Uncompromising character has a holy, fearless courage that knows no shame in bearing the name of Jesus Christ. And so in a way you can measure whether you have that uncompromising stand, whether you're living that uncompromising life, if you find that unashamed boldness. The story is told about a soldier during the American Civil War. He wanted to improve his odds of survival, so he wore a blue coat like the Northern Army and gray pants like the Southern troops. And what happened, he got shot at from both directions.
Whether there's any truth to that story, the point it makes is real. Compromise can be deadly. So how about you? Are you wearing a patchwork spiritual uniform, a blend of God's standards and worldly standards, and you think that's a safe way to live? Today on Grace to You, John MacArthur helps you firm up your commitment to God and see the amazing blessing that comes from an uncompromising life.
That's the title of our study, An Uncompromising Life. Follow along now in Daniel chapter 1. Now one of the things I've believed in since many, many years ago when I first made an affirmation to teach the Word of God is that where there is a principle of the Word of God, you never deviate in terms of your behavior.
There are some doubtful things. There are some things in the gray area where we do not have a specific biblical word. But where we know definitely and definitively what the Bible teaches, we take our stand and never compromise. That is where we are anchored, and that is precisely what characterized the life of this man, Daniel.
He would not vacillate when it came to the absolutes of the law and the Word of God. And it anchored him to a rock of confidence that allowed him to endure all of the storms of the Chaldean Babylonian situation. The Chaldeans were really bent upon brainwashing Daniel, his three friends, and all the rest of the young Jewish boys that they had deported in the first deportation in 606 B.C. They were committed to a brainwashing process, and Daniel and his three friends resisted that.
And you remember they attempted to do that by changing three things. Number one, they wanted to reeducate them, to give them a Chaldean Babylonian education. Number two, they renamed them, giving them Babylonian names in an effort to cut them off from the past. Thirdly, they wanted to impose upon them Chaldean lifestyle. So it was a matter of reeducation, it was a matter of redefinition of who they were, and it was a matter of reorientation to the matter of living according to a Chaldean lifestyle.
And if it worked, they would be sufficiently brainwashed. Now, historians tell us that it is estimated between 50 and 75 of these young men were taken out of the court of Judah. These would be royal seed and the sons of the nobles and the princes of Judah.
50 to 75 were taken, and we only know of four that drew the line and were uncompromising. So it is likely that the brainwashing process worked in the majority of these very young men. You'll remember that I told you also that they probably were around the age of 14 or 15, not usually a time when a young man has the character that it takes to resist a very sophisticated brainwashing operation, which has latent within it some tremendous promise for advancement, for fame and fortune in the Babylonian court.
Now, as we shared last time, Daniel and his three friends did not resist the first efforts. They did not resist the educational process. Secondly, they did not resist the changing of their names. But thirdly, when it came to reorienting the lifestyle by forcing them to eat the king's food and to indulge in the fare that was the daily fare of the palace, to reorient themselves to that kind of thing, that's where they said no.
And the reason is clear and simple. There was no biblical mandate against the education. There was no biblical mandate against the names, but there was a clear biblical mandate against eating Chaldean food. Number one, it was food offered to idols, as was the common custom. All of their feasts were first of all offered to gods, their own pagan gods.
Secondly, they had very strict dietary laws which would not be adhered to by the Babylonians. And therefore, while they could do the first two, realizing really what the effort was trying to accomplish and resisting it in the strength of their upbringing and their commitment to God's Word, they could not accept the third because that would have been to deny the absolute statement of the law of God. And the point, beloved, is this. We in our lives must draw the line where God draws the line. And He draws the line of no compromise on the basis of the absolutes of His Word.
Now you say, well what about the first two? It would seem that the education would have been the most threatening. No, not really, because they were so committed to the Word of God, they would see that education only in light of God's Word, you see. They would interpret it in the light of God's Word. And the second, they could change their names, but they sure couldn't change their hearts. They couldn't change their souls. They couldn't change their minds about what they knew to be true. But if they had given in to the third thing and accepted and adapted the Chaldean lifestyle, then they would have denied the Word of God and fallen victim certainly to the educational process. For if they would have compromised the Word of God in their eating, they would have easily compromised the Word of God in other areas as well. And so we see then that the bottom line in an uncompromising life is the statement of the Word of God.
This is a pretty amazing stand for a fourteen-year-old young man. It says a lot about his character. It says something about his parents. It may say something about the impact on his life of the great revival under Josiah. Somewhere along the line, Daniel had a tremendous education. Somewhere along the line, he made a commitment to God, not to defile himself. And even at that early age, he lived that commitment out against incredible odds.
We need to have that same kind of character obviously that takes an uncompromising stand on the absolutes of the Word of God. And Daniel did it and so did his three friends. And all of the inducements and education and all the encouragements and all the bribes and all the pressures and all the ambitions and all the glories and promises of the king's court couldn't make these four young men compromise what they knew to be the truth. They wouldn't do it. They would learn the king's language. They would study the Chaldean education.
There was science and there was mathematics and there were many things that would be helpful. There were some things that were philosophical and theological that they would reject. But there was in their own hearts such a commitment to the Word of God and the law of God that all of that education would be filtered through the truth of God.
And I think we still have this today. I think as Christians very frequently when our faith is strong, we hear what the world is saying and we are educated in the world's universities and colleges and so forth. But if our faith is strong and our commitment to the Word of God is strong, that education is filtered through the Word of God. And in many cases, it makes us better able to turn the tables and take the Word of God back to them because we can see the weakness in their theories and their theology. I think of men like Francis Schaeffer who is God's gift in many ways to this age, a man who has studied for years and years the philosophies of the world in order that in understanding the philosophies of the world, he might understand how the Word of God speaks to those philosophies and that he might meet them on their own ground with the truth of God. I think of scientists who have for years studied the theories of evolution in order that they might be refuted with the text of the Word of God. The philosophies of different cults and false religions have been studied in great detail by godly people who in turn have provided for us resources to counteract and to bring the gospel to people who are trapped in false systems. Daniel and his three friends didn't fear this because they knew they had the grid of the Word of God through which to filter all of this education.
I would warn you at this point not to expose yourself to those kinds of educational opportunities unless you have that grid or you'll find that you