The Consequences of an Uncompromising Life, Part 1
Daniel 1:8, 9
...in this tremendous book of Daniel. Take your Bible, if you will, and let's look together at chapter 1 again and beginning at verse 8. Tonight we're going to look at verses 8 through 21...8 through 21...a narrative text. I don't know how far we'll get but we'll move along, and see what it is that God has for us in this tremendous, tremendous section, in the opening portion of this prophecy of Daniel.
An eminent naturalist, in one of his textbooks, describes a marine plant which grows from a depth of 150 to 200 feet and floats on the breakers of the western ocean. The stem of this plant, according to the naturalist is less than an inch thick, yet it grows and thrives and holds its own against the fierce smitings and pressures of the breakers that continue to crash against the shore. What is the secret of this seemingly slender and frail plant and what is the key to its marvelous endurance and resistance of the pressures that are brought to bear upon it? It is because, says the naturalist, the slender plant can face the fury of the elements since it is anchored solidly, grasping, as it were, for its very life to the naked rocks that lie at the very bottom of the water.
It is amazing how in our own lives we can endure the crushing blows of the breakers of life if we have a proper anchor. No matter how oft...how frail we seem, or how slender is the plant, when we have the proper roots and the proper anchor, we can hold ourselves to that ground. If we are to turn that illustration upside down, in a sense, we could say that while the feet of Daniel were in Babylon, his head was definitely in heaven. He really had himself anchored to the things of God. And I believe that the key to the willingness of Daniel to take a stand against the pagan society in which he lived was an unwillingness to compromise the absolutes of God.
Now, one of the things I've believed in since many, many years ago when I first made an affirmation to teach the Word of God, is that where there is a principle of the Word of God you never deviate in terms of your behavior. There are some doubtful things, there are some things in the gray area where we do not have a specific biblical word, but where we know definitely and definitively what the Bible teaches, we take our stand and never compromise. That is where we are anchored. And that is precisely what characterized the life of this man Daniel. He would not vacillate when it came to the absolutes of the law and the Word of God. And it anchored him to a rock of confidence that allowed him to endure all of the storms of the Chaldean-Babylonian situation. And by the way, if you weren't here last time, I'll just remind you that the Chaldeans were really bent upon brainwashing Daniel, his three friends and all the rest of the young Jewish boys that they had deported in the first deportation in 606 B.C. They were committed to a brainwashing process. And Daniel and his three friends resisted that.
Now, remember that I told you last time that they selected these young men in that first deportation really as hostages to make sure that Israel didn't over-react to the initial coming of Nebuchadnezzar...when he first came and started to establish his power in the land of Israel, really in the kingdom of Judah, the hostages were taken to kind of assure the fact that Israel wouldn't rebel or revolt.
But, there was more to it than just that. The Babylonians wanted these young men to be groomed for use in the Babylonian court. I'm sure they had in mind that with their Jewish heritage they could assist them in handling Jewish affairs in future years. And you'll remember that they selected these young men on three basic features or characteristics. Number one was their physical beauty and physical form. Number two was their intellectual prowess and ability. And number three, their social graces. They picked those young men who had the greatest physical attributes, mental attributes and social capacities, to use them in the courts of Babylon.
The plot was very simple. They would brainwash them. They would manage to eliminate in their thinking, their homeland, their heritage, their religion, their God, their loyalties, and everything. And you remember they attempted to do that by changing three things. Number one, they wanted to reeducate them, to give them a Chaldean Babylonian education. Number two, they renamed them giving them Babylonian names in an effort to cut them off from the past. Thirdly, they wanted to impose upon them Chaldean life style.
So, it was a matter of reeducation, it was a matter of redefinition of who they were and it was a matter of reorientation to the matter of living according to a Chaldean life style. And if it worked, they would be sufficiently brainwashed.
Now, historians tell us that it is estimated between fifty and seventy-five of these young men were taken out of the court of Judah; these would be royal seed and the sons of the nobles and the princes of Judah. Fifty to seventy-five were taken and we only know of four that drew the line and were uncompromising. So, it is likely that the brainwashing process worked in the majority of these very young men. You Ill remember that I told you also that they probably were around the age of 14 or 15, not usually a time when a young man has the character that it takes to resist a very sophisticated brainwashing operation which has latent within it some tremendous promise for advancement, for fame and fortune in the Babylonian court.
Now, as we shared last time, Daniel and his three friends did not resist the first efforts. They did not resist the educational process. Secondly, they did not resist the changing of their names. But, thirdly, when it came to reorienting the life style by forcing them to eat the king's food, and to indulge in the fare that was the daily fare of the palace, to reorient themselves to that kind of thing, that's where they said no. And the reason is clear and simple. There was no biblical mandate against the education. There was no biblical mandate against the names. But there was a clear biblical mandate against eating Chaldean food. Number one, it was food offered to idols as was the common custom, all of their feasts were, first of all, offered to gods, their own pagan gods. Secondly, they had very strict dietary laws which would not be adhered to by the Babylonians and therefore while they could do the first two, realizing really what the effort was trying to accomplish and resisting it in the strength of their upbringing and their commitment to God's Word, they could not accept the third because that would have been to deny the absolute statement of the law of God. And the point, beloved, is this, we in our lives must draw the line where God draws the line. And He draws the line of no compromise on the basis of the absolutes of His Word.
Now, you say - Well, what about the first two? It would seem that the education would have been the most threatening. No. Not really...because they were so committed to the Word of God, they would see that education only in light of God's Word...you see. They would interpret it in the light of God's Word. And the second, they could change their names but they sure couldn't change their hearts. They couldn't change their souls. They couldn't change their minds about what they knew to be true. But if they had given in to the third thing and accepted and adapted the Chaldean life style, then they would have denied the Word of God and fallen victim certainly to the educational process. For if they would have compromised the Word of God in their eating they would have easily compromised the Word of God in other areas as well.
And so, we see then that the bottom line in an uncompromising life is the statement of the Word of God. Now, we shared also with you last time that this is a pretty amazing stand for a 14-year-old young man. It says a lot about his character. It says something about his parents. It may say something about the impact on his life of the great revival under Josiah. Somewhere along the line Daniel had a tremendous education. Somewhere along the line he made a commitment to God not to defile himself and even at that early age, he lived that commitment out against incredible odds.
We need to have that same kind of character obviously...that takes an uncompromising stand on the absolutes of the Word of God. And Daniel did it and so did his three friends. And all of the inducements and education and all the encouragements and all the bribes and all the pressures and all the ambitions and all the glories and promises of the king's court couldn't make these four young men compromise what they knew to be the truth. They wouldn't do it. They would learn the king's language. They would study the Chaldean education. There was science and there was mathematics and there were many things that would be helpful. There were some things that were philosophical and theological that they would reject. But there was, in their own hearts, such a commitment to the Word of God and the law of God that all of that education would be filtered, through the truth of God.
And I think we still have this today. I think as Christians, very frequently, when our faith is strong, we hear what the world is saying and we are educated in the world's universities and colleges and so forth but if our faith is strong and our commitment to the Word of God is strong, that education is filtered through the Word of God. And in many cases, it makes us better able to turn the tables and take the Word of God back to them because we can see the weakness in their theories and their theology.
I think of men like Francis Schaeffer who is God's gift, in many ways, to this age. A man who has studied for years and years the philosophies of the world in order that in understanding the philosophies of the world, he might understand how the Word of God speaks to those philosophies and that he might meet them on their own ground with the truth of God. I think of scientists who have, for years, studied the theories of evolution in order that they might be refuted with the text of the Word of God. The philosophies of different cults and false religions have been studied in great detail by godly people who in turn have provided for us resources to counteract and to bring the gospel to people who are trapped in false systems. Daniel and his three friends didn't fear this because they knew they had the grid of the Word of God to which to filter all of this education.
I would warn you at this point not to expose yourself to those kinds of educational opportunities unless you have that grid or you'll find that you're liable to meet a shipwreck of your faith. People say to me - Do you think Christians ought to go to secular universities? The answer to that is I think some Christians ought to go there, not all of them. Some of us, maybe, have to be exposed to that in order to deal with it.
So, they didn't mind the education because they had what it took to deal with the education. And they would even take the Chaldean names; that's not so rare. We live in a society where we're named according to what's current in our society. Names don't mean anything nowadays. That didn't really bother them at all. But they never would adopt the life style. And as I said last time, it's the life style of any society that is the most corrupting, you see. Because once you begin to live the way the society lives, you have abandoned yourself to their philosophy no matter what you've been taught. Life style will always be the most corrupting element of any pagan society.
And so, we see Daniel rejecting at that point. He stops the brainwashing process and will not adapt to their life style. In Proverbs 4:23 it says: "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." And what it means is guard your heart because if you ever lose your heart, if you ever give away that basic part of your being that thinks and responds and motivates and makes you act, if you ever abandon that, the issues of life will be corrupted. Guard your heart...and that's what Daniel did.
Now, for our study, I want us to see the consequences of such a commitment. He made the commitment last week, now what are the results. And by the way, they could have all been bad. I mean, you know, Nebuchadnezzar was not the all-time nice guy. And when he came along and said - I want all these young fellows to eat the king's food, I want to obligate them to me, I want them to feel obliged to me. I want them to know that I have supported them and I have given them the very best. I want them to get a taste of the great stuff that we have here in Chaldea. I want them to hunger for these things and forget the stuff of the past. I want them to adapt to the life style. This is part of the process. And to say - No thanks, king...could have been a pretty serious issue. All you have to do is read a little further in the book and you find out that one time when somebody didn't do what the king said, he threw him in a fiery furnace. And another time when somebody didn't do what the king said, he threw him in a den of lions.
So, the results of taking an uncompromising stand sometimes will be bad. There's no question about it. Sometimes there's a great price to pay. Going against a pagan monarch could be very, Very dangerous. But Daniel had to do it because it was in his character to do it. And his three friends, those wonderful young men mentioned in verse 6; Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, they took their stand and they walked right into that fiery furnace. Daniel took his stand and he walked right into that den of lions. If that's what it has to be, then that's what it has to be. There still would be no compromise.
Now, let's look at the text, beginning in verse 8, and I want you to see a sequence of characteristics. I think this is so exciting...a sequence of characteristics that are true of one that takes an uncompromising stand. When a person determines in his mind to live in an uncompromising way in a pagan society, there is a sequence of characteristics that I see illustrated here and they're not in any particular order, but I just see them manifest. And they are so practical. I'm just going to give them to you kind of in a grocery list, so you can just start writing them down.
Number one, an unashamed boldness...an unashamed boldness. Verse 8, now look at it. "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank, therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs," that's Ashpenaz whom we met last time, "that he might not defile himself." Now, stop right there.
This is fascinating. Here is an unashamed boldness. Daniel says Ashpenaz, I do not wish to eat the king's food; I do not wish to drink the king's wine because it will defile me. Now, wait a minute, Daniel. That's pretty bold stuff. I mean, couldn't you hem and haw a little bit? I mean, you're telling the king that his food will defile you? I love that kind of boldness, don't you? He doesn't say - You know, king, ever since I was a little fella, I've had to have a special diet. He didn't con the king or the prince of the eunuchs; he didn't wiggle out of it. He didn't say - Well, you know, my body won't adjust to this. He didn't say - I'm very ill and, you know, I just don't feel too well. And I...I just better not, it's such rich food. And you know, Oh, I'm so use to the food in the land where I've lived, I just can't digest this.
He doesn't say that. He could have said that. We might do that. You know, many times when we want to get out of a situation that is really a-spiritual issue, we give a reason other than a spiritual reason to get out of it. We don't want to admit that's it. Somebody says to you - Hey, why don't you come along with us, we're going to do this and we're going to do that? And we don't say - Well, you know, I don't believe that's right, I believe it's sinful to do that and I wouldn't compromise my commitment to Jesus Christ. We say - Well, yeah, it would be real nice but I gotta...I gotta stay home tonight, I gotta do something and I...well, you know. We hem and haw. We don't really establish the fact that there's a spiritual issue here. Oh, I love that...Daniel is fourteen years old, what character. He says - By the way, tell the king I can't have his food, it will defile me. An unashamed boldness goes with an uncompromising life. It's a great thing, courageous.
