2 Kings 1:1–17 (NRSV)

1
After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2
Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay injured; so he sent
messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from
this injury.”
3
But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers of the
king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to
inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’
4
Now therefore thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but you
shall surely die.’ ” So Elijah went.
5
The messengers returned to the king, who said to them, “Why have you returned?”
6
They answered him, “There came a man to meet us, who said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent
you, and say to him: Thus says the LORD: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are
sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not leave the bed to which
you have gone, but shall surely die.’ ”
7
He said to them, “What sort of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?”
8
They answered him, “A hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It is Elijah the
Tishbite.”
9
Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting
on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”
10
But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and
consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
11
Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He went up and said to him, “O
man of God, this is the king’s order: Come down quickly!”
12
But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume
you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
13
Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. So the third captain of fifty went up,
and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life,
and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight.
14
Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their
fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”
15
Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he set
out and went down with him to the king,
16
and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-
zebub, the god of Ekron,—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore
you shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.”
17
So he died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken.
Galatians 6:7 (NRSV)
7
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.

2 consequence of consuming the Body of Christ :

 Positive – closer to Him

 Negative – Further from Him
Positive :

 Face was shining

Exodus 34:29–30 (NRSV)
29
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in
his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
30
When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near
him.
Negative :

 Judas – after receiving the bread

John 13:30 (NRSV)
30
So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

 Weak, ill or Dead

1 Corinthians 11:27–32 (NRSV)
27
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the
body and blood of the Lord.
28
Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29
For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.
30
For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
31
But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged.
32
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

How to deal with failures ? – Pastor Peter – REPENT : GOD RESTORES !

 Have you made a bad decision ?

 Different kinds of mistakes :
o Mistake of the mind – honest mistake
o Mistake of the heart – moral failure
 Joel 1:4 (NRSV)
4
What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust
has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.
 Joel 2:12–13 (NRSV)
12
Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with
mourning;
13
rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow
to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.
 Joel 2:25–26 (NRSV)
 25
I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.
26
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt
wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
 If there is real repentance – there is real restoration
 Psalm 32:1–2 (NRSV)
1
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2
Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
 Failure is never final
 Psalm 1:1–2 (NRSV)
1
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in
the seat of scoffers;
2
but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.
 In order to be restored - God wants us to understand what it means to repent
 David uses 3 words to describe sin :

 David was honest with God – He dealt with his sin

  Psalm 32:1–2 (NRSV)
1
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2
Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
o TRANSGRESSION - FORGIVEN
o SIN - COVERED
o INIQUITY - IMPUTED ( accounting term – not count )

 FOR REPENTANCE TO BRING RESTORATION, WE NEED TO

o ADMIT
o ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY
o ACCEPT CONSEQUNCES
o RECEIVE FORGIVENESS

Psalm 32:1–11 (NRSV)

1
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2
Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3
While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the
LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6
Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach
them.
7
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will
not stay near you.
10
Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

 SIN IMPACTS YOUR PHYSICAL LIFE – EMOTIONAL LIFE

Psalm 32:3–4 (NRSV)
3
While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

2 Samuel 11:1–5 (NRSV)

1
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with
him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2
It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s
house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.
3
David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of
Uriah the Hittite.”
4
So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself
after her period.) Then she returned to her house.
5
The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

 DAVID KEPT SILENT ABOUT HIS SIN – CONSEQUENCE :

o One decision led to another decision

2 Samuel 11:26–27 (NRSV)

26
When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him.
27
When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD,

2 Samuel 12:7–14 (NRSV)

7
Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I
rescued you from the hand of Saul;
8
I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of
Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more.
9
Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite
with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of
Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11
Thus says the LORD: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives
before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun.
12
For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”
13
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan said to David, “Now the LORD has put away your
sin; you shall not die.
14
Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.”
( CONSEQUENCES )

 CONSEQUENCE : - FORGIVENESS is difeerent from consequences

Romans 2:3–11 (NRSV)
3
Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will
escape the judgment of God?
4
Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is
meant to lead you to repentance?
5
But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s
righteous judgment will be revealed.
6
For he will repay according to each one’s deeds:
7
to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8
while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.
9
There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10
but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
11
For God shows no partiality.

