What kinds of things should I be unwilling to adapt to?

Exodus 23:2You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.

Ezekiel 11:12“And you will know that I am the Lord. For you have refused to obey my decrees and regulations; instead, you have copied the standards of the nations around you.”

Ezekiel 20:32“You say, ‘We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.”

1 Corinthians 15:33Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

We should not adapt to those around us when they are not following God’s ways.

2 Chronicles 30:7“Do not be like your ancestors and relatives who abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and became an object of derision, as you yourselves can see.”

Psalm 78:8Then they will not be like their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

We should not adapt to the heritage, traditions, or behaviors of even our relatives or family if they are causing us to disobey God.

John 14:6Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Acts 17:11The people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

Galatians 1:6-11I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning.

2 Timothy 4:3-4A time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

2 Peter 2:1-3There were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

The message of Jesus Christ may be expressed in different ways to different audiences, but its truths are unchanging. “Adapting” the gospel to remove the parts that make it uncomfortable and challenging removes the gospel’s power—after all, the gospel is meant to challenge us and change us. Jesus called us to be his messengers, not his salespeople. He doesn’t need us to spin his message to make it more palatable. Like the Bereans, we are called to seek God’s word to us to understand that gospel, then share it just as we have received it. If we have truly experienced the conviction of God’s word in our minds, the work of his Spirit in our hearts, and the imprint of his love on our lives, we should be confident that God’s truth can stand on its own two feet.