THE TEST OF INTEGRITY
Daniel 3: 1-6; 8-21; 24-25; 30
This young man was born in 1906 and grew up in Germany. He later felt the call to ministry and entered into training for the ministry. During the time that he was in seminary, his home country of Germany was undergoing great chaos from the political unrest due to the National Socialist Party (Nazis). Disturbing changes were taken place at a rapid pace. Jewish people were being singled out for persecution, and opponents of the Socialist party were also being mistreated, including the confiscation of private property, imprisonment, beatings and even death. Most German pastors were choosing to ignore these discretions and even going as far as courting favor with the Nazi powers. This young man at first chose the easy way out, after finishing seminary, he left Germany with all of it’s problems and went to England to pastor a German speaking church in the heart of London, far away from Germany and it’s struggles. He was living a relatively quiet, serene life on the outside, but he was struggling still on the inside. Then he received a letter from one of the leading theologians in the world who was also a pastor living in Germany. He was exhorted that now was not the time to lead the quiet life, but to make a stand for that which was right. Not long afterward, he returned to Germany and instead of remaining silent, he spoke out openly against the Socialist Party and their leader, a man by the name of Adolph Hitler. This caused him to cross the “powers that be” and he was soon arrested. In his hearing before the Gestapo during his imprisonment, defenseless and powerless as he then was only fortified by the word of God in his heart, he stood erect and unbroken before his tormentors. He refused to recant, and defied the Gestapo machine by openly admitting that, as a Christian, he was an implacable enemy of National Socialism and its totalitarian demands toward the citizen—defied it, although he was continually threatened with torture and with the arrest of his parents, his sisters and his fiancée, who all had a helping hand in his activities. … In 1944, when friends made an attempt to liberate him and to take him to safety abroad, he decided to remain in prison in order not to endanger others. Finally in April, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoffer, one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, was strangled with a piano wire, by the orders of the Nazis, just a few days before the end of the war.
Dietrich Bonhoffer was a man of integrity. He did not have to die, he didn’t have to take such a strong stand, but integrity will be integrity, even when it’s faced with death by a piano wire or by a burning furnace. He came face to face with the test of integrity and passed, even with his life. Just like Bonhoffer, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah also came to the test of integrity. Every person will face the test of integrity.
Here in chapter three of the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that an image of gold be set up on the plains of Dura. This image was close to 30 yards high and three yards in width. Most scholars believe that the image was a copy of Nebuchadnezzar which he set up for worship. Some believe that he wanted to unify Babylon with a centralized religion, and he thought of nothing better to worship than himself. This shows the instability of the king for earlier he had praised the God of Israel, but now the focus turns again on himself. Man, without a true relationship with God will always return the focus back to himself. The king had ordered all the leaders in his government to gather in this place. No doubt he thought there’s no better way to lead the people to worship him than by having the leaders of Babylon do so. We have no record of where Daniel was at, most believe that he was away on some type of official business for the king. However, Daniel’s three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were called to be there on that day. They were told that when they heard the sound of music, for the king had assembled the royal orchestra to play, that everyone there was to bow down and worship this image. Some scholars have estimated that perhaps as many as three hundred thousand people were there that day. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were definitely going to face the test of integrity. Let me share with you three aspects from this passage of scripture concerning integrity.
I. NOTE THE PRESSURE THAT INTEGRITY WILL FACE.
1. I want to share with you two verses from the scriptures as we begin.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
2. Note that from these two verses, two different processes of conforming are taken place, first there are those who are being conformed to the image of the Son of God, they are allowing themselves to become more and more like Jesus. Next, note that there are those who are being conformed to the image of this world, which believers are commanded to not be conformed to. However, what I want you to see is that there is tremendous pressure being exerted by the world (the age in which we live which is anti-God) to be shaped and molded by it.
3. If you are going to be a man or woman of integrity, you will face this pressure. The Greek word means to literally be placed in a mold and shaped by the outside forces around you. That’s why it’s hard to live godly in an ungodly world. You have an entire world system, controlled by the devil, that is completely against you and is trying to force you into it’s mold.
4. On the other hand, those who are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ the Son, are not being shaped by outside forces, but rather by inside forces.
Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
5. If Christ is in you, then there is an inside force that is pushing you against the outside forces. Which force wins? The one you allow to. Remember our little equation from last Sunday – capacity equals capability. The greater your capacity, the greater your capability. The more of Christ you have on the inside, the greater the force He will exert against the pressures that are attempting to shape you from the outside.
6. These three Hebrews, as they were standing on the plains of Dura, were being put to the test. Integrity will be tested by outside pressures. This pressure had to be:
A. Immense.
7. Almost all of the leaders from Babylon were there. Remember that some scholars have estimated that as many as 300,000 people were there. The pressure to “go along with the crowd” had to be great.
8. Some years ago, a social scientist named Solomon Asch wanted to see how people dealt with social pressure so he designed an experiment to measure the results. He came up with a simple test that showed a series of lines on a board in front of the room, with one of the lines matching another in being the same length. The others were either much shorter or much longer. A person was brought into the room, along with others in a group, which unbeknown to the subject, were helpers to the professor. The whole group was asked to match the two lines that were the same length together. The helpers intentionally gave the wrong answer and it was found that in almost 75% of the time, the subjects would go along with the wrong answer, knowing full well it was wrong, but not wanting to stand out.
