Compromise

COMPROMISE

Psalm 1

THEME: Abundance of joy is the result of uncompromising purity of a

righteous walk with God.

INTRO:

What do you think of when you hear the word: compromise?

Is compromise bad?

Is it always bad?

Well, if two porcupines, want to snuggle, a little compromise here and there is a good thing. .

However, that same porcupine knows that you don't make any compromise with a hungry wolf.•

For a church to maintain unity of the body... we are often called on to make some compromises… but we are NEVER to compromise with EVIL.

Today I want to address the issue of COMPROMISING WITH EVIL.

To compromise with evil is to "allow the slow-moving tentacles of evil to wrap themselves around us, squeezing the joys and rewards of obedience from our lives."

And it rarely, if ever, happens quickly or out of the blue. Compromise happens slowly... subtly... step-by-step...... so much so that we hardly ever realize it's taking place. Only the most vigilant and watchful will notice.

Imagine that one day you arrive home to find that a massive oak tree in your yard has fallen on your house. It did not happen out of the blue. Either there will have been a tremendous wind, or you will find out that secretly, over a long time, un-noticeably.... disease or pests, or deterioration, or some problem with the ground has taken place and one day.... Boom!!

Compromise works the same way. We do not suddenly and for no reason fall into sin. Oh, it may appear that way to others who do not know what has been happening on the inside. It may even seem so to you... if you are spiritually blind. But it was a process.

"Slowly, almost imperceptibly, one rationalization leads to another, which triggers a series of equally damaging alterations in a life that was once stable, strong and reliable."

The Psalmist was very much aware of the pattern of compromise and sin.... he had traveled that road many times. Most likely this Psalm was written following one of those times when he had fallen into sin and then, in retrospect, looked back to see the winding road that he had traveled, where he had gotten off the right road, and where it had allied.

It is true... “ hind sight is 20/20”

The first Psalm is a contrast between two different walks of if... ways of living or conducting ourselves and making our decisions.

The one way is the right way... the godly walk, the way of righteousness.... verses 1-3

The other way is the .wrong way, \he ungodly walk, the way of unrighteousness... verses 4-6

This psalm makes it evident that Compromise is THE EROSION OF OUR GOOD INTENTIONS), via progressive rationalizations.

In the first three verses, the Psalmist describes the man who consciously resists the subtle inroads of compromise that erode commitment.

He does this by using three negatives... what that godly man DOES NOT DO!!!!!

Why does God so often use negatives like "Thou shalt not..."? The reason is because there are more things we can do than can't... so it is easier to name the no-no’s, the don'ts.

It is also simpler for us to understand.

It reminds me of the teacher who took her kindergarten class to a large town where they would see a museum. She worried they would get lost on the walk to the museum, or they would get lost in the museum, or they would touch something they should not. She wished she had more chaperones but she was alone. So instead of giving a bunch of kindergarteners a long list of instructions to cover every conceivable situation they would encounter... she pulled out a short piece of rope, had each one hold on to it single file and gave them one instruction, one Don't.... don't let go of the rope!!!!!

The scriptures are filled with Do's and Thou shalts, and instructions that we are to follow. But sometimes, like here, the writer finds it easier to give it in the negative... "DON'T"

So the psalmist names three things not to do if you want to stay on the right road, if you want to please God, if you want to avoid compromise and defeat....

Watch as the Psalmist will take us though three stages of compromise, and show us how they lead to spiritual erosion of the mind.

1. DO NOT WALK IN THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY ... v. 1

"Walk” is a word that suggests progressive movement along a way,

That is the way that Jesus spoke of the Christian life... a walk, a progression of obedience, of knowledge, of service, of relationship.

But the scripture is clear that we are to walk that walk IN THE COUNSEL OF GOD… the Word, the Spirit, and Godly people.