Compromise A Dangerous Trend
“And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go
ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not
meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the
Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the
abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not
stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and
sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. And
Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the
LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far
away: entreat for me. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee,
and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart
from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow:
but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the
people go to sacrifice to the LORD... And Moses and Aaron were
brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the
LORD your God: but who are they that shall go? And Moses said, We
will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with
our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for
we must hold a feast unto the LORD. And he said unto them, Let
the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little
ones: look to it; for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that
are men, and serve the
LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from
Pharaoh's presence... And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go
ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be
stayed: let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said,
Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we
may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. Our cattle also shall go
with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must
we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we
must serve the LORD, until we come thither. But the LORD hardened
Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.” (Exodus
8:25-29, 10:8-11, 24-27).
Types found in Exodus are without question. Egypt is a type of
the world. Pharaoh is a type of Satan himself. And in our text we
see Pharaoh, the god of this world, Egypt, putting forth four
compromises to Moses. But before we move to these compromises we
should explain what the word compromise or compromising means.
Webster’s definition for compromise is as follows. “A
settlement of differences by mutual concessions; a combination of
two rival systems, principles, etc., in which a part of each is
sacrificed to make the combination possible; what results from,
or is founded on, such an agreement; a mutual concession.”
Compromising: “To adjust or combine by a compromise; to
settle by mutual concessions; to put to risk of hazard, or expose
to serious consequences, to put in jeopardy; to endanger the
interests of.” Simply put, the word compromise means, a
settlement of differences by mutual concessions. The word
concession comes from the word concede and it means, “to
admit as true, just, or proper; to grant as a privilege; to yield
up; to allow; to surrender.” Concession: “the act of
conceding, admitting, or granting; a yielding to demand or claim;
a grant empowering some scheme or work to be done.”
To put it in simple terms, compromise is a settlement of
differences by yielding up what you believe and know is right and
allowing certain things which you know are wrong so as to allow
some settlement to make a combination possible.
The Lord had already given Moses his exact orders in what to do,
concerning his people and Egypt.
“And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come,
thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye
shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us:
and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the
wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.”
(Exodus 3:18).
Pharaoh was to let all of God’s people go. They were to go
three days’ journey into the wilderness and there sacrifice
to the Lord their God. But in every point Pharaoh tries to get
God’s people to compromise.
“And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go
ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.” (Exodus 8:25). Go
ahead, sacrifice but in the land. Let’s make a concession on
this matter of
three days’ journey.
“And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice
to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very
far away: entreat for me.” (Exodus 8:28).
That won’t work, Okay, you can go, but don’t go very
far away. The three days’ journey again compromised.
“Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for
that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's
presence.” (Exodus 10:11).
Ye that are men serve the Lord. But let’s make some
concessions concerning all of God’s people. “And
Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only
let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones
also go with you.” (Exodus 10:24).
Okay, you can all go but not your flocks or herds. Let’s
make a concession concerning your sacrificing to your God.
These are the same compromises the devil tries to get God’s
people to fall for today. Stay in the world (Egypt); you can be a
worldly Christian and still serve God. And by all means,
don’t go too far, don’t be fanatical about it, people
will think you’re crazy. Don’t make serving God a
family matter, just take care of your own spiritual matters. Let
them choose for themselves. Forget what Joshua said in Joshua
24:15b, “...but as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord.” And by the way don’t make sacrificing part of
your worship. Forget verses like Romans 12:1 and 2: “I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God.”
Compromise, compromise, yield up what you know is right and
accept what you know is wrong.
Surrender, stop fighting, battling. Make concessions for the sake
of settlement and unity.
We are seeing a dangerous trend amongst God’s people today
and His church, the church that Jesus built. The Independent,
unaffiliated Baptist church. And that trend is compromise. Our
stand is eroding. Many are no longer standing where they once
stood. It’s a scary thing when we begin to see Independent
Baptist accepting and falling for the ideas of the New and
Neo-Evangelicals. We are instructed in Ephesians 6:10-14:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness;” “Stand, withstand, and have done all,
to stand...” Stand, that is what we are supposed to do, but
we are not seeing much of that today. Compromise is the rule of
today. Some of our finest pastors are getting weary of standing,
and the battles become too hard. What happens? For no apparent
reason, no real physical ailment, they retire in their finest
hours. The
Bible speaks nothing of retirement for anyone, much less the
pastor. Genesis 3:19 says, “In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou eat bread,...” (till you reach 62 or 65?) “...till
thou return unto the ground;”
What we are experiencing today is the great falling away as found
in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no man deceive you by any
means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition;” I was taught in Bible college, (B.B.C.,
Springfield) that this was speaking of the Methodist,
Presbyterians, Lutherans, etc... That they use to be right but in
these last days have fallen away. But, my friend, the Protestants
have never been right. They have always believed in infant
baptism, works for salvation, etc... The falling away speaks of
the falling away of the true church that Jesus built. You have to
have been there before you can fall from it. The Protestants have
never been there. We see all around us today, church after
church, pastor after pastor, evangelist after evangelist,
surrendering what they once believed and accepting what they once
believed was wrong. Compromise, the rule of the day, and those
that stand are the enemy.
