a better witness for Christ?
3. What are some ways of overcoming your fear of testifying for Christ at your place of work or study?
4. In what ways can your church or fellowship group help you to be a better witness for Christ?
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The Challenge to Live as a Christian
in a Non-Christian World
(Daniel 3:8-18)
The most obvious issue for us as we come to the end of the book is whether or not we will actually work on all the things that we have learned when we go back to our normal routines. It is my hope and prayer that this concluding message from God's Word will challenge our hearts to do just that.
Ultimately, the implementation of all the principles we have learnt boils down to the willingness to deny ourselves in order to take a stand we need to take, for the Lord in the non-Christian world. If only we have this willingness to take a stand for the Lord, even if it means denying ourselves certain conveniences, advantages, opportunities and even if it means denying ourselves our right to live, then we would really seek to implement these principles. One way that we can find this willingness in ourselves, is to consider the godly examples of those who have denied themselves to take a stand for the Lord. We are therefore going to look at Daniel chapter 3, and see how three godly Jews by the name of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did this.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were three friends of Daniel (who is famous for being delivered by God in the Lion's Den). With Daniel they had been taken away from their homeland in Judah by the Babylonians about the year 607 B.C. to live as captives of King Nebuchadnezzar and to serve him. And so, as young men, they found themselves totally immersed in a sinful and ungodly environment,
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and were always under tremendous pressure to conform to its values, practices and relationships.
The place where they were taken to was the city of Babylon which had existed for 1,000 years. Nebuchadnezzar had rebuilt the city and made it the greatest city in the world of his time, famous for its towers and the structure called "The Hanging Gardens of Babylon" — about 35 storeys high. But it was also a place of sinful idolatry with no less than eight big temples, each dedicated to a different god — Adad, Belitnina, Ninmah, Ishtar, Marduk (chief), Gula, Ninurta and Shamash (sun-god).
Our situation today, as Christians living in a non-Christian world has some similarities to theirs. Like them, we also find ourselves living in a sinful and ungodly world and we are always under pressure to conform to its values, practices and relationships.
These three Jewish friends had successfully taken a stand with Daniel in the very first chapter of the book, where the issue was whether they should violate God's Law by eating the king's food. But in that event, Daniel appeared to have been their leader and they benefited much from his solid convictions and resolute initiative.
But now, in chapter three, Daniel was not around to help or influence them. He must have been away in some other place when all the events of this chapter happened. This then would be the real test of their convictions. Would they still take a stand even when Daniel was not with them? There are times when Christians have the courage to do what they should do, only because they are under the strong influence of other spiritually strong Christians, like their pastor or their Bible study leader. But once they are no longer under their influence and have to stand all on their own, they succumb to the pressures around them. This unfortunate thing has happened to many students who went for studies overseas and it is sad to hear that. You cannot always depend on someone else's spiritual convictions. You must have strong spiritual convictions of your own.
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Daniel's friends proved to have developed strong convictions of their own. They demonstrated it well here in chapter three. Let us study this passage now and see what really happened: Daniel 3:1, "Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon."
Nebuchadnezzar's monument to His Kingdom
The Description of the image (3:1): There are several things for us to note about this image or statue.
a. The size: 60 cubits high, 6 cubits wide (about 27.5 metres by 2.75 metres ), higher than a ten-storey building. The image was probably placed on a pedestal. It is interesting that archaeologists have recently discovered a brick pedestal in the mounds of Dura in present-day Iraq. It measured 14 by 14 by 6 metres. There was no sign of the statue — it was probably destroyed.
b. The location: The plain of Dura, near the city of Babylon. Since it was on a flat plain, it could be seen easily for miles around. The plain was named after the river Dura which empties into the Euphrates river just 10 kilometres south of Babylon.
c. The material: Gold. Either solid gold (700–800 tons, which would be valued today at about S$15 billion) or gold-plated stone or metal. The statue may well have been solid gold, as Nebuchadnezzar was famous for making gold very common in the city of Babylon. Also, this would explain the presence of the huge furnace nearby in which the three friends were cast. This furnace would have served the purpose of casting the image.
d. The form: Probably that of a man, judging from its tall proportions. Perhaps it was the statue of Nebuchadnezzar himself, or of his patron god, Nebo. The size, material and form of the image reflect the greatness of this god and on the whole Babylonian empire.
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Although there are still many people in the world today who worship
idols of stone, wood and metal, for the majority of the world, the idols are no
longer material anymore, but no less imposing than Nebuchadnezzar's image:
Power, Wealth, Fame, Health, Success, and Pleasure. These are now the gods
that many in the non-Christian world serve and worship today.
