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Preached in Markham Baptist Church, May 25, 2008
 

No compromise.  During these late days of spring and the early days of summer I’d like us to visit the biblical idea of no compromise.  Scripture is amazingly honest and we read of men and women who compromised their believes and relationship with God and pay the penalty and I read of those who do not compromise and who stand firm and reap the rewards. 

This later group, of course, are role models, examples for us to follow and what our church and the church in North America needs.  The Church in our age is famous for the fact of preaching one thing but practicing another.  We preach forgiveness but church people are just as vengeful as secular people.  We are just as likely to watch pornography, just as greedy, just as sexually immoral, and just as divisive. 

I’ve been quoting from the book Unchristian quite extensively lately, and I have really found the book to be helpful and convicting.  David Kinnaman is the author and in his research he found this disturbing statistic:

“One study we conducted examined Americans’ engagement in some type of sexually inappropriate behaviour, including looking at online pornography, viewing sexually explicit magazines or movies, or having an intimate sexual encounter outside of marriage.  In all, we found that 30 percent of born-again Christians admitted to at least one of these activities in the past thirty days, compared with 35 percent of other Americans.  In statistical and practical terms, this means the two groups are essentially no different from each other.  If these groups of people were in two separate rooms, and you were asked to determine, based on their lifestyles alone, which room contained the Christians, you would be hard-pressed to find much difference.”¹

And as we think of reaching the next generation they are asking, “What’s the difference between you and the world?”  We need to be able to show a difference.  No compromise. 

I know the theme isn’t perfect – because as soon as we say we are not going to be a people who compromise there is the danger that we are lead into legalism, so we always need to have a picture of God’s grace before us. 

And I also know it’s hard to define.  I mean, what would be a compromise for old order Mennonites driving a horse and buggy down the streets of Elmira to a home with oil lamps would not be a compromise for us Baptists, who drive SUVs and live in homes heated with modern furnaces and eating microwave dinners.   

So we need to move forward prayerfully listening to God for it is not as easy as we may think. 

But even with this tension it is clear that the Bible clearly teaches us that we are to be different from the world.  Instead of seeking the first place in the line and the places of honour we are to be servants.  Instead of revenge we are to forgive.  Instead of unholiness, we are to be marked by purity.   Instead of allowing the world to squeeze us into its image we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.    

We are not to compromise.   Not so that the world will praise us, but clearly we are to “let our light shine before men and women so that they will see our good deeds and praise our father who is in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:16)  This morning Scripture is clear that we are not to compromise with temptation. 

Norman Wright has said, “Temptations swirl around us everyday just looking for a place to land.”²  And it’s true, isn’t it?  I mean, the day we decide to go on a diet is the day the neighbour brings over a cheesecake.  The day we decide not to gossip is the day a bit of juicy news about head office comes across our desk.

Temptation swirls around us everyday just looking for a place to land.  Did you know the Mossad, the Israeli secret service, says that they can get any man or woman with one or some combination of three things – “Money, power or sex.” 

But I tell you if we are going to be serious about being the church, then something has to change.  We have to know how to fend off temptation and actually be the holy people that God has called us to be.  The next generation is looking at us and they are asking, “Does God really make a difference in your life?”  and we have to show them that it does.   

So open your Bibles to Genesis 39 and lets take a look at a man who was able to withstand temptation and lived by the motto of no compromise.  He is an example for us to follow. 

The story is about Donny Osmond  … well, no … the story is really about Joseph – and before this we read in chapter 37 that Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph, faked his death and sold him into slavery.  Chapter 39 picks up the story.

Now let’s do a little W5 investigation of this scene – who, what, when where, and how. 

Think first of the what – what is the temptation.   It is the temptation to commit a sexual sin.  This is a strong temptation for Joseph.  Imagine what a compliment this is to Joseph’s male ego.  “She wants me?  Wow!”  

But more, it is the temptation to disown God.  It is the temptation to betray the trust of his boss. It is the temptation to covet.  It is the temptation to behave like the Egyptians rather than the people of God.  It is a strong temptation. And isn’t that the nature of temptation?  It is that which seeks to deny God in our lives and deny our difference from the rest of the world. 

Then think of where Joseph is – where is he?  He’s in Egypt far from home.  One commentator says you can almost hear Satan whispering into Joseph’s ear, “Go ahead, Joseph go to bed with her.  Your family will never know.  They’re a long way away from here.  No one knows you in this distant and strange land.  Your reputation will be safe.  You’re character will never be questioned among those whom you love.  You won’t be caught.”³

That’s a strong temptation.  That’s a strong temptation in our day, because in our day the question tends to be not if something is right or wrong – that’s not the question many ask – but it is will I get caught?

