In the 3rd chapter of Daniel we’re told, "King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then he sent messages to the princes, prefects, governors, advisers, counselors, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. When all these officials had arrived and were standing before the image King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, a herald shouted out, "People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up".. (Dan. 3:1-7). The whole nation was in a stir. The king had called for a national day of prayer. You could say it was a national holiday because all government officials up to and not including the King’s court were to worship the golden image, and so all government offices were closed that day.
The herald who made the announcement simply stated what everyone knew was a fact of life in the new nation of Babylon. The nation was a multi-cultural society with Assyrians, Hittites, Hurrians, Medes, Chaldeans, Babylonians, and Jews. And there were other cultures, nations, and languages as well. The people of this new nation had more than 200 gods that they worshiped and followed. So the king’s goal was pretty clear: Bring this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-language society to a new national reality and to a new world order.
Nebuchadnezzar’s national reality and new world order would be that each person would worship the one god, the golden image, as well as their own personal gods. The golden image wasn’t given a name, so everyone could in their own minds believe whatever they wanted. The golden image would signify that everyone worshiped the same god but only with different names. The king knew, of course, that the people would continue to worship the five to six gods they already had, but that was OK! Just as long as they also worshiped the golden image.
And so, all those of importance were assembled on the plain. The king’s high officials were there, but they weren’t asked to worship. Nebuchadnezzar’s high officials, including Daniel, were men that the king could trust. He knew from having had worked with Daniel closely about his strong faith and his rock-solid conviction in the God of Israel. Daniel wouldn’t bow, no matter what! The king knew the political realities and loyalties. But if Daniel’s friends worshiped the golden image, it would still have the same effect of supporting the one national god regardless.
The national worship service music began. All the people bowed down in front of the image except for three men: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. What an outrage! What an insult! How politically incorrect! The king couldn’t overlook something like that! But he did give the three one more chance to comply.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could have rationalized. They could have said, well, just this once. This is just a once in a life-time event – since it’s only a golden image, each of us could assume that it’s our own god. Why rock the boat? Why have the all neighbors and our co-workers talking about us? Why make waves? Why not just be a team player!
Well you know the story don’t you? We see that God gave them the courage and the faith to follow the one true God. The same God who would send a Messiah one day to die for the sins of all mankind and bring us salvation. They were believers in the one true God – the God of the OT and NT Scriptures who reveals Himself as one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They knew that they had no other choice but to worship Him with all their heart, and with all their mind, and with all their soul. They knew that they were to have no other gods but Him alone.
And so they would defy the king. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s answer is recorded for us by the triune God for the ages to come: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up" (Dan. 3:16-18). Death seemed certain. At least physical death seemed certain. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew of another kind of death – eternal death. They’d rather risk it all, even face physical death than deny the one true God.
Nebuchadnezzar, his face purple with anger, ordered the furnace fired up seven times hotter than usual. He ordered some strong men from the army to tie them up, hands and feet, and throw them into the roaring furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, bound hand and foot, fully dressed from head to toe, were pitched into the roaring fire. The flames of the furnace were so hot, that they instantly killed the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to it, while the fire raged around Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, "Didn’t we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?" "That’s right, O king," they said. "But look!" he said. "I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!" (Dan. 3:19-25). Most commentators say that this divine being was the pre-incarnate Jesus, which I completely agree with! Jesus said: "I will be with you always..." And the writer to the Hebrews says: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:7-8).
Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then all the royal officials and advisors crowded around them and saw that the fire hadn’t even touched a hair on their heads, and their clothing wasn’t scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke! Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be crushed into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!" (Dan. 3:19-29).
It served God’s purposes to deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Here was a message that God would send to all the world over. The God of the Bible -- the God who has revealed Himself as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the only God to be worshiped!
Now, what does this wonderful, familiar Bible story that we learned in Sunday School have to do with us today? Not too long ago I read an article called "Altars of the World." In it, the author said, "Every religion is a path to spiritual understanding," and that "no one religion is better than another – each has its own value." This author’s opinion, you know, isn’t unique. We hear people say, "Well, it makes no difference what you believe just as long as you’re sincere. Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim – what’s it matter? We all worship the same god anyway!"
The prophet Isaiah has a different Word for us this morning, and that Word is no mere opinion. That Word is from God Himself: "I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things." (Isa. 45:5-7).
Do you know that people today are looking to connect with their spiritual side more than ever? Ask people if they’re interested in spiritual things. See what they’ll say! .Walk into a Barnes & Noble bookstore and you’ll see shelves upon shelves devoted to the spiritual quest. We have books and TV programs that speak of spirituality and healing, spirituality and self-awareness, spirituality and sex. Myriads of paths are available today, and just like the people in Daniel’s day, everyone is invited to choose his or her own path of spiritual awareness.
The Barna Research Group found in a recent study that 90% of adults own at least one Bible and 80% consider themselves to be Christian, but you’d never know it from the smorgasbord of religious beliefs professed by most people today. Even those who consider themselves Christians create their own combination or preference of beliefs. A little of this thought, a little of that concept, a bit of my own perception -- whatever seems personally convenient at the moment -- and I create my own brand of Christianity! Do you know that I even met a doctor who described himself as a Hindu - Christian! Most adults say they read the Bible during the year and a huge majority claims they know all of the basic teachings of the Bible, but how, then, can most people say Satan does not exist, that the Holy Spirit is merely a symbol, that eternal peace with God can be earned through good works, and that truth can only be understood through the lens of reason and experience? How can they say that the Bible, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and the Talmud all teach the same truths?