9. Image being 3 versus 300,000. The pressure to conform, to give in, had to be immense. These three Hebrews knew the law of God, that they according to
Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,
The choice for them was between the king’s command and God’s word. It’s the same choice we face today, the prince of this world commands that we worship him, that we cave into his pressures, but the Word of God commands that we stand strong.
10. I’m sure that every excuse that the enemy could throw at them was thrown. “Everybody else is doing it” so surely it can’t be all wrong, or “God has placed me in this important position so surely He doesn’t want me to loose it” or “Just this one time won’t hurt, I’ll just pray about it later”. Listen, the one time that you cave in could be all that’s necessary for you to loose your witness and influence. How many wives have gone out to the bars with their husbands, just one time, because the husband said, “If you will go with me, then I’ll go with you to church”. Then Sunday morning comes and the husband, instead of getting up and going to church, just laughs at the wife and says, “There’s no way I’ll go. If what you have isn’t any better than what I saw last night, I’ve got no use for it.”
B. Intense.
11. As if there wasn’t enough pressure from the crowd, to fail to bow down to this image was to be punishable by death. We know that Nebuchadnezzar was given to fits of rage. Verse six tells us that Nebuchadnezzar had prepared a furnace to throw anyone who failed to bow down to his image.
12. Your test of integrity may or may not have a burning furnace at the end, but I assure you, that it will be intense, eternity can and will hang in the balances.
13. Athanasius was one of the early church fathers. He lived during the reign of Constantine the emperor of Rome. During his time, there was much disagreement concerning the doctrine of the Trinity and the order of the Holy Spirit. At one point, much of the church was against him. Someone said to him, “Athanasius, don’t you know that the emperor is against you, the bishops are against you, the church is against you and the whole world is against you.” Athanasius simply replied, “Then I am against the whole world.” Because he stood true to what he believed was correct, even though it meant banishment, today we have the true doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
14. The pressure against the child of God who walks in integrity will be intense. It will not be easy. Paul said “I press toward the mark”. To press means that there are forces that will be arrayed against you. It’s not a walk in the park, the enemy will singular you out to attack you and pressure you into loosing your integrity.
C. Insistence.
15. The music begin to play and great multitudes around Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah begin to fall down and worship the image. However these three remained standing.
Daniel 2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon:
16. These three were in a high position and one thing about being in high positions is that it’s makes it easier for everyone else to see you. The Bible says that certain Chaldeans came to Nebuchadnezzar and told him 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.
17. I don’t know if it was jealously or something else, but these men wanted to point out to the king that they were not bowing down. I personally believe that they were watching them before they ever bowed down, just like there are people who are watching you, to see if you will make a mistake.
18. The king was furious. He called for the three Hebrews to come forward, and he gave them the second chance to bow down. May I tell you, the temptation to give up your integrity will be insistent. Someone once said that “Opportunity may only knock one, but temptation will knock again and again and again.”
19. Nebuchadnezzar repeated his command, and notice this time he added a kicker at the end of verse 15, “…who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” He had already forgotten that according to his dream in chapter two, it was God that had given him the kingdom (Dan 2:37). Now he mocks God.
20. Someone said that their answer is one of the greatest statements of faith found in the Bible.
Daniel 3:16...O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 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. 18 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.
When they said that they were not careful to answer the king, this meant that they did not have to think about it. They didn’t have to call a conference or board meeting, they didn’t even have to call a prayer meeting for they knew already the right thing to do. Folks, I believe in prayer, but there’s no sense in praying for guidance when you already know what you ought to do, maybe pray for strength, but don’t pray for guidance. What many try to do is to change the mind of God. God will not go against His word. Their mind was already settled on doing the will of God. They had a word from God. When you get your word from God, hold on to it, don’t loose it by compromising your integrity. Our God is able to deliver us, but if He doesn’t (for He knows best) we still need to stand for His truth.
II. THE PROTECTION INTEGRITY FOSTERED.
Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
1. Hebrew word for guide is nachah {naw-khaw’} to lead, guide in prosperity or safety.
2. Even though they were cast into the fire, they were still protected for they were men of integrity.
Psalm 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
III. THE PROMOTION INTEGRITY FOUNDED.
1. I want you to notice that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were not delivered from the fire, but were delivered in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar became so angry that he heated up the furnace seven times hotter, so hot that it killed the men who tossed them in. The king looked in and was so amazed that he turned to those that were around him and asked, “Did we not cast three men into the fire? Yet I see another one like the Son of God, walking in the fire with them”.
2. The king was amazed and he called out to them in the fire and they came to Nebuchadnezzar, they did not have the smell of smoke upon them, nor was their hair even singed.
3. Nebuchadnezzar, the king who just a little while earlier wanted everyone to worship himself, now makes another decree. He himself praises God and signs a decree that no one will be able to say anything against the God of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azrariah.
4. Then note verse 30, then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Integrity will always be promoted. If not here, then later before the Lord.
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
