FBMB
February 22, 2009
Sunday Morning
“Is Right Still Right?”
Daniel 1:8; 3:18
Intro.: Ever since God created man and gave him the ability to think – we have consistently made wrong decisions. From Adam to Abraham, from Moses to Matthew to Mary, from Joseph to Jonah to John. From the Bible to backyards across the world, from the church to the city, all are filled with victims who have made wrong decisions and thus did not choose to do right.
Today our media venues are filled with people, children and adults, well-known and unknown, rich and poor, all colors of the race – filled with people who are making wrong choices with very little consequences or punishment.
Maybe you’re faced with a decision right now about what is right. Maybe right now your mind seems cluttered because you’re filled with offers, suggestions, alternatives, pulling you in directions you’re not sure about.
The major contributing factor that’s making it difficult to make right decisions today is the postmodern era that we live in. Post modernism has so blurred the line between right and wrong that people have a difficult time discerning what kind of behavior is good, appropriate, and expected; what behavior is fundamentally wrong; and which choices are morally neutral.
Thanks to the postmodern worldview, it’s considered foolish to declare that truth exists and boorish to suggest that one can have it.
This morning I want to us the Bible and do my best to answer the question “Is Right Still Right?” I want to share with you a short story from the Bible and them make some real practical applications for the believer and why we need to know right, learn right and do right.
I. S TORY from the Bible
A. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.
1. At the age of sixteen Daniel was deported to Babylon and was handpicked for government service, he became a servant to King Nebuchadnezzar.
2. God used Daniel to interpret dreams for the three different kings, one king on two different occasions.
3. In Daniel 1 Daniel and his three friends begin their co-labor of service to the king.
4. In chapter 2 Daniel is called upon to interpret the king’s first dream b/c none of his magicians or astrologers can do so.
5. God helps him successfully interpret the dream, the king promotes Daniel and his three friends.
B. Chapter 3
1. King Neby constructs a gold image and commands all the people to bow down to it and worship it.
2. Daniel and his three friends refuse to do so, the king finds out and orders the three friends brought to him.
3. In 3:15 the king gives the three friends an ultimatum: either bow down or be thrown into the furnace.
4. The three answered in a chorus of courageous and confident words: Daniel 3:16-18.
5. The three are thrown in the furnace and notice their silent unsigned and odorless testimony – Daniel 3:27.
C. Scanning the next three chapters -
1. Ch. 4 Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream, he’s promoted again and King Neby’s kingdom is lost.
2. Ch. 5 Daniel interprets King Belshazzar’s writing on the wall and that very night he was slain.
3. Ch. 6 King Darius signs a decree that if anyone petitions another god besides Darius they would be cast into a den of lions.
4. READ Daniel 6: 10.
5. With much hesitation and in great persuasion King Darius commands to have Daniel thrown into the lion’s den.
6. READ Daniel 6:19-23.
II. STATEMENT from the Mind
A. I can say with genuine certainty and with absolutely no arrogance, I HAVE A DIRECT LINE TO ABSOLUTE TRUTH.
1. I didn’t uncover it, I didn’t create it.
2. I wasn’t the first to see it or even recognize it.
3. I have a direct line to absolute truth b/c I accept God’s Word as authentic revelation from the AUTHOR of truth.
B. The sixty-six books in this Bible provide me with God’s directives and principles for my life.
1. God took time to have His Word written down over a period of 1400 years by 40 different authors so that I can LEARN right, KNOW right and DO right.
2. Over 2500-3000 years this inspired Word has been preserved so that I may know Him and obey His will.
3. As I read the words in this book I see God’s character being revealed and by discovering His character I discover what values and choices give Him the most pleasure.
4 To do what is right is to CONFORM my life to the directives and principles found in the sixty-six books of the Bible.
5. Not to a newspaper, horoscope, fortune cookie, political circle, on the ladder of success, a board meeting, an open forum, or off a talk show.
6. None or rare are times in this generation to discover truth.
7. To do what is right is to side with the truth of God.
8. Our desire as believers to do right should COMPEL us into this book everyday to learn right from the Author of Truth.
III. SETTLED Decision from the Heart
A. WE MUST KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT.
1. Obviously we cannot DO what is right if we don’t KNOW what is right.
2. Everyday you and I are bombarded with information and opinions and philosophies and ideologies.
3. Most in the context of a postmodern worldview that doubts the very existence of definable truth.
4. Under this postmodern worldview are two main competing worldviews: Christian theism and Secular Universalism.
5. This is what is killing the church and paralyzing believers.
6. If we don’t know what is right, we can’t make right decisions.
7. Christian theism emphasizes that faith is primarily a person, and not an idea or belief system.
8. Jesus Christ – who He is and what He has done for us – is central to Christian theism. (Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis)
9. Secular universalism contradicts everything about Christian theism.
10. Secular universalism worldview denies what is truth, right – it’s what you want to be right or what you feel is right, that’s right.
11. Daniel from our story did what was right because he knew what was right to begin with.
12. “Daniel PURPOSED in his heart that he would not . . .” 1:8
13. Daniel had already made the decision BEFORE the decision made him.
14. Illus #1: Old vs New Covenant
B. WE MUST EXPECT RESISTANCE.
1. When we choose to do right in a secular universe a common reaction is going to occur: “Where did I go wrong?” “Why did I feel guilty?” “Did I please the Lord?”
2. The bold choice to do something that honors the Lord or reflects His character will be PUNISHED by a world that opposes His ways.
3. Not everyone will like you all the time as you do right.
4. You may lose popularity, promotion or even your job.
5. You might be denied opportunities you rightfully deserve.
6. This could even be as a result of a decision regarding a child.
7. You might even be persecuted for taking a stand for truth.
8. Don’t expect a REWARD – expect resistance.
9. Don’t be discouraged or timid, but don’t be surprised when you face difficulties as a result of doing what is right.
C. WE MUST REMEMBER THAT GOD WILL SUPERINTEND HIS PLAN.
1. Walking the path that God has marked for us is not going to be easy steps.
2. When the going gets tough remind yourself that you are not alone.
3. It would have been easy for Daniel to say yes to King Neby, or for the three to say yes to King Darius.
4. Yet, they were all faithful to stay to God’s will and God protected and blessed them for it.
5. What kept these men HOPEFUL despite their sufferings was the trust they had placed in the Lord.
6. Not only is secular universalism so wrong it also has no hope for humanity.
7. No hope that Jesus, the central figure of Christian theism, died for our sins.
8. No hope of the resurrection of Jesus.
9. No hope of knowing that God was and will always be in control.
10. It is remarkable how invincible such knowledge of knowing right can make you fell and thus motivate you to do right.
Conclusion: To a society that has trouble with knowing right and doing right. To a generation that possesses a secular universalism worldview we need to respond as Daniel did in 1:8 & 3:18, “He had purposed in his heart that he would not . . .” “. . . Let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
We come back to the opening question, “Is Right Still Right?” The answer has been, still is and will always be a confident YES, when right is PURSUED from the Author of Truth.
Illustration # 1 Old vs New Covenant
In the Old Covenant God issued orders that He expected to be fulfilled to the letter. But in the new covenant, He has stopped issuing orders. Instead, He sent His Holy Spirit to transform the heart of the believer, to renew his or her mind to think as the Father thinks in a process called sanctification. God transforms the character of the believer to match that of His Son, creating agents who think like He thinks, behaves like He behaves, and make choices that reflect His values and accomplish His will.
