The Great Compromise
by Pete Fisher
1/15/05
When I was 20 years old I was serving in the military. I was a
troubled young man with a troubled past, hard drinking, hard fighting,
and totally without direction. I had no solid religious background and
started searching for a deeper meaning in my life.
I was not the type of man most Christians would approach, as I was
big and mean and had a temper the Tasmanian Devil would have been
jealous of. But one man did. And later on he told me I was the easiest
person he had ever witnessed to when I became a Christian a few days
later. And he apologized for judging me and not coming to me sooner.
We both learned a lot from that.
The small country church I attended had a powerful effect on our
community. The people actually felt the need to change the community
through good and the preachers’ words were like a strong rudder on a
storm tossed ship. Very basic, to the point, and Biblically based.
People were found and aided by the people of Gods’ church. A rare
church indeed. We had no huge building, we had no 80k a year directors
or administrators, we had no recording studio, no gymnasium, no TV
spot. Just people who simply tried to perform Gods’ work with love in
their hearts. Jesus turned this world upside down with 12 men. God
doesn’t care about the size of a church. He can use one man if He
desires to do whatever He wants, or none at all. He simply wants us to
share in His ways and benefits of living a biblical life. Yes, He is
that good.
Over the years I moved away and became active in churches all over
the country. I was amazed at how blessed I had been to have been in a
church with such simple ways. I saw tremendous churches with money and
thousands upon thousands of members. I saw the teachings having the
appearance of godliness, but without the effective use of the Word of
God. And so many people I have talked to over the years told me they
knew so many churched people who were hypocrites, or this or that, and
really felt no urging to become part of that. And it breaks my heart
every time I still hear those things. And when I found myself in
strange places and in need of spiritual guidance and prayer, even as I
poured my heart out to pastors or the brethren, I received little in
the way of help.
I started seeing the churches competing in communities. I saw them
install programs that in my mind were a bit questionable; to be able
to "reach out" in a way the secular world could understand. Christian
music became a huge industry, and many times indistinguishable from
secular Rock or Rap music. I saw the messages evolve in many places to
where the theme of love became the watered down version that allowed
practicing homosexuals and Liberal ideas into the church. I knew
people who had gone to Seminary not to feed the sheep, but to obtain a
decent salary. The church I once knew is a dying animal. Many pastors
have accepted a compromised way of life where it has become more
important to not offend anyone, than to be an effective ministry.
After all, who will pay for those expensive programs and books if the
membership drops? It has become a business rather than a ministry many
a time.
Jesus told His church to go out and be fishers of men. Yet the
current mindset of many churches is to build huge aquariums and invite
the fish to come in while offering all types of comforts and programs
to attract them. We were told to come out from the secular world and
be different. Yet we allowed our music and message to imitate the
Secular way of life in order to get the attention of those who are
without the gates. It seems we trust in our own programs and do not
have faith that Gods’ Word alone can do the job.
And when I see a Christian take up a cause that is biblical, and
just, and see pastors turn away from them as Peter also denied Our
Lord, my heart hurts. Jesus never sat inside the Temple all day and
waited for people to come to Him for help. He never watered down His
message to be able to reach the drunkards and the hurting. He never
cast a wide net and sat back to have someone else check the trot lines
at a later date. And neither did His Apostles. They went forth into
the world. They preached love and repentance. They taught the
transition from sin to salvation came from a commitment to God and His
Word. But they never sat on soft pews singing songs and patting each
other on the back in anticipation that some poor fish would walk in
and be saved. Yet churches in America have become much like that. We
have allowed this nation to become accepting of the things that grieve
God. We have allowed those who practice such deeds to not only become
a daily part of life while still practicing evil, but to also allow
them into positions of authority in the church. They sing pretty
songs, they eat them various potluck dinners, and they take their
youth on ski trips and "mission trips" to poor nations, if they can
afford it.
Yet when the media attacks President Bush for his Christianity, or
just as recent Alan Keyes who ran in Illinois here for being dangerous
fundamentalists, I feel sad. Why has it become such a travesty to
practice Christianity in this country? I feel a big part of it has
been the watered down version of the Bible many churches have preached
over the past 3 decades. I also feel it has been the complacency of
the church to sit back like meek little sheep and allow the Liberal
minority to dictate to us how we should live. Though I know there are
many churches who still fight the good fight, and pastors who are
active in the community and politics, I no longer feel the majority of
churches are like that.
We have become ineffective because we compromised not only the
Bible, but also our level of commitment and activity within our
society. Locked away in our buildings we hide away from society
instead of having the love and ambition to endure with them until they
see the love of God. We no longer sail into the stormy seas of this
nation with nets to bring those up from the depths. We no longer hold
our leaders responsible for their actions from the pulpit. And I
believe the pastors who allow this will be judged heavily when Christ
returns. Because in this day and age we are in need of godly
politicians and leaders. More so now than ever before. And those
people need our prayers, our help, and our support. They need to hear
from us to be encouraged to live the Bible. In 12 years I have never
had one Christian talk to me out of the blue and ask me if I knew
Jesus.
And this society has little use for a compromised message. It will
do nothing but make some Christians feel good; just another social
club is what it has become. And it is time we, as Christians stood
strong for our rights and our values. And it is time we stand up and
go out to this nation, because it will not come to us. And the Bible
needs to be taught with truth if we are too see a revival of godliness
in this dark world. We cannot allow the world to dictate to us what we
shall believe and how we will live.
The Candle needs to be a light in the darkness. But we have allowed
the darkness of this Liberal society to cover our light. Who then,
like the 20 year old man will be able to hear, and change his ways?
How will we go into this society and love our neighbor enough to tell
him the truth? How many children will we save from the prisons we are
already planning on building? And how long will we suffer the results
of electing those who espouse such things that water down our faith?
Faith must begin in the House of God, and build this nation once more
before the judgment of God comes upon our children and us. And it has.
In the form of AIDS, Liberalism, crimes, depression, abortions, sexual
immorality, divorce. What else will we allow before things get worse?
The decision lies with us. So I encourage you to vote for those with
courage of faith. To have the courage to change laws, and to love one
another as God loves you. We were once a mighty beacon to the world
with honor and morality. Let us become that once more without
compromise.
