INTRODUCTION
Years ago, when I was a teenager, a terrible storm surged through our area one night in southern Louisiana. Power went out that night, and we awoke the next morning to find the culprit. A large stately oak tree had fallen upon the powerlines. This tree was probably 10-12 feet around and had probably been there for some time. Looking at the tree from the outside, no one would have thought it might have come down. But when we began cutting it up for removal, we soon discovered it was rotten at the core because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm; it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark.
Like that mighty oak, believers often imagine themselves to be stronger than they really are, and sometimes feel invincible. Then a sin is allowed for which they do not repent, and then perhaps another. Soon, excuses are being offered for why a particular sin is not a big deal. Then church is avoided, the Bible neglected, and fellowship with fellow believers goes lacking. Before long, what once was a vibrant, growing Christian becomes a waning, stagnant one.
Unrepentant and lingering sin will do the same to the heart of a believer as those insects to that oak tree. It will eat away at us. Outwardly, for a time, we may be able to hide it from those around us, but sooner or later, it will destroy us and our testimony for God.
With the Holy Spirit's help, we must be very careful to guard our purity. Daily we must be careful of the things we read, watch, listen to, and participate in so that we do not end up in impurity.
The psalmist once asked and answered a question on this subject. “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And
who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:3-5). We would do well to heed the Word of the Lord!
BACKGROUND
This morning we will take out time machine back to a time and place just prior to the invasion of the Christ-Child into this world. Our “Unlikely Hero” lived in the 7th century BC and would never have been considered a likely candidate for a hero. His name was Daniel.
Even though Daniel appears to have been of noble birth, he was taken captive from his home in Judah by the mighty Babylonian army. He was likely only 12-15 years old. Such circumstances would not seem inducive to his becoming anyone’s hero.
Yet Babylon was a different kind of nation. Rather than just capture and incarcerate its victims, they chose the best and brightest young men in the conquered kingdom for special service to the king of Babylon. These youths were without blemish, well-favored, skillful in all wisdom, endued with knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace. The king commanded that they be taught the knowledge and tongue of the Chaldeans.
Daniel was one of the chosen ones. It is here, in a foreign land, that he exhibited an attribute that all Christian heroes should demonstrate: purity. He is a shining example of purity in all he did.
Our Bible passages will reveal this great characteristic of Daniel. We find his story in the book named after him, and we will examine Daniel 1:1-8, and later 6:1-5. READ:
The Bible illuminates three areas of his life in which purity was displayed:
I. Pure in His Work for God (1:8-16)
Daniel was evidently a brilliant young man and showed much promise. Being chosen to be in this program was really an honor because those who were not chosen had fewer privileges and no prestige.
However, with such honor came more temptation to leave God’s path and to forget that his God was the one, true God. His story tells us that the King himself chose to share his own food and wine with this group (5). That means it was the best and most expensive in the kingdom. But, it also meant that much of the food was not levitically clean, or kosher for these Jewish young men.
Daniel decided that he could not compromise his godly standards. He asked the chief of the eunuchs, who had charge over his group, to allow them to have only vegetables and water for ten days, and to see if they were worse than by taking what the king offered. Reluctantly he agreed, and after the time elapsed was happy to discover that they were healthier than before!
Because Daniel refused to compromise his morals and convictions, his work in the king’s government continued, and he was able to make a tremendous impact on the king.
It is never beneficial or justifiable to compromise your convictions, especially in the workplace. It is in that very arena where our lights must glow with a holiness beyond compare. Daniel learned well the principle stated in Psalm 119:9, which says “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.”
In one of the churches I previously served, I also had a part-time job working at a grocery store. On one occasion as we were working, our supervisor came and told us we needed to go to the office and sign off that we had watched a particular video. A fellow Christian came to me and asked, “What are you going to do? None of us watched that video.” I replied that I could not in good conscience sign a paper stating I had done something that I really had not done. We headed to the office later, and the manager slid the paper towards us and asked us to sign it. After reading it, I informed the manager that I could not since I had not complied with the request, and my friend echoed the same response. The manager became irate and demanded that we just sign it and forget about it. We again told him we could not. Angrily he commanded us to return to our work. Now, I know this may seem like a small thing, but if I had compromised in this, who would have ever listened to me again when I talked about Christ?