 ASSUME PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SIN

Psalm 32:5 (NRSV)
5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the
LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

Psalm 51:1–3 (NRSV) - personal pronoun “ I, ME and MY ” – appears 10 times in these 3 verses
1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my
transgressions.
2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

 REPENTANCE is not a one time event – life time event ( on going )

 True repentance is not about emotions

 Repentance is metanoia – turning / change of heart

2 Corinthians 7:9–10 (NRSV)
9
Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so
that you were not harmed in any way by us.
10
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces
death.
1 Timothy 1:5 (NRSV)
5
But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

 Good conscience
 o vs. bad conscience
o God’s Holy Spirit working
o Good Conscience : God’s Spirit + God’s word
o I can argue with my mind – I cannot argue with my conscience

1 Timothy 1:18–20 (NRSV)

18
I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so
that by following them you may fight the good fight,
19
having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith;
20
among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to
blaspheme.

 Don’t neglect your conscience – shipwreck of your faith

 Accept God’s forgiveness
 Confess – Greek “ homologeo ”

1 John 1:9 (NRSV)

9
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 Why we struggle with guilt ?

Psalm 32:6–7 (NRSV)
6
Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach
them.
7
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Selah

 Basis of our security ( hiding place ) is God Himself

Isaiah 55:6–7 (NRSV)
6
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;
7
let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may
have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
  The blessing of repentance : God is speaking
Psalm 32:8–9 (NRSV)
8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will
not stay near you.

 When you repent

o you become sensitive
o you begin to hear God’s instructions
 When you don’t deal with sin – you stop listening to God – your heart has become calloused
 Don’t be like the horse/mule ( known for stubbornness – need to be tamed ) – that needs to
be controlled by bit & bridle – painful when the master yanks on it

 Don’t be stubborn – repent a

 There are choices to make in life :
Psalm 32:10–11 (NRSV)
10
Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

 What are those choices :

o Ways of the righteous
o Ways of the wicked
  Wicked :
o someone who lives independently of God
o someone who believes he does not need God
o when you take God lightly
o sorrow
 Righteous
o Trust in the Lord
o Loving kindness shall surround him
 2 decisions – will determine your directions in life
 Follow the Lord / Follow your own way
 Your direction is determine your destination
 When do you decide :
2 Corinthians 6:1–2 (NRSV)
1
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.
2
For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is
the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!

 Experience is a very good teacher – but it is very painful

 Its never too late to change – but its later than you think

Avoiding Spiritual Compromise (Exodus 32:1-35)

Life of Moses

Exodus 32 is one of the scariest chapters in the Bible. It ranks up there with 2 Samuel 11, where David, the
man after God’s heart, fell into adultery and murder; and with the Gospel accounts of the apostle Peter’s
denials of Christ.
It’s scary because prior to Exodus 32, Aaron had some spiritual experiences that far exceed anything that
any of us have ever had. He had seen God bring the ten plagues on Egypt. He watched God part the Red Sea
for Israel and then bring it back over the pursuing Egyptian army. He saw the pillar of fire and the cloud that
God provided for Israel’s protection in the wilderness. He had eaten the daily manna and had drunk water
from the rock. At God’s invitation, Aaron, along with his sons and the elders of Israel had gone up on the
mountain to see the God of Israel and to eat and drink in His presence (Exod. 24:9-11).
But then, after all of these displays of God’s glory and power, while Moses was on the mountain meeting
with God, Aaron quickly yielded to the people’s request and fashioned the golden calf for Israel to worship.
My initial reaction is to ask, “How could he do that? How could a man who had had these amazing
encounters with God have so easily fallen into idolatry?”

