When the Enemy Smiles: The Deception of Compromise
Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price
When "Almost Right" Becomes Completely Wrong: The Subtle Danger of Compromise
SEO Headline: The Deception of Compromise: How to Recognize and Resist Spiritual Drift | Barry's Bureau
Meta Description: Discover how spiritual compromise begins in small, reasonable-sounding steps and learn practical ways to stay alert, maintain holiness, and find restoration through grace.
Tags: spiritual warfare, holiness, compromise, 1 Peter 5, Samson and Delilah, spiritual vigilance, Christian living, Romans 12, mind renewal, grace and restoration
📖 1,448 words | ⏱️ 7-minute read
The Enemy's Favorite Smile
Have you ever noticed how the most dangerous lies are the ones wrapped in a little bit of truth? How the slipperiest slopes start with the smallest steps? We're wrapping up a powerful series on spiritual warfare at Schrader Lane Church of Christ, and Dr. Richard Price left us with perhaps the most unsettling warning yet: The enemy doesn't always show up breathing fire. Sometimes he smiles.
He smiles when we rationalize, when we negotiate. When we tell ourselves, "It's not that serious," or "Everyone else is doing it," or "God understands my situation."
The smile gets wider when we start calling our convictions "opinions" and our commitments "preferences."
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith." — 1 Peter 5:8-9
This isn't about paranoia—it's about awareness. Peter uses the Greek word grēgoreō, which means to be awake, watchful, vigilant. And here's what should grab our attention: the word "devour" doesn't mean nibble or bite. It means to consume whole.
The enemy doesn't play fair. He plays for keeps.
Where Compromise Really Begins
Here's what makes compromise so dangerous: it doesn't start with your behavior. It starts with your reasoning.
Paul warns us in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Notice where the transformation happens? In the mind. The battlefield isn't your home or your workplace—it's your thought life.
The enemy whispers:
"It's not that serious..."
"You deserve this..."
"Nobody will know..."
"Just this once..."
"God understands..."
And slowly, imperceptibly, holiness becomes negotiable. What was once a firm conviction softens into an opinion. What was once a non-negotiable standard becomes a flexible guideline. Before you realize it, you've wandered so far from God's Word that you can't even see where you started.
The Tragedy of Samson: A Case Study in Compromise
The sermon unpacked one of Scripture's most heartbreaking examples of compromise—Samson, the judge called and consecrated before birth, who confused grace with permission.
Samson didn't fall all at once. He fell in stages:
Stage 1: He Flirted with Disobedience
"One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye... 'Get her for me. She looks good to me.'" — Judges 14:1-3
Before Delilah ever entered the picture, Samson was already compromising his calling by seeking connection outside the covenant. Desire overruled discipline. He started entertaining what God had forbidden.
Stage 2: He Played with Boundaries
"One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute" (Judges 16:1). What began as an interest in forbidden relationships turned into deliberate boundary-breaking. His physical journey to Gaza symbolized his heart's journey away from obedience.
Stage 3: He Joked About the Anointing
When Delilah pressed him for the secret of his strength, Samson began mocking the sacred. He played with his anointing, treating divine power like a party trick instead of a consecrated gift. "If I were tied up with seven fresh bowstrings..." he lied, making light of what God had made holy (Judges 16:7).
The result? Strength gone. Eyes gouged out—purpose bound in chains.
Visual Caption: This diagram illustrates the progressive nature of spiritual compromise as seen in Samson's story. Compromise rarely happens in one dramatic moment—it's a gradual drift through three dangerous stages, each one making the next seem more reasonable.
The Modern Mirror
Think about how this plays out today:
Stage 1 looks like: "I know I shouldn't be watching this, but everyone else is..." "Just one drink, what's the harm?" "I'll skip church just this once, I'm exhausted..."
Stage 2 looks like: Deliberately putting yourself in compromising situations and keeping secrets from accountability partners. Justifying decisions you'd have called someone else out for six months ago.
Stage 3 looks like: Making jokes about sin. Using grace as a license. Calling biblical standards "legalistic." Treating your relationship with God like one option among many, rather than the foundation of everything.
