One of the greatest temptations facing the church as she battles with the world is the desire to compromise. This danger is subtle and deadly, destroying the very foundation of what the church is meant to be on earth.
In this article we will examine the compromise of secularism. This term describes the involvement of secular or cultural ideas in the shaping of Christian doctrine, especially in the realms of worship and conversion.
Of all the many dangers facing the church in the world, one of the most dangerous is the call to compromise. The reason this call is so dangerous is because of its subtlety. Compromise does not require turning away from all of God’s Word or even a majority, only to ignore certain portions or aspects.
In this article we will examine the compromise of pantheism. This term describes the acceptance of multiple theological truths and holding them as equal in value.
In Exodus we find the well known story of Israel’s freedom from slavery in Egypt. The story includes the call of Moses, his challenge to Pharaoh, and the Ten Plagues. In the midst of this story is an unusual phrase that is used to describe the attitude of Pharaoh. When confronted by Moses, the text describes several times that Pharaoh’s “heart was hardened” (Exo. 7:13, 22, 8:15, et al., NASU).
Within the American legal system, it is considered the proper standard for people accused of a crime to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. This means that the party prosecuting the crime must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the accused was indeed guilty of the crime. Meeting this requirement is known as meeting the “burden of proof.”
It can sometimes be an interesting exercise to ask the “What if?” questions about stories in the Bible. While this practice is not instructive in itself, it can highlight the choices made by those in Bible stories by considering the implication of the alternative.