But then I read 1 Corinthians 10, where Paul cites Exodus 32 and other sins of Israel in the wilderness. Then
he applies it to us (1 Cor. 10:11-12): “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were
written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he
stands take heed that he does not fall.” In other words, if I think that I could never do what Aaron did here,
then I’d better think again! I’m vulnerable to Aaron’s sin, and so are you!
The sin of making and worshiping around the golden calf, as I understand it, was not total apostasy. Israel
was not, in their minds, totally rejecting God to follow pagan idols. Rather, it was syncretism. They were
tweaking the worship of the true God so that it fit more in line with their liking. After Aaron made the
golden calf, the people proclaimed (Exod. 32:4), “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the
land of Egypt.” Their sin was not total apostasy, but rather spiritual compromise. They wanted their “god” to
look more like the gods of other nations. They didn’t like the scary, unseen God of Exodus 19, who came
down on Mount Sinai in fire, smoke, lightning, thunder, earthquake, and loud trumpet blasts. They wanted a
more user-friendly god like other nations had. So they came up with a compromise god. Had it not been for
Moses’ strong leadership, selfless prayer, and spiritual discipline, God would have disowned Israel and
started over with a new people. Thus we learn:
To avoid spiritual compromise, God’s people need strong leaders who do not compromise the truth, who
pray selflessly, and who exercise necessary spiritual discipline.

1. To avoid spiritual compromise, God’s people need

strong leaders who will not compromise the truth.
Aaron’s weak leadership allowed Israel to fall into this horrible compromise. If he had stood firm and
confronted the people’s demand to make a god for them, this whole incident might have been avoided. To
correct Aaron’s compromise and get Israel back on track, Moses had to take bold action. 

Exodus 32 reveals at least 7 ways that spiritual compromise can seep into a congregation of God’s people if
the leaders are weak:

1. Spiritual compromise happens when you view salvation as a human

endeavor rather than as an act of God.

The people began their request to Aaron by attributing their deliverance from Egypt to Moses. They
call him (Exod. 32:1), “the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt.” In Exodus 16, the people
grumbled against Moses and Aaron because they lacked food. God graciously promised to rain bread from
heaven on them and to give them meat to eat. As a result, Moses said (Exod. 16:6), “At evening you will
know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt.” But they didn’t learn the lesson. So now they
attribute their deliverance from Egypt to Moses.
But it gets worse. In verse 4, referring to the golden calf, they say, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought
you up from the land of Egypt.” Psalm 106:19-22 describes this travesty:
They made a calf in Horeb
And worshiped a molten image.
Thus they exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt,
Wonders in the land of Ham
And awesome things by the Red Sea.

The Bible consistently proclaims that salvation is not the work of a great leader, like Moses or Paul, much
less a manmade idol! Spiritual leaders are just instruments through whom God works (1 Cor. 3:5). Salvation
requires God’s mighty power to impart life to those who were dead in their sins. As Paul put it (Eph. 2:4-5),
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead
in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) …” Or (Jonah 2:9),
“Salvation is of the Lord.”

2. Spiritual compromise can happen even with leaders who should know
better.

You would think that Aaron, brother of Moses, would have been strong enough to resist the pressure
to make this golden calf. But in the New Testament Paul had to confront Peter when he quit eating with the
Gentiles to placate the Judaizers. Even Barnabas got carried away with their hypocrisy (Gal. 2:11-13). If
men of the spiritual stature of Peter and Barnabas could compromise the gospel under pressure, then we all
need to be on guard!
This is one reason the local church should be governed by a plurality of elders. It’s not a foolproof system,
in that sometimes all of the elders get swept into error because an influential pastor veers off course and they
follow him. Paul warned the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28-31):
Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to
shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage
wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise,
speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that
night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

Paul warned Timothy (1 Tim. 4:16), “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching.” None of us are
immune to spiritual compromise and so we must always be on guard.

