CONFORMITY,

COMPROMISE,
AND CRISIS IN
WORSHIP

Lesson 8 for August 20, 2011

 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
IN GOD’S EYES
God is the only One who can
correctly distinguish between
good and evil.
The only reliable way to do right
is to follow the advice He has
given us in His word and to obey
His laws and commandments.
“because you have listened to
the voice of the Lord your
God, to keep all His
commandments which I
command you today, to do
what is right in the eyes of
the Lord your God”
(Deuteronomy, 13: 18)
IN MAN’S EYES
Sin is so established in our
human nature that we are not
able to distinguish the
difference between good and
evil by ourselves.
Furthermore, even some of the
angels and Adam and Eve, with
a free of sin nature, chose the
evil path.
“They have all turned aside,
They have together become
corrupt; There is none who
does good, No, not one”
(Psalm, 14: 3)
 DETERIORATION OF WORSHIP
We are going to study three ways of deterioration
that carry us from a true worship to a false one.

• Little subtle changes, small compromises,

apparently without importance, that turn our
Solomon heart away.

• Adapting the way of worshipping, changing

the clear divine rules for other rules that seem
Jeroboam better to us.

• Total rebellion. Stop worshipping God,

looking for other kinds of worship for mere
Ahab amusement, devoting our time to modern
idols or just openly rejecting God.
In the description of the wealth and glory of
Solomon in the Bible (1 Kings, 10-11), we can find
SOLOMON
many signs of moral weakness:

Hoarding wealth
“The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly
“…nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for
was six hundred and sixty-six talents [22,777 kg /
himself” (Dt. 17: 17)
50,214 pound] of gold” (1K. 10: 14,21)

Collecting horses
“And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen;
“But he shall not multiply horses for himself... “
he had one thousand four hundred chariots and
(Dt. 17: 16)
twelve thousand horsemen” (1K. 10: 26)
Marrying non-Israelite women
“Nor shall you make marriages with them [non- “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as
Israelites]... For they will turn your sons away well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the
from following Me, to serve other gods” Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and
(Dt. 7: 3-4) Hittites” (1K. 11: 1)

Marrying several women

“And he had seven hundred wives, princesses,
“Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest
and three hundred concubines; and his wives
his heart turn away... “ (Dt. 17: 17)
turned away his heart” (1K. 11: 3)
Little compromises in Solomon’s
SOLOMON
life led him to openly worship
idols, breaking the covenant he Which are the little things that
made with God in his youth. can turn me away from the
true worship to God?

“Solomon was so engrossed with thoughts of outward

display that he failed to elevate his mind by a constant
connection with the God of wisdom. Perfection and
beauty of character were overlooked in his attempt to
obtain outward beauty. He sold his honor and integrity of
character in seeking to glorify himself before the world,
and finally became a despot, supporting his extravagance
by a grinding taxation upon the people. He first became
corrupt at heart, then he apostatized from God, and
finally became a worshiper of idols”
E.G.W. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, no. 30, “Simplicity in dress”, pg. 628)
JEROBOAM Jeroboam had little
possibilities of keeping the
kingdom united before
Roboam, since the people was
still going to Jerusalem several
times a year to worship.

But God had promised him

that if he obeyed His
commandments, He would
always be with him, his
descendants would reign and
the kingdom of Israel would
be always loyal to Him.
(1 Kings, 11: 38)

Jeroboam tried to make the people of Israel stop

going to Jerusalem, feigning he was obeying God’s
commandments at the same time.
 This was Jeroboam’s solution to modify the divine
worship God ordered, according to his own ideas.
Worship ordered by God Worship according to Jeroboam
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the They worshipped the gods who
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” brought them up from the land of
(Exodus, 20: 2) Egypt. (1 K. 12: 28)

“But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God He established two centers of
chooses, out of all your tribes … and there you shall go” worship, one in Bethel and the other
(Deuteronomy, 12: 5) in Dan. (1 K. 12: 29-30)

“Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites He made common people priests and
from among the children of Israel … to do the work of people in charge of the worship.
the tabernacle of meeting” (Numbers, 18: 6) (1 K. 12: 31)

“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the
Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord”
(Leviticus, 23: 34)
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image …”
(Exodus, 20: 4)
“…and demolish all their high places” (Numbers, 33: 52)
He established the feast of the Eighth
Month 15. (1 K. 12: 32-33)
They made two golden caves as
representations of God. (1 K. 12: 28)
He built high places to worship.
(1 K. 12: 31)
 “Men today are in danger of manifesting the same spirit that
Jeroboam manifested, and of doing a work similar in character
to the work that he did. His plans, put into operation, led the
children of Israel away from God into idolatry, and they
performed and permitted terrible evils. The Judge of all the
earth will lay to the charge of Jeroboam the awful results of his
course. And to the charge of those who follow his example will
be laid the results of their wrong course”

(SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen White commentary on 1 Kings 12: 25-33)

Do I worship God according to my own

opinion or do I seek the right
guidelines in the Word of God?
 AHAB AND THE During Ahab’s reign, the worship to
idols had replaced the worship to God.
PEOPLE OF ISRAEL There were only few believers who
hadn’t bowed the knee to Baal (7,000).
God sent Elijah to face the people and
lead them to make the decision of
abandoning the idols.

On Mount Carmel, the people could

understand the huge difference
between the emotional, stimulating,
noisy and ineffective worship to Baal God accepts the humble
and the simple and effective worship prayer, the simplicity and
to God that Elijah carried out. the order in worship.

We must not think that the greater Our worship must be centered in the
the noise, the louder the music or the true God; it must be established in His
more stimulating our worship is, the Word and it must point God and His
better our worship will be. work in history.
The crucial question Elijah faced is
vitally important for us today:

How long will you falter

between two opinions? If
the Lord is God, follow Him;
but if Baal, follow him”
(1 Kings, 18: 21)

In the End Time, God has raised a people

that must carry the message of Elijah to
the world. The last controversy in Earth
will revolve around worship and will split
the world in two groups: Those who
worship God according to what He
established and those who don’t.

Today God gives you the opportunity to

choose the group you want to be in.
Choose to worship God without
compromise.
“As we near the end of time, falsehood will be so mingled with
truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit
will be able to distinguish truth from error. We need to make
every effort to keep the way of the Lord. We must in no case
turn from His guidance to put our trust in man. The Lord’s
angels are appointed to keep strict watch over those who put
their faith in the Lord, and these angels are to be our special
help in every time of need. Every day we are to come to the
Lord with full assurance of faith, and to look to Him for
wisdom.... Those who are guided by the Word of the Lord will
discern with certainty between falsehood and truth, between sin
and righteousness”

E.G.W. (God’s amazing grace, July 12, p. 201)