Remember. And we forget that there is one who is with us always, there is one who watches us always, and that is God.  And He knows. 

Notice, too, when this happened to Joseph. We can go one of two ways with this. We could say that this happened to Joseph when he had just experienced some success in his life.     I mean, he’s landed on his feet pretty well.  He’s the CEO of the whole house.  He was being treated well.  How easy it would have been for him to say I’ve reached the top, I’ve studied, I’ve struggled, and I’ve strived now I’m ready to enjoy what’s rightfully mine.”  How often temptation comes to us when we have success. 

Or we could say that Joseph is at his lowest.  He is far from home, he is a slave, he is in a foreign land, he had no prospects of freedom.  He will be a slave for life.  And this temptation comes to him now. How easy it would be for him to say, “Life isn’t going my way.  I haven’t achieved my dreams. What I thought I would be hasn’t happened. My life isn’t worth living anyway so I may as well go to bed with this woman.” 

So which is it?  Does temptation come to us when we are at the height of success or in the depth of despair?  And the answer is both.  We must always be on our guard when we are at our lowest or when we are at our best.  Both circumstances can weaken us and make us liable to fall into temptation.  This temptation is strong.

Then consider who offers this temptation.  This is Potiphar’s wife.  Now to be honest, we aren’t told what Potiphar’s wife looks like.  She could have looked like Hulk Hogan in a toga for all we know.  But we assume, along with the producers of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat that she was a Joan Collins type. 

But we do know that she was Potiphar’s wife.  She had a position of power.  It was F.B. Meyer who pointed out that it would have been good for Joseph to please her.  It would have been good for his career.  He would have a little more influence, things would go a little easier for him.⁴ 

And this is the way temptation works, doesn’t it? Often we think, why not give in to that temptation just for a moment because then we will be able to use it to our advantage.  If we just bow down to the devil once, we’ll get his power and then we’ll use it to overthrow him.⁵ 

The problem is that it doesn’t work.  For when we give sin an inch and we allow it into our lives and we get away with it, we are tempted again and we think, “Oh well, I did it once and got away with it, I’ll do it again.”  And then we do it again and again and again, and the problem is that we no longer are exercising the control we thought we had – but sin has control over us. 

And so Edmund, the little brute of a boy in C.S. Lewis’ story The Lion and Witch and the Wardrobe is tempted to work with the White Witch. She is a stunning being and she gives him Turkish delight and she promises him power over his siblings.  He falls into the temptation giving her the information that she needs and having done it, all he longs for is more Turkish delight – but all the while he is in chains. 

So Proverbs 4:14,15 says, “Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.”   

Then notice the how of the temptation. Verse 10 – She “spoke to Joseph day after day.”  This is one persistent woman!  But isn’t it the way it is with temptation?  It assaults us day after day – swirling around us looking for a place to land. 

That’s the what, where, when, and the who and how of temptation. Temptation is strong.  By its very nature it is strong – it wouldn’t be temptation if it wasn’t.  For instance, when I’m on the dock at Camp Kwasind, I’m not often tempted to jump into the cold waters of Skeleton Lake, but let my son or daughter pass by in front of me on that dock I am tempted to shove them in. Temptation is always attractive. 

So how do we fight it?  How do we overcome it?  Now let’s see how Joseph fought off this temptation.  And while it’s not spelled out for us in verses 1 through 7, we see that Joseph was ready - he was ready to meet temptation.  Some people fall into temptation because they just aren’t prepared.  Does a runner win the race without first running great distances?  Does an football team win a game without first going through it’s drills?  No.  So with us.  We must be prepared. 

Joseph was prepared – what phrase is repeated in verses 1-7?  “The Lord was with Joseph”.  That didn’t just happen.  Of course there is a sense that God is with each one of us.  But have you ever met someone who simply exudes God’s presence?  Of course you have, and do you think that just happens?  No.  The Lord with Joseph because Joseph was with the Lord. 

2 Chronicles 15:2 – “The Lord is with you while you are with him.”  James 4:8  “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”

The best way to fight of temptation is to walk with God.  This is why a daily time with God in prayer and reading His Word is so important.  Because it is there that we are reminded that we are children of God.  It is there we are reminded that Christ lives in us.  And I’m taking Christ into situations. We need to be armed with His presence to fight off that which seeks to rob us of His presence.    And friends, we aren’t going to fend off sin with the little 35 minutes of teaching you get here on a Sunday. 

Then in verse 8 we read “but he refused.”  Not only are we to be ready, we are to refuse to fall into sin.  I know it sounds simplistic but sometimes we play with temptation, don’t we? We think I can just gamble this once, or we can race the guy beside me just once, or we can watch a little bit of this racy movie - it won’t affect me.  And we play with temptation and Scripture is clear that we aren’t to open the door even an inch to temptation (Proverbs 4:14) because often we won’t be able to shut it. 

Then Joseph recognized his responsibilities. He says he is responsible to his boss (verses 8 and 9) - my boss has kept nothing back from me.  He trusts me.  Why would I betray that trust?

When we are fighting off temptation we need to realize that we are responsible to the people around us.  You are responsible to your family, to your church, and to your employer.  Don’t betray that trust.  And we say, “Well. everyone else is.” Listen - we are called to be different.  We called to be people of integrity who’s yes is yes and our no is no.  We can be trusted. 

But Joseph also recognized his responsibility to God.  Verse 9 – “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Look at that statement – it’s a great thing to say to temptation.  First it recognizes sin as sin. 

James Boice says that one of the devil’s tricks in his campaign to promote sin and limit godliness is to call sin something other than what it is and thus make what is objectionable desirable.  Pride, for example, is reinterpreted as “self-esteem”. Gluttony is called “the good life”. Coveting is trying to “improve yourself” or “get ahead”.  Perversions which are condemned so directly and directly in the Bible are called “an alternative lifestyle”.  Fornication is “experimentation.” Adultery is an “attempt to cure a lackluster marriage.”⁶   Listen, no matter what you call it, no matter how hard you try to cover it up and excuse it, sin is still sin. 

And then Joseph recognized his responsibility to God.  Like David after him who prayed after he committed adultery with Bathsheba, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:4).  Joseph recognized that however great offense his sin might be to other people it was far more offensive to God.

This is the realization that the prodigal son comes to when he is in the distant land and one day after feeding the swine he comes to his sense and he says, “I have not only sinned against my earthly father, but I have sinned against my heavenly father. I have sinned against heaven and against my father.”

Walt Whitman once said that there were times when he would like to go and live with the cattle.  “They are so placid and content,” he said.  “Not one of them,” he noticed with approval, “lies awake at night and weeps for its sins.”  If that is the ideal I would say that our generation has done well. For there are few people who weep over their sins. 

Oh how we need to recover the fact that when we sin, we slap God in Christ in the face, we push the crown of thorns down a little harder upon His head, we nail the nails in His hands with  a little more force.  And we raise our voices, “Crucify, crucify!”  Our sins are against God and it is for those sins that He died. 

We have a responsibility to God.  We are His children.  And He calls us to live as His children. 

Well, even after Joseph is ready, refused and then recognized his responsibilities, the temptation still kept coming.  And what did he did he do in the end?  He fled.  He ran – verse 12.  Scripture says that we are to flee from sexual immorality (I Corinthians 6:18).   And sometimes it’s the best way to deal with temptation – it is simply to run away. 

So many of us fall into sin because we allow ourselves to be where we know we will be tempted.  Believe it or not sometimes overcoming temptation is as easy as not allowing ourselves to be in those places or situations, where we know we will be tempted or with those people whom we know will only lead us further from God rather than closer to Him. 

Look – if we are really serious about being the church, the people of God, let’s deal with sin our lives. Let’s stop courting it.  Let’s begin by refusing to allow it into our lives.  If it comes to us through the internet then cut off the internet from you home.  “Oh, I can’t live without the internet.”  Listen Jesus put it much stronger than this - He said “if your right hand is causing you to sin then cut it off.”  (Matthew 5:30).  

If there is a relationship that is causing you to sin, end it. If there is an influence that is causing us to think impure thoughts, run away.  Look, we’ve played around with sin too long. It’s time to say we will not compromise who we are any longer.  We are children of God and we are called to live like it. 

But there is this left to say.  Joseph’s story could have been much different.  He could have compromised – and indeed the story has been played out throughout history again and again and has ended much differently.  God’s people have compromised – we’ve compromised with sin.  We’ve allowed temptation in and we’ve fallen into great sin.  But listen – listen, if that is the case for you – and I know it is that we have all fallen – but I want you to know about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the glorious truth – when we confess our sins God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:9)

You can begin again – and we will be known as a people who will not compromise with sin. 

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - May  2008

ENDNOTES:

1. David Kinnaman, UnChristian (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2007), 47.

2. Norman Wright, Quiet Times For Parents (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishing, 1995) June 22.

3. John Phillips, Exploring Genesis (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1980), 312.

4. F.B. Meyer, The Life of Joseph  (Lynnwood, Washington: Emerald Books, 1995), 28.

5. Ibid., 28.

6. Ibid., 63.