The State of The Church: What Does Jesus See? | Day 2: How Compromise Enters

One of the greatest mistakes we can make is believing that compromise arrives suddenly. In reality, it often creeps up on us little by little until what once seemed wrong begins to feel normal. 

Nehemiah 13:7-9: ”And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense." (KJV)

Family, compromise seldom arrives through the front door. It enters quietly, bit by bit, until what once disturbed our conscience no longer bothers us, our spiritual sensitivity becomes dull, and what never belonged in God's house is now accepted as part of everyday life.

Most people do not wake up one morning and decide to abandon their convictions. Churches do not become spiritually compromised overnight. Decline seldom begins with a dramatic rebellion against God. 

What tends to happen is that compromise more often begins with a small accommodation, a minor concession, or a little shift that seems harmless at the time.

That is why compromise is so dangerous. 

The story of Tobiah in the book of Nehemiah provides a powerful picture of how compromise enters God's house.

Nehemiah had been instrumental in rebuilding Jerusalem's walls and restoring God's people. But after returning to Persia for a period of time, he came back to Jerusalem and discovered something shocking; An enemy had moved into the temple.

This is what happened, as we read in Nehemiah 13:4-5 (KJV): ”And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels..."

Tobiah was not a worshipper of God. He had opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem from the beginning. He had mocked God's people and resisted God's work. Yet somehow, he was given a room in the very place dedicated to God's service.

The tragedy is not merely that Tobiah occupied the room. The tragedy is that a priest allowed him to be there.

The chamber that once stored offerings and sacred items had become occupied by someone who did not belong there. Tobiah was an opponent of God's work; the chamber had been set apart for sacred purposes, and his presence displaced what belonged to God.

As I reflect on this passage, I cannot help but ask: What have we allowed into our lives and churches that God never authorised? Perhaps that is the more uncomfortable question.

We often worry about what the world is doing outside the church while ignoring what has been welcomed inside the church. 

We can become so accustomed to certain attitudes, behaviours, priorities, and influences that we no longer question whether they belong.

That is also how compromise works.

The prophet Ezekiel addressed spiritual leaders who no longer distinguished between what was holy and what was common.

Ezekiel 22:26 (KJV): ”Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean..."

We see here that the issue was not simply sinful behaviour. The issue was that people had stopped distinguishing between what belonged to God and what did not.

The lines had become blurred. The standards had become flexible. The holy had become ordinary.

The prophet Malachi delivered a similar warning.

In the book of Malachi 2:8-9 (KJV), we read: "But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law... Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways..."

Compromise never affects only the individual. It influences everyone connected to them.

When leaders compromise, congregations suffer. When parents compromise, families suffer. When believers compromise, our witness suffers.

That is why Scripture repeatedly warns God's people to remain watchful.

Revelation 2:14-15 (KJV), “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there, them that hold the doctrine of Balaam... So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate."

The Church in Pergamum remained faithful under persecution, yet compromise found a place within the congregation. 

Likewise, the Church in Thyatira was commended for its love, faith, service, and patience, but it tolerated influences that were leading believers away from God's truth.

Revelation 2:20 (KJV), “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel... to teach and to seduce my servants..."

In both churches, the greatest threat did not come from outside opposition but from corruption within. The same danger exists today. 

Compromise often disguises itself as tolerance, progress, convenience, or something harmless. Yet what enters quietly can eventually occupy territory that belongs to God.

James addresses this issue with startling directness.

James 4:4 (KJV), ”Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

James is not teaching believers to isolate themselves from society. Rather, he warns against adopting the world's values, priorities, and standards while claiming devotion to God.

Family, we as the church are called to influence the world, not be shaped by it.

The good news is that Nehemiah did not simply identify the compromise. He dealt with it. When he discovered what had happened, he did not negotiate with Tobiah. He did not reorganise the room. He did not attempt to make the arrangement work. He threw Tobiah's belongings out and cleansed the chamber.

Now that is a picture of repentance.

Repentance is not merely recognising that something is wrong. It is removing what should never have been there in the first place.

Perhaps today God is asking each of us to examine our own hearts.

Have we allowed bitterness to occupy a room that belongs to God?

Have we allowed pride, envy, unforgiveness, materialism, compromise, or spiritual complacency to settle comfortably where only God's presence should dwell?

The challenge is not merely for the Church as a whole. It is for every believer individually.

The temple chambers had to be cleansed before they could once again fulfil their intended purpose. And the same is true for us.

Family, what does not belong in God's house must be removed. No compromise. But do we, as church members, have the courage to tell the Deacon or the Pastor to stop cheating on his wife, or the church sister to stop gossiping, sowing seeds of discord, and living contrary to the Word of God? 

Or have we become so concerned about keeping the peace that we no longer confront what is destroying the Church?

Family, as we continue this week's journey, let us ask ourselves honestly: Is there anything occupying space in my life that belongs to God alone? And if the Lord were to inspect the chambers of my heart today, what would He find there? 

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