The Saucepan of Compromise!
by Peter Horrobin
I was reminded today of how a frog in a saucepan of cold water doesn’t notice that the water is, ever so slowly, getting warmer – until it is too late! The frog could easily have jumped out of the pan when the water was cold, but by the time the frog realises that the water is getting dangerously hot, it is too late and the frog dies in the now boiling water.
This is a picture of what can happen when, little by little, we dispense with what Paul describes as ‘sound doctrine’. We don’t think a little change from the foundations of truth will do us any harm and then, when we have become used to the change, we are tempted to dispense with a little more, and a little more and a little more, until suddenly we come to our senses and realise that we have walked a very long way from God’s clear pathway for life and have turned our ‘ears away from the truth’.
So much of the church today has compromised on so many aspects of Scriptural truth, especially in the area of morality and Christian behaviour, that many believers no longer know what the truth really is. They choose to follow teachers who will support their life of compromise. They are like the frog, swimming around in a saucepan of increasingly warm water, not realising that the warm fuzzy feeling they are getting is not the blessing of life, but the kiss of death!
In 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul urged Timothy to guard his doctrine, for adherence to the truth would be his salvation – and that of those he would teach. Nothing has changed today. May I urge you to guard your doctrine, jump out of the saucepan of compromise and be willing to receive careful instruction so that you will not discover the consequences when it is too late!
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for those who have taught me sound doctrine in the past. Please forgive me for the times I have walked away from living according to Scriptural truth. I choose today to jump out of the saucepan of compromise and diligently apply the truth’s of Your Word in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Peter Horrobin is the Founding and International Director of Ellel Ministries. The work was originally established in 1986 as a ministry of healing in the north-west of England, but today the work has spread round the world, with Ellel Centres in over thirty nations. Peter has been doing lots of writing recently, including the "Journey to Life" series which can be purchased online at sovereignworld.com.
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