Ministry that lasts through the ages part 3--II Timothy 4:1-5

Have you ever made a compromise? I’m sure you have—there are lots of things that we make compromises over or make compromises for. The word compromise has Latin roots, and a direct translation from the Latin is that a compromise is a consent to arbitration or to promise together. Basically, a compromise is finding something that both parties can agree on. There are many ways that we do this. ‌‌ Sometimes, a compromise is settling a dispute by mutual concession. “You agree to one thing and I’ll agree to another.” “I’ll do my best to not get upset at you if you’ll do your best to squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom of the tube. ‌Sometimes a compromise is to accept standards that are lower than you desire. A company might says “we are not prepared to compromise on our employees safety!” ‌Another form of compromise is to ruin one’s reputation through foolish or reckless behavior. “Martha Stewart became compromise through insider trading.” ‌‌We have this idea or term of compromise, and we all deal with compromises all the time. When you bought your house, you likely negotiated on a price—that’s a compromise. When you got your family out of bed this morning maybe you made some compromises—“time to get up! Please, 5 more minutes!” We live in a world of acceptable compromises. ‌‌ But when it comes to the church, things get a little bit different. Because though we may compromise in everyday life, Jesus does not compromise with the church. Thinking of a compromise in which both sides give concession, Jesus does not negotiate with His church when it comes to godliness and our responsibility to live out the truths of God’s Word! ‌And as we come to our text today, Paul makes it very clear that Jesus does not compromise with His church! God holds His people to a high standard! This standard is obedience and submission to God and His Word. So as we return to our text today, I have one big idea for you today: ‌‌ Big Idea: We don’t want to be a compromised church!‌