Uncompromising

Austin Rammell

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Amos

Sunday Morning

Compromise is how things get done in society. For instance, in business, it's how you make a sale. The person buying doesn’t get all they want, but neither does the seller. Instead, the buyer and the seller find a place where both can achieve an outcome that is beneficial to them as individuals and encourages them to continue doing business with each other.

Compromising is an act of love. It’s why it’s so essential in marriage and relationships. Compromise is when at least two people are humble and wise enough to let go of what they don’t need to cling to, so that they can cling to what they both can agree on. You can’t cling to everything!

Compromise is a beautiful thing, that is, until it involves things that should never be compromised.

For instance, if you found out your spouse was a habitual adulterer and then, in counseling, your spouse said, “Well, what if I was only in an adulterous relationship every now and then instead of all the time?” I would hope you respond with a resounding NO! Remember, the Bible says that love,

6 … does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:6)

Therefore, when it comes to what God has plainly stated as essential truth and what the Bible has clearly defined as moral and immoral, there can be no compromise. To do so would be to form a new and different belief in something that is essential for the whole of what the Bible says to be trustworthy and true. It’s that simple.

Unfortunately, however, some take what I just said to a level that is clearly unbiblical. They start this unbiblical position with the statement that there are “no grey areas with God.” As fired up and as excited as people get when that’s preached, it doesn’t make it right. It’s actually a very ignorant and misleading thing to say. We have many passages in the Bible that directly address grey areas. There is far more about God that we don’t understand than we do (Isaiah 40:13-14, 1 Corinthians 2:11). If God has not given us an explanation in the Scripture, then we don’t have one, and that by definition is a grey area in that the things we don’t understand about God, that He has not revealed, are grey at best.

For instance, how can God be in total control of everything, and yet I still have free will? These two cannot logically coexist, yet this paradox is clearly taught in the Bible. The gap between the two is therefore a grey area that nobody can argue that they have the correct and infallible explanation. Another example is trying to understand how God is three distinct persons all at the same time, yet still one God in every way; one distinct eternally divine being. The Bible doesn’t tell us the answer to that question, so we live in the grey area of faith, where we might attempt to explain it, but nobody can demand that their explanation is true.

And listen, the matter of “grey area” isn’t just in our understanding of who God is and how He works, but also in convictions on certain matters. Paul wrote an entire chapter on the subject in the book of Romans (Romans 14).

Therefore, there are all kinds of things Christians can disagree on, all while walking in step with one another as we cling to the things we can’t disagree on. The things we can’t disagree on are those concrete matters that the Bible clearly tells us are essential to the Gospel and living in it. In these matters, we cannot compromise. We cannot agree to change them in any way. We will discuss some of these specific doctrines later. For now, I just want you to see that while there are certainly grey areas in the Bible that we can’t be dogmatic about, there are absolutely other fundamental, essential matters that the church must have the heart of a prophet—we must have a heart that refuses to compromise, no matter the cost!

So, before we dig into those matters, let’s take a look at the only narrative in the book of Amos, because in it we see the uncompromising heart of a prophet of God that the church must have.

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land. ’” 12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom. ” 14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel. ’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord. “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac. ’ 17 Therefore thus says the Lord: “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land. ’” (Amos 7:10-17)

There are three parts to the story in Amos 7:10-17 concerning Amos’s refusal to compromise what God told him to say and do.

The first part of the story involved the formation of a false conspiracy against Amos.

