Compromise Leads to Destruction

The state of Christianity is more deluded than it’s ever been but only through a series of compromises. When Protestantism first broke away from Catholicism, it was much purer than it is today. Martin Luther came to his senses and realized that the Catholic Church, as an organization, was creating doctrines and methods of worship that were in direct contradiction to the Bible.

One, the selling of forgiveness (indulgences), and another, the ability of a priest to forgive someone in the place of God, were 2 of the more obvious ones. Martin Luther and the other reformers understood these inconsistencies and many other Biblical truths but, for some reason, they still held on to the fallacy of the Seventh Day Sabbath being changed to the first day of the week.

There have been other compromises of truth mingled in with the Christian church that exist to this day. Eight of the errors are as follows:

1. The idea of torment in hell forever.

2. People dying and being immediately sent to heaven or hell.

We see clearly that Christians rise first. This would be a major contradiction if people were already in hell and Christians are still dying today.

5. The Book of Revelation being profoundly misinterpreted.

6. Infant Baptism and Baptism without full commitment and belief.

7. Communication with the dead (such as praying to Mary, the apostles or Loved ones/“ghosts”).

Below you will see a rhetorical question about the dead because it was common knowledge in Hebrew times that the dead were not in heaven somewhere.

And, finally, a New Testament explanation of death.

The judgement, of course, being a distinct event at the end of time.

8. All you need to do is believe and you will go to heaven.

I’d like to close with a parallel from the Bible itself. When Israel had been in Egypt for so long they had forgotten many truths and had commingled with the Egyptian ways of living. God then rescued them and led them through the wilderness, showing them things such as what to eat and how to honor the Sabbath but the Israelites were very stubborn. They wanted to keep some of their old ways such as eating the meats they were used to in Egypt and worshiping false idols. For this, God made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until the generation that preferred slavery to the Egyptians and their customs died off.

As Israel was being “cleansed”, the truth of how they should live was being presented to them. This included the 10 Commandments as well as the health and ceremonial laws. There were civil laws as well.

Israel seemed to be pure at the beginning of their time in the promised land but, shortly thereafter, compromise started creeping in. They mingled with other nations in the ways God told them not to and started taking on their customs and traditions mainly in the area of idol worship. By the time the Messiah came, as He was prophesied, the religious institution in Israel was so corrupt they didn’t even see their God right in front of their eyes.

Another thing we Christians have not realized is that the book of Revelation, much like the Biblical Sabbath, was meant to be a blessing to us. Yet we haven’t studied Revelation and we haven’t honored God’s Sabbath. And it’s sad because those are two major requirements for avoiding the Mark of the Beast.

Interestingly enough, those who keep God’s Commandments are directly contrasted with those who receive the mark of the beast.

And, of course, it makes it that much more difficult to see how important it is to keep the commandments if we don’t study Revelation.

Now, maybe there are two or three of you who are reading this and I’ve just dropped a huge truth bomb on you. However, I implore you. Don’t be dismayed. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is that of forgiveness if we only but come to Christ with a humble and contrite spirit knowing that He doesn’t hold it against us when we are ignorant.

However he also warned that to reject wisdom is to reject God.

Notice that knowledge is tied together with the law in this verse. And if you don’t think you are a priest as a New Testament Christian, here is some evidence.

Finally we have a sure reminder that God is merciful.

The beauty about this verse is that we need not worry about cleansing ourselves. It is up to Christ to do the cleansing for us and to lead us to glory. We must only confess and rely on His sure word. Amen.

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