He could have used a word other than defile. That's a very strong word. Something that is defiled, it says in the Old Testament, is an abomination to the Lord. But the reason he can't eat and drink is because he would be defiled so that's what he said. He would be defiled, number one, because it's meat offered to idols and he wouldn't come near an idol. Secondly, held be defiled because it wasn't prepared according to Jewish dietary law and he would be violating God's laws and that constitutes a defilement.
And you know what I believe? He doesn't say in that verse, but the fact that he said that he might not defile himself implies to me that he must have explained to Ashpenaz why it was a defilement. He must have given him a whole deal on the Old Testament dietary laws. And he must have given him a few choice words about idolatry as well. And just let him know the whole deal...this is where I stand...I don't do that because that's not according to God's law.
Oh, you know something? Isn't it a wonderful thing when somebody in the midst of a very tough situation is not ashamed to speak the truth of a commitment to the Lord's Word? That's ... that's real character, people...real character, real uncompromising character. He wasn't ashamed of his God and he wasn't ashamed of his faith in God even in the midst of a pagan society ... even though he was a prisoner of the king, even though the king had the right to kill him for disobedience and rebellion, it never phased his commitment.
Frankly, for normal people, the Bible says the fear of man brings a...what?...a snare. For most people a fear of man traps us, Not Daniel. But those who have an uncompromising character always seem to have the unashamed boldness.
I thought this such an interesting point that I decided to chase it around a little bit in the Bible. And you know I saw it in Moses. I just love that. I see it in Moses. Moses just walks up to Pharaoh and says - Pharaoh, let my people go. Oh, I like that. Let them go, Pharaoh. And Pharaoh says - Let me show you who's boss. And he calls his magicians and they do tricks and throw their little sticks down and their sticks turn into snakes and Moses throws his little stick down and it turns into a snake and eats their snakes. And he says - Let my people go. He wasn't afraid to stand up for his God. I love it when I see Moses and he...he actually slays an Egyptian who is suppressing a Jew, he wasn't afraid to stand up for God ... and for his people.
I see it with David. A couple of times the Psalms record things that give us this insight into David's heart. Psalm 40, I love this, verse 9...well, verse 8: "I delight to do Thy will, O my God. Yea, Thy law is within my heart." Now, anytime a person has the law of God in their heart and they want to do the law, that's the uncompromising spirit, that's just like Daniel. David says - I know your law, and I'm committed to doing it. "So, I have preached righteousness in the congregation. Lo, I have not restrained my lips, O Lord, Thou knowest." I never pulled a punch. I never held back a word of righteous truth. "I have not," he says in verse 10, "hidden Thy righteousness within my heart. I have declared Thy faithfulness. I have declared Thy salvation. I have not concealed Thy loving kindness. I have not concealed Thy truth from the great congregation." He says - God, I am committed to it and I have unashamedly, boldly preached it. O, God, give us people like this.
Later on in Psalm 71, in verse 15: "My mouth shall show forth Thy righteousness and Thy salvation all the day." All day long, he says, my mouth will show forth Thy righteousness and salvation. Unashamed boldness.
Daniel's friends had it. Look over at the third chapter of Daniel. It's just really great. Verse 13: "Nebuchadnezzar was so furious and filled with rage that he brings in Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael, renamed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And he brought them in and he said unto them: "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?" Have you failed to do what I told you to do? "Now if you be ready that at that time that you hear the sound of the...and then he names the whole orchestra that blew when it was time to worship the gods. "If you don't fall down, I'll cast you in the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" He has a rather weak view of God.
"Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego answered and said," I love this, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we're not careful to answer thee in this manner. It's no big deal to respond to you. "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, tie it known unto thee, O king, that we'll not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." It doesn't matter what happens, we won't worship your image. Oh, what boldness...what upright character is manifest in those three young boys.
We see it again in the New Testament so many times--this same kind of unashamed boldness that comes with an uncompromising heart. I'm thinking of a verse here, yes, Mark 8:38, our Lord says: "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Wow! That's pretty strong stuff, isn't it?