The Worship of the Image (3:2-6): "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up."
a. Eight classes of Babylonian bureaucracy from the whole empire were ordered to come for the dedication ceremony of the image (3:2). There must have been a great crowd, perhaps a few thousand, standing before the image. "Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."
b. The worship of the image was instituted as a state religion — it was compulsory! Failure to comply would be regarded as a crime against the state, and would be punishable with death in the nearby giant furnace (cf. Rev. 13:14, 15, the same thing will happen again during the time of the Antichrist).
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The Three Jewish Friends' Obedience to their God
(3:7-20)
Their test: In spite of the great pressure to conform to what everyone else did, the three friends did not comply with the king's order. When the crowd grovelled on the plain, these three stood out like sore thumbs. They deliberately defied the king's order, willing to risk their high position, the royal favour they enjoyed, and even their own lives.
According to verse 8, their enemies took this opportunity to accuse them before the king. "Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews." Look at what they said in verse 12, "There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." The charge was misconstrued as one of disloyalty to the State ("they have not regarded thee.")
In verses 13 to 15 the king made them an offer: "Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace;"
Despite his anger, Nebuchadnezzar gave them the opportunity to save themselves. He would order the musicians to play the song of worship once more so that the three men would have another chance to prove their loyalty and obedience by bowing down to the image (3:15).
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Now look at the King's proud boast at the end of verse 15, "who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" By saying this Nebuchadnezzar had now converted his confrontation with the three men into a contest with the Lord God Almighty! He had challenged God.
Their Stand: Let us see how the three Jews responded to this threat in verses 16 to18 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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 thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
There are three points to note in their response. Firstly, they made no defence or apology for what they did ("we are not careful to answer thee in this matter" (v.16). Secondly, they were confident that God would be able to deliver them if it was His will to do so (v.17). And thirdly, they were willing to meet their end, if it was not God's will to deliver them (v.18) — They put God's glory before their own personal safety.
Their deliverance: The King then issued his diabolical order (3:19-23) "Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated." The heat of the furnace was increased probably by installing additional bellows to blow more air in.
"And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the
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flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." (vv.20-23)
Remember now, that all these gruesome proceedings were being carefully watched and witnessed by the great multitude of officials. The king planned to make a public example of these three to strike terror and fear into the hearts of the officials and teach everyone never to disobey his orders. Nebuchadnezzar expected to watch the three men burn to ashes. To his utter amazement, he saw them walking around inside the super-heated furnace, unbound and unharmed, "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." (3:24-25).
Who was this fourth man? In 3:28, Nebuchadnezzar concluded that it was an angel from God. Perhaps this could have been Christ Himself in one of his pre-incarnate appearances (cf. Micah 5:2). It is interesting to note that more than a hundred years earlier, the Lord had made a wonderful promise in Isaiah 43:2, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." If this event in Daniel 3 was the literal fulfilment of this promise, then the Lord was, in a real sense, with them. He was the fourth man in the furnace. This gives us a picture of the Christian who takes a firm stand for the Lord in this sinful world — Christ will be with him to strengthen him — what great comfort!
After getting over the shock of seeing the fourth man, Nebuchadnezzar's attitude changed. He was no longer angry with them, but had fear and respect for them. "Then Nebuchadnezzar
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came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them." (26-27).
What a powerful impact this must have made! The whole crowd of officials who had been summoned to be there to be impressed by the image, ended up being more impressed with the power of God. When they returned to their respective provinces, they would probably talk about it — God would be glorified in the whole empire. What far-reaching effects were accomplished by the stand which the three men took for their Lord!
The only way in which we can make a similar impact on others for the Lord, is by taking a firm stand for Him. If we compromise our stand by following the values and practices of the world we live in, we lose our testimony, and God is not glorified at all. But if we refuse to compromise, God is ultimately glorified, and our testimony may have far-reaching effects.
The account ends with the three Jews receiving unexpected rewards from the king of Babylon, "Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon." (3:28-30).
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In these words we see Nebuchadnezzar admitting that he had been soundly defeated by the God of three Jews and he promoted them. He totally forgot all about his own glorious golden statue he had made and paid no more attention to it, because he had learned far more glorious things through the willingness of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to deny themselves in order to take a stand for their God.
Now let me ask you this question: What do you think would have happened, if these three men had not taken a stand, and just conformed to the world by simply bowing down to the image when everybody else did? Then they would not have faced any danger to their lives at all. They would not have to fear the flames of the hot furnace at all, and everything would be very nice and comfortable for them. But they would have lost the unique opportunity to bear a most powerful testimony for the Lord.
Now let me ask you another question: Can we expect God to deliver us always whenever we deny ourselves and take a stand for Him? The answer is "No." God does not always choose to deliver those who take a stand for Him. Sometimes He sees it fit to let them suffer and even die for Him. Take the case of John the Baptist in Mark 6. He was imprisoned by King Herod for rebuking him for his sins and then he was beheaded. Take the case of Stephen in Acts 7. He was stoned to death for preaching Christ. Take the case of James in Acts 12. He was executed by King Herod to please the Jews. We can add to that the long list of martyrs in the history of the church of Jesus Christ, who bravely gave their lives and suffered great losses to take a firm stand for the Lord. God always knows what is best, and we, on our part should be willing to take a stand for Him, regardless of whether He will deliver us or not.