It is imperative that we remain loyal to Christ and His cause. Not only will God bless us, but our testimony will remain intact as well.
II. Pure in His Walk with God
In Daniel 6 we learn that Daniel’s enemies hated him because of the clout and prestige he had earned from first King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and then King Darius of the Medes and Persians, who conquered Babylon. He “became distinguished … because an excellent spirit was in him” (6:3). The jealously of his adversaries caused them to attempt to entrap Daniel. They asked the king to sign a decree that no one could petition any god or man for thirty days except for the king. They reminded him that any law made was irrevocable. The king signed off on it only too willingly.
Daniel, upon hearing of this decree, went to his room, opened his windows toward the holy city of Jerusalem, and prayed. But notice, if you will, in verse 10 the phrase “as he had done previously.” We find here that Daniel kept his relationship with God pure daily by communing with Him in prayer. There was no stagnation where his walk with God was concerned. He never allowed anything to come between him and his God. To the lion’s den, he was eventually cast because he refused to give up his relationship with the God he knew.
Many Christians today are compromising their purity in their walk with God by deliberately missing church, stubbornly refusing to read His Word, and avoiding communication with God through prayer. It was Jesus Himself who said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
A young man was in Amsterdam, working as a missionary with YWAM when a Christian music group came to the city to play at a place called “The Last Watering Hole.” A number of them went to hear the band play and support them in their mission. While they were there, a man who was not a Christian lit up a joint. Out of the “goodness” of his heart, he started going around from person to person trying to share. First, he would go to one of the missionaries and would be turned down. Then he would go up to one of the people traveling with the band and was turned down. After a while, he began to wonder what was going on. They didn’t condemn him or look down their noses at him, they simply maintained their purity and let their lights shine in the darkness.
May we maintain our walk with God in purity and holiness, praying always to Him, reading His Word, and living for Him.
III. Pure in His Witness for God (6:16-23)
When Daniel’s enemies reported Daniel’s infraction of the decree to the king, he was deeply distressed, and he spent a whole day trying to find a loophole in which to excuse Daniel from punishment. Of course, Daniel’s enemies reminded the king that there were no outs. Daniel must be punished.
The king ordered Daniel to be brought before him and cast into the lion’s den. As they did so, the king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” (6:16). Even the king knew Daniel’s excellent testimony of continuously serving his God.
What is inconspicuously absent from this story is the response of Daniel. He apparently did not complain, plead for his life, blame his enemies for his misfortune, or curse and scream at God for letting this happen. No, he simply allowed himself to be cast into the lion’s den.
What a witness Daniel gave! I have to believe that his enemies expected a ruckus from Daniel and were probably disappointed not to get one! Daniel demonstrated that he believed God would either deliver him or be with him through the ordeal. Either way, his testimony remained strong and unwavering to the end.
“Everybody’s doing it.” This is a common phrase used today to excuse our behavior, but it is no excuse. We were shocked a decade ago when youth ministries guru Josh McDowell did an extensive survey of Bible-believing church teens that showed that more than half of them were sexually active, even as they attended their youth groups.
Today that number has only increased. “Everybody’s doing it” is the phrase we hear so often, and it’s pretty close to true, but that does not make it right.
You don’t have to be a very negative person to bow your head and say, “Yeah, everybody’s doing it ...” and just give in.
Well, what we need is some to rise up and say, “Well, I’m not gonna do it!”
Christian, is your witness pure? Do you daily stand for God and maintain your purity in Him, come what may?
CONCLUSION
In the forests of Northern Europe lives the ermine, a small animal best known for its snow-white fur, which is his protection and security. Instinctively, he protects his glossy coat with great care lest it becomes soiled. Hunters often capitalize on this trait. Instead of setting a mechanical trap to catch the ermine, they find his home in a cleft of a rock or a hollow tree and daub the entrance and the interior with tar.
Then their dogs start the chase, and the frightened ermine flees toward his home. But finding it covered with dirt, he spurns the place of safety. Rather than soil his white fur, he courageously faces the fighting dogs, who hold him at bay until the hunters capture him. To the ermine … PURITY IS DEARER THAN LIFE ITSELF.
May God gives us hearts like these little creatures of His!
John reminds believers in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” James 4:8 commands us, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” For the believer, Paul reminds us that we are in training for purity every day: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12).
God help us to be heroes of purity to those around us, especially to young believers and those young in the faith!