The High Priest of Israel conspired against Amos with false

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, "'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'"

“Amaziah the priest of Bethel”

It was not the king who spoke in verse 10, nor was it one of the noble lords of the land. It was a religious leader. The strong implication is that this man, Amaziah (whose name means ‘The Lord is mighty’), was the senior priest in charge of the temple at Bethel. In effect he was ‘the archbishop’ of this sanctuary (v. 13).”¹

“All of this took place at Bethel, which was one of the royal sanctuaries in Israel, the place where the king worshiped and particular national religious observances were held. It may be that Amos chose one of these festival occasions at Bethel for his preaching.”²

“His tone of authority and direct correspondence to the king suggest as much. Bethel was the location of one of two religious shrines established by King Jeroboam I in the north when Israel and Judah split into two separate monarchies (1 Kings 12:26–33). These shrines in the north were meant to be replacements for worship at the temple in Jerusalem and were an affront to the Lord God. Along with these shrines the king appointed his own priesthood to oversee them. This act also demonstrated a disregard for God’s law. What’s more, when Jeroboam I established these religious shrines, it was at Bethel and not Dan, the location of the other royal religious shrine in the north, where he dedicated this new religious cult. Therefore, Amaziah’s appointment as high priest at Bethel would have been most prestigious and closely associated with the king’s authority.”³

“Amos has conspired against you”

The priest at Bethel totally misrepresented what Amos was preaching.Amaziah suggested that Amos was secretly organizing a coup to overthrow the king. But Amos was not organizing a conspiracy to overthrow Jeroboam at all; he had been openly pronouncing God’s divine judgment on Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations. He wasn’t organizing anybody to do anything but rather declaring what God Himself had announced, decreed, and was going to do Himself.

“ … Amaziah took creative license in his message and attempted to convince the king that Amos was calling for the king’s assassination. This message surely got the king’s attention, given the fact his own dynasty came to the throne as the result of a conspiracy incited by the prophet Elisha where Jehu assassinated King Joram and slaughtered all the princes of Joram’s dynasty (2 Kings 9–10). Jeroboam witnessed two such coups occur in Judah as well. Amaziah certainly knew what would get the king’s attention. Jeroboam died of natural causes (2 Kings 14:29). It was his son, Zechariah, who would be assassinated (2 Kings 15:8–10). Notice how Amaziah said that they were Amos’ words and not ‘the word of the Lord.’ In addition, Amaziah omitted the reason for the message of judgment, Israel’s sins against God. Most importantly, Amaziah never mentioned God’s call for Israel to return to Him for restoration. Amaziah crafted his message in order to cast Amos in the worst possible light without any concern for Israel’s spiritual condition. When we find ourselves in similar situations it would do us well to remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He said, ‘Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account’ (Matt. 5:11). Nevertheless, Amaziah was accurate regarding Amos’ prediction of exile for the people. The most alluring lies are often mixed with some aspect of truth.”⁴

“The first of these reports may well have had some truth in it—except that Amos had not organized a plot to overthrow the government—but the second statement is plain conjecture on the part of Amaziah. Just like all false witnesses, this priest twisted the words of Amos to make his point. He changed Amos’s observation that God would rise against the ‘house of Jeroboam’ (v. 9) into a direct attack on the person of Jeroboam II. In fact, history tells us that this king was destined to die naturally (2 Kings 14:29) and not ‘by the sword’ as Amaziah asserted (v. 11). The priest then continued, ‘And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land’. It is true that Amos had been saying this, but it is strange that the priest did not also mention the prophecy about the destruction of the religious places, especially as he was the priest of Bethel. Perhaps he wanted ‘Amos to appear like a political threat and not just a diverse theological opinion that the king might be willing to tolerate.”⁵

“Whenever God’s servants are faithful to proclaim His Word, eventually they can expect someone to question their authority. It was true with the Lord Jesus Christ, it was true with the apostle Paul, and it was true with Amos.”⁶

“Those who wish to attack God’s servants and the work of the gospel invariably twist the truth. Sometimes their deviation from fact is only small but they use persuasive words to achieve their evil work.”⁷

The irony in this is that the man you would assume to be leading the people of Israel to love and obey God is the man twisting up the words of a man who is actually calling the people to do it!The man you would think would be living his life to ensure God’s Word, who you think would be holding high the standard for all to follow, is working to have the one who is actually doing it silenced.