We as Independent Baptists must not surrender, we must,
“...earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints.” (Jude 3) We must not surrender what our
forefathers died for. We must draw a line. Not an imaginary line
in the sand, but a real line and not cross it. We must not
compromise our stand. I heard something when I was a young
Christian. I wrote it down on the front page of my first Bible
and it has been my motto. “If you don’t stand for
something, you will fall for anything.”
Compromise...
We, as Independent Baptists, must not compromise our stand.
First of all, on the Word of God. When the Word of God came to
Moses in Exodus 3:18, God told Moses exactly what to say and
Moses could not deviate one bit from it. No room for concessions.
But that did not keep Pharaoh from trying his best to get Moses
to compromise on every point. Moses knew that when God said it,
that settled it. It was his final authority. As it states in most
articles of faith of true Independent Baptist churches, “The
Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, God breathed, and therefore
are the final authority for faith and life.” We must not
compromise our stand for the Word of God. When I was a young
Christian, just a few weeks old in the Lord, I got the matter of
the translations settled in my heart. It was the old KJV 1611
that convicted my heart. It was the one that had the power Hebrew
4:12 talks about. It was the one that broke my old rock hard
heart as Jeremiah 23:29 speaks of. It was the one that burned in
my heart and I could not stay as Jeremiah 20:9 says. It was the
one I was reading when God spoke to me and called me. Is the King
James Version the Word of God? You can count on it. It is our
very foundation concerning the things of God. If you question it,
you will not have a leg to stand on and you will fall for
anything. Many so-called Baptists today say, as found in their
articles of faith, “We believe that the Word of God is
inspired, perfect, without error, in the originals.” What
does that mean? What idiot would not believe the originals were
perfect, without error, inspired, God breathed? To say that, says
nothing. The problem is we do not have the originals. Neither did
Jesus have the Old Testament originals when He walked on this
earth, but He still went into the synagogue in Nazareth and in
Luke 4:17 it says, “And there was delivered unto him the
book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he
found the place where it was written.” That, my friend, was
not the originals. Paul did not have the originals when, inspired
of God, wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Not until
the last one hundred years or so do we read, “...in the
originals.” In the past, God’s English speaking people
believed, without question, that the KJV 1611 was and is perfect,
without error, and, yes, inspired. “In the originals”
was not to be found. Today, we have those who appear to be
Independent Baptist accepting the views of the
Neo-Evangelicals, that the KJV is not without error. I had a
missionary call me some years ago, and as always, I questioned
him concerning his belief in the Word of God, the KJV, and the
church. I asked, “Do you believe that the KJV is the Word of
God?” He said, “Yes, it’s the best, the only one I
use.” Then I asked, “Does it have any mistakes?”
Remember now, this missionary was out of a supposedly strong
Baptist church in Northern Arkansas, and is now a missionary in
Panama. His reply, “Yes, it has a few mistakes.” Well,
I have a few problems with that answer. For one, who is to say it
does not have hundreds or thousands of mistakes, or who is even
to say John 14:6 is not a mistake. “Jesus saith unto him, I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.” May be baptism saves and not Christ,
who’s to say? I guess in order to figure out where the
mistakes are, you need to learn Hebrew and Greek and be a
scholar. If not, you could always go ask your priest or maybe
your Doctor of Divinity; he can tell you. I do not need to go to
the Hebrew and Greek. God did not promise just to preserve His
Word in the Greek and Hebrew. Psalm 12:6 and 7 just simply says,
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as
silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou
shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this
generation for ever.” If I was a Greek, I would get me a
Greek Bible. If I was a Hebrew, I would get a Hebrew Bible. But I
am an American-Canadian and I speak English. I do not need Greek
nor Hebrew to understand my English, KJV 1611, Bible. A Webster
Dictionary is good enough, thank you. The KJV is not Greek to me.
I can hear some saying, “But what you have is not the KJV
1611, it is different.” Is that so? We have two pages of the
original 1611 hanging in our church, and I have an original 1649
edition of the 1611 in my office. Guess what? Aside from the
spelling – they did not have a standard for English in the
early 1600’s – every word, jot, and tittle agrees
perfectly with the one I hold in my hand. Only learned ignorant
people who have been told such a thing, could say such a thing.
No doubt, they have never seen an original KJV 1611; I have.
