“CONVICTION IN A TOLERANT WORLD”
Daniel 3 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17
INTRODUCTION TO SERMON:
Wow! Good people, people who care for each other but with very different stances on a very tough situation. Which one’s right? Did you hear Angie’s significant other address the core problem here: He said: “There’s not a right or wrong about this, just what we know, what we’ve been taught.” Angie’s Dad replies, “That’s where we’re different. There is a right and wrong to this in my book.” You see the real problem in that drama was not Angie’s unmarried state or how her Dad felt about it. The core problem was how they came to understand right from wrong.
Friends, I know you sense it. The folks in our drama sensed it. Our world is shifting in its moral stance. In fact, I believe careful inspection shows that there has been a shifting of our culture in this area of right and wrong that has been almost cataclysmic in the last 40-50 years. I know this will date me, but I can remember the Emmy-award winning TV comedy called “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” I know, I know.. Most of you are not old enough to remember watching it when it was actually broadcast but you may have seen it on Nick at Night. It was a funny show, still is, but in that show, which was in the 60’s, it always had Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, who was his wife, Laura, sleeping in twin beds. Because our culture then, when a show was on TV wouldn’t even show a married couple in bed together. And nowadays the Emmy award goes to shows like HBO’s “Sex in the City,” or ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” where several people might end up in a twin bed! And this shift is not just in the area of sex. Not so long ago we had rulings by our various courts on such things as whether the pledge of allegiance should be said in our classrooms because it contains the phrase: “one nation, under God”and refusal to give a person, who had no direct say, life support. Movies that used to only contain vulgar profanity if they were rated “R” are now using the “F bomb” in some PG-13 films. Yes, there has been a shift in our culture.
Well, this morning as we close our series in our “Reality Room” let’s tackle this very real and often confusing topic.. “Conviction in a Tolerant World.” How do we determine what is right and what is wrong? If I am a person of conviction, what do I base that conviction on and how do I express it? I know there is a risk here today with this topic. It will not necessarily be popular but since it has much of our culture confused and since the Bible does address the issue, let’s dig in.
I. CONFRONTING CONVICTION CONFUSION:
Let’s begin by asking a basic question. What do we base our conviction on? In other words, if there is right and wrong, how do I figure out what it is? You know every once in a while I’ll hear something in a motion picture that addresses this issue. (VIDEO CLIP - “Something’s Gotta Give” Ch. 21 - 1:22:02 - 1:23:42 - 1:40)
Do you agree with Diane Keaton’s character? That there is such a thing as truth, and it doesn’t have versions? Can we get our bearings on absolutes or are we just adrift upon a sea of relative uncertainty? We saw in our opening “man on the street” video that our culture has many ideas how to determine right from wrong. In fact, according to researcher George Barna, 72% of Americans don’t believe in such a thing as absolute truth. So, let’s look at some answers to the question, “How do you determine what is true?” and discuss their legitimacy for a moment.
(1) Many in our culture would say that truth is a changing concept. Relativism is a predominant belief in our culture today. Relativism says that truth is determined by referencing it to something else, like your circumstances, or what someone else has taught you, etc. Isn’t that what our young man said in the drama? There’s not a right or wrong about this, just what we know, what we’ve been taught. But does that reasoning really provide stability? Let me ask you. (raise your hands) “Have you ever discovered that your parents were wrong about something?”A little closer to home: (Don’t have to raise your hands) Parents, have you ever been wrong about something? Do we really want to make important, even life or death decisions based on “My Mamma says..?”or a different value judgment based on different circumstances? Relativism has no stable standard.
Others will say we determine truth by majority vote. Yeah, that sounds good. We’ll vote on it and if the majority says it’s true then it’s true. Think about that reasoning for a second. How many of you, if we all took a vote on the Law of Gravity and the majority said it didn’t exist, would jump off a 10 story building? Or if we all decided that the majority of people in the Springs prefer that our climate be tropical in February… would that make it so? Remember, the majority in WWII Germany thought they were right. We can’t determine truth on majority rule.
