Compromise Weakens The Church
Preaching Portion: Revelation 3:1-6
Subject: The Church At Sardis
Theme: The Effect of Compromise
INTRO: Moral
compromise weakens a church’s ability to withstand the pressure of society and false
doctrine. Such a church accommodates itself to the spirit of the age. The rot
within cannot withstand the storm without.
·
There are 13,900,000 hits on Google when
searching “Moral Compromise.” Obviously this is a topic of interest.
·
Writer Jerry D. Goodstein defines moral
compromise as “when people have resolved in their own minds what course best
fits their considered moral judgments, but who then find themselves in conflict
with others whose best moral judgments have led them to an opposing position.”[1]
·
We see evidence of opposing positions at every
turn within our society. Because we have abolished “absolute truths” we are
left with antagonizing points of view that it is assumed that compromise is now
an excepted pattern of commerce, politics, family, and faith.
·
Tertullian, the great theologian of North Africa
once stated that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church. As we look
into The Lost History of Christianity,
Philip Jenkins author, reports there have been wholesale massacres by Islamic
conquerors that have thoroughly destroyed the church in the Middle East. Whole
congregations were annihilated across central Asia. Christianity has all but
disappeared in Persia and throughout Iraq.
o October
31 2010 Islamic extremists attacked worshippers at the Syrian Catholic Church
in Baghdad, killing 59 Christians and injuring 80 others. Armed with automatic
weapons they entered a worship service and opened up fire on the worshippers.
·
Moral compromise is crushing our way of life in
America. We hardly recognize this country anymore. I confess this is not the
country of my childhood – I feel lost at times, but anchored in the hope of the
cross!
Explanation
·
Should we be concerned about compromise? Is it
really worth all of this effort of extra nights of church, prayer, and inviting
people on this journey?
·
Consider the church at Sardis in Revelation
3:1-6. Read carefully their perception of aliveness contrasted to the reality
report of deadness.
·
There have been some modern excavations that have
occurred revealing church structures with gymnasiums that seem to accommodate
pagan rituals and rites of the time blending them with first century Christian
worship.
·
When the stethoscope of heaven was applied to
the heart of this congregation Jesus concluded that despite all of the outward
signs of activity and vitality the church was actually a corpse – “You are
dead” are sobering words.
PROP: I cannot stand in the face of social pressure by
allowing moral compromises.
T.S: I can gain faith to stand in the face of social
pressure by hearing the report of Sardis and by following the prescription
found in Revelation 3:1-6.
1.
The Chastening – Revelation 3:1-2
a.
“ ‘I
know your works. You have the reputation jof
being alive, kbut you are
dead. 2 Wake up, and
strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works lcomplete in the sight of
my God[2]
b.
The
first thing to note is the report of the community that suggests that you are
alive but in actuality you are dead. THAT IS A STUNNER!
i. How is it that our church calendars
are full of plans opportunities to participate in community and yet be so far
from the heartbeat of God?
ii. Could
it be that we have created a trajectory for the church that is appealing but
have in the process sacrificed the manifest presence of God?
c.
It is one thing to have a full energetic
calendar of the church but quite another to that same calendar filled with
activities that are the heartbeat of God.
i. “…I have not found your works complete in
the sight of my God…”
d.
What moral compromises should the church be
aware of? There are three that I would suggest.
i. The
Compromise of Consumerism
1.
The church at Laodicea stands in our minds as a
church that allowed the culture to lull them to sleep thinking that all is well
and we need nothing by our standards.
2.
The city and church of Laodicea lies in ruins
with no one living there any longer.
3.
Look deep into the heart of the church and see
what remains and has not been compromised and begin to strengthen that unless
the Lord comes as a thief in the night.
ii. The
Compromise of a Weakened Gospel
1.
You can water down the gospel to make it more
appealing to nonbelievers. Preach love without sin and repentance – people’s
egos are fragile.
2.
We can blend aspects of Christianity with other
belief systems and thereby show ourselves to be more open and tolerant.
CHRISLAM comes to mind!
a.
Can I report that Islam is completely
anti-Christian/cross/Christ – there is no common ground on which to build a
theological bridge of tolerance and acceptance.
3.
Unfaithfulness to the gospel of Christ is yet
another way of weakening our testimony. How many times through scripture are we
asked to repent? Failure to do so dilutes the essence of the gospel while
embracing our agendas
iii. The
Compromise of Institutionalized Christianity
1.
The first century teaches us to not become
entangled in politics. The first century church wedded itself to the political
powers of the day in such a way that when governing leaders were replaced with
Muslim rulers the church had no power to stand and therefore collapsed.
e.
Augustine once stated that men build cities and
men destroy cities, but the City of God they did not build and cannot destroy!
2.
The Counsel – Revelation 3:3-6
a.
The church at Sardis was instructed to remember,
repent, watch, and wait.
b.
The challenge of the church was to recapture
what was Godly and alive among them – strengthen it and nurture it to health
and you will receive garments of white and a name in the book of Life!
c.
Brother Andrew noted Russian bible smuggler now
works among the Muslims. He tells a story of meeting an imam, second in command
in Hamas. Brother Andrew asked if he prayed five times a day every day. The
answer was yes! But there is no mosque here in the desert. The imam responded,
“Every tent is a mosque!”
i. What
kind of revival would we have if every home was a prayer center and every hone
was a church?
d.
During Holy Week in 2011, the BBC hosted a
program titled, “Does Christianity Have A Future?” A Catholic Priest
contributed to the discussion by saying; “I
think what people, especially young people, are rejecting is not Christianity
per se, but the banal, lame, pseudo-Christianity, the humanistic “gospel,” what
I call in my church “Catholic-Lite.” This is what they reject, because it is
not life giving…it is lame, emasculated, humanistic, and counterfeit, which
does not call sinners to repentance and does not offer life. Until the fullness
of the gospel is proclaimed and a fitting worship of God is offered in Mass
people will stay away while the older die off…Where there is growth there is
orthodoxy and fidelity – lameness produces no good fruit, only more lameness.”[3]
Conclusion
The story of the
bristlecone pine.
·
The tree lives at 10,000 foot elevation in harsh
conditions
·
The pine tree grows slowly
·
The pine tree puts down extensive root systems
·
The pine tree is built to resist disease
·
The pine tree remains small in size
·
The pine tree only releases its cones and seeds
when stuck by lightening or by fire
[1]
Jerry D. Goodstein. Moral Compromise and
Personal Integrity.http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3857834?uid=3739256&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102830201303
Accessed 25, 2013.
j 1 Tim. 5:6
k See Luke
15:24
l Acts 14:26
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
2001 (Re 3:1–2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[3]
Erwin Lutzer The Cross In The Shadow of
The Crescent [Eugene: harvest House, 2013] 130.
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