Compromise

 Temple Baptist Church - 10-23-2024

John 19:1-16

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Chapter 19 of the Gospel of John brings us to the trial and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is a chapter that brings about a myriad of feelings as:

 

1.  It brings Sadness as it is my sin that nailed Christ to the tree. 

 

2.  It brings Salvation because, in taking my place on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ paid my sin debt: past, present, and future, never to be remembered again.

 

B.  Tonight, I want to take a closer look at Pontius Pilate as he portrays the perfect example of compromise.  Compromise can be both good and bad, so we need to discuss both aspects.

 

C.  Compromise defined:  an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions. "An ability to listen to two sides in a dispute and devise a compromise acceptable to both.”  Often times established through mediation.

 

1.  Compromise can be a Good Thing.  There will be times in life where compromise is a condition acceptable to both parties when neither party must compromise in the area of integrity.  We call that “Agreeing to disagree agreeably.”  As we are all different in our way of looking at certain things and none of us are always right, therefore we allow both sides of the “dispute” to maintain their own personal way of seeing things.  These disputes have nothing to do with right or wrong in a moral sense.   

 

2.  Compromise can be a Bad Thing.  When truth is both known and moral in nature, it is then that we must maintain our belief in truth vs. error.  There are some things that we know are true that are not worth fighting for but, at the same time, there are certain areas such as morality and doctrine that cannot be compromised.

 

D.  Pontius Pilate, the Roman Perfect or Procurator, was the proxy who stood in the place of Tiberius Caesar as Governor of Judaea from 26-36 AD.  He was a perfect example of compromise. 

 

1.  Annas, the former High Priest, compromised as he refused to accept the responsibility of proper judgment and the release of Christ.  He passed the decision on to his son-in-law, Caiaphas—the High Priest.

 

2.  Caiaphas, the High Priest, compromised when he refused to make the right judgment and sent Christ to the judgment hall and Pontius Pilate.

 

3.  Pontius Pilate is the definition of compromise as he sought to appease both the political side,  Tiberius Caesar, for whom he was the Caesar’s proxy, and the religious side, the Jews.

 

E.  Pontius Pilate knew that Christ was wrongfully charged.  Pontius Pilate knew that Christ was faultless, and yet Pontius Pilate had Christ scourged and tormented by Roman soldiers. To scourge an innocent man was contrary to Roman Law. 

 

1.  Rome was noted throughout the world for its justice. On every Roman official's desk there was the little figure of the two–faced god, Janus. One face looked forward and the other face looked backward. (It is from this word that we get the name January for the month that looks back to the old year and forward to the new year.)

 

2.  Janus was to remind the judge to look at both sides of the question. Rome ruled the world for nearly one thousand years. When the Romans took over a people, they promised them good roads, law and order, protection, and peace—but life would be under a dictatorship. Rome ruled with an iron hand.

 

3.  In Roman courts the innocent got justice, and the guilty got justice—not mercy, but justice. The interesting thing that makes this such an anomaly is that the trial of Jesus was one of the greatest miscarriages of justice.

 

F.  But Pilate was a master tactician!  He did this for two reasons:

 

1.  To try to satisfy the political side, Tiberius Caesar, by appearing to make both judgement and consequence to the charges at hand.

 

2.  To try to satisfy the religious side, the Jews, by punishing Christ for alleged crimes not proven so as to let Him go.

 

3.  Pilate thought that both parties would be satisfied. 

 

a)  Tiberius would be satisfied because no insurrection took place and the one accused of such was punished. 

 

b)  The Jews would rather have a butchered, beaten Jesus (Isaiah 52-53—who would now follow a man who declared that He was the great “I AM”, bloodied and beaten) and turn loose than a troublemaking thief, insurrectionist, and murderer returned to the streets of Jerusalem.

 

4.  Pilate’s plan fell through as the Jews asked for Barabbas and an innocent man would now be crucified!

 

G.  Satan and his world continue to this day in their efforts to compromise God’s people, the church, and the pulpit, when ALL three MUST maintain their biblical purity and integrity.

 

1.  Satan and the world want God’s people to compromise by taking a neutral position in both morality and politically.

 

a.  At this point, as God’s children, we must rightly differentiate the difference between Personal Preference and Biblical Conviction.  Preference is what we choose to do or not do while Conviction is what the Bible declares to be right or wrong.

 

b.  Compromise with Satan and the world is a progressive and never ending condition.  When we give into to Satan and the world, we will find that our compromise will never be sufficient until we are exactly like them in every aspect.

 

c.  Therefore, compromise with Satan and the world will always be progressive in nature as enough is never enough and Satan and the world will never compromise with us.

 

2.  Satan and the world want local churches to compromise by being less Biblically judgmental and more worldly in their approach to worship and separation.

 

a.  Over the past 100+ years we have all seen the decline in denominations and local, Biblical churches.  This was the sole reason for the independent Baptist Movement.  We are not a denomination because we have no “upper hierarchy” nor do we have dependence upon other independent Baptist churches.

 

b.  To be a good local church, one must be Biblicists before Baptist.  You can look at the changes in independent Baptist churches over the past century and the result of such scrutiny should alarm us as numbers have taken precedent over Biblical holiness and separation from worldliness.

 

c.  Once again, when a local church succumbs to compromise for numbers or money, the slide will continue to cause deterioration to the church body and practices.  Satan and the world will not try to bring churches back to holiness and separation!  They want us to be just like them.  Compromise begets compromise!

 

3.  Satan and the world want to silence the pulpits and preachers by “cherry picking” what and when to preach along with watering down the pulpit message.

 

a.  The end results of personal and church compromise are pressure placed upon the pulpits in an effort to silence Biblical, doctrinal, holiness preaching.

 

b.  A church member once said to me, “Preacher, if you will just let up a little, we could have more people.”  Needless to say, that family walked out years ago because I absolutely refused to capitulate to a cardinal doctrine!  The call was not mine, it was clearly stated in the Bible.

 

c.  So many pulpits today are geared towards numbers.  This precipitates a lack of preaching in a Biblical manner.  I want to highlight in both bold and red what
God’s charge to the pastor and the pulpit is.

 

2 Timothy 4:1-5  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  (2)  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  (3)  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  (4)  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (5)  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

 

d.  The pastor/preacher/teacher is to preach the Word of God in exactness, in fulness, in doctrinal correctness, and compassion!

 

Conclusion:  If I compromise on any of these three issues, I fail!  If you compromise on any of these three issues, you fail.  If the church compromises on any of these three issues, the church fails.  Numbers are great when numbers are obedient to the Word of God but, numbers in our day normally show a decline in Biblical correctness and adherence.