confessing sin. The small sparks we ignore now become infernos we can’t control later.

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And so, here’s what we see in this section of the passage: Corruption always begins with compromise — but it never ends there. It spreads through families, it infects communities, and ultimately it creates chaos.

And unless grace intervenes — unless we turn back to Bethel — the chaos, it only deepens.

III. Chaos Leads to Consequences (vv. 25-31)

Point number 3, Chaos leads to consequences.

Look now at verse 25:

“On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.”

Listen guys, this is what happens when corruption runs unchecked — chaos breaks loose, and it leads straight to bloodshed. Simeon and Levi, they’re acting on rage instead of righteousness, they’re taking matters into their own hands. They wait until the men of Shechem are weak from circumcision and then they slaughter all of ‘em.

Now don’t miss this — God never told ‘em to do this. There’s no divine command, no prayer, no counsel. It’s just pure human vengeance disguised as justice.

They were right to be angry about sin, but they were wrong in how they responded to it. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:19, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

When we take revenge into our own hands, we stop trusting God to make things right. And whenever we stop trusting God, we start playing God — and that always leads to destruction.

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Let’s keep going, look at the next several verses:

“They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city... they took their flocks and herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.”

Notice the escalation here — what began as vengeance, it turns into greed. It’s not just Simeon and Levi now; the rest of the brothers, they join in to plunder the city. Sin always spreads. The very family that was supposed to bless the nations (Genesis 12:3), its now become a curse to the nations. Think about that.

You see, chaos doesn’t just destroy others — it corrupts us. That’s the irony of revenge: we think we’re executing justice, but in the end, we become the very thing we hate.

Martin Luther said, “Sin’s not only the doing of evil, but its the making of ourselves into gods.”

That’s exactly what’s happening here — Simeon and Levi, they’ve set themselves up as judge, and jury, and executioner. They’ve dethroned God in their hearts and they put themselves on the throne instead.

And notice — even after all the bloodshed, there’s no peace. There’s no joy, no relief, no repentance. Just emptiness and fear. That’s what sin always leaves behind: a trail of ruin and regret.

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Verse 30, we see Jacob finally speak, “Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land… my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed.’”

Now think about this — this is the first time Jacob says anything in the whole chapter. He was silent when Dinah was violated, and now he finally opens his mouth — but not to address sin, not to mourn, not to repent — but to complain about how their actions make him look. He’s worried about reputation, not righteousness.

And that’s what compromise does — it dulls spiritual discernment until all you can think about is yourself.

Jacob doesn’t say, “You’ve dishonored God.” He says, “You’ve made me stink before men.”

And listen, before we judge him too harshly, let’s just admit it — that’s us sometimes, right? We get more upset when sin embarrasses us than when it offends God. We care more about our image than our holiness.

Guys, if your greatest concern is how sin looks instead of how sin grieves the heart of God, you’re already in the danger zone.

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And then finally, look at verse 31 — the last verse of the chapter:

“But they said, ‘Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?’”

And there it is — defiance. Again there’s no remorse, no repentance, no humility. All we see is self-justification. Everyone in this family, they’ve all lost their moral compass. Dinah’s been defiled, Simeon and Levi, they’re both murderers, Jacob’s silent and self-focused, and God’s name, it hasn’t been mentioned one single time.

Guys, that’s what unchecked compromise produces: total moral confusion. When sin takes the throne, right and wrong gets flipped upside down. Everyone feels justified, and yet everyone’s still wrong.

The whole chapter ends in silence — no altar, no prayer, no worship. It’s just carnage and chaos.

And here’s where all this lands for us today: when chaos reigns in our life, consequences always follow.

The sword that Simeon and Levi raised would one day come back on their own heads. In Genesis 49, which we’ll look at next year when Jacob blesses his sons before he dies, he remembers this moment — and he says to them, “Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of cruelty are in their habitation… cursed be their anger, for it was fierce.” (Genesis 49:5–7).

Their violence, it would cost them their inheritance. Their tribes were scattered.

What we sow in anger, we always reap in sorrow.

Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” You can’t sow chaos and expect peace. You can’t plant rebellion and expect blessing.

And guys, that’s true for us individually and corporately. When we compromise in holiness, corruption follows; when corruption festers, chaos spreads; and when chaos goes unrepented, consequences will always come.

That’s not God being cruel — that’s God being just. You see, the wrath of God’s not just some future event; sometimes it’s the present experience of living under the weight of your own choices.

Some of you might be there right now. You feel the consequences — the broken relationships, the bitterness, anxiety, guilt that won’t go away. Guys, that’s not God abandoning you — that’s God awakening you.

The pain of consequence, its meant to lead you to repentance.

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There’s a story from church history about Augustine before his conversion. He used to pray, “Lord, make me pure — but just not yet.” He wanted the blessing of holiness without the cost of repentance. But when the chaos of sin finally caught up to him, he realized God wasn’t trying to ruin his joy — He was rescuing him from destruction.