Another problem I have with the idea that the KJV 1611 has
mistakes is, if it does, then it is not the
Word of God. It only contains the words of God, as the
Neo-Evangelicals believe. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35,
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words (all of
them) shall not pass away.” If the KJV has words missing and
some added, as some say, then for hundreds of years some of His
words have passed away. 1 Corinthians 13:10 says, “But when
that which is perfect is come,...” The complete, perfect
Word of God. If the KJV 1611 is not the Word of God, where is it?
Some say, “In the Greek and Hebrew”. Sure, and Jesus
said in Matthew 4:4, “...Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
How could we live by every word if we did not have every word or
if we had to know Greek of Hebrew to understand it? What about
the common person that does not have a higher education? They
could not attain unto Greek or Hebrew. It would be impossible for
him to obey Matthew 4:4.
Some supposedly Independent Baptists say, “We believe the
KJV is the Word of God, perfect and without error, but we do not
believe it is inspired. It’s only a translation.” Do
you mean it is not God breathed? Do you mean the Bible I hold in
my hand is dead? If it has no breath then it’s dead. For
without the Spirit it is dead. But, my friend, let me tell you
something, this old KJV is alive. It is as Hebrews 4:12 says,
“For the word of God is quick and powerful,...” I do
not have to prove that the KJV is alive, it has proved itself.
Before I was saved it was planted in my heart, and I can say as
the disciples in Luke 24:32, “And they said one to another,
Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the
way, and while he opened to us the scriptures (not
originals)?” I can say the same concerning the KJV, it burns
in my heart. It is as Jeremiah 23:29 says, “Is not my word
like as a fire? saith the LORD;...” I believe we, as
Independent Baptists, need to spend more time reading and
preaching it, and less time defending it. The Word can take care
of itself.
Not only must we, as Independent unaffiliated Baptist, not
compromise our stand on the Word of God. Secondly, we must not
compromise our stand on personal separation. Pharaoh told Moses,
“...Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.” (Exodus
8:25).
Stay in Egypt; don’t separate from the Egyptians. But the
problem with that is, the Word of God – our final authority
concerning our faith and practice – teaches both personal
and ecclesiastical separation.
“We define separation as the withdrawal from doctrinal and
practical error, motivated by a love for
the holiness of God. Personal separation is the believer’s
avoidance of sin in his life.”
Personal separation is easily found and plainly stated in the
Word of God. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And
what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that
believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of
God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (2 Corin-thians
6:14-17). My friend, God’s people are supposed to be
different. “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14). “But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar
people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath
called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” (1
Peter 2:9). Simply, God’s people are supposed to be
different. They are to be a separated, peculiar, different
people. They should act different, talk different, and look
different. We are in the world but we are not supposed to be of
it. With Christ as our example, we read in Hebrews 7:26,
“For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from
sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” We are to be
peculiar, different. If you can fit right in with the lost and it
does not bother you, you have a problem. Jesus said, “ Woe
unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!...” (Luke
6:26). And in Luke 6:22, Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when
men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their
company,...” Separation is natural, and just naturally
happens.
We must not compromise our stand on personal separation. When
personal separation goes, it is just a matter of time that
doctrine will go also. In the early 70’s B.B.C.,
Springfield, had fairly strong separation standards. The dress
code was strong. Short hair on men, no shorts, etc... Women were
women. No shorts, pants, etc... There was no coincidence that the
only Bible you could find in their book store was the KJV 1611.
But in the 80’s, all that had changed. Just one drive around
campus would prove that. Shorts, pants, hair, everything had
changed. A trip to the book store showed that things had changed
also. The KJV 1611 was not the only Bible they carried. Personal
separation is vital to our survival. We are to be a holy people,
as I Peter 1:15 says. “But as he which hath called you is
holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;” We must
not compromise our stand on personal separation.
Last of all, we as Independent Baptists must not compromise our
stand on ecclesiastical separation.
“To withdraw from theological systems, organizations, or
individuals who hold incorrect doctrine or
religious practice.” We must not compromise our stand on
this point. As Amos says, “Can two walk together, except
they be agreed?” And yet, we have supposedly Independent
Baptist churches linking up with other churches and colleges
which believe in a mysterious, invisible, universal church. What
is really frightening today is to see New Testament Baptist
churches falling for views held by New and Neo-Evangelicals. But
before I give you some examples let me first give you a few views
held by these groups:
a. Their emphases are upon the unity of the church in preference
to its purity.
b. They believe in the idea, the end justifies the means.
c. It has a willingness to remain within old-line denominations,
even those that are clearly apostate,
under the guise of favorably influencing them. In other words,
infiltration instead of separation.
d. They emphasize points of agreement with the liberals rather
than points of disagreements. Simply, forget your differences and
focus on what you agree on.
e. They generally involve the elevation of “love” above
doctrine and truth.