You have to be an intelligent person to become the High Priest.There was no intellectual inability on Amaziah’s part to understand what Amos was preaching. Amaziah fully understood it, and he hated it because, first and foremost, it implicated him! Therefore, Amaziah sought to rid the land of Amos, and in doing so, earn more favor with the King by implying that Amos was out to overthrow the King. He did not want to risk anybody actually listening to what Amos was saying, so he tried to silence him as fast as possible. Finally, for a man filled with selfish ambition, what could be better than rescuing the King from somebody trying to overthrow the King! Twisting Amos’s sermons to suggest they were an effort to organize a coup that Amaziah himself would expose and squash did nothing but increase Amaziah’s standing with the king.

And remember, Amaziah would have done this with confidence.Both the northern and southern Kingdoms were dominating the region militarily and economically, and, as such, Amaziah could easily convince himself that his hypocritical, self-serving religious interpretation of the Mosaic Law, which conveniently ignored the very clear and consequential commands given by God in it, wasn’t actually consequential at all! He could have easily convinced himself that his motives to live for his own material wealth and influence, and as such live to impress the King, rather than obey God, were somehow allowed in God’s Kingdom, so long as he went about all the religious rituals and ensured their religious customs were in place throughout the land.

It’s the very thing we see happening in mainline denominations all over America.They continue to meet in buildings they call churches, where they practice religious activities they believe to be spiritual and reverent, all while denouncing the very doctrines that form the Gospel, as well as the clear moral teachings that the Gospel not only empowers us to live by but also promises we will be held accountable for living.

The second part of the story, concerning Amos’s refusal to compromise what God told him to say and do, was the High Priest’s efforts to control Amos.

The High Priest of Israel tried to arrogantly control

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."

“The lostness of Amaziah comes out in the statement,“‘a sanctuary of a king’ - He does not identify it as Yahweh’s sanctuary. This confrontation may have been recorded to emphasize how far Israel had strayed from truly following Yahweh.”⁸

Amaziah made it abundantly clear that his view of the temple in Bethel was not about God, but about the king.He made it really clear that the purpose of that place was to make the King feel good about himself and, as such, to make the entire kingdom feel good about itself. It’s the “king’s sanctuary,” not God’s, and the temple is “of” the kingdom of Israel, and not “of” the covenant God made with the Jewish people. It wasn’t about God at all, but about themselves! Amos was a direct threat to all of that.

In addition, Amaziah likely saw Amos as annoying, not only because of what Amos preached but because of who Amos wasn’t.Amos had no formal religious training or pedigree. As arrogant as Amaziah presents himself to be, there’s no way he believed anything Amos had to say was worthy of consideration! As such, he starts telling Amos what he should do, as if Amos had asked and as if Amos would consider it!

Notice how he talks down to Amos.He says, “O seer”

“Amaziah may be intentionally avoiding calling Amos a prophet by using the Hebrew word that means ‘seer’”⁹

A seer is somebody who sees the future, but a prophet is somebody who declares the truth and sometimes also tells the truth about the future.

He then says, “… flee away.” To flee away from something is to run away in fear and, as such, to run with haste and desperation. Amaziah truly saw himself as this person to flee from, and Amos as a nobody who didn’t even deserve to be in his presence.

Amaziah then gives him unsolicited counsel that further highlights that he didn’t view Amos as a sincerely motivated prophet of God.He tells him to go to Judah, “and eat bread there, and prophesy there” as if Amos was doing all this for money! Some commentators note that, since the harshest words of Amos were against Israel, he would have likely been much more favorably received and even financially rewarded in Judah. However, I think that perspective points people away from what’s actually going on. Personally, I believe Amaziah sees Amos as a person so beneath him that he is shooing him away like an unwanted dog showing up at a picnic trying to take people's food! Telling him that he could be successful in Judah as a seer is nothing more than sarcastic flattery to get rid of him. Amaziah truly saw Amos as someone he could easily manipulate and command; someone so uneducated in the ways of religion and religious politics that he could easily dismiss him and send him on his way by telling him what to do.

However, Amos wasn’t doing this for money.We’ve already established that last week! He left a successful business to do this, and he did so in a time when he knew nobody would want to listen to him. In fact, he did so in a time when he would likely be killed for preaching what he preached.