Here's the scariest part: You don't lose your spiritual power overnight. You lose it little by little. One day, you realize you can't pray like you used to. You can't praise like you used to. You don't feel the fire you once had.
Because compromise has drained your spiritual strength.
The Beautiful Hope of Restoration
But wait—there's breathtakingly good news in this story.
Even when Samson lost his strength, the text says, "the hair on his head began to grow again" (Judges 16:22). God wasn't finished with him. The sermon gave us this powerful truth: "Grace will always grow before it's gone."
You don't just lose sight of your calling overnight. And you don't have to stay in a place you've compromised. If you turn your eyes back to God, you will grow again.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." — Romans 12:1
Holiness isn't a chore. It's a life. It's not about what you avoid—it's about who you're running toward.
Key Takeaways
The enemy's favorite strategy is to make the wrong look reasonable. Compromise begins in your thought life before it ever shows up in your behavior.
Spiritual drift happens in stages. Flirting with disobedience leads to boundary-breaking, which in turn trivializes the sacred.
What was once conviction becomes opinion. When faith loses its distinctiveness, it loses its power.
Grace grows before it's gone. No matter how far you've drifted, restoration is possible when you turn back to God.
Holiness is a life, not a list. It's about presenting yourself as a living sacrifice—which means staying alert, staying connected, and staying committed even when it's countercultural.
7 Action Steps to Guard Against Compromise
Conduct a "Thought Audit." For seven days, write down three thoughts that rationalize compromise, then counter each with Scripture. Choose one concrete step of obedience daily.
Identify your "Timnah." Where are you flirting with disobedience? What forbidden territory are you entertaining in your mind?
Examine your boundaries. Are there lines you've crossed that you wouldn't have crossed a year ago? Name them specifically.
Check your tone about holy things. Are you joking about sin? Making light of spiritual disciplines? Mocking people who take obedience seriously?
Restore the disciplines. Prayer, Scripture reading, worship, service, forgiveness—what have you stopped doing that once shaped your identity?
Find authentic accountability. Not people who will shame you, but people who will challenge you in love and celebrate your growth.
Remember whose you are. You're not just resisting the enemy—you're running toward God. Keep that vision clear.
A Word to Our Community
One of the most powerful moments in this sermon came from Dr. Price's personal reflection at Brother Tuggers' funeral. Despite a life marked by seasons of going off track, the focus wasn't on condemnation—it was on God's relentless love and the good this man had done for countless churches and young people.
The message? The church is called to represent God's love even in life's most challenging moments. We're called to care for one another, challenge each other in love, and welcome those who return home.
This isn't about being soft on sin. It's about being strong in grace. It's about maintaining holiness while extending hope. It's about living so distinctively that the world sees Jesus in us—not our lights or applause, but our authentic love for God and one another.
Your Move
So where do you stand today?
Maybe you're reading this, and you can identify exactly where you started compromising. Maybe it was a small step that seemed harmless at the time. Maybe you're several stages deep and the enemy is smiling because you're not even sure you have the strength to turn back.
Here's what I want you to hear: The hair begins to grow again.
Peter says, "Be alert and of sober mind" (1 Peter 5:8). Paul says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). Both are calling you to wake up, stand firm, and remember that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
You don't have to publicize every detail of your struggle. But you do need to bring it to God. Come forward for prayer. Talk to a trusted spiritual friend. Take the first step back toward holiness.
Because the enemy prowls, but he cannot destroy a child of God who stays alert.
Join us for our next series: Starting in November, we'll be exploring "The Harvest of God." If today's message stirred something in your spirit, we'd love to see you at Schrader Lane Church of Christ—where we're committed to authentic community, bold truth, and radical grace.
Discussion Prompt for Small Groups or Personal Reflection:
Which of the three stages of compromise (flirting with disobedience, playing with boundaries, joking about the sacred) do you find yourself most vulnerable to? What would it look like to turn back at that specific stage before moving deeper into compromise?
Sermon delivered by Dr. Richard Price at Schrader Lane Church of Christ, October 19, 2025.