In 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 16, it says: "If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed." You know, when you suffer for a Christian, you know, when you take a lot of abuse and people talk down to you and people hassle you, it's easy to just kind of be ashamed to be a Christian and you just clam up. As I've said, some Christians are like the Arctic River, frozen over at the mouth. They just don't say anything. They just don't let it be known because of shame. But Peter says - Let none of you suffering as a Christian be ashamed.
I love to see Paul at the end of the book of Acts. As he paraded through a bunch of puppet rulers (Felix, Festus, Agrippa) and every time, without hesitation, boldly, unashamedly he preaches Jesus Christ. He writes to Timothy and he says - Timothy, Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. And, Timothy, do not be ashamed of me, the prisoner of Christ, and do not be ashamed of the gospel.
A beautiful verse is recorded in Psalm 119:46. It says this: "I will speak of Thy testimonies also before kings and will not be ashamed." Isn't that great? I will speak Thy testimonies also before kings and will not be ashamed. There shouldn't be anybody in this world to intimidate you out of your message...nobody.
Daniel had the character that stands fearlessly and boldly and unashamedly before kings and speaks what is the truth...an undaunted spirit of complete commitment to God that rendered him amazingly honest. Isn't that great--being valiant for the truth?
Ezekiel calls it setting your face like flint. And flint, of course, was very hard, being resolute, non-compromising. In fact, in 1 Chronicles 12:8 the same virtue is called setting your face like a lion. Not too many things intimidate a lion.
In Philippians chapter 1 verse 27, 1 just love this, "Only let your conduct be as it becometh the gospel of Christ that whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel." Now, listen to this one, "And in nothing terrified by your adversaries." Isn't that great? In nothing terrified by your adversaries. Boldly willing to stand and speak.
I found an interesting illustration in an old book. This is out of a sermon by D. L. Moody and I'm going to read it to you.
"There's a story of a young man that came up with a little handful of men to attack a king who had a great army of 3,000 men. The young man had only 500 and the king sent a messenger to the young man saying, that he need not fear to surrender for he would treat him mercifully. The young man called up one of his soldiers and said, take this dagger and drive it to your heart. And the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his heart. And calling up another, he said to him, leap into yonder chasm. And the man leaped into the chasm. The young man then said to the messenger, now go back and tell your king I've got 500 more like these. We will die, but we will never surrender. And tell your king another thing, that I will have him chained with my dog inside half an hour. And when the king heard that, he didn't dare to meet them and his army fled before them like chaff before the wind and within 24 hours, he had the king chained with his dog."
I trust D.L. Moody, but I don't know how true that story is. I'm certainly not going to despair of the man who isn't around, but it illustrates the point. There's a level of commitment involved. Uncompromising character has a holy, fearless courage that knows no shame in bearing the name of Jesus Christ. And so, in a way, you can measure whether you have that uncompromising stand, whether you're living that uncompromising life if you find that unashamed boldness.
END OF SIDE ONE
SIDE TWO
I tell you, once in your own mind, like Daniel, you purpose in your heart that where God's Word draws an absolute line, you will draw an absolute line and unashamedly and boldly you will stand there and you will speak His testimonies before kings, you're going to find that boldness a reality in your life. And you know what? Those are the kind of people God really uses.
I have a friend, and some of you may have met him, Rick Wilder. He lives up in San Francisco and he feels God's called him to confront sinners. And that's the place to do it. He has a church there. He has that church and he...he just takes his people out and they just go right down the street and he just goes right up to the homosexuals and tells them they need Jesus Christ. And he starts on the street corner and he just preaches Jesus Christ to the top of his voice. He gets drug addicks...addits, former homosexuals, the most dissolute people you can imagine, the outcasts of society, those harlots and everything else and he's started a little church and he's got a church of the biggest pile of has-beens you ever saw. And he says trying to mold them into some semblance of a body is just a difficult task. He told me, he said - You know, I'd like to take a vacation, I'd like to take a day off, but if I leave these people one day without hanging on the edge of them, they'll fall back into their old way. So, he says, I can't leave town for a day. And he spends all day, all week long, ministering to these people. He has an uncompromising spirit that issues in an unashamed boldness.
Let me give you a second point. I believe an uncompromising life wil