Furthermore, Amos wasn’t even there to persuade Israel to agree with him; he was there to announce God's judgment on Israel and God’s reasons for doing it.As we will see next week, he certainly hoped they would repent for their sake and God’s glory, but that wasn’t his mission or motive.

Finally, Amos’s first response to this arrogant attempt to manipulate him made it clear that he couldn’t care less if the religious or political class accepted him, or even the king and his family.In verses 14 and 15, we read,

14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

“Amos did not hesitate to respond to the demand that he should leave the land. He did not try to justify his position, but rather was quick to explain that he ‘was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son’ (v. 14). He never claimed to be a ‘professional’ prophet; he was one whom the Lord ‘took’ and commanded to ‘prophesy to my people Israel.’ (v. 15). … He was not ashamed to be a mere shepherd or herdsman who also took care of the sycamore-fig trees. He did not make his living by being a ‘professional prophet’. His ‘call’ to be a prophet did not rest on being trained at one of the schools of the prophets—being one of ‘the sons of the prophets’. It depended solely on the fact that God ‘took’. He was not ashamed that he did not have the equivalent of a theological university degree.”¹⁰

“… he had no financial need to become a prophet. Before coming to preach, he was involved in breeding or the marketing end of animal husbandry, which may have been with cattle, sheep, or goats. Also, Amos said he was a grower of sycamore trees. They were highly valued in antiquity. … Therefore, Amos’ trek north had nothing to do with financial gain. Those in the Lord’s service must beware of the temptation to become consumed with money and with worry about how God will provide it. It is easy to move from wondering how God will provide to being consumed with ‘making sure’ God will provide. Living in a society consumed with materialism like Israel was in Amos’ day and like the society most of us live in today, it is a great temptation. We must do as Jesus said and seek first His kingdom and righteousness, trusting Him to provide what we need (Matt. 6:33). … Amos had the authority of vocation, God’s call upon his life; he had the authority of revelation, God’s Word; and he had the authority of commission when God told him to ‘go.’ Likewise, our authority is in God’s call upon our lives (vocation), in His inerrant Word (revelation), and in His declaration to go into the entire world and make disciples (commission).”¹¹

Amos wasn’t there to be liked or applauded; he was there to preach the Word of God!He wasn’t even there with some sort of selfish ambition to be recognized as a prophet; he was there for one reason and one reason only—Amos heard the Lion roar!!

So instead of tucking his tail and running away like a scared dog at the arrogant commands of the High Priest of Israel, Amos doubled down and said something that had to have shaken Amaziah!

The third part of the story, concerning Amos’s refusal to compromise what God told him to say and do, was Amos’s response.

Amos announces God’s judgment on the High Priest of Israel and his household!

16 Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. "You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.' 17 Therefore thus says the LORD: "'Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'"

“This message was very blunt. It was no longer a general call to all of Israel but a specific statement about the future of Amaziah and his family. The Lord’s word would be fulfilled and Israel ‘will certainly go into exile, away from their native land’ (v. 17). The consequence of this would be that Amaziah would also be taken away and ‘die in a pagan country’, but it seems that his wife and children would remain in Israel. The ‘land will be measured and divided up’ (including Amaziah’s private estate), and the only way in which Amaziah’s wife would be able to survive would be to ‘become a prostitute in the city’; his children would ‘fall by the sword’.”¹²

“His message was fivefold. First, Amaziah’s wife would become a prostitute in order to live. Amos was not a prophet who was a ‘spiritual prostitute’ selling his craft for financial gain, but Amaziah’s wife would have to sell herself just to survive. Second, all of Amaziah’s children will be killed, ending his line. Amaziah chided Amos for foretelling the end of the house of Jeroboam. Now, he will suffer the same fate. Third, Amaziah will lose his land. His inheritance and heritage would be no more. Fourth, he will be sent into exile in an unclean land. This punishment is especially severe to a priest. In an unclean land he could no longer perform his duties as a priest because he would be unclean himself. The one who tried to prohibit Amos from his calling would no longer be able to fulfill what he claimed to be his calling. Fifth, Amos quoted Amaziah and declared Israel certainly would go into exile (7:11). The priest of Bethel will witness first-hand what he so strongly opposed in Amos’ message.”¹³

