Compromise

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." - Hebrews 12:1-3

At one point or another in our lives, many of us have gotten entangled in sin and wondered, "How did I end up here?" We vowed that we would never cheat on our spouse, then we did. We say we are honest, yet we lied on our tax form. We try to live our lives as holy offerings unto God, but we cannot stop looking at porn. We say that we love our fellow church members and call them brother, then we gossip behind their backs. Guilt and shame whisper condemnation and may even have us questioning our salvation and Christian identity. We doubt and ponder the question: "If we have died to the flesh and are new creatures, why do we still get caught in the traps of sin?"

Do not worry, you are not alone. We all struggle and have doubts. But Jesus has given us all the tools we need to not only fight but to win the victory over sin and the devil. Then we can walk in freedom and liberty and serve the purpose that God has called us to.

First though, we need to recognize the enemy and his attacks.

The Bible calls the devil "the father of lies" and a deceiver (John 8:44). He comes to steal everything that we have, to kill us physically and spiritually, and to destroy everything we hold dear (John 10:10). He is the accuser of the brethren and the adversary of God and Jesus' church (Revelation 12:10).

Jesus has conquered the devil and he only has power over our lives if we give it to him, but many of us have built strongholds in our minds from which Satan attempts to destroy us. Thankfully, we can learn to recognize the weapons of Satan, and we can destroy these strongholds in our minds. His methods are not novel – he has been using them since Eden. They can be narrowed down to two weapons: rationalization and compromise.

From the beginning, Satan has deceived mankind into questioning God's word, His love, and His motives. He asked Eve, "Did God truly say? (Genesis 3:1)" Satan uses our senses and reasoning to make us doubt the Word. Eve saw that the fruit "...was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat (Genesis 3:6b)." Once Adam and Eve began to doubt God's word and to rationalize their actions, they compromised. They did what seemed right in their eyes and disobeyed God.

The same can be said about King Solomon. He was one of King David's sons and he was greatly blessed. The Bible calls him the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 4:30-31). God commanded him not to intermarry with the women of the land because they would turn his heart away from the true God and cause Solomon to serve their gods. He likely rationalized his marriages, thinking about how small Israel was and how large and dangerous the surrounding enemies were. He may have considered them to be only political marriages thinking they were no big deal. So, he compromised on God's Word and what he knew to be right. Before he knew it, Solomon "had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines and his wives turned away his heart (1 Kings 11:3)." Solomon thought his wisdom was better than God's.

Is it not surprising to realize that we are still falling for Satan's old schemes. God says for us to seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all our needs will be met (Matthew 6:33). He gave us His law to show us how best to live before Him and with each other and offered Jesus in our place when we fall short of His standard. He offers us grace to begin each day with a clean slate. We have His promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and He answers our prayers in miraculous ways. God is good and faithful! Why then do we listen when Satan says, "Did God truly say?..."

Jesus has called us as His body, fills us with His Spirit and has called us to impact the world. We succeed when we trust His word and walk in love. We trust in Him, so we cannot compromise. We believe!