No Compromise

[0:00] James chapter 4 verse 4. It says, Then it goes in verse 8.

[0:16] We read there in James 4 verse 4, Friendship of the world is enmity or hatred with God.

[0:36] Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Not to look at the subject of compromise.

[0:46] Compromise is double-mindedness. It's a mixture. It's worldliness. It's sin.

[0:57] And friendship with the world is really hatred with God. We can't compromise. We shouldn't compromise our convictions. And through the Word we see the strong message that God's people delivered.

[1:12] For example, Jeremiah. In his day he condemned most, if not all, the clergy of his day. His message was judgment.

[1:23] His work was one of tearing down and of building up. Jeremiah 1 verse 10. It's twofold. We must challenge sin as well as build up and edify.

[1:36] It's the twofold thing. We must boldly speak the Word of the Lord. That's what Jeremiah did. We need Jeremiah's today. Uncompromising. Uncompromising like John Wesley.

[1:49] Here's a page from John Wesley's diary. It reads, Sunday morning, May 5th, preached at St. Anne's, was asked not to come back anymore. Sunday p.m. May 5th, preached at St. John's.

[2:00] Deacon said, get out and stay out. Sunday a.m. May 12th, preached at St. Jude's. Can't go back there either. Sunday, May 12th, preached at St. George's.

[2:11] Kicked out again. Sunday a.m. May 19th, preached at St. somebody else's again. The deacons called special meeting and said, I couldn't return. Sunday p.m. May 19th, preached on the street.

[2:23] Kicked off the street. Sunday a.m. May 26th, preached in the meadow. Chased out of the meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services. Sunday a.m. June 2nd, preached out at the edge of town.

[2:35] Kicked off the highway. Sunday p.m. June 2nd, afternoon service. Preached in a pasture. 10,000 people came to hear me. You know, he was uncompromising and God blessed that.

[2:48] That he wasn't out to please the populace of the time. He was wanting to preach the word strongly and soundly and truly.

[2:59] And we need that uncompromising message of the word of God. Like Jeremiah, like the preachers of old, like the reformers of old. They were preaching it strong and sure and certain.

[3:11] There was no compromise there. As much as in hindsight we might look back and think there's things they didn't quite go far enough with. As we know, for example, infant baptism and such things.

[3:22] But we know that for the light that they had at the time, they were strong and they were uncompromising. And the question that concerned with compromise is that compromise starts small.

[3:35] But it almost always leads to big sin. It's like Galatians 5.9. It says, A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. A little bit of yeast in that dough will make the whole thing affect the whole thing.

[3:51] It will impact the whole loaf. And what do we mean by compromise? Compromise. It's a mishmash. It's a jumbling together, a joining together of religions and doctrines, a truth with error.

[4:04] A dangerous, deadly mix. It's been said that rat poison is only a tiny percentage of poison. But it's enough, obviously, to do damage to the rat.

[4:15] And, likewise, the Catholic Church has got some truth in it. The Uniting Church has got some truth. But there's compromise rife in the Uniting Church today in all manner of practical areas.

[4:28] And, of course, we know the Catholic Church is really the whore of Rome, the harlot. And, of course, 1 Corinthians 6.15 says that the body of Christ should have nothing to do with a harlot.

[4:41] And we know that the Romish system, the papal system, the Roman Catholic system, is totally devoid of soul-saving truth.

[4:52] And we see in some churches, too, you've got Freemasons coming in and taking a place of power and position. Dangerous and damning stuff. It's compromise. And we should speak against it and be urgent against it and be for the truth.

[5:08] Truth must prevail. Well, compromise can happen in practical ways, too. Now, some of this might be hitting home with some.

[5:21] But I'll say it anyway because the Bible says we should look after our body. 1 Corinthians 3.16 and 17. You might want to flick there as we turn there.

[5:32] Think of compromise on practical terms. Some of these areas, there's questions about choices, about individual decisions that Christians can make.

[5:43] And some Christians may choose different ways of doing such things. But the question is, your body is not yours. It doesn't belong to you.

[5:55] It's no longer yours. When you're a Christian, it belongs to him. 1 Corinthians 3.16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.

[6:08] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. And we could think about the things we partake of.

[6:20] Is it doing our body damage? You know, what does the advert say? Every cigarette is doing you damage. That's what it says. That's what the world tells us.

