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Compromise Is Harmful so Don't Forget It
by Dr. Henderson Ward We look for compromise in order to accommodate differences because without that compromise we tend to have conflict and angst and everyone is worse off. This may be true in politics because politics are conducted between opponents who often have different ideologies and certainly different agendas. But what pertains in the secular world is anathema in the spiritual realm and all believers need to come to terms with that fact. The basis of compromise is that no one person, or one side, has all the answers so there is a need to listen to and take bits from both sides. This is understandable because human minds are by nature limited and so unable to grasp all the alternatives and the repercussions that may attend any proposal or course of action. This is as God intended for man must never be a god; thinking that he knows everything, never in need of advice and his judgements are infallible. Because of these limitations whatever the mind of a man produces, however profound and earth-shattering, however original and perceptive, however staggering and insightful yet the mind of another man can discredit. It might take years, sometimes hundreds of years, but it can be done. Even the so-called laws of science have been debunked, in truth they should be called by their proper name i.e. theories, for what one mind constructs another mind can demolish; and that is why accepted scientific theories keep changing through time. That is not the case with God and Christianity. Take for example the case of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were given by God to Moses for the Israelites sometime in the 13th century BC and at a time when primitive man knew little about science and philosophy, theology and logic or textural critiquing as we do today; yet all of the Ten Commandments remain intact, inviolate and un-amended just as when they were first issued. Amazing. This is worth repeating. All of the Ten Commandments that were issued 1300 years before the birth of Jesus Christ has remained exactly as promulgated by Moses, and no one has been able to amend them, gainsay them or debunk them and no one ever will because we are dealing with Almighty God. The Ten Moral Laws of God, aka The Ten Commandments, have withstood the test of time and stand as an unchangeable memorial to its giver, God himself, and His prescription for the life and worship of all believers. No one has standing to debunk God's Laws and they have never been discredited or put under serious examination and found wanting. Only Jesus Christ, and no other, has status to refashion and recast The Ten Commandments and Jesus did not compromise a single provision, nor debunked a single aspect, nor watered down a single feature but rather endorsed them all in his majestic yet humble way. Here is how he encapsulated The Ten Commandments for all believers for all time. "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:35-40) Jesus summed up The Ten Commandments by breaking them into two groups as follows: 1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. (first four Commandments) 2. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (last six Commandments) The simple truth is that God's requirement for people to live godly lives, as embodied in his laws, cannot be compromised without serious consequences. History has shown that when Israel did good and followed God's Laws she prospered and advanced and whenever she did abominably she ceased prospering and declined. God's Laws are righteous, good and perfect and all believers find this to be so, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." (Psalm 19:7) and because this is so the Bible commends its efficacy to all in these words, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:24) Israel has its faults, and I am known for pointing them out, but one has to admire Israel's development, for without the enormous natural resources of its neighbours it has managed to develop itself to achieve "Advanced Nation Status", the only developed economy in the Middle East. Israel through the years have honoured God and his Commandments, and although they have failed to do so with consistency, nevertheless they have reaped the benefits, and so their current status should not come as a surprise. God pointed out to Israel the gravity of their choice; likewise every single person has the same choice to make and has to live with the consequences. God's counsel was like this: "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee..." (Deuteronomy 30:15-16) When people turn their backs on God and his righteousness they inevitably turn their faces towards the devil, as they go away from God they get ever closer to Satan, and when they give up on God, dismiss him as irrelevant to their life they indicate quite clearly that they are in the embrace of the devil. When people turn their faces towards the devil they do not become decent, proper, good and lovely but rather the very opposite as Paul clearly indicated: "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:2-7) When believers compromise with those in the devil's camp, something radical must happen to enable it. God never mixes darkness with light and He tells us that in him, "is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5) When believers compromise they first have to leave God's side, depart from the light and then they can compromise with things and people acting contrary to God's will. And this applies to everyone both priest and layman. No one claiming to speak under the anointing can bless that which God has cursed, or curse that which God has blessed, for even Balaam understood that (Numbers 24:10) No pastor, messenger, pope or priest acting on behalf of God can approve that which God disapproves. This would be an utter self delusion. No church of God can approve same-sex marriage. No minister of the gospel can approve same-sex marriage. No believer can be a partner in or approve same-sex marriage. You cannot do it in God's name for that is mis-representing God but you can step away from God (disobedient priests and backslidden believers are everywhere) and do whatever you like. Just do not pretend that it is under God's anointing or that God approves. We should pay heed to what Jesus said, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:14) We don't tell God what to approve and bless; we submit to his Lordship and delight in his approvals and blessings and we find his laws totally satisfying, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." (Psalm 1:2) To compromise spiritually is trying to accommodate the good with something else and God will not have it, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24) Sorry folks Almighty God does not do compromise. Enough said. Books by this author you may wish to read. THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW (e-book) Volume 1 Five tough facts to be faced http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YX5NSI STAND UP TO THE DEVIL (e-book) Volume 1 You must first identify him http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BQVLSS BASTARD: A STORY OF REDEMPTION(e-book fiction) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OF3SD6 ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GODS CLOCK (Hard copy) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002X78D16 ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GODS CLOCK (e-book) http://tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60799-630-9 Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017 Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |