From the very beginning of the church in the first century, there have been those who have been prone to compromise the gospel in order to appease people, trying to make it easier for them to accept. This tendency has always caused far more problems for the church and the faithful than it alleviated by making the faith seem more acceptable or less offensive. This has made more hypocrites than true converts and ultimately it led to the darkest period of church history. Since then there has been a gradual climbing out of the darkness and a recovery of light and truth.
The light and truth that have been recovered is the result of true disciples who became leaders because they resolved to please God more than men, casting off the temptation to compromise the gospel and resolve to see and live by the truth before God, regardless of what others thought about it. For this reason, those who are recovering more truth are inevitably surrounded by controversy and conflict, but that is a small price to pay for the peace within when we know that we are pleasing God.
At the same time this recovery of truth is taking place and the glory and light that it is releasing into those who are in pursuit of truth and light, there is also increasing darkness and confusion growing in those who live seeking to please men rather than God. As Paul wrote in Galatians 1:10, "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." To the degree that we live trying to please men, we will depart from the true service of the Lord.
If we are going to be a part of His purposes, and help prepare the way for His kingdom, we must be free from the fear of man and live by the fear of God alone, as the Lord Jesus Himself made clear in John 5:44:
The Greek word that is translated "glory" in this statement is doxa, which could also be translated "recognition" or "honor." As the Lord was stating with this question, it is not possible to have if we are living in order to receive glory or recognition from men, instead of from God. The fear of man is the most basic destroyer of true faith.
As we proceed toward the end of this age, there will be true disciples and true leadership raised up which is free from the fear of man and lives only to please and serve the Lord. These will be considered the most dangerous people on the face of the earth. They will be dangerous to all who live by compromise and all that has been built for man rather than God. The kingdoms of this world, the kingdoms of men, and the kingdom of God, are on a collision course, and the conflict between them will steadily increase. However, if we know that we are obeying God and pleasing Him, we can have the whole world against us and be in perfect peace.
Though leaders and true disciples who live and are motivated only by the will of God may still be rare, they are among us even now. They are the leaven of the kingdom which will leaven the whole lump, the whole church. As we read in the following Scriptures, Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue which represented the kingdoms of this earth throughout history:
Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold--the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure (Daniel 2:44-45 NKJV).
The kingdom of heaven is right now invading the earth. As was explained in Daniel 2:35, "And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (NKJV). There is a kingdom in the midst of the kingdoms of this earth which will grow from a stone until it is a mountain or a government, and then it will keep growing until it covers the whole earth. This kingdom is composed of those whose lives are devoted to following the King. You can expect such to arise in every congregation. They will be an increasing challenge to all who compromise, who try to live lives of political and social correctness, just as the King Himself was, and the messenger who prepared His way the first time He came.
We tend to think of governments just in their political form, but spiritual governments are realms of power and influence. This includes entities such as the media, industries, economic institutions, educational institutions, etc. A Stone is coming to strike the systems of this world, and those who do not bow the knee to the King will be like chaff before the wind. It is now being determined who will be a part of the Stone, and who will be a part of the chaff. As the Lord made clear in Matthew 16:24-26:
or whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.
"For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul?"
Paul the Apostle said that he died daily (see I Corinthians 15:31). He was a true disciple. The same is true of all true disciples—they lay down their own lives every day to do the will of the Lord. They do not live for themselves, but they live for Him. Every day we are given the choice of who we live for—ourselves or Him. Every day we can count on at least one opportunity to take up our own crosses, to die to our own will or ambitions, to stand for His truth, and to serve Him instead of seeking to please men. How are we choosing? This is a primary factor that will determine which kingdom we are a part of and which kingdom we will be standing with at the end.
Those who think that they would certainly lay down their lives rather than compromise their faith in Jesus and His truth are only fooling themselves if they are not doing this daily. Compromising the truth that we know is compromising our basic integrity, and this is a cancer which will spread until it takes over the whole body. If we are not obedient in the little things, we will not be obedient in the big ones. The Greek word that is often translated "witness" in the New Testament could have literally be translated "martyr." We are called to be a martyr every day. It is by this laying down of our own lives, our self will, that we really witness to the truth of the gospel.
We can be sure there will be an increasing dichotomy between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. Those who are servants of the King will stand out in increasing contrast. Jesus Christ is the answer to every human problem, and the failure to submit to God, to obey Him, is the ultimate cause of every human problem. This will be increasingly clear as we proceed toward the end of this age. How we choose today can help determine whether we will be a part of the Stone that will strike the feet of all of man's kingdoms, or the chaff.
We must resolve now that we are going to choose wisely and never, ever, compromise our convictions for the sake of appeasing or seeking the recognition of people, even other Christians. If we are going to be a part of the kingdom of God, then it must be the Lord God who we serve with our lives, not men.