3. Spiritual compromise happens when you become impatient waiting on

God.

Moses spent forty days on the mountain with the Lord and the people got tired of waiting. They said
(Exod. 32:1), “as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know
what has become of him.” They knew that he had gone up into the fire, smoke, lightning, and thunder on
the mountain to meet with God. Maybe they thought that he had died up there, but no one was about to go
up there to find out! So even though they were eating the manna every day, drinking water from the rock,
and under the protective cloud, they wanted God to move faster. So they asked Aaron to make a god to go
before them.
When you get in a hurry and demand a quick fix to issues that may take time, you expose yourself to
spiritual error. Waiting on God is hard. There are plenty of religious hucksters selling spiritual snake oil with
the promise of instantly solving your problems. Almost always they are false teachers. The biblical way of
growth is slower (1 Tim. 4:7): “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” And, “Wait for the Lord”
(Ps. 27:14). Spiritual shortcuts almost always lead to spiritual compromise.

4. Spiritual compromise happens when leaders want to please the people

rather than please God.

Aaron was a more dynamic speaker than Moses, which is why God appointed him to be Moses’ spokesman.
But apparently, he was a “nice” man who didn’t like confrontation. So when the people asked him to make
a god who would go before them, he compliantly went along with their demand. When he heard them
proclaim this idol to be their god who brought them up from Egypt, rather than confronting them, he
built an altar and proclaimed a feast unto the Lord (v. 5). Maybe he was hoping for a compromise that
wouldn’t upset the people: “You can have your idol, but bring your burnt offerings and peace offerings and
let’s have a feast to the Lord! You can have it both ways!”

But rather than helping the people turn back to the Lord, this compromise quickly degenerated into a
drunken orgy, including sexual immorality (the Hebrew words imply this). The King James Version
translates “out of control” (v. 25) as “the people were naked.” It was like an unrestrained pagan rock
concert! That’s how quickly things can go downhill when spiritual leaders are people-pleasers rather than
God-pleasers.

5. Spiritual compromise happens when you want a safer, user-friendly

“god” who will work for you.

The God whom Israel had encountered before Moses went up on the mountain was downright scary! You
can’t negotiate with or manipulate a God like that to get what you want. You can’t work out better terms for
the covenant, where things are a little more equal. All you can do is submit to such awesome power!

R. C. Spoul observed (Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology [Baker], pp. 19-20, cited by Philip
Ryken, Exodus [Crossway], p. 977):
The cow gave no law and demanded no obedience. It had no wrath or justice or holiness to be feared. It was
deaf, dumb, and impotent. But at least it could not intrude on their fun and call them to judgment.

A golden calf is a safer, more user-friendly god! You can use a god like that to get what you want. If he
doesn’t come through, then set him aside and make another god. Sooner or later you’ll find one you like!
But when you aren’t happy with God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture and you remake Him to
be more user-friendly, you’re compromising the true faith in Christ Jesus.

6. Spiritual compromise happens when you excuse your sin and don’t
accept responsibility for it.

Verse 4 reports how Aaron took the gold earrings from the people and fashioned it with a graving tool to
make a molten calf. But when Moses angrily confronted him, Aaron lamely replied (v. 24), “I said to them,
‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came
this calf.” That’s funny, but very sad! He makes it sound as if he just threw the gold into the fire and a
miracle took place: Out came this carefully crafted calf! It’s like the arguments for evolution: In spite of the
fact that the human body is obviously intricately designed, nobody actually formed it! Take it by faith: Out
came this body!

Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, sinners have tried to pass off the blame for their sin on others.
Adam blamed Eve and even God for giving him Eve. She blamed the serpent. On and on it goes! “Hey, I
was just an innocent bystander when this calf popped out of the oven. What could I do?” As Matthew Henry
observed (Matthew Henry’s Commentary [Revell], 1:414), “Sin is a brat that nobody is willing to own.”

