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.
As long as we are moving, progressing... in the counsel, the advise, the wisdom of Godliness... we will be pleasing to God and we will not fall into defeat
The problem comes when Christians, walking on the path of Godliness, begin to imitate those walking on the other road, the road to destruction, the ungodly way.
We do not get on that road... We do not get off the right road... but we begin to try to walk on the godly road while imitating and following the counsel of the ungodly.
I am not talking about members of this church who recently spent their time and money in a topless bar... that is on the wrong road.
I'm talking about Christians who try to live right but they spend their time at work or school listening to the ungodly give their philosophies and opinions on right and wrong, on how to think and live.
Like you hear them say... "You don't have to go to church to worship God; I do it at the lake." You don't stop going to church; but you notice that you are trying to walk the right road with your eyes and heart on the other road... it gets like walking in mud.
Or, you hear the worldly friends at work talking about lust and one says, "It's OK to look but don't touch." Then you struggle with lust over a girl there, you want to do right, you know you should not look and think those thoughts, but you follow the counsel of the ungodly and you look and you lust.
Or they say "The tithe is OT, God does not really expect 10%; people can't do that today. I give what I can and God understands." Then you try to be a Christian but you are following their counsel and you are sinful. And you find that being obedient becomes a great burden.
The worst thing you can do is begin to compromise with evil... begin to listen to the counsel of the ungodly and give in to their ways.... even a little bit.
You just allow yourself to take that longer look at that pornographic calendar, or that girl at school. You don't lust... but you look when you know you should not.
You miss a week of church, no big deal, but you know you shouldn't
You give less than 10%, it is OK, God understands, you really do need it for something important.
One compromise, then two, then three.... now you are still trying to live the Christian life, walk the Godly walk... but your compromises are making it harder and harder, like walking in knee deep water, like walking through knee deep snow.
You are still walking the walk... you still are on the path... but you start to notice that… there is not as much joy, not as much happiness.'
The problem is that you have your eyes on the world and are trying to walk in a different direction.
That is why Jesus said we were to keep our eyes on him... it will make our journey easier, give us more joy and cause less heart aches
We need to be like the old plow horse… wear blinders, don't ;look at them and wish you were them
wear earmuffs, don't listen to their advice on how to live
SO... The first step in compromise is to WALK IN THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY
This is the one of the kindergarteners who has let go of the rope... he is still walking in the same direction the rest are, but he is watching something in the street, a parade, and he is falling behind the group.
2. DO NOT STAND IN THE WAY OF SINNERS
Stand has the idea of coming to rest to a stop, no progress, no movement.
This is the progressive deterioration toward more active involvement in their sinful living, their evil ways.
You compromise the right counsel, you try to follow the counsel of the world rather than the counsel of God. That brings a loss of joy and happiness.
That causes the walk to be harder and you get tired, you get distracted, you fall behind
THEN YOU STOP!!!! Now you have stepped off the right road and are on the wrong road, the road of disobedience, the road of sin. • • •
But it is brief… just a quick stop to see the parade.... but now you are being left behind.
This is the Christian who is ...
at an alcohol party
listening to and telling dirty jokes
on a one-night fling
at a topless bar
lying to a parent
BUT IT IS STILL OCCASIONAL... it is the exception... he is still primarily and mostly on the right road... he just takes a detour now and then.
This child let go of the rope.... Godly counsel
got sidetracked...................... walked in counsel of ungodly
stopped for a moment………. stood in the way of sinners
But the compromise is not complete yet, there is another step
3. DO NOT SIT IN THE SEAT OF SCOFFERS
“SIT” carries with it the meaning of a permanent settling down, an abiding, a permanent dwelling.
He did walk the right road... with no turning aside to sin
He began to occasionally walk in the way of the sinners
NOW.... He has become one of them.... His way is their way, his thoughts are theirs...
Ungodliness is now a way of life, a habit, the norm for this person.
Other people, his Christian friends back on the Godly road are in shock, how did it happen, it was so sudden. BUT NOT REALLY... IT WAS JUST HIDDEN.
Samson is a great illustration.....
He was raised right, was on the path
but then "Samson went DOWN to Timnah" occasionally
then Samson became a captive there
Lot is an example
He was a Godly man traveling with Abraham
1. He walked in the way of the ungodly 13:11 Lot chose the east..... (Sodom)
2. He stood in the paths of the ungodly 13:12 Lot "pitched his tent toward Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked... "
3.He SAT in the seat of the scoffers 19:1 "And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom"
How different I s the story of Joseph
He had to be among the enemy... he had no choice (Maybe you don't)
But he refused to lose his sense of being different
Instead of compromising with evil... Potipher's wife... HE RAN "Resist the Devil..."
And he was happy… because HAPPINESS IS MAINTAINING AN UNBLEMISHED MORAL PURITY.
The difference is really found in verse 2 "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night."
The first verse has three DO NOT's for Joy
This one has a DO.... Do immerse yourself in the Lord's word and develop a love for it… IT WILL BRING JOY.
Only if you love the Word does it keep from becoming a burden, a chore, a shackle, a prison.
For one it is a prison that brings no joy, so he leaves
for the other it is a joy that brings joy so he immerses himself in it
Verse 1 gives us the DON'Ts that lead to happiness and helps avoid compromise
Verse 2 gives us the DOs that lead to happiness
And Verse 3 gives us the result... tell us what will be the end result. It paints a picture of the person who follows the do's and don'ts.
Verses I and 2 tell us what we will and will not DO, verse three tells us what we will BE.
The obedient person is likened to a tree. He will be....
I. PLANTED...... fortified, stable, strong, rooted, solid
2. FRUITFUL..... bring forth fruit of obedience, pleasing to God
3. UNWITHERED... even during days of difficulty, the treelike soul is undaunted
4. PROSPEROUS.. .. fulfilling the goals that God has designed for it's life
IN CONTRAST
The one who stands and sits with the ungodly is pictured by Jeremiah 17:5-8
Thus says the Lord, cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes his flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the Lord For he will be like a bush in the desert land will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in the stony wastes of the wilderness, a land of salt without habitant. blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit.
The leson is clear...
Happiness comes from a pure uncompromised walk of obedience
We are to delight ourselves in God's word and not walk in the counsel of evil
And we will be like a tree planted by a river.... healthy and productive
There is no shortcut to physical growth... or to spiritual growth... they both occur on a daily basis and require proper nourishment and proper surroundings.
"With the right kind of spiritual diet (Word) and climate (godly) YOU can experience happiness many times over, abundantly, and best of all you can avoid the erosive effects of compromise on your spiritual walk."
The way of the ungodly is summed up in two words... NOT SO
THE GODLY
Shall be abundantly happy Delights in the Word of God
Like a tree
Planted
Fruitful
Un-withered
Prosperous
THE UNGODLY
Not so
Not so
Not so
Not so
Not so
Not so.... Like chaff blown away
Not so
Take a moment to reflect
Are there areas of your life that are showing signs and signals of spiritual, ethical, or moral compromise?
Are you really happy, abundantly happy?
Does your life resemble the tree described in Psalm 1.... or the bush in Jeremiah 17… ?
Are there things that you need to put a stop to... things that are dragging you down?
Have you begun to tolerate a few compromises that you once rejected?
Are you WALKING... in the counsel of God
in the counsel of the ungodly
STANDING... spending time occasionally where you don't belong
SITTING....... have you allowed compromise and sin to become a way of life
INVITATION