[6:31] Is it damaging us? Yes, it is. Things we've got to be careful about such things. Abusive alcohol. Is it wise? Is it right? Is it going to damage our body?

[6:42] The world tells us it is damaging our body. Should we take something that will shorten our life? Or shouldn't we be a steward? You're important to God.

[6:53] God wants your life to be extended as long as it can be. That you can be the most useful Christian you can be. While you've got breath to breathe, you can be useful for him. And smoking is one of those things that is a questionable area that we've all got to grapple with and wrestle with.

[7:09] And ask God, is that going to defile my body? Is it going to damage? Is it going to destroy the temple? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.

[7:22] That's a pretty heavy statement, isn't it? Now, of course, there's much worse things, I think, than smoking. There's things that you can take in your eye gate, your ear gate. There's sinful habits, sinful choices you can make, sinful pleasures, sinful amusement, sinful entertainment.

[7:40] That is probably more damning than such a thing as that. But the Bible also speaks against drunkenness. It says the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God can be missed for drunkenness.

[7:52] 1 Corinthians 6.10. So that's another area. As the Bible says, Proverbs 23.31, Look not thou on the wine when it is red. Don't even look at it, that fermented wine.

[8:04] It's dangerous. So we've got to be cautious and careful. These are all choices that we need to consider. And again, I'm not meaning to say something the word doesn't say.

[8:15] It doesn't say in black and white, in clear crystal terms, that certain, you know, the abuse that people can have of diet, for example, obesity or gluttony.

[8:33] You know, there's areas where Christians have got to think about even the food they eat. Am I doing my body damage by overeating? By indulging in those things that could harm my body? Because really, your body is his body.

[8:44] You are his temple. You are his temple walking about. And so we've got to question. The temple of God is holy. Which temple you are?

[8:55] You are holy today. You're holy ground. You're a holy place. A sanctuary. A sacred place. And we need to look after that temple. And so, you know, certain things you wouldn't do in church.

[9:07] You wouldn't do them in church. Because it's a sacred place. It wouldn't be appropriate, would it? And likewise, is it appropriate in the temple of God that you are?

[9:20] That's the question that you need to ask. And compromise is something that, just a little bit of leather, maybe just a little bit, you could question. Friends, don't just settle for a little.

[9:32] See the danger of the little and avoid it if you can. Ask God to help you to overcome. So compromise is conforming too.

[9:43] We're meant to be non-conformists. Peer pressure is the pressure to conform. To follow the crowd. To, when a friend asks you to go to an ungodly place, do you cave in?

[9:53] Or do you say, no, I'm not going to go there. Because I'm a Christian, I don't want to partake in that ungodly event. I want to make the right choices for my life instead of succumbing to the pressure of others.

[10:08] Because you're no longer a slave to the devil. You're redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. You belong to Him. He's redeemed you. He's taken you out of that. He's taken you out of that muck and mire, the miry clay.

[10:21] And He's set your feet on the rock, Christ Jesus. And so, as a Christian, we want to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. And if the Lord is prompting us, if we're getting convicted, if we're feeling that the Lord is speaking to us, we want to listen to His voice.

[10:36] And allow Him to lead us. And to guide us. And not to be sucked in with the pressure of the enemy, of temptation, of the playing games with the enemy.

[10:50] Because He's playing for keeps. The enemy wants your soul. He wants to pull you back into the muck and mire that is part of His way of living, of ungodly living.

[11:01] And friends, we don't want to settle for that. As a Christian, we want to have the motto of no compromise. No compromise. To be the person that God has created us to be.

[11:14] To be strong. To be planted in the Word. To be filled with His Spirit. And walk in His ways. Because it's been said that backsliding begins with small compromises.

[11:26] Backsliding begins with small compromises. It might be just little by little. Inch by inch. You know, just moment by moment. There's a subtle, almost imperceptible slide.

[11:37] The backslider is a sliding. A slip sliding away. As you start lowering your standards. As you start changing over from truth to error. Right to wrong.

[11:50] Two examples in the Bible. One a good one. And one a bad one. Lot and Daniel. Lot is a bad one. Alright? Lot is a bad one. Now in Romans 15.4 it says, For whatsoever things were written aforetime, or in other words, what things were written before, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

[12:13] Now Lot is an example of someone who had friendship with the world. Lot. Lot. He is an example of compromise. God called Abraham from Ur to the land of promise.