7. Spiritual compromise happens when you refuse to submit to God’s ways.

God told Moses (Exod. 32:9), “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.”
Literally, “they are a stiff-necked people.” Like a stubborn animal that refuses to submit to the yoke, stiff-
necked people refuse to submit to the Lord and His ways with them. They think that their ways are right and
everyone else, including God, is wrong. Israel’s “stiff necks” are seen in their repeated grumbling against
the Lord, in spite of His repeated, gracious dealings with them.
You’re especially vulnerable to spiritual compromise when the Lord’s way with you involves difficult trials.
As we’ve seen, waiting on the Lord is hard. We want to go straight to the Promised Land, not wander
around in the hot, barren wilderness. To avoid spiritual compromise, you’ve got to submit to God’s ways (1
Pet. 5:6-11).

So, Aaron’s weak leadership and his aversion to confrontation and conflict allowed Israel to jump into
idolatry before they even left the camp at the base of Mount Sinai. To get them back on course, God used
Moses’ strong leadership, including his prayer:

2. To avoid spiritual compromise, God’s people need

strong leaders who will pray selflessly for God’s glory
through His people.
God told Moses (Exod. 32:10): “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I
may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” That’s an interesting verse, because if Moses had
obeyed God’s command, he would have sinned! Instead, God’s command drove Moses to prayer. As a result
(Exod. 32:14), “the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” The
King James Version reads, “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” (I
have a sermon on Moses’ prayer, “The Man Who Caused God to Repent,” [5/26/02], where I develop more
thoroughly the following three points plus one more.)
Suffice it to say here that God’s “repentance” looks at things from our point of view. It seems to us as if God
changed His mind in response to our prayers, when actually His purpose has been ordained from eternity.
He never changes. But in ways we cannot understand, He uses our prayers to accomplish His sovereign will.
To be strong leaders who get God’s compromised people back on track, we should pray as Moses did here.
A. Strong leaders pray that God’s person will be exalted.

In verse 7, the Lord tells Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of
Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” Then He tells Moses (v. 10) that He will destroy Israel and make a great
nation out of Moses. In fact, God even offered to make a mightier and greater nation out of Moses (Deut.
9:14). Why did God do this? I believe that it was a test to prove Moses’ character as the leader of the nation
and the mediator of the covenant of the Law. If Moses had agreed to God’s “Plan B,” it would have revealed
Moses’ desire for personal glory.
But Moses passed the test with flying colors! God referred to Israel as your people whom you brought up
from Egypt. But when Moses prayed, he turned it around (Exod. 32:11): “O Lord, why does Your anger
burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a
mighty hand?” He goes on to base his prayer on God’s reputation with the Egyptians. He says, in effect, “If
You destroy Your people, You’ll look bad to the Egyptians!” In other words, Moses prayed that God’s
person would be exalted through His people.
God’s glory should drive our prayers, especially when we’re concerned about His people who have fallen
into sin or compromise with the world. When Christian marriages are in trouble, pray for healing, not just so
that everyone will be happy, but so that God’s person will be exalted.

B. Strong leaders pray that God’s promises will be enacted.

Moses (v. 13) reminds God of His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob). We need to be
careful to interpret God’s promises in their context and in light of the full revelation of Scripture. And we
need to remember that just because God promised to do something does not mean that He will to do it the
instant we ask. Moses did not live to see the fulfillment of God’s promise to give Abraham’s descendants
the land of Canaan. But, pray God’s promises back to Him: “Lord, you promised that You will build Your
church. I ask you to build Your church in this difficult situation!”