And that was the real attitude of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, "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 thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will
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not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (vv.17, 18).
The important words "But if not" (v.18) shows that the stand they took for the Lord was not at all conditional on any expected deliverance from Him.
Now what should we learn from all this? How does this relate to living the Christian life in a non-Christian World? Like the three Jewish friends in this account, we too must be willing to take a stand for the Lord. Just as they faced tremendous pressure from the world they lived in, Christians will also face tremendous pressures against their faith from the world. And this world which we live in is full of sin and ungodliness, which are increasing now at an alarming rate. The world is not getting better but worse every day. Let us see how bad things are at present.
Do you know that children are being murdered every day before they are even born? In the 1980's about 40 to 60 million induced abortions occurred each year in the world; about 33 million of them were done legally. The figures for Singapore are also grim. In the 1990's an average of 17,000 abortions took place each year. This amounts to one abortion for every three live births! Euthanasia or mercy-killing has become legalized in Holland, and parts of Australia and some states in the U.S. In Holland, the situation has grown so bad that some elderly nursing home patients are afraid to drink their orange juice for fear that it may contain poison!
The marriage institution has suffered the most in this century. Common-law unions, infidelity, wife-beating, prostitution have all increased, particularly in urban and industrialised nations. Many respectable politicians today have private lives that are laced with scandal. Do you know that the Gay movement is growing stronger and stronger every year? In the 1990's gay political candidates in the US had been elected openly to offices ranging from mayors to congressmen; and individual homosexuals had been granted rights to
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adopt children, to serve in the army, and even to be ordained as pastors in some church denominations.
Closer to home, we hear of organised tours to certain places in Thailand and Indonesia that are designed for those who want to indulge their fleshly lusts. If not for the fatal threat of the AIDS virus, immorality today would be much worse. Censorship has now been relaxed in the name of artistic expression and so people flock to the movie houses to watch RA rated shows. Violence and permissiveness appear more often now in the mass media — television, cable TV, and certain internet websites and magazines.
Broken marriages and divorces are also increasing. In 1996 Singapore saw one divorce for every 150 marriages. In 1990, the United States saw one divorce for every two marriages. This often results in broken homes, child abuse and delinquent children. Delinquency has become a major problem in the U.S. Between 1960 and 1978 the number of juvenile court cases jumped 166 percent, and the rate continues to rise, with juveniles accounting for nearly 40 percent of those arrested for serious crimes in 1988. Earlier this year, two children were arrested for wielding guns in their school, killing and hurting teachers and students.
Legalised gambling in the form of sweepstakes, horse racing and 4-D are very much a way of life now for many Singaporeans. Just look at the long queues of people at the booths to buy tickets or place bets. A Sunday School student once shared with me with deep sorrow about the tremendous problems his family was facing because of his mother's insatiable appetite for gambling.
Every sector of our society is affected by the materialism and godless philosophies of our present age. It is a fact that in our education system, evolution theory is taught as if it was already proven by science. This has caused many university graduates to become atheistic or agnostics, who try to find the answers to life in New Age teachings or in one of the many strange new cults that have proliferated in Singapore. Recently, when I was traveling in an
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airplane, I saw a very well dressed professional Singaporean apparently on a business trip. The book he was reading was "How to contact your spirit guides." A few years ago, the world was amazed at how well-educated Japanese professionals could be used by a cult leader to hurt people with poison gas in subway stations. Then at Easter last year, another cult called Heaven's Gate claimed a number of lives in a suicide pact.
All of this is only a short description of the non-Christian world we live in. Let us never forget that we are Christians, we are God's children, specially called by God from this world and saved from sin by God's grace, to live lives that are holy, godly, and righteous, for His sake. But we live in a world that is largely unholy, ungodly and unrighteous. For this reason, we are bound to come into conflict with the world we live in. We are bound to come under pressure to compromise and conform to the world.
The challenge that we face then is three-fold: 1) to maintain our godly living, 2) to withstand these great pressures to conform, and 3) to exert a godly influence that will deliver as many as possible from the sin and ungodliness of this world.
The question before us is: Will you take up this challenge? Think very carefully now, because it will not be an easy path to take. It is a path of self-denial, for it may require you to give up some of life's legitimate conveniences and comforts. It is also a path of loneliness, for you may find yourself being despised and rejected by everyone around you for being out of step with the ways of the world.
But despite all that, will you still take up this challenge? If you really regard Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Master, then you must take up this challenge. It is really not an option, but an imperative requirement. In conclusion, let us recall the passage of Scripture that we started with: Titus 2:11-14, and let God be the One to speak the final word to our hearts: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously,
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and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
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