[12:27] And his nephew Lot came with him. When they got there, famine hit the land. They were forced to go to Egypt. When they got back, they had cattle, flocks, herds, servants, tents, silver and gold.

[12:38] Everything you could imagine. Abraham gave Lot the choice to settle anywhere he wanted in the land. Lot made a series of little compromises. Just little things.

[12:49] Inch by inch. He was backsliding. He did what he wanted to do. The first compromise. Genesis 13. You might have flicked there. We'll just touch on these quickly.

[13:00] Genesis 13. From verse 10. Genesis 13 verse 10. And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Injit, as thou comest unto Zoar.

[13:23] So, we see there in verses 10 and 11, that Lot played on the edge of sin and worldliness. He chose what pleased himself. He wasn't motivated by pleasing the Lord.

[13:34] Lot gave in to weakness. He looked over all the land, and thought that the land by Sodom was best, because of its fruitful soil. He probably thought, hey, this is a great business decision that I can make.

[13:49] You know, this is, it's the logical decision. As far as making money goes, my herds and flocks will do better there. I can grow crops better there. It was good for his family.

[14:01] They'll have more affluence, more money. He probably thought of some good excuses for doing that. It was easy. It was comfortable. For Lot to choose Sodom.

[14:13] And he did. Genesis 13. 10. After a long time of looking and longing, he totally disregarded God. He just pleased himself. Lot's first compromise was moving near the city of Sodom.

[14:26] And Lot wanted to sit on the fence. He wanted to have it both ways, to sit on the fence. Now, a lot of Christians are like that. They sit on the fence. You cannot sit on the fence.

[14:37] You can't remain neutral for very long. God will shake the fence to force a decision. And sooner or later, all fence sitters will fall off, usually on the wrong side, and get hurt.

[14:51] You can't avoid this. Don't sit on the fence. What about you? Are you sitting on the fence? Now, as Christians, we can choose various things and just blend in with the world.

[15:04] Instead of being what the Word says you should be, a peculiar people. A peculiar people. A peculiar people. That you should be light and salt. That you should stand out. You should be different in your values, in your loves, in your desires.

[15:19] You cannot sit on the fence. Lot did. Lot's second compromise in verses 13 and 12. Genesis 13, 12 and 13.

[15:31] Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

[15:43] Lot's second compromise was that his heart's desire became action. Lot, the Word says, where your treasure is, there will your heart be. Also, Matthew 6, 21.

[15:54] He moved out of the hills into the plain of the Jordan. He left the good influence of his uncle, and he pitched his tent towards that glittering cesspool of immorality that was Sodom.

[16:06] He now has no interest in godly fellowship, or godly things. What about you? What about you? Is there a lack of desire for Christian fellowship?

[16:19] Lot placed the temporal above the eternal. Do you place the temporal above the eternal? Has God taken a secondary place in your life? That was what happened with Lot.

[16:30] The third compromise from Genesis 19, 1-7. Lot became hardened to sin. Lot is now living in Sodom. In the city of Sodom.

[16:43] And when a Christian places themselves amidst immorality and wickedness, it won't be long before they become hardened to sin. Lot was not careful.

[16:54] Lot, then, he becomes a leader in the city. He joins in and he sits at the gates. It's like he's a part of the decision-making of the place.

[17:05] He's taken a place of leadership in the place. He becomes one of them. One of these wicked ones of Sodom. And it cost him his spiritual edge. Lot became so spiritually dull that he no longer realised how bad things had become.

[17:20] He was no longer in testimony, no longer salt and light. He didn't stand out in any way as different. And as Christians, we can surround ourselves with sin such that we become succumbed to it and we become spiritually slag and desensitised.

[17:37] His fourth compromise is in Genesis 19, 8-14. Lot has finally reached the fullness of his compromising. Not only has he become hardened to Sodom's sinfulness, living there now, he's willing to allow his family to participate in it.

[17:52] And God sent two angels to take Lot out of the city of Sodom before he destroyed it. When the two angels showed up, so did the community.

[18:04] They weren't just curious. They were so perverse that they couldn't wait to violate these two strangers. And Lot offered his own two daughters to the men of the city. What kind of father was he?

[18:15] It was compromise. Inch by inch till it just backslid, slip sliding away. The angels had to literally take a hold of him by the arm and his family to remove them from the city.

[18:31] The Lot wanted to save his two son-in-laws. He went and told them what the angels had said, but they had watched him compromise so much, so repeatedly, and he lowered his standards and his witness that his testimony had lost its authority.