“These are terrible things to befall anyone, but these words highlight the folly of knowing what God is saying but failing to obey it. Amaziah had heard the word of the Lord but rejected it because it did not fit in with his own views or ideas.”¹⁴

Interestingly, some historical traditions teach that a son of Amaziah eventually killed Amos.

Fast forward to the New Testament Church. Every child of God has received the Holy Spirit of God and, as such, has a commission to share the Good News of Jesus! We are charged with delivering this message to our family, friends, neighbors, peers at work, the community, and collectively to all others who are in Christ, ensuring it is brought to every people group on the planet. Peter wrote,

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

We are NOT proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called us if we change the things He who called us told us to believe and say! We can NOT compromise any obvious and essential doctrine of the Gospel. Last week, we looked at a passage in Acts 5 where the Jewish religious leaders beat all twelve Apostles and told them to stop preaching the Gospel. However, that wasn’t their first attempt. Before that, in Acts 4, we read about a time they tried to get Peter and John to stop preaching the Gospel.

18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20)

Like Amaziah, they thought they could control these men born outside of the religious ruling class; these non-theologically educated preachers, who were clearly below them. They charged them as if they had authority over them. However, like Amos, Peter and John, made it really clear that what the religious leaders thought of them, as well as what they wanted them to do, didn’t matter to them at all. They essentially told the religious leaders, “You do you, bro, but we aren’t going to stop speaking what we have seen and heard, and we aren’t going to change it either! We saw the lion of Judah perform miracles, live with pure righteousness, die on a cross, rise from the grave on the third day, and then ascend into heaven! This lion, the Lion of Judah, roared the New Covenant of God for all who repent and believe in Him; and He told us to teach all that He taught, so you must be crazy if you think for a second, we plan on preaching anything BUT what He did and said! There is no way we are going to compromise one jot of what He said! HE’s the LION! HE’s GOD!”

So, let me quickly summarize what it is that you and I cannot compromise on, namely, the things those Apostles made really clear to us as so fundamentally essential that we should under no circumstances water them down, change them, or not preach them. The things we should never not cling to for ourselves, as the things that define who we are, who God is, and how we relate together!

To do this, I will briefly list ten essential core teachings from the New Testament that the church can never change, dilute, or modify in any way without fundamentally altering the Gospel. These are the things we must BOLDLY proclaim with clarity and certainty to the lost World and to one another. I want you to clearly understand that we cannot even so much as entertain the idea of not clinging to and proclaiming these things. I won't explain them today, but rather focus on ensuring you understand what cannot be compromised on in any way by the Church. In the fall of 2024, we conducted a sermon series I created, called “The Blueprint,” during which we explored each of these doctrines (teachings) in much greater depth.

Ten ESSENTIAL Doctrines of the Christian Faith that can NEVER be compromised or silenced:

All of the Bible is God’s Word

As written by the original authors, it is the only inspired (God breathed), infallible (perfectly trustworthy), and inerrant (perfectly correct) Word of God.

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Trinity

God has always been three distinct persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and yet totally one being all at the same time.

19 Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Matthew 28:19)

Jesus is the Eternal Son of God who became a sinless man when The Holy Spirit miraculously conceived Him in a virgin named Mary.

Jesus is the GodMan.He has forever been the Second Person of the Trinity, who is also known as The Word/Logos of God and the Son of God. He did not become a man until He was conceived into the virgin womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. … 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:18-23)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)

The death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb, and yet rose from the grave on the third day, later ascending into heaven in front of hundreds of His disciples.

32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. ” (Acts 2:32-36)

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. (1 Corinthians 15:3-7)

The death of Christ was God’s plan to fully pay for the penalty of our sin. (Doctrine of Atonement).