C. Strong leaders pray that God’s people will be established

Moses’ prayer (vv. 11-13) was after God told him what the people had done, but before he went down and
saw it for himself. After he saw how bad things really were, he went back up the mountain to see if he could
make atonement for their sin (v. 30). He then prayed (Exod. 32:31-32), “Alas, this people has committed a
great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if
not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!”
That’s an amazing prayer, similar to what Paul prayed (Rom. 9:3) when he said that he was willing to be
accursed if it would have resulted in the salvation of Israel! I cannot honestly say that I’d volunteer to give
up my salvation for the salvation of others! But Moses wanted that badly for God’s people to be established.
Our heartfelt prayers should be for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done in His church for His
glory.
Thus to avoid spiritual compromise, God’s people need strong leaders who will not compromise the truth
and who will pray selflessly for God’s glory through His people. Finally,

3. To avoid spiritual compromise, God’s people need

strong leaders who will exercise necessary spiritual
discipline.
Moses cared so deeply for these sinning people that he was willing to be blotted out of God’s book if that’s
what it took for them to be restored. And yet at the same time, he was the righteously angry avenger of the
sinners. He smashed the stone tablets, signifying that Israel had broken God’s covenant. Then he burned the
calf, ground it to powder and made the Israelites drink it. This showed that the manmade calf had not led
Israel out of Egypt. And it showed the people that they must suffer the consequences of their sin. Then he
confronted Aaron and issued a challenge (Exod. 32:26): “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” There are
only two sides: the Lord’s side and the devil’s side. Spiritual compromise puts us against the Lord. When
we’ve fallen into compromise, the way back is to turn from our sin and stand on the Lord’s side.
Then (v. 27) Moses charged the Levites who joined him to go through the camp and kill everyone, including
close friends and relatives, who wouldn’t repent of worshiping the golden calf (implied). You wonder, “Why
didn’t Moses execute Aaron?” We know that the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but
Moses prayed for Aaron and God graciously spared him (Deut. 9:20). Perhaps the Lord knew that Moses
needed Aaron’s continued help. Perhaps Aaron repented. He later became the high priest who made annual
atonement for Israel’s sins.
Thankfully, we are never required to take such drastic measures to discipline sinning Christians! But we are
required to confront believers who fall into sin and if they refuse to repent after we’ve gone through the
biblical process, to remove them from the church (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5). If we fail to exercise necessary
discipline, the leaven of sin and compromise will spread through the church and God’s name will be
dishonored.

Conclusion
Moses’ death on behalf of Israel could not have atoned for their sins, because Moses had sins of his own.
But God sent One whose death could atone for sinful people: the Lord Jesus Christ. He never sinned, but on
the cross He bore God’s wrath against sinners. Paul wrote (2 Cor. 5:21), “He [God] made Him [Jesus] who
knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That is
God’s gracious, free gift to you if you will trust in Jesus Christ.
 Application Questions
1. What are some ways that you’ve seen churches compromise with the world? How have you been
tempted to compromise?

2. How much spiritual compromise should a Christian tolerate in a local church before he leaves? Give
biblical support.

3. What types of “user-friendly” gods have you encountered in supposedly Christian churches?

4. Have you observed church discipline done rightly? Done poorly? Describe the differences.

2 Corinthians 12:10 (NRSV)

10
Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for
whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

4 ways to uncommon happiness :

1. Deal with your crooked mind - Proverbs 17:20 (NRSV) - 20The crooked of mind do not prosper, and the
perverse of tongue fall into calamity.
What to do : Proverbs 3:6 (NRSV) - 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
1 John 1:9

2. Have fear of God – willingness of obey the word of God – filter the word of the God –
Psalm 25:12–14 (NRSV)
12
Who are they that fear the LORD? He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13
They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land.
14
The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.

3. First love - Revelation 2:3–7 (NRSV)

3
I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown
weary.
4
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
5
Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and
remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

When is last time you sacrificed for God ? – when you sacrifice to the one you love – you will love Him more.

 The more you sacrifice to God – even more you will love Him.
  The more you sacrifice for your family – the more you will love your family.
 Do what you have never done for God before

4. Thinking, Speaking and Acting positively

Philippians 4:8–9 (NRSV)
8
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
9
Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be
with you.