“Don’t Compromise Yourself”

Scripture - Romans 7:15-25

“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it.  Instead, I do what I hate.”

We all do it!  We make compromises to diffuse conflict, and that’s a good thing. But here’s something else that we do — we compromise on something we wanted now so we can get what we really wanted later. Okay, so these examples may not be getting exactly to the point.

 What about compromising such that we sin against God?  So we sin - verse 17– but how much do we compromise on God?

Some people compromise on God, by not attending his services —in person or otherwise.  They talk a good game, but often they will let God go so they can see and do and hear other things.  I hope you are following me right now.

The Apostle Paul talks in Romans 7 about how we compromise ourselves because we do things that we shouldn’t do and do things that we don’t want to do.   Thus, we compromise on our steadfastness.  We compromise on our being holy before the Lord.  We compromise on time before the Lord in prayer and meditation.  We compromise on our tithes and our offerings, by not cheerfully giving to God’s house.  And we certainly do not make him first in our lives — a major compromise!

But this is often not what we intend to do — and often we certainly don’t want to compromise in this way.  So what should we do?  Don’t compromise yourself! Our most recent Bible study helped us identify ways to repent for sudden compromises made where God is concerned.  So first of all we must repent from all sins committed by compromise and then try your hardest to do the right thing!  Sin will cause us to miss God’s best for us — so fight it as hard as you can — just don’t compromise!

I was reading a short article called “A fatal Compromise” just yesterday.   It was based on the compromises Aaron, Moses’ older brother and man of God made during the time of the Exodus.  

Unfortunately for Aaron, he had a weakness for unwise compromise. He sinned against God when the people needed him to stand strong and steadfast in the Lord.   While the people were clamoring and complaining while Moses was on the mountain talking to God, Aaron allowed for compromise of God’s will among God’s chosen people.  This compromise of his leadership, and his trust in God, led to sin — the worship of a homemade golden calf—that angered God and resulted in the death of three thousand of his fellow Hebrews!  

How often do we compromise on sticking to and with God’s word?  Who’s to say that God didn’t send Covid-19 or the 9/11 attacks to get our attention regarding how we have been compromising His Word?  The simple answer is that whether God sent these catastrophic events or allowed them, we must never compromise ourselves or compromise on his Word!

Prayer - Lord please help us to understand how not to compromise on your word and sin against you!