And that’s what we see here. Genesis 34, its a warning, yes, but it’s also a mirror. It shows us where sin leads — and it leaves us longing for something more. Because the truth is, no amount of human effort can fix this mess we see. The only hope for this family — and for us — is grace.

That’s why chapter 35 begins with the sweetest words in the whole story:

“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel…’” It’s as if God’s saying, “Jacob, enough running. Enough silence. Enough chaos. Come back home.” (Listen, if you’re still struggling with the idea of perseverance of the saints after going through Genesis…the problem is you’re not reading your Bible or paying attention to what we’re walking through).

Even after all the corruption, all the compromise, all the chaos — God still speaks. Grace still calls Jacob home.

Closing

Guys, if Genesis 34’s taught us anything, it’s this: Compromise leads to corruption, corruption leads to chaos, chaos leads to consequences.

And listen — that kind of compromise isn’t just out there in the world somewhere; it’s right here. It’s pressing in on us, even in our small community. I can’t tell you how many so-called “Christian” churches have chosen not to partner with us because we refuse to compromise with the world. And if you even question why we don’t, people look at you like you’re the problem.

But guys, hear me — compromise is dangerous. It’s deadly. It always leads us down the same road Jacob’s family walked — a path that ends in chaos and destruction.

That’s why we’ve spent this whole year preaching on things like the family, on discipleship in the home, on schooling, on family worship — because this isn’t just a cultural issue, it’s a spiritual crisis. It’s not happening “out there” somewhere; it’s happening right here, in our homes, in our marriages, in our hearts.

We’ve got dads who think as long as they provide, they’re leading. We’ve got moms who think as long as they keep peace, the family’s fine. We’ve got churches who think as long as the seats are full, God must be pleased. But we’ve become like Jacob — silent while sin creeps in, thinking everything’s “fine.”

Wake up!

This is a wake-up call for us. We can’t afford to live like Shechem while pretending we’re on our way to Bethel. If we don’t draw the line now, if we don’t repent now, we’re gonna lose more than just partnerships — we’re gonna lose our witness, our families, our next generation.

But the good news is this — and praise God there’s good news — is that grace still speaks.

Again, Genesis 35:1, God says, “Arise, go up to Bethel.”

After all the compromise, all the corruption, all the chaos — God still calls Jacob home.

And maybe that’s what God’s saying to you right now: “Get up. Come back. Leave Shechem behind.”

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Now, before we close, I wanna speak to two groups of people in the room this morning.

To the believer…those that follow Jesus:

You’ve heard the Word today, and maybe you see yourself somewhere in Jacob’s story. You’ve compromised. You’ve stayed quiet when you should’ve stood up. You’ve let sin creep into your home, or your habits, your heart.

Guys, this altar, its open for you to come, to come back to Bethel. You don’t have to live in the chaos any longer. You can repent, you can return, you can rebuild. Don’t wait for the consequences to wake you up — let the conviction of the Spirit right now do that today.

And to the unbeliever this morning — I want you to listen to me:

You may be sitting there thinking, “Man, I’ve made a mess of my life.”…And I wanna tell you something: you’re right — but you’re in good company, because so have the rest of us.

Here’s the bad news that Bible communicates to us: we’re all sinners. Every single one of us, we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). And for that reason, we’re all gonna die…we’re all gonna experience death.

And here’s the worse news: there’s absolutely nothing you and I can do to fix that problem. You can’t clean yourself up, you can’t earn forgiveness, you can’t be “good enough.” Sin doesn’t just make us bad — it makes us dead.

But here’s the good news: Jesus Christ did what we never could. He lived the perfect life we failed to live. He died the death we deserved. On the cross, He bore our sin. And on the third day, He rose again, proving that death and chaos don’t have the final word.

And here’s the best news: Salvation, it’s all a free gift.

Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You don’t have to earn it — you just have to receive it by faith.

And so listen, Wendy’s gonna come back up and begin to play…if you would, go ahead and close your eyes and bow your head with me. This altar’s gonna open.

If you’re a believer who’s been living in compromise — come. If you’re a parent who’s realized your home’s been drifting — I want you to come. If you’re a young person who’s been following the world — come. And listen, if you’re lost this morning and need to be saved — come.

Don’t stay in Shechem when God’s calling you back to Bethel. Come home. All of us here this morning, we should all be at this altar repenting beside our brothers and sisters…asking God to lead us back to Bethel.

And so, you take this time…I’m gonna have some men with me at the front…but listen, respond to the Word of God, let the Spirit do what only He can do in your life. And then after we’ve done that, we’ll come to the table together to take the Lord’s Supper as God’s people.

You come!

[Prayer]

[Lord’s Supper - Who Can Take?…Check sin at the door]

Matthew 26:26 (ESV)

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Matthew 26:27–29 (ESV)

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”