How about determining truth by personal feelings? Several in our opening video said that.. “I determine what’s right by how I feel.. If it feels right I go with it.” “I trust my gut.” What happens when we feel differently about things? Who is right then? Anyone who has ever felt differently about something after a good nights sleep understands how crazy it would be to judge right & wrong just on feelings. There are too many variables, too many shifts in feelings.
You see, I believe in our culture today we have a choice. We can determine to choose what is right and wrong by a number of shifting standards or we can choose to pick a standard that everyone can rely on. So many are choosing the former and it is why we have what I call today’s tolerance.” Now, I say “today’s tolerance” because tolerance, as a basic virtue, is a very good thing. We ought to be tolerant of each other. God’s Word commands us to “bear with one other in love.”(Eph. 4:2 NIV) That means we are to put up with each other - to tolerate each other. And I will never have to tolerate you, or you will never have to tolerate me more than God already has tolerated all of us. Jesus Christ demonstrated tolerance toward people caught up in all kinds of lifestyles. Now, he might not have approved of their behavior, he often said, “That’s wrong, you need to stop,” but he accepted them as people of high value. Listen, intolerance is ugly, hate crimes like racism and ethnic cleansing or gay bashing, they just sicken the heart of Christ.
But “today’s tolerance” doesn’t mean just respecting each other or differing views. Today we have taken this good word, tolerance, and flipped it to mean anything goes. I not only must respect your view, I must agree with it. If I don’t agree with it, and I dare say, “I think that’s wrong,” I’m narrow, bigoted, intolerant. Today’s tolerance says, “You are wrong to say what’s wrong!” It trumpets that “Each individual establishes his own set of rules, her own set of rules. The only thing that matters is tolerance. You let me do what I want and don’t dare say it’s wrong. There’s no need for absolutes or boundaries.” Really? Say that to your surgeon. “You operate any old way you want because I don’t want to be so intolerant to tell you how you should operate. After all, there’s no need for absolute truth or boundaries. Pick an artery, any artery.”All of you run out to Adventure Airlines at the airport and tell the pilot, “Pick a runway, any runway” and see if you have frequent survival miles left. Oh, people, when will we understand that relativism and today’s tolerance are taking us into an amoral and valueless culture. A society where no life is cherished because there are no right and wrongs ways to treat each other.
Well, I believe there is a standard. I believe that the Creator of the Universe gave us one and said, “Here is how to determine right and wrong. It’s for everyone.”That standard is God’s Word. You say, “How do you determine that the Bible should be our standard.” For several objective reasons. (1) There has been no book in all of history like the Bible. The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years by 40 different authors on 3 different continents. And yet it has a unity that no other book has ever had. How can it have that kind of unity and cohesiveness without someone being behind it? (2)The Bible has stood the test of time. Archeological finds and fulfilled prophecies have proven the Bible to be true again and again and yet we have never found anything in it that is absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a falsification. (3) The Bible itself says it is from God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is just one of those passages. Let’s read it out loud together: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” Circle: “to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.” Here is the answer to “is there an absolute truth?” Yes. The Bible, God’s Word.
Lee Strobel who was an investigative journalist was an atheist. He investigated the Bible to prove it was wrong! Not the best motive. He did a through investigation and is now one of the most renowned ministers in our country. Why? Because his study found that the Bible not only had investigative merit, it gave him purpose for living, value and provided the way of salvation. If you’re wondering about the Bible then I ask you: “Have you really investigated it? Really looked to see if it’s true?” We all have a choice.. We can keep going down the road of moral relativism and today’s tolerance and add to our culture’s instability, and our heartache or we can give God’s Word an honest investigation and evaluation. I believe, with every ounce of my being that the Bible is the standard for right and wrong that we are looking for.
