Conquering Compromise
The Conquering King, Part Eleven — Joshua 11:15, 23
Preached Sunday, October 4, 2026 by Pastor Jeremy Arnold
Joshua 11:15, 23 • Ephesians 4:4–6 • Joshua 23:6, 12–13 • Ephesians 6:12 • Colossians 1:13 • Matthew 6:24 • 1 John 2:15–17 • James 4:4 • 1 Peter 2:9 • Romans 8:37
Last week the call was to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This week we come to the one price unity may never be bought at. Biblical unity is Christ-centered or it is nothing — and the ground we quietly refuse to give Him is the ground the enemy keeps.
“Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.”
“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.”
Over the last several weeks we have watched Joshua and Israel cross the Jordan into the promised land. We have watched Jericho fall. We saw the victory over Ai. We saw the dangers of deception in Joshua 9. We have watched God fight for His people in Joshua 10. We have talked about conquering the flesh, and about choosing Christ over temptation. And just last week we talked about conquering divisions, because the enemy knows a house divided cannot stand.
Paul, in his address to the Ephesians, stressed the importance of maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. But here is something important we need to understand.
Biblical unity is Christ-centered:
“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
When I say compromise, I am talking about compromising our obedience and our allegiance to God.
What do we do when maintaining unity becomes difficult? What about when obedience requires us to separate from compromise?
Sometimes obedience requires us to separate ourselves from sinful practices, relationships, influences or allegiances that are pulling us away from Christ — while still being present in the world, and still loving people who do not follow Christ.
Joshua 11:15 says that as the LORD commanded Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
He simply left nothing undone. God had entrusted Joshua to lead His people and to obey His Word even when it was not easy or convenient.
We have been talking about conquering the flesh, resisting temptation, the way of escape and conquering divisions. Compromise can undermine every bit of that.
- “It’s not that bad.”
- “I know what God says, but …”
- “Everyone else is doing it.”
- “God understands.”
The conquest was not only about territory. It was about God’s covenant, and His calling Israel to live as a people faithful to Yahweh.
- Who is going to be worshipped?
- Who gets allegiance?
- Who gets authority?
- Who gets our heart?
Here is where the problem lies. We are participants in a war that is taking place in two dimensions, seen and unseen. Paul states it clearly:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
And Christ has come to redeem people out of that darkness:
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”
It is about believing loyalty — practicing what we say we believe.
Compromise opens the door to what God told Moses, told Joshua, and tells us to leave behind. In Joshua 23 we see that this is a principle Joshua understands, as he calls the elders together and exhorts them:
“Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,”
can become assimilation.
can become idolatry.
can become spiritual bondage.
That is what happens when Israel does not completely remove the influences of the nations. Joshua tells them exactly what it will cost:
“For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.”
The problem was not living near these people. The danger was that Israel would adopt their ways and their worship.
Often “How did I get here?” began as “It’s not a big deal.”
Compromise always asks us to divide our loyalty.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Compromise is always willing to give God part of something while giving the rest to someone, or something, else.
And the question then becomes: whose kingdom are we living for?
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
The world system is in opposition to God and, Scripture tells us, it is entangled with spiritual powers of darkness that seek to draw humanity away from Him.
Money, sex, pride, fear, the flesh, materialism — every one of them says the same thing: trust me, satisfy yourself, exalt yourself, protect yourself, do what feels good, you need more.
Peter was addressing Christian communities in Asia Minor when he wrote:
“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.”
Having said that, the call to holiness is not so much to remove things as it is to receive Christ. A lot of the time what people hear is legalism — do’s and don’ts, works, stop this and stop that — when in fact it is about belonging to Someone. Christ.
- I am not simply saying no to the flesh — I am saying yes to the Spirit.
- I am not only walking away from darkness — I am walking toward the Light, the Light of the world, Jesus.
And here is the good news. Christ conquered sin, death, hell and the grave:
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
We are not trying to conquer compromise in our own strength. Our Conquering King has already defeated the powers of darkness, and He calls us to remain faithful to Him. — Pastor Jeremy Arnold
What has God already made plain to me that I have left half finished — and what would finishing it cost me this week?
Which of compromise’s four sentences is the one I reach for? Say it out loud and see whether it survives being heard.
Whose voice am I around the most, and is it moving me toward Christ or quietly assimilating me?
Where am I giving God part of something while handing the rest to someone, or something, else?
“He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.”
Joshua 11:15 (ESV)
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