The Dangers of Compromising with Sin

"Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak." 1 Corinthians 8:9

I just felt sick. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had just dishonored God. Talking to a relative of mine, I had made light of the fact that a certain sin was acceptable because the events leading to that sin had already been committed therefore what they had done was justifiable. After I had spoken those words, I felt ill. I knew my Bible. And the person I had spoken with is very weak in their faith. I had became a stumbling block... I had tried in vain to back paddle but it was no use, she had taken to heart what I had said earlier as the absolute truth. I knew God had forgiven me, but it doesn't fix the damage that I had caused.

"But the sad truth is that millions of professing Christians are searching for a way to strike a workable compromise between their convictions and the ways of this wicked world. I feel passionate about this issue because I too struggle with the insidious influence of compromise in my own walk. We are all under relentless pressure to conform to the world. The devil is always offering to negotiate our values and principles, rarely using an all-out frontal assault. Instead, his most effective game plan is an internal, step-by-step erosion that we often barely perceive until it is too late....

In reality, a great percentage of compromise and conformity worms its way into our lives and the church because nobody wants to offend anybody. We are trained from our earliest years to be polite and considerate - to comply with people's requests and not do anything that might upset somebody. But Jesus taught that it is not possible to preach the gospel without causing some offense (Galatians 5:11)...

Likewise, when we begin to compromise with truth, and our actions finally get out of hand and the consequences come full and hard, we won't be able to claim innocence either. Once you start thinking of going down the road of compromise, remember Pilate. Remember that Jesus died because someone thought he could compromise truth.

Refusing to buckle to the pressure of compromise requires divine courage. The Lord told Joshua, 'Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest' (Joshua 1:7).
 
We don't need to worry that God won't forgive us if we sincerely repent of our compromise and turn the other way. But when we sin, when we stumble into error, we train ourselves to go down that road again. God can give you a new heart, but don't think you can continue to compromise and not reap the hazards that come with it. Continued compromise can and will numb your conscience, so that your fruit is one of total conformity with the world....

Once we know that something is right according to God's Word, our responsibility is to take a stand. God will do great things for us if we choose to stand still in His will. 'For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him' (2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV). When you stand firm for truth, your life will be a saving witness to your family, your friends, and your neighbors. God will look down from heaven and say, 'Have you considered My servant, that there is none like that on the earth, one who fears me and shuns evil?'" (See Job 1:8.)[i]
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[i]  Excerpts taken out of the book titled: "Compromise, Conformity, and Courage" by Doug Batchelor; Doug Batchelor is the President of the Amazing Facts Ministry stationed in Sacramento, California.