II. CONDUCTING CONVICTION CORRECTLY:
Now, let’s change gears just a little. If you hold the conviction that God provides the standard for right and wrong, how do you conduct your conviction correctly? I believe the place to start for those of us who say we believe in God is by individually embracing God’s truth and living by his standards, just like Jesus lived. Yet, in this “anything goes” type of world, how do we go about applying our convictions to ourselves and others? Well, to answer that question I want us to look at three guys in the Old Testament book of Daniel and see from their example, four things that those with Godly convictions can do.
Their names are Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were Godly young men who were taken by conquest from their homeland in Israel and forced to live in a pagan, decadent culture. It was definitely anything goes in that world. It was “Wild on... Babylon.” And it would definitely test their convictions. In Daniel 1 we learn that these three young men along with Daniel and others taken captive were put in the King’s service. Vs:4 - “Then the King of Babylon ordered Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his palace personnel, to select some of the Jewish youths brought back as captives... ‘Pick strong, healthy, good-looking lads,’ he said; ‘those who have read widely in many fields, are well informed, alert and sensible, and have enough poise to look good around the palace.’” Vs:6- “Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. However, their superintendent gave them Babylonian names, as follows: Daniel was called Belteshazzar; Hananiah was called Shadrach; Mishael was called Meshach; Azariah was called Abednego.” For those of you looking for baby names right now we want to be a family friendly church, so...
Now these guys, all listed here were young, handsome, strong, in great physical condition, intelligent, teachable, tolerant, poised. They would all have been selected to appear on The Bachelor or Babylon Idol. And King Nebuchadnezzar determined to indoctrinate these young guys into his anything goes culture. He even changed their Hebrew names. Now that was a big deal back then because in those days, a name really meant something. And in each one of their names, they had a reference to God’s name in it. Every time they would hear their names it reminded them they belonged to their Heavenly Father. But King Nebuchadnezzar gave them new names. It was the Babylonian way of saying, “Who’s your daddy now?” And they would be subjected to all kinds of pagan decadence, they would be pressed, on all sides, to abandon their convictions and just conform to the culture. It would be tough.
Now things went along pretty good for our three for a time. We learn that they were so impressive that in 2:49 it says, “The King appointed Sahdrach, Meshach, and Odednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon. These guys had made it to the top spots in their culture without compromise their convictions. And that lasted uncontested until chapter 3. There we read. “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.” Now what did he do that? Starting with Vs:4 the whole nation was told the reason for the statue. “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.’” Guess who refused to bow? Our three Godly guys. In fact, we’re told in chap. 1 that they had already decided not to defile themselves with Babylon’s religious practices before this statue thing ever came up.
And here’s the first thing to learn about people with Godly convictions. People with convictions draw a line in their heart ahead of time. The great thing about these guys for me is that we learn that before they were asked to compromise they had made up their minds. They had refused to get all caught up in anything that would cause them to walk away from their deepest core values and to honor God.
And it’s important that you have already drawn a line in your heart before you find yourself alone on a date on a dark lane in a parked car. It’s important that you decide you’re going to honor God before that caring, wonderful, listening, fantasy man at work comes on to you. It’s important that you draw a line in your heart before you are put in a crowd where people are talking behind someone’s back and taking shots at their reputations or before you are tempted by that shady business deal. It is vital that you’ve already drawn a line in your heart that says, “I just don’t go there. It just doesn’t honor God.” These guys made a decision before this crisis ever came up, they just decided, “I’m going to live a God-honoring life.”
So, our guys refuse to bow down and as so often happens those that were jealous of their position try to bring them down. So, in 3:9 we learn that some guys who weren’t as high up the ladder as our three go tattle to the King. Vs:9 - “They said to King Nebuchadnezzar...” “You issued a degree requiring all people to bow down and worship the gold statue... that degree states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews - Shadrach, Meshach and Obedengo.. They have defiled Your Majesty and refused to bow down...”
