“It’s just a small little sin, a tiny compromise ...actually no one will know and everything will be fine.” Though we probably don’t even think along those terms, it happens every day. A little “white lie”, a flirtatious wink at the girl down the hall, a quick look at that porno site, borrowing ten dollars out of petty cash…no one will miss it. Christians do stuff like that all the time in their homes, in their businesses and workplaces, and in the marketplace …small little compromises. And then, they will excuse their compromise by saying things like “Well, I’m only human” or “Men can’t help it, we are made this way” and “It’s not as bad as other people”. But the problem is that one small compromise leads to another larger compromise, which leads to another compromise and the next thing you know, for the person who thought they could handle it, their life becomes chaotic, out of control, and trouble begins to press in on all sides, until the results of the sin comes to a climax, and finally that person’s life comes crashing down around them…and Satan wins again.
James put it this way, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15) You hear about it all the time…stories splashed all over the news…Christians involved in sordid affairs, money scams, cocaine addiction, police intervention or any number of other scenarios, and the guilty parties end up losing their families, their ministries, their jobs, their integrity, their relationship with God, and even sometimes their lives. Why is that? Because compromise can be a deadly companion, one that will lead to more and more and more compromise until it can and will destroy you.
Galatians 6:7-8 tells us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” This promise will not fail! It’s a law of God as sure as gravity…if you sow to the flesh, you will reap of the flesh. If you compromise and play games with God’s Word, it will lead to more and more sin in your life. Do not think you are getting away with it and nobody will ever find out…God will find out, and God will expose it…and then…EVERYBODY will know. Jesus said in Luke 8:17, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” And in Luke 12:2-3 He said, “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” The bottom line is there are NO secrets with God. He knows it all, and He is interested in everything you do. But don’t take my word for it; let’s look at an example in God’s Word.
We all know about King David. He was a mighty warrior in the army of Israel, and he was known as a “man after God’s own heart”. He loved the Lord with all his heart and God had personally chosen and trained him, and then placed him in the palace as King over all of Israel and Judah. There was never a king greater than King David and no king was ever revered as highly as he was. God sent him to war and he led the battle to win many great victories for God’s chosen people.
But one day, King David did not go to battle as he should have, but he remained in Jerusalem. And while he was there, he compromised. All it took was one little glance from the rooftop, and that glance then turned to lust. As he watched the beautiful Bathsheba bathing, he longed for her and even though she was another man’s wife, he had to have her. So he sent for her, and seduced her and as a result of that one compromise, she then became pregnant with his child. Then, in order to cover that sin, David sent to have her husband Uriah brought home so that he would sleep with his wife and no one would be the wiser. But when Uriah, out of loyalty to his king and his country, refused to go home to his wife, David then plotted to send Uriah to the front lines of battle so that he would be killed. (2 Samuel 11) Do you see the progression of compromise here? One compromise leads to another compromise, until finally you find yourself doing things you would never have dreamed of doing…and it all started with one little secret sin. And the last verse of that chapter says it all, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” David thought he had gotten away with this terrible sin, but the Bible tells us very clearly that God was not happy with David. And if you didn’t know the rest of the story, you might think that David had gotten away with his terrible sins…but NO…God was not finished with the matter.
God sent a prophet named Nathan, and after sharing the story of a despicable and cruel man who had stolen the only lamb belonging to a poor neighbor, and having listened intently to the prophet’s story, David was angry and ready to execute judgment on this “low life” of a person. Then, in 2 Samuel 12:7-12 the prophet Nathan, pointing a finger at David the King, revealed the word and judgment of God concerning his sin. “Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’” Even though King David repented of his vile sins and was restored in his relationship with God, we need to realize that his act of compromise resulted in great difficulties for the rest of his life, including the death of the child that Bathsheba bore. And the great sins of King David have been recorded in scripture for all ages. Nothing that is done in secret is ever hidden from God and you WILL reap whatever you sow.
Friends, we have all sinned and caused great grief to God and to ourselves, and others have also suffered because of our sins. But the key is to learn from those times and do as David did and repent, or turn away from our sins. None of us can change the past, so there is no need in dwelling on past sins. But what we need to do is to keep a short account with God, and as soon we realize that we have done something that is displeasing to Him, we should confess it and change our direction immediately. If we do that, then God will restore us and help us to overcome it. But if we continue to compromise with sin, or if we continue to walk contrary to God’s Word, there will be a huge penalty to pay. God will not always overlook sin and compromise in the lives of His children and even the small sins are displeasing to Him. Be sure that it will be revealed, and the penalty required to pay will be heavy. There is nothing done in secret that is not known to our ALL KNOWING God.
Now, if you have never repented of your sins and asked Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, THAT would be the first place to start in getting your life in line with what God desires from you. You need to first realize that you are a sinner and that God hates sin, and without Jesus in your life, your default destination is to spend eternity in hell. You cannot avoid it for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)". Every man, woman and child from the time of Adam and Eve until now has been born in sin...with only one exception...and that is Jesus Christ. But the good news is that Jesus came to the earth to pay the penalty for your sins. He lived a perfect life and died a cruel death on the cross of Calvary, taking the punishment that you deserve so that you can be free. Romans 6:23 tells us, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. He, the Perfect One, died in the place of us, the sinners, and because He has paid the price for our sins, we can be free from the penalty of sin, which is death! A very beloved portion of scripture says, "For God so loved the world, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) God loves you and He wants a better life for you...that is why He sacrificed His Son on your behalf so that you could be free of the penalty of death, and you could live with Him forever. But His requirement is that you turn from your old life of sin...that you repent of your sins in your heart, and ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. If you do this with a sincere heart, you can be sure that He will hear you and save you and He will give you eternal life. As soon as that happens, you can be sure that your life will begin to change and you will become more and more like Jesus. Now if you are ready to make that commitment right now...I would like to ask you to pray a prayer something like this:
Father I come to You in the Name of Jesus. I come to you as a sinner, asking for Your grace. I know that I have no right to approach the God of the Universe, except that I believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for my sins. I repent of my sins, I choose to turn away from my sins and live the rest of my life for You. I believe that Jesus died on my behalf...please forgive me for my sins and give to me eternal life. I want Jesus to be my Savior and Lord and I commit to follow Him from this day forward...in Jesus Name...Amen.
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