March 17th | Deuteronomy 13

How many of you set more than one alarm in the morning? I know that I often set 3 or sometimes up to 5 alarms! I know this seems foolish, but the reason is that many mornings I lack the drive to put my feet on the floor and get going after the first alarm. I like to lay in bed a little longer instead of getting up to start the day. In a small way, I am saying, “My bed and my sleep are more important to me than whatever it is that I should be doing.” My bed is my idol, and I’m compromising what I should do to get that little bit of sleep. To hit the snooze button is not that big of a deal but to compromise and be pulled away from following our Lord is a very big deal. 

How many instances throughout the day are we tempted to worship small idols and compromise on our faith instead of following Christ? We might tell a small lie at work. We might spread gossip or slander about someone in the community. We might send a flirtatious text to someone who isn’t our spouse. You justify it by saying, “It’s no big deal!” However, a lot of small compromises lead to idol worship. Worshiping ourselves and our sins instead of worshiping Jesus. 



In Deuteronomy 13, the Lord warns the people not to be drawn away from Him to worship other Gods. He gives three examples of how people are drawn away to compromise and worship their sin instead of their savior. 

1. False Teachers

Deuteronomy 13:1-3, “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.” 

Be careful who you listen to and who you follow. There are plenty of false teachers who will use the Bible or religion to tell you to compromise. They will twist the Scriptures to justify sin. They will entice you to belittle the sin in your life and compel you to compromise. The Lord says, “Don’t listen to them!” Be careful who you listen to and who you follow. 

2. Close Friends and Relatives

Deut 13:6; 8, “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’...you shall not yield to him or listen to him.” 

Close friends and family are typically who we listen to most. We respect their opinions and counsel more than others. However, the danger is when these close friends or family ask us to compromise. It might be subtle and it might not seem like a big deal in the moment. Be careful. The Lord is who we pursue first before family and friends. We should be a beacon of light bringing our friends and family to Jesus rather than them pulling us away from Him. 

3. The Culture

Deut 13:12;15, “If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to dwell there, 13 that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction, all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword.” 

How often do our cities, politics, and culture inform how we view God and our relationship with Him? We might see them as so bad that our “little” compromises and sins don’t seem that bad. The Lord tells the Israelites to put these to destruction. For us, under Christ, we are to put sin to death within us. No matter what the culture says, we are to be holy and pursue the Lord. 

Today, how are you tempted to compromise? In what ways are you tempted to worship yourself, others, or things more than Jesus? Repent and turn to Jesus today and worship Him without compromise!