This is also known as the penal substitutionary death of Christ.Jesus was born to do this.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold,the Lamb of God, whotakes away the sinof the world! (John 1:29)

3 ForI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ diedfor our sinsin accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3)

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Because of Christ, we are eternally saved (justified, redeemed, regenerated, and adopted) by God’s grace through faith alone.

All who repent and believe in Jesus are justified to be eternally adopted as God’s children by nothing more and nothing less than the Grace of God that was purchased and accomplished for us in all that Christ is and did on our behalf.Christ justifies us to be saved because His blood alone pays the price to redeem us from the curse of sin, gives us the right to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and as such brings us into God’s life as those who are eternally adopted by God as His fully favored children forever.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight … 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:1-9)

The Mosaic Law has been fulfilled and entirely replaced by the New Covenant in Christ, whereby the Holy Spirit now leads and empowers all in Christ to obey the moral law of God, which is authoritatively revealed in the New Testament.

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:13)

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who [justify continuing] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:18-21)

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:5-10)

9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:9-10)

Sanctification is the process of growing in God’s life and holiness, not through religious traditions, practices, and rules, but by living in submission to the Holy Spirit.

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. … 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations … 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:16-23)

Nobody knows when the Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection, and the transformation of all who are in Christ will take place, but it is guaranteed to happen.

10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)

16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. … 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:16-19; 50-52)

The Judgement Seat of Christ, Eternal Life, Heaven, and Hell are real!

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8)

Challenge

Which essential doctrine and/or clear moral standard of God are you justifying compromise?

Discussion Guide

There are three parts to the story in Amos 7:10-17 concerning his refusal to compromise what God told him to say and do:

Can anyone give an example of a compromise they later regretted?

The High Priest of Israel conspired against Amos with false

What would you assume are the non-negotiables of a High Priest in Israel?

What Truths did the High Priest compromise on?

The High Priest of Israel tried to arrogantly control

What do we already know about Amos that defies how the High Priest spoke to him and about him in this passage?

Amos announces God’s judgment on the High Priest of Israel and his household!

What, in this passage, shows Amos’ uncompromising character?

*Spend the most amount of your time in the doctrinal statements below. Read through the passages together. Determine, together, why we should never compromise on these truths.

Ten ESSENTIAL Doctrines of the Christian Faith that can NEVER be compromised or silenced:

All of the Bible is God’s Word. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
The Trinity. (Matthew 28:19)
Jesus is the Eternal Son of God who became a sinless man when The Holy Spirit miraculously conceived Him in a virgin named Mary. (Matthew 1:18-23, John 1:14, Colossians 1:15-17)
The death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. (Acts 2:32-36, 1 Corinthians 15:3-7)
The death of Christ was God’s plan to fully pay for the penalty of our sin. (Doctrine of Atonement). (Isaiah 53:5, John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Colossians 2:13-14)
Because of Christ, we are eternally saved (justified, redeemed, regenerated, and adopted) by God’s grace through faith alone. (Ephesians 1:3-14; 2:1-9)
The Mosaic Law has been fulfilled and entirely replaced by the New Covenant in Christ, whereby the Holy Spirit now leads and empowers all in Christ to obey the moral law of God, which is authoritatively revealed in the New Testament. (Galatians 5:18-21, Colossians 3:5-10, Hebrews 8:13; 10:9-10)
Sanctification is the process of growing in God’s life and holiness, not through religious traditions, practices, and rules, but by living in submission to the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 2:20; 5:16, Colossians 2:16-23)
Nobody knows when the Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection, and the transformation of all who are in Christ will take place, but it is guaranteed to happen. (Acts 1:10-11; 1 Corinthians 15:16-19; 50-52)
The Judgement Seat of Christ, Eternal Life, Heaven, and Hell are real! (2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 21:1-8)

Challenge

Which essential doctrine and/or clear moral standard of God are you justifying compromise?

Have the statements we discussed, above, clarified an area where you had questioned compromising?