[18:45] He was a nothing. He'd lost everything. He'd compromised so much that he'd lost his witness and his testimony in his own family. Still Lot lingered. The two angels had to take him by the hand and physically remove him.

[19:01] We see that in Genesis 19, 15 to 16, to remove them from outside the city's gates. Lot wanted to linger in sin. He wanted to linger there. As Lot and his family fled, his wife, he could not leave the city of sin that easily, looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

[19:20] What about you? Do you linger in worldliness? Do you linger? That's what Lot did. Lot's fifth compromise, in Genesis 19, 30 to 38, he allowed sorrow and disappointment to take over him, his life, and as he watched the smoke of the burning city, as God poured out his judgment, that Lot gets drunk and then lies with his daughters and bears them children.

[19:50] Lot's compromise had descended to that foulest degree. Just only started a little bit and then he ended up in such a woeful state.

[20:01] And Lot had compromised with sin so much that now he reaped the bitter harvest of his decisions. Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap. When Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom, he never intended to fall into such temptation and sin, immorality.

[20:18] He did not start out by saying that he would accept that kind of gross conduct, but it happened. It happened because inch by inch he had compromised his faith and he'd become hardened.

[20:30] And when we compromise, when we get closer and closer to sin, it hardens. It dullens our conscience, our convictions, our standards drop and drop.

[20:44] So it is with Christians who compromise. They lower their standards, their values, compromising a little here, a little there, before you know it. What a backslider they have become.

[20:57] Could it be said of you that you spend less time with the Bible? You start coming to church when it's convenient. You spend more time doing other things.

[21:11] You begin to backslide. And you allow your witness to decrease. Your joy vanishes. It just starts with a series of small compromises before we even realise what's going on.

[21:23] We're slipping backwards. We're lowering our standards. We're compromising. Isn't it time to let God have your life completely and totally? We've seen Lot.

[21:34] He was a friend of the world. A compromiser. And now let's look at another example, a much more joyful example of Daniel. Daniel was not a friend of the world.

[21:46] He was a friend of God. He was a friend of the Lord, our God, as we see in his life. An example of a man who would not compromise. He would not.

[21:56] He would not compromise. Daniel shows us how to make hard choices. In Daniel 1, Daniel and his friends, they brought, you could say it was the university of the time of Babylon for an education that would lead to a job in the king's court.

[22:12] They are the best and brightest. Sons of royalty, strong and smart. They had a tough three-year program. They had to learn the literature and language of the Chaldeans. They had some benefits there.

[22:23] The king's table, his meat and finest wine, their names were changed. Each one of their names had included the name of God.

[22:35] Daniel means God is my judge. Their new names included the names of Babylonian gods. Daniel and his friends are at risk of losing their distinctiveness as part of God's people.

[22:47] What can we learn from Daniel? From Daniel and his life, in this account of his life and of his friends there in the book of Daniel and how they handled things. They could have stayed in a holy huddle and avoided contamination from the world by running from it or fighting it.

[23:06] Daniel and his friends could have said, we're good, you're bad. They could have formed a resistance movement or gone and lived in a monastery, perhaps. But no. On the other hand, they could have allowed themselves to be totally absorbed by Babylonian culture.

[23:23] When in Babylon, do what the Babylonians do. You have to get along, you have to go along to get along. That's what some people say, isn't it? We don't want to be viewed as weird, so we will just blend in.

[23:37] We won't rock the boat. Son, take that choice. You know, not becoming like a monk in a monastery, but they go the other extreme or getting absorbed by the world's culture such that they just, there's nothing that sets them apart anymore.

[23:54] And the history of the church has been, seen these two extremes of withdrawal or absorption. Daniel and his friends did neither of those things.

[24:05] Daniel and his friends, they said yes to some things and they said no to other things. They didn't totally withdraw from Babylonian culture. They didn't say, all this stuff is evil and I'm going to have no part with it or plant bombs in the king's palace.

[24:20] They didn't refuse to go to class. They didn't refuse to read the books. They didn't protest when their teacher called them by their Babylonian names. They were in contact with Babylonian culture and life.

[24:32] Just like we are, you know, there's worldly technology and worldly entertainment to a degree that's not necessarily a sinful thing and we can partake of some of that to a degree.

