Commentaries/Sermons
Purpose of Heart in a Pagan Land - Bethany Bible church sermon
The Uncompromising Life - John Macarthur
Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Bob Deffinbaugh
Conquering Compromise - Alan Carr
Today I want to focus on our first look at Daniel, but I wanted to make one quick comment about the Jeremiah passage.
Chapter 20 contains a lament by Jeremiah. Verses 14-18 in particular are very stark.
From my Life Application Bible....
Probably as troubling as the self-loathing that oozes from these verses is the stark contrast between the exuberant confidence of the previous paragraph and the sudden inward turn of revulsion. In Jeremiah's honestly recorded moments of despair, however, we can find hope. If someone with such intimate awareness of God's presence struggled with insecurity, we ought not to be surpsied over our own failures and weaknesses. Jeremiah doesn't give us an excuse, but an example. No matter how we may feel about ourselves at any moment, God remains unchanged, loving, and present in our lives.
Now, on to Daniel. I absolutely love this book of the Bible. It is such an incredible story of unwavering faith, tremendous courage and uncompromising convictions which were blessed by God in huge and mighty ways.
There are several commentaries and sermons on Daniel chapter 1 and most of them deal with the fact that Daniel and his friends chose not to compromise.
John Macarthur brings up the saying "every man has his price" and acknowledges that that is likely true of the majority of people in secular society. But it should not and must not be true of the believer. We must be people of integrity, we must be absolutely unwilling to compromise God's standard no matter what the cost.
But guess what? Compromise is costly too. Just look at a few biblical examples....
Adam compromised God's law, followed his wife's sin and lost paradise. Abraham compromised the truth, lied about Sarah and nearly lost his wife. Sarah compromised God's word, sent Abraham to Hagar who bore Ishmael and lost peace in the Middle East ever since. Esau compromised for a meal with Jacob and lost his birthright, Saul compromised the divine word, kept the animals and lost the royal seed. Aaron compromised his convictions about idolatry and he and the people lost the privilege of the Promised Land. Samson compromised righteous devotion as a Nazarite with Delilah, lost his strength, lost his eyes and lost his life. (John Macarthur)
What does it mean to live an uncompromising life?
It is to reach beneath the shifting sands of a culture and fix yourself to the rock that is below it. Daniel was in Babylon and Babylon was a Pagan society in every sense. No regard for the true God ........ And while Daniel was living in the breakers as it were, the crashing waves and the shifting sand of the surf, his soul was anchored on the rock. And so he was unshakable and indestructible.
He was absolutely unwilling to compromise the absolutes that he believed were the law of God. And that is what anchored him to the rock of confidence even in the storms of captivity and Caldian efforts to brainwash him......
the most corrupting influence in a society is not its philosophy it's its lifestyle. A lifestyle of any society is the most corrupting thing.....what really will tear up your life is to begin to adjust to the culture's lifestyle. That's when the brainwashing has succeeded.
An uncompromising life with unashamed boldness that calls us to an uncommon standard that depends on an unearthly protection build on an unblemished faith that can face unusual testing with unhindered persistence, resulting in unmeasurable blessing and unlimited influence. And I suppose we can say in summary determine not to compromise and leave to God the results. Right? And let him put you where he wants. What you can never gain by trying, by manipulating, or by compromise God will give you for not compromising. (emphasis mine, John Macarthur)
What's even more amazing is that he stood up to this lifestyle, he did not compromise - even though he was only about 14 or 15 years old, even though he was separated from his home, from his family, from any personal accountability, and in a very high pressure environment. And he does not compromise!
Let it be said of us as well.
Tomorrow's passage: Daniel 2-3, Jeremiah 7-8:3
1 comment:
Knowing how to ask for something is key and Daniel not only didn't compromise his lifestyle but he approached his superiors in a way that allowed him to get what he wanted. Just because we don't agree with people who are in charge of us, whether they are a parent, boss, politician, etc, we can still respectfully disagree in a mature way.
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