Here’s the second thing about people with Godly convictions. They are not surprised when they are mistreated. They are not surprised when the heat gets turned up by a culture that doesn’t agree with them. In our anything-goes society, it seems that if you adhere to convictions, if you adhere to the belief that there is such a thing as absolute truth, then you are the one that the culture has no tolerance for. They say, “The only absolute is the absolute that there are no absolutes. How dare you to suggest otherwise.” I’ve been on the receiving end of that intolerance a few times. If you dare say that something just might cross over the loving boundaries that our much-smarter-than-we-are God established, then you get labeled as unenlightened, bigoted, homophobic, hateful, old fashioned, narrow, intolerant. But 1 Ptr 4:12 says: “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the trouble that comes to you. Don’t think it is something strange, just make sure you’re suffering for doing right.”(NCV)
Well, vs:13 tells us when the King hears about it he flies into a rage and orders our three Godly guys to come before him. When they get there the King gives them one more chance to bow down to the statute or get thrown in the fiery furnace. And he adds in his arrogance in vs:15: “What god will be able to rescue you from my power then?”Look at their reply in vs:16. I believe it was in this tone: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.” “King, we’re not trying to argue or be disrespectful here, but to answer your question as to who will save us... “17If 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. 18But 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.”
Here’s the third thing about people with conviction: They courageously speak the truth in love. Did you notice these guys? They weren’t obnoxious. They weren’t disrespectful. They called the King “your majesty” twice. They just respectfully stood their ground. For the life of me I don’t understand how those who wear the name Christian and call themselves “protectors of the truth” can be so hateful at times. They get red in the face, they scream, they stomp, they spit, they carry hateful signs and I believe they embarrass God. You cannot proclaim the love of Jesus with a clenched fist. Leonardo da Vinci once said, “He who truly knows has no occasion to shout.” If you know the truth you don’t have to get ugly. If you claim to be believer please allow this verse to brand itself in your heart. Col. 4:5 “Live wisely among those who are not Christians and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.” That’s what these guys did. They stood courageously for the truth but they did so respectfully.
What does the King do? He respond like a lot of people.. Vs:19. He goes into a rage and commands the furnace be heated up 7x hotter than normal. He gets some of his strongest soldiers to tie Shadrach, Meshach and Obednego up and throw them in. Vs:22 tells us that the furnace is so hot that the ones who threw them in are burned up just carrying out the execution order. So, our three are cast into the furnace. But something right out of one of our fantasy movies happens.. As the King watches he is amazed to see that our guys aren’t even hurt by the flames and there is a 4th guy in the fire with them! I mean, it’s like Obi Wan or Gandalf has showed up. But this is an angel and the four of them are walking around in the furnace unhurt! Vs:26 - “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! Come here!” Then the princes, prefects, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” Ever been around a bon-fire and the wind blows in your direction? Your clothes smell.. Not these guys and they were in the fire! Here’s one last thing people of Godly conviction do. They confidently trust that God will prevail in the end. Remember what they said in vs:18? They said God would save them... “But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship your statue.”In other words, no matter what our circumstances, we’re going to trust Him.. Even if he chooses not to deliver us from the fire. What a confidence-filled, faith-filled statement. It is saying, “My God.. The God who controls the tides, my God who thought up gravity, my God who knows ever star, every grain of sand, every hair on my head, my God who’s not just 90 feet tall like your statue.. My God, the only God, is able to deliver me, but even if he doesn’t, he’s got a better plan because he is truth, and I’ve anchored my life to it.” That’s the kind of faith that brings contentment and confidence to life.
Look how the story ends. In Vs:28 the King says, “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.”The King ends up proclaiming that the true God is the only God! God’s truth will prevail in the end. How I pray that you would anchor yourself to that truth. In this shifty world, it’s good to know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never shifts. For He is the way. He is the truth and He is the life. And my desire is that you would say, “I will not bow or worship this world” but decide to anchor your life to that truth so that you can have a deep, loving conviction in this tolerant world.
{All Scripture taken from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted}
Excellent recourse for this message:
Willow Creek Community Church’s 2004 sermon series entitled "Risk It".