A large majority of both adults and teenagers, Christian and non-Christian, believe that there is no absolute moral truth and argue that truth is always relative to the individual and the circumstances. While most will describe themselves as followers of Christ and say that the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings, nevertheless, they believe that truth is based on feelings, experience or emotion.
George Barna lamented and said: "In a sound bite society you get sound bite theology. Americans are more likely to buy simple sayings than a system of truth that takes time and concentration to grasp. People are more prone to embrace diversity, tolerance and feeling good than judgment, discernment, righteousness and limitations." He suggests that many Americans may have fallen in love with faith rather than the object of their faith. "It’s much less demanding to be devoted to the idea of faith than to invest yourself in a true relationship with the living God. People have become infatuated with the idea of being a person of faith instead of the reality of having an intimate, growing relationship with Jesus Christ."
God said, "I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. He’s the same Triune God, who in the person of Jesus Christ said: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Look at His claims! Not a way, but the way. Not a truth but the truth. And He’s the only One who can give us life – life that has deep peace, joy, meaning and purpose for time and eternity!
So why are so many people look for truth and life in the wrong direction? You know it is possible for people to have varying beliefs – to even have a religious experience of sorts – but on our own, we’re more like ants on a Rembrandt painting, noticing the roughness of the canvass and the changing colors beneath our feet, but incapable of understanding what we’re seeing. God’s Word – His revelation helps us find the way.
What does it tells us? Well, it tells us that instead of God being essentially like us, that we’ve all transgressed God’s laws and we aren’t capable of returning to fellowship with our Creator on our own. It tells us (1) That "all have sinned and have fallen short of God’s standard of perfection" (Romans 3:23). The doctrine of original sin resonates deeply with our own experience. Someone once said they couldn’t understand why anyone would deny original sin, because it’s the only doctrine that you can prove by reading the daily newspaper! We read about the evil things that others do, but if we’re honest, we know intuitively that we’re capable of essentially the same kinds of things. We feel our own guilt. We know by nature that we’re accountable to someone beyond ourselves.
(2) It tells us that we cannot save or redeem ourselves. King Solomon was one of those people who had tried it all. In order to find joy and fulfillment in life he had tried, pleasure, entertainment, sex, work, intense learning, knowledge. You name it, he tried it! But after it all, he said that he was still left empty. We can’t even buy our way into God’s favor! God says, (Isa. 64:6) "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away." Only One Person can come to clean the slate and cleanse us from our sin. Only One who can fill the spiritual void that we all feel and which people try so desperately to fill by their own means. That Someone is called Jesus Christ -- the only Son of the Most High God!
His truth tells us (3) that He Himself came on a rescue mission to save us and to give us life. Jesus is the only one who has ever lived in this world who never sinned and the only one who has the qualifications of a Savior. He insisted that His entry into this world was a onetime non-repeatable, historical event in which salvation was purchased for all who place their trust in Him. (John 1:14, 18) "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...No one has ever seen God, but God (that is, Jesus) the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known." He had to be physically present for this act of atonement to be made – as physically present as those firefighters were who rescued people in the 9-11 tragedy in New York. Teachings and wonderful ideas can’t rescue a person from a burning building.
And although a mere man can rescue another person from physical disaster, only a divine man can reconcile us back to the one true God whom we’ve offended. This Jesus needed to be born as a man, die, and make sacrifice for our sins – a sacrifice that was received by the Father as the Son of God hung from the beams of a cross. But that’s not the end of the Good News: He rose physically from the dead in order to prove that He is who He says He is and make our resurrection a reality!
God says through Isaiah: "There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." (Isa. 45:21-22). The followers of our Lord said it another way: (Acts 4:12) "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
(4) The Holy Spirit leads us to believe and accept the truth. Jesus said, "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). As Lutherans Christians we confess the truth of God’s Word that "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel." Left on our own we could never "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul," but the Holy Spirit empowers us with faith to live as brand new creations in Christ.
The truth of God’s Word has two warnings for us: First, it warns us against remaking God according to our own liking: "You shall have no other gods before me." Those words were freshly chiseled on Moses’ tablet of stone when the Israelites already violated the commandment by fashioning the golden calf. We also commit idolatry when we fashion a god according to our own understanding. But there’s a second warning: We must come to God in the right way! Cain and Abel both came to the right God, but one brought an offering that was accepted while the other’s was rejected. The NT speaks of those who have "gone in the way of Cain" (Jude 1:11), that is, those who think they can come to God in their own way and on their own terms.
No other religion in the world teaches what Christ did. Our reconnection to God has to be a free gift to us undeserving sinners. The reason? We can’t make ourselves good enough for God! And since we can’t correct our relationship with God on our own, we stand in desperate need of His boundless, amazing grace.
And in His amazing grace God has called you and me to share the Good News with the world around us "that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others" (2 Cor 5:19). Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, our Triune God wants you and me, as His redeemed people, to stand up in the face of the world’s confusion and announce that He’s the only God to be worshiped, and He’s the only Name by which we must be saved. Like Nebuchadnezzer said: "There is no other god who can rescue like this!"
After His resurrection and exaltation into heaven Jesus affirmed: "Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one who died. Look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave" (Rev 1:17-18). Those are the words of the one true God, and a Savior worth trusting! Amen.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24-25)