And these things, many once good Baptist churches, pastors, and
evangelist, have fallen for, hook, line, and sinker. For example,
we have evangelists and pastors flirting with groups worse than
the Southern Baptist Convention. Such groups as the B.B.F.I. and
schools as B.B.C., Springfield. Many are quick to say the S.B.C.
is liberal and worldly, which is probably true for the most part.
But I know some supposedly Independent Baptist churches that are
just as bad or worse, and nothing is said.
There is a church in Texas which is known for being a true
Independent Baptist church. Big mission conference every year,
etc... and yet, when myself and church family stayed in their
building on a mission trip, we discovered in their foyer a small
tract rack. The only tracts to be seen and inside these tracts
the New International Version was used. Not only that but in a
few of their Sunday School rooms, laying on their teaching
podiums were N.I.V.’s. You say, “Bro. Reaves, why would
you go public with such a thing?” Because I believe the
Bible.
“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may
fear.” (1 Timothy 5:20). We have some good
Baptist pastors, who should be speaking up instead of shutting
up. Instead, we have pastors, evangelists, and missionaries
preaching in B.B.F. churches and having B.B.F. pastors preaching
behind their pulpits. And yes, they say they won’t support
B.B.F. missionaries, but to further confuse the matter they have
B.B.F. pastors in their churches.
Some Independent Baptist send their teens off to colleges and
camps that don’t believe in the local
church only. They fellowship with churches who believe in divorce
and remarriage. There is no end to their compromise. And they do
all these things under the guise of favorably influencing them,
thinking the end justifies the means. That idea was hatched in
Hell. The Bible no where teaches infiltration, on the contrary,
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord,...” (2 Corinthians 6:17). “Can two walk
together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Well if they
can walk together for years and can still be friends, they must
be in agreement. The B.B.F. movement is apostate. As much as the
S.B.C. is, if not more so. We have all heard the horror stories
concerning the B.B.F.I. and their treatment of their
missionaries. But many insist on flirting with this group. When
they should come out, come completely out and touch not the
unclean thing. What has happened to the strong separation stand
the Baptists have always stood for? And yet, when I have
confronted some of these pertaining to these issues, seeking for
true answers, based on the Word of God. What do I get? Pages of
tongue lashing, rebuke, telling me all my wrong. Even in one case
a member of one of the churches in question, wrote me a letter of
condemnation, accusing me of compromise, but of course, no name
or address were included. And yet, with all the pages of tongue
lashing, in all those pages, no verses, no Bible. Only excuses,
why? And in another case, an
evangelist has gone all over the country speaking about our
private matters, and defending himself, why?
My stand is not based on excuses, friends, or emotions. My stand
is based on the Word of God, and here I stand. The Word tells me
I cannot walk with those of whom I cannot agree with. Psalm 1:1-3
says, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of
the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in
the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the
LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” It’s been said,
“If you tolerate those in error, accommodate those in error,
and cooperate with those in error, it won’t be long until
you will be contaminated by those in error.” Some could be
saying about now, “Bro. Reaves, you must have a bitter
spirit.” Not so, I am a separatist, and I do not hate; but I
do not love error. We must never compromise a biblical position
so we may build bridges. The bridge to compromise is a long and
tragic bridge. We must not tear down the walls, as the Promise
Keepers say, but reinforce them, make them stronger. While at
B.B.C., in one of my classes I questioned some double standards
of the school. The president of the college was teaching the
class. His reply to me was one of condemnation. He said I was so
narrow-minded I could see through a key hole with both eyes. He
went on to tell me that I would not be in the ministry in ten
years. My reply, “narrow is the way that leadeth unto
life...” That was twenty-one years ago.
We must not compromise our stand for the Word of God, and if we
do we will be left without authority and a leg to stand on. We
must not compromise our stand on separation, both personal and
ecclesiastical.
“...for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness?...” (2 Cor-inthians 6:14). Might I close
with a few quotes from Spurgeon:
“Neither when we have chosen our way can we keep company
with those who go the other way. There must come with decision
for truth a corresponding protest against error.” —
C.H.S., The Sword and the Trowel, September 1887.
“Complicity with error will take from the best of men the
power to enter any successful protest against it... Fellowship
with known and vital error is participation in sin... As soon as
I saw, or thought I saw, that error had become firmly
established, I did not deliberate, but quitted the body at once.
Since then my counsel has been ‘Com out from among
them.’ I have felt that no protest could be equal to that of
distinct separation from known evil... That I might not stultify
my testimony I have cut myself clear of those who err from the
faith, and even from those who associate with them.” —
C.H.S., The Sword and the Trowel.
“I have preached God’s truth, so far as I know it, and
I have not been ashamed of its peculiarities. That I might not
stultify my testimony, I have cut myself clear of those who error
from the faith, and even from those who associate with
them.” — C.H.S., October 1888.
~ By Pastor John Reaves