We Must Obey God Rather Than Men

This morning, This morning, I’d like to address a concern that many of us have as we read and watch the news, as we observe the changes taking place in the world, and specifically in what used to be considered Christian nations. And what we are seeing is a growing hostility to Christian witness and Christian practice. We are seeing an increasing frequency of verbal and physical attacks on churches and on people of faith. And ominously, we are seeing these attacks not only being tolerated by the governments of those countries, but in many cases initiated by them. For example,

• A Christian woman in England was arrested for praying silently near an abortion clinic. Not interfering with anyone, not speaking to anyone, not even praying aloud. Just standing and praying silently.

• In Finland, a member of parliament was charged with a hate crime for tweeting verses from Romans in response to an LGBT pride event.

• Also in England, many street preachers have been arrested for supposedly “offensive” messages.

Even in our own country, we see that anti-Christian sentiment is much more open and blatant than previously, and that in many cases it is supported by government policies. You may have seen the email which Franklin Graham sent out recently, asking for a time of prayer and repentance, stating that as a nation we have increasingly turned our backs on God and his commands. For example,

• In one well-known case, a Christian baker was charged with a crime for refusing to create a cake celebrating a gay wedding.

• Christian students and school employees have been disciplined for refusing to use transgender pronouns in class. Christian student organizations have been denied the access to resources and meeting rooms which are granted to other groups.

• And a terrible recent event: the murder of Charlie Kirk, which unbelievably, was actually justified or celebrated by many people, including people in government.

Those are just a few examples. I’m sure you can think of others. I realize that I’m painting with a broad brush, and I acknowledge that in many other parts of the world, in some African nations for example, the persecution of Christians is far more pervasive and far more violent. Nevertheless, it is a real and growing problem in the West.

Now, perhaps you have a more optimistic view. Perhaps you see the tide turning, and hopeful signs emerging, at least in America. Let’s all hope this the case. But I want us to consider the possibility that it doesn’t improve; that this intolerance for Christian witness and Christian practice gets worse instead of better, at least in the near future. I don’t have a crystal ball, and I’m not a prophet. If none of that comes to pass, we will all be glad. But I think it is prudent to be prepared. Because for each one of us, there likely will come a time when we are told by someone in authority that we must do something that we believe God prohibits. Or that we must not do something that we believe God commands. Those demands may come from a government official, as in the examples I mentioned, or they may come from some other authority in our lives, such as an employer, or a teacher, or a church leader, or a family member. In fact, you may have already experienced this challenge. You may be struggling with it right now. And when that happens, we need to know what a godly response looks like, so that we can honor God with our response.

This is not a trivial question. Because when we are told to do something by someone in authority, or told not to do something, there is usually a cost if we fail to comply. And that cost can be significant, depending on who is making the demand. That cost can range from disapproval, to reduced career opportunities, to suspension or expulsion. It can include fines or loss of property, and even arrest, and prosecution, and jail. The stakes can be high, and so we need to be very clear on what God expects of us in these situations.

We’re going to look at three examples from the Bible, three different scenarios in which the commands of an authority figure conflicted with obedience to God. All three come from the Old Testament book of Daniel. Daniel is a great book to study on this topic, because it recounts the challenges faced by the people of Israel while living under a foreign king who did not respect their God or their Laws. These events took place in the sixth century B.C., when the Southern kingdom of Israel was conquered, and its people were exiled to Babylon. We’ll start by reading from Daniel chapter one, verses 1-7: