A CLASSIC EXAMPLE
The northern ten tribes of the divided kingdom of Israel is a perfect example of what has happened in America. For fear of losing their people to the two southern tribes called Judah, they instituted their own way of doing church. They were afraid of preaching and teaching what God required of His people, so they developed a new way to minister to the people and a new message. What they did was incorporate certain elements that identified with God's way of doing things, but for the purpose of comfort and convenience, they altered it in such a way as to appeal to the flesh of all involved. The people bought into it, and for the next two hundred-plus years they taught each new generation how to worship God and live in idolatry. It started with one leader, a king by the name of Jeroboam, whose personal and fleshly fear led generation after generation to transgress against God's original message. From his life we can see where the foundation of all compromise begins in leading others to worship false gods. It starts when someone makes an effort to keep people involved, interested, and invested in their own special interests. The fear of personal loss dictated and directed his mission, ministry, and message. (1 Kings 12:26-33) Jeroboam led Israel away from God for twenty-two years, and most every king that followed after Him for two hundred-plus years is described as doing evil in the sight of the Lord and walking in the way of Jeroboam and his sin (1 Kings 15:26, 34; 1 Kings 16:19, 26, 30-31, 33; 1 Kings 22:52; 2 Kings 3:3; 2 Kings 10:29; 2 Kings 13:2, 11; 2 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 15:9, 18, 24, 28). The sad thing is it worked for them for two centuries with very little resistance to this false system because it became the norm and it was easy.
The results of this delusional way of thinking led to God’s judgment of Israel as a nation. Second Kings 17 reveals the essence of what was being taught and how it affected everything about the nation. God used the Assyrians in 722 B.C. to overthrow Israel and take captive some of her people. The king of Assyria took possession of Samaria and transplanted peoples of other nations there to occupy that territory. They were attacked by lions and felt like the God of the land was angry at them because they did not know His rituals and therefore couldn't practice His ways. What was their answer to this problem? The king of Assyria commanded that a priest be sent to them to teach them the rituals of the God of the land. A priest, a product of Jeroboam's two hundred-plus years of compromise, was sent and he taught them what he knew. He taught the people how to fear God. The problem with his message was that it permitted the nations to do what Israel had done the past two hundred plus years, fear God, and also serve their own personal idols. (2 Kings 17:28-29,32,41) This is why Isaiah the prophet said the people drew near to the Lord with their mouths but their hearts were far from Him. How could they do this travesty? They taught them how to fear God according to the commandments of men, not the truth. "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men" (Isaiah 29:13). (Mat. 15:8) Jeroboam's compromise to the true message of God was still producing false converts and giving men false hope.
STAINED BY OUR GOSPEL
The unscriptural idea of acknowledging Jesus to be a Savior with the option of submitting to His lordship later in life is absolutely demonic and a complete compromise to the truth. This thought process and message has its origin in hell and comes from the father of lies. Those who preach this are preaching another gospel. This would mean that they're preaching a corrupt and cursed message. They are following in the footsteps of Jeroboam. The historical/biblical Jesus is anointed by the Lord. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not the Savior who might be our Lord one day. No! He is the Lord who delivers His people into His service. The purpose of His death is for Him to be Lord over the living and the dead: "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living" (Romans 14:9). The gospel we believe is the gospel we will acknowledge and advocate through our attitudes, actions and affirmations. We are all stained by the message that has consumed and marked our lives. All of us are persuaded about a gospel. We have embraced a message or a culmination of messages as being authentic. Is it God's message or man's mission we have given our lives to? (Heb. 3:6,14 ; 5:9 ; 11:14-16)
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