Read Nehemiah 13:1-14. One of the greatest challenges that you face as a follower of Jesus is the ability to remain diligent and not be tempted to ease up or compromise when pursuing your life purpose. It is easy to put areas of your life in cruise control after experiencing seasons of victory or become less disciplined when things are going well. This is exactly what happened to the Israelites, and 15 years after successfully rebuilding Jerusalem, Nehemiah had to severely rebuke and correct the sin that had slowly crept in.

• What are some “cruise control” areas of your life right now? Are they in danger of compromise?


• Has the lack of discipline in one area of your life every spilled over into another area of your life? Explain.

Read Ephesians 6:11 & I Corinthians 15:33. In rejecting compromise you must first keep in mind that subtle compromises ultimately lead to sin and great consequences. The first thing you must remember to do is always reevaluate your friends and associates. At times people close to you might actually be the ones who bring out the worst in you. True friends and associates only bring out the best in you, and it is vital to surround yourself with positive Godly people who will help you and not hurt you in your walk with Christ.

• Can you describe a time that a little compromise eventually led you to being tempted to big compromises?


• Describe a time that a friend or associate influenced you to do something you knew was wrong. How would you evaluate your closest friends right now?

Re-read Nehemiah 13:6-8 & Read Acts 1:8. The second thing you need to do to reject compromise in your life is to recommit to integrity. As a Jesus follower you must always be aware that evil’s goal is to compromise your integrity in little things so that you more easily fall to bigger sin. Integrity is doing the right thing when no one else is looking and you are probably tempted to do wrong every day, even though you have the right intentions. To overcome, you need to have both courage and accountability; courage to call out evil when you see it and accountability to others to help you to live out your Christian life.

• Where do you constantly see the lack of integrity on a day to day basis? How does that affect your own thoughts and actions?


• Have you spoken out against evil or compromise? What happened as result?


• Have you ever helped keep someone accountable? Who keeps you accountable in your life goals?

Re-read Nehemiah 13:9-14. Finally, to fully reject compromise you must purposely realign your priorities. Just as Nehemiah reprioritized God’s house and the work of God’s priests in the role of the Jews, you too must honor God first with your life including your work, your finances, your family, your service, etc. When your priorities are realigned then God will reposition you to operate in your passion and purpose and you will be able to keep your life free and far from compromise.

• Are there some priorities in your life that need to be changed or re-emphasized? What are they?


• What is an area in your life that you need to recommit to integrity? Who will help you?