[24:45] We can go to the secular schools and universities of our nation and still maintain our Christian testimony. It's not a sinful thing to do so.

[24:58] But they didn't allow themselves to be totally absorbed by the Babylonian culture. Daniel made the very hard choice not to eat the king's choice food or partake of his wine.

[25:09] In Daniel 1 verse 8 it says that Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank. Daniel drew the line.

[25:20] He said, no, I'm not going that way. I'm not going to do so. I'm not going to sit down and eat from another's table as a sign of friendship and trust.

[25:32] I can't allow myself, Daniel was saying, to get so chummy with these people that I forget who I am and who I belong to. And his loyalty was to God. Now this was, I'm told that Daniel at this time, he was just a 14 year old boy.

[25:48] 14. How would your 14 year old act in this situation? Would he say no? Would he know what to say yes to?

[26:00] What about our 18 year olds when they go off to study or work in university or whatever? Will I say yes to those things that are questionable?

[26:11] Will I not say no to those things that they should say no to? Will I go to those questionable parties? Who will he go out with? What will they do when they are out?

[26:24] How will his internal convictions take outward shame? These are questions that as parents, as adults, ourselves, we need to decide those things that are right and ask the Lord to guide our behaviour, our principle and to make those hard choices that might take courage.

[26:47] God will honour those who honour him, it says in the word. To make those hard choices, to be in the world but not of the world. Compromise. We've been talking about friendship with the world.

[26:58] Lot fell for it. He succumbed to it. Daniel didn't. Daniel made the hard choices. Daniel chose to be a man of conviction in a world of compromise.

[27:10] So you've heard the message tonight. Will you compromise? Will you? Take those small steps to the backsliding. Friends, it's a dangerous, slippery slope.

[27:23] Why don't you start down that slippery slope? The danger, the consequence of compromise. In Lot's day, it's just little things but we saw what it ended up as.

[27:34] And friends, the result of compromise is your heart will be turned away from God. We see that in 1 Kings 11 verse 6. Solomon, he was pretty smart so the guy, the Bible, commencing for his wisdom.

[27:48] And yet, 1 Kings 11, 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord and went not fully after the Lord as David his father. In verse 9 of 1 Kings 11, and the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel which had appeared unto him twice.

[28:10] Not just once but twice. It's pretty poor, isn't it? Pretty poor effort from Solomon. Are you going fully after the Lord? That was Solomon's state of Solomon there.

[28:21] He went not fully after the Lord. That's verse 6 of 1 Kings 11 and then it says his heart, verse 9, was turned from the Lord God.

[28:33] Is your heart fully going for the Lord? Or is your heart turning from him? When we compromise, our love for God grows cold.

[28:44] Friends tonight, don't let it grow cold. Warm it up again. Warm that cold heart up again. Brothers and sisters tonight, don't give way to sin, to compromise, to circumstance.

[28:55] Earnestly consent. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. You have a name to live up to tonight. Friends tonight, you are a Christ one. A Christ one.

[29:07] A Christian. A little Christ in a sense that Christ is in you and you are in Christ. Not saying as the latest, greatest heresy of the day that you are little gods.

[29:22] I'm not saying that tonight. But you are a Christ one. He is in you and you are in him. And will you be a Lot or a Daniel? It's your choice, isn't it?

[29:34] You are in Christ and he is in you. We want to be fully identified with Christ so we have a name to live up to. His name. You bear his name before the world.

[29:46] And we are called to be consistent in our word and our walk. So, think of compromise now. Just to recap quickly, compromise in practical terms.

[29:58] Compromise, do we defile the temple? You decide for yourself what is defiling my temple. Don't do it. God says not to. Don't defile it. Keep it clean.

[30:09] Keep it clean. And that encompasses all manner of things, doesn't it? Really, when you think about it. Don't defile it with the world's rubbish.

[30:21] It's too precious. You're a holy temple tonight. That's what God wants us to be. Don't compromise by conforming to peer pressure. It's all about us. Don't follow the crowd.

[30:33] Don't choose to please yourself like Lot did. He made decisions based on what was convenient and fleshly. Don't sit on the fence. You're going to fall off on the wrong side.

[30:45] Don't get out of fellowship. Don't get hardened by sin. We see that of Lot. His testimony was weakened. Avoid that worldly appetite.

[30:59] Learn where to say yes and where to say no. And purpose in your heart like Daniel did. Purpose in your heart. Use a soul.