Live By The Principles Of God Without Compromise

God has filled His word with the principles He wants every Christian to live by. We understand that some of the instructions Paul gave were cultural but not the foundational principles.

I find it amazing how things have changed with time. Even in the world’s view, they’ve turned many wrongs into rights. Activities that society once frowned upon they now accept.

Even some Christians act as if God has changed His mind on certain things. We must, however, stand firm on the principles of God. We find an example of that in Nehemiah.

Then I commanded that the gates of Jerusalem should be shut as darkness fell every Friday evening, not to be opened until the Sabbath ended. I sent some of my own servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day. Nehemiah 13:19

I remember the time when people revered Sunday as a special day. Convenient stores that stay open 24/7 rarely existed. Grocery stores and small Mom-and-Pop stores took the day off.

The primary businesses that remained open consisted of drugstores and restaurants. Many gas stations even shut their pumps down every Sunday.

One town along the New Jersey shore took the sacredness of Sunday very seriously. During my freshman year in college, a bunch of us went to that town for a weekend.

On Saturday night, one of our friends advised us to park our cars outside of the city limits. She told us that they closed the gate at midnight and they didn’t reopen it until early Monday morning.

Nehemiah’s Dilemma

Nehemiah had quite a dilemma on his hands. He wanted to stand firm on the principles of God by keeping the Sabbath. It seemed, however, that no one else cared about keeping it.

In those days I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on that day. Nehemiah13:15

Booths filled the streets in Jerusalem on each Sabbath day. Non-Jewish residents participated in the activities taking place throughout the city. It looked like a regular weekend flea market.

Some men from Tyre, who lived in Jerusalem, were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise. They were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah—and in Jerusalem at that! Nehemiah 13:16

The troubles Israel experienced throughout their history of disobedience fueled Nehemiah’s conviction. Therefore, he refused to compromise his stand; instead, he kept to the principles of God.

So I confronted the nobles of Judah. “Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?” I asked. “Wasn’t it just this sort of thing that your ancestors did that caused our God to bring all this trouble upon us and our city? Nehemiah 13:17-18

Nehemiah Decided to Obey God

We can talk about living a godly life, but it must go further than that. You know the old saying, don’t you? “Talk is cheap.” Nehemiah decided to follow up his words with action.

Sometimes, when a person makes a decision, it doesn’t take long for them to forget all about it. God doesn’t want us to become wishy-washy when it comes to His principles.

The Lord expects His children to live consistently in obedience to His Word. The merchants in Jerusalem thought that Nehemiah would ease up on his decision, but he didn’t.

The merchants and tradesmen with a variety of wares camped outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I spoke sharply to them and said, “What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you!” And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath. Nehemiah 13:20-21

Do Not Compromise, Stand Firm on Principles Of God

Today’s culture makes it easy to compromise. It slowly inches us from the principles of God. The problem arises for Christians because they may change, but God’s standards don’t.

The world frowns on those who won’t compromise in some areas. They try a guilt tactic to lure people away from the principles of God. Or they convince them that the activity isn’t “that bad.”

So, let me ask you, how serious do you stand on your convictions? Are you willing to close the gates in your life to keep something out that shouldn’t be there?

God wants us to willingly take a stand on His principles that the world won’t accept. Have you changed your position on some things you once felt strongly about?

But instead of standing firm on some of God’s principles, you decided that God would understand. Plus, you found it easier to go along with the status quo instead of making waves.

By the way, that town in New Jersey—it keeps its gates open seven days a week. Ensure that you maintain the spirit of Nehemiah when it comes to upholding the convictions of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, help us to stay spiritually strong, so we will refrain from compromising our Christian walk. We desire to maintain your principles, God, every moment of the day.