Resolve Series

Last Sunday afternoon, Beth and I drove to the Chicago area to celebrate Mother’s Day with Beth’s mom. It was a joy to see her mom and dad, two of her sisters, and two brothers-in-law. After visiting for a bit, my brother-in-law Mark shared how disappointed and sad he is about what is happening at the Christian college he graduated from. He’s been financially supporting this school for over 40 years because it had such an impact on his life as a young believer.

With a grieving heart, he decided to discontinue his giving because the college has caved on biblical sexuality and gender issues. He’s made several phone calls and written letters to the administration, all to no avail.

After listening to Mark, I told him I respect him because he is a convictional Christian. He kept saying, “Brian, this is a Christian college…this is a Christian college…or so I thought.” I gave him props for his resolution not to compromise.

On Tuesday night at our deacon meeting, we discussed how important it is for us as a church to be convictional and not compromise. Here are some statements which were shared…

• Self has now become the interpreter of truth.

• There is no standard for right and wrong in our culture.

• We will not compromise or capitulate as a church.

• We need to respond respectfully to those with different views to win them to Christ.

It’s an honor to serve with deacons who have such a commitment to doctrinal clarity with a love for the gospel. When we were finished talking and lamenting, we spent time praying for our church, our community, and our country.

On Wednesday morning in my Bible reading from the Edgewood Bible reading plan, I underlined Ezekiel 9:4: “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who SIGH and GROAN over all the abominations that are committed in it.” God marks those who sigh over sin and groan over gross abominations.

In contrast, according to Isaiah 5:20, God pronounces woe upon those who redefine wickedness to make it sound palatable: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

Sometime ago I tried to capture our societal situation in one sentence and decided to add to it this week: That which is an ABOMINATION used to lead to LAMENTATION but is now a CELEBRATION because the UNTHINKABLE has become UNQUESTIONABLE and those who QUESTION are CANCELLED.

We’re continuing in our series called, “Re.” Last weekend, we focused on the importance of Rededication and made this point: Regardless of your role, rededicate yourself to God’s redemptive purposes. Our topic today is Resolve, which means to, “decide firmly on a course of action; an earnest determination to do something.”

In the Bible, resolve “comes from an inner conviction that a certain way to go is the right way.” We see this in Acts 11:23: “When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.” The phrase, “steadfast purpose” is translated as “firm resolve of the heart.”

Here are some biblical examples of men and women who lived out their convictions without compromise:

• Joseph, when faced with sexual temptation - “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9)

• Joshua, when faced with whether his family would serve the Lord - “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

• Esther, when faced with fear - “Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

• Ruth, when faced with whether to care for a family member - “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

Our main idea today is this: Resolve to live convictionally without compromise. Let’s look at the life of Daniel to learn how we can become more convictional.

Please turn to Daniel 1:8: “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.”

Since we don’t want to take this text out of context, let’s go back to the beginning of the Book of Daniel. I’ll read a section and then make some explanatory comments.