Many times over the years I have heard Christians defend compromise with the justification, “It’s just a little thing.” This was generally followed up with a rant about legalistic believers making mountains out of molehills. Notice the fallacy here. They want to make an issue of size. Size has never been the issue. It does not matter whether the compromise is the size of a molehill or the size of Mount Everest. The issue is compromise. The issue is departure from the revealed will of God—revealed in the pages of the Bible.
This is very simple to understand and implement. If God has forbidden something, then it doesn’t matter how little we think it is. It is forbidden. If God has commanded something, then it doesn’t matter how little we think it is. It is commanded. And if God has given us instructions on something, it doesn’t matter how little we think it is. God has given us his instructions.
There is a principle of biblical interpretation known as “the law of first appearance.” What this says is, the first time a subject is mentioned in the Bible, we are given foundational and essential information on the subject. Now the first mention of sin in the Bible is found in Genesis 3 and the account of the fall of man. (While the word “sin” isn’t actually used, the concept is introduced and established.)
And what do we find in this passage? We find that Adam died (spiritually) and fell under the curse over a piece of fruit—a little piece of fruit. What was wrong with this piece of fruit? Nothing. Nothing was intrinsically wrong with it. It wasn’t poisonous. It wasn’t sprayed with poison. It wasn’t still unripe. It wasn’t overipe. It wasn’t rotten, worm-eaten, or bird-pecked. It looked good and tasted good. And it was, no doubt, good for you. Probably gets blogged about yet today as a super-food by health-foodies.
What then was wrong with eating the fruit? Nothing—apart from the fact that God had banned eating it. You see, the issue wasn’t the fruit in and of itself. God could have chosen anything for the test. He could have said, “Thou shalt not carve your names in the big rock at the south end of the garden” or “Thou shalt not skip stones in the elephants’ pool.” The issue was whether man would listen to the voice of God—whether man would let God alone decide what is right and wrong—or whether man would usurp the office of God and make his own rules (with the help of the Devil) on what is right and wrong.
Today the world labors under three awful results of Adam’s fall—sin, the curse, and usurping God’s place in determining right and wrong. Sadly, it it not just the world that is usurping God’s prerogative in this matter. This serpentine spirit has invaded Evangelicalism. Multitudes are actively questioning the straightforward teaching of the Bible on numerous issues of morality—a recipe for spiritual shipwreck. They are “rethinking” subjects like the distinction of the sexes, the headship of the man, sexual activity, modesty in dress, drugs, tattoos, and other aspects of pagan culture. I encourage you, my friends, to cultivate a spirit of submission to the revealed will of God in the Word of God and resist the satanic spirit which questions these plain statements with dozens of slippery permutations of “Hath God said” — does this really mean what it appears to say? … is this God’s view or man’s view? … is this the mind of God or is it just cultural? … ad nauseum.
“Eyes wide open, brain engaged, heart on fire.”
Lee W. Brainard
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