1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Compromise has been described as the idea that two parties can come together and find mutual accord by what they agree upon. People may not agree on everything but what they do agree upon can be a focus for unity.
So many times people keep hearts that are hardened toward one another because they refuse to give in without a fight. In most scenarios compromise is looked upon favorably, but within the scope of devotion to the Lord, compromise is failure.
Absolute Truth
The way of the Lord is absolute. You may wonder where I’m going with this statement, and so I’ll build my case.
Truth cannot compromise its position otherwise it would fail to be true. You cannot relegate one aspect of God’s Truth toward error otherwise it would indicate that God was less than perfect and that He made a mistake. You cannot add to or take away from Truth, or it will cease to be true. If Truth is perfect, that means that everything held within it’s context is complete and reliable.
Absolute truth indicates a position of finality, it is free from limitations, restrictions, or exceptions…ultimately, it is perfect.
Hebrews 5:8-9 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”
Why would the people of Israel claim that God was sovereign and still bow down to idols? What would lead a people to compromise their devotion to the Lord by relegating their worship to a false image?
It might have been for fear that many turned to Baal and Asherah worship during the days of Elijah. The leadership of Ahab and Jezebel were aggressively evil toward all those who rejected their form of devotion.
Peer pressure causes people to cave in and compromise their beliefs, knowing they might be ridiculed for not joining into a practice that every else is doing is often too much to handle.
Many times people just can’t move beyond what is tangible, they need to see what they are worshipping therefore an idol is made that accommodates their weaknesses.
Today’s Idols
As a kid, it wasn’t uncommon for me to find pictures of Jesus in hanging in people’s homes. Usually found on a wall overlooking the dinner table, the image of Jesus as a blonde haired, white man was painted by Warner Sallman in 1940. The picture had been reproduced over a half a billion times by the end of the 20th century and could be found in churches and homes throughout America.
The painting by Salman was not the image of Jesus, Warner never had a personal encounter with Jesus that gave him the basis of the image he produced.
The image of Christ would have looked like a common jew from 2000 years ago—but common He was not.
Want to know what Jesus looks like today?
Daniel 10:5-6 “I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.”
If we were to stand before Jesus in the flesh, we would perish.
Exodus 33:20 “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
The reality of God’s glory is that we cannot comprehend it. He is too Holy for us to bear up in His presence—our flesh is too weak, the sin of our flesh has defiled us, our eyes would go blind, our hearts would fail and the glory of God would overwhelm us.
The world has no idea of the magnificence of God’s glory.
The world mocks the Lord as if there is no coming judgement, they live for themselves and fill up the flesh like there is no tomorrow. Blasphemy fills their screens, movies, and songs while the time of their existence marches towards it end.
What the world desires is for true believers to turn their backs on the Lord and embrace what little they understand and know. The world relegates science to what they have tested and proven, forgetting that science is held captive by their ability to see.
I believe there is a scientific explanation for everything pertaining to God. We know He is Spirit and He can take the form of flesh. The Lord is real and interacts with His Creation, therefore He has mass and affects the world as we know it. Where scientists error is in their ability to look beyond their physical senses and see with spiritual eyes. Secular science hasn’t devised ways to test the spiritual, so they relegate it as fantasy and dismiss it as myth.
For those who have come to know the Savior, they have tangibly experienced His presence in their lives. For those who hear, they listen to the voice of God and respond to His commands. God’s people love, because He first loved them and His love is within their hearts. They know His love because they sense it going toward others around them, through their lives, lived out by their actions.
Revelation 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.”
The people of God are so convinced, they have been known to lay down their lives for Christ. The believer knows that God’s Word is true because they have lived it. The principles in God’s Word have proven faithful through every test, every trial, and every doubt.
God’s people stand firm on the Word of God and nothing will ever diminish their faith.
To bow is to compromise. For whatever reason a person bows to this world, or caves into sin, or rejects the Truth of God’s Word–nothing they have gained will hold a match to the glory they have forfeited.
A true believer will not bow to threats, to fear, to self-doubt, to shame, or to any attack of the enemy–because their strength is in the Lord.
Are you a true believer or do you just play one around your friends?
Everyone will be known by their deeds one day, let your deeds be found worthy of your calling—because you were obedient until the end.
U.T. 