10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10 (NASB)
Regardless of how many in the “visible church” feel about it, our Lord was quite serious when he said that the gate that all true believers enter to begin their pilgrimage as Christians as being small, narrow, and hard to find and the way they go from there to Him in eternity is straight and narrow and full of tests and trials. As we meditate on these things it can be quite disturbing as we witness once solid Christian leaders begin to compromise; some even to the point of apostasy. In any case, we must be honest, those who are compromising like this who were formerly quite solid in their ministries are doing so for the very same reason that any one else is deceived.