Apathy and relativism are culprits that are destroying the lives of many saints of God! Once you begin teetering on the slippery slope of compromise, where does it end? Where does the line get drawn? Eternity will only reveal those answers because once compromise begins to work, it becomes a train with no brakes. One may say, I’m just going to let up on this, or quit doing that, what’s that going to hurt? In essence, what happens is you begin to temper your spiritual nervous system: You find yourself doing things that would have condemned you 10 years ago. Why is that? It’s simple, little by little you tempered your spiritual barometer and dulled your senses by becoming apathetic towards the things of God, and also succumb to the oppression of relativism : You gauge your walk with God based on your surroundings, based on society, and the flavor of the hour! The combinations of these spiritual killers are destroying dear people of God, and it’s become an epidemic! There is such oppression against the true church of the living God for change and relativism that I believe many Pastors, preachers, and teachers of the Gospel have become silent, and silence is consent! What ceases to be preached today, will soon be forgotten tomorrow! We see this saddened state of silence in the book of Judges: We know the famous Verse of scripture in Joshua 24:15 :

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

I believe Joshua was speaking prophetically when he cried out to the people of God that day because his spiritual gauge was still red hot with zeal and Admonition for the things of God, and he saw a people who had lost that zeal. Apathy had robbed them of their fervent worship of Jehovah, and the poison of relativism caused them to confess with their mouths, yet their hearts were far from Him. The book of Joshua tells us the people of Israel served The Lord all the days of their life while Joshua and The elders of his time were alive, but even then, the fire was all but gone. I believe the cares of life, and apathy towards the words of God had already gotten woven into their hearts. We see this by the way the Book of Judges opens up: Immediately Israel disobeyed God by not driving out all the inhabitants of the land God had given them to possess. I believe the children of Israel were for one apathetic to the commandments of God: I also believe they were enticed by the people of those lands, being captivated by all the so called freedoms they got to partake of, and all the worldly pleasures they offered, so they let them stick around. For instance, the Jebusites: the people of Israel would later go on to intermarry with them and it caused them to fall into Idolatry by serving their gods! (This is why we should teach our children to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. They are more likely to turn our children’s hearts to “their gods” because they appeal to their flesh.) We see this happen shortly after they failed to conquer them and drive them out. (It’s the little pesky “so called harmless sins” that truly bring us to our demise often times. Again, Apathy KILLS.) By the time Judges Ch.2 rolls around, Israel had fallen fast into Apostasy:

V.10 “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”

This is the ultimate example of what ceases to be preached and taught today, will soon be forgotten tomorrow. We may not see immediate fruit from our compromise, but we will see it in our future generations. What we become desensitized to today and do in moderation, our children will do in excess. This is why Moses and Joshua would set up memorials and landmarks to help remind the people of God where they had came from, and where they were headed. There must be biblical principles that we set within ourselves that no matter what comes our way, “We will not compromise on.” These landmarks may seem outdated and “non-relative,” but that’s the beauty of a true child of God –We don’t seek to be relative to the world we live in, we realize we are in this world, but not of this world. We must stay focused on living for God with all our hearts, and quickly kill out any signs of Apathy and relativism. Staying zealous for what God loves, and hating what He hates will enable us to withstand the spirit of the age. There must be a cry against this ole spirit that continues to rob people of their walk with God. We must get back to the unmovable, unshakable landmarks that brought the true church of the Living God to where we are today. As I often heard growing up “WE’VE GOT A HEAVEN TO GAIN AND A HELL TO SHUN.” I don’t know about you “But, as for me and my house, we will serve The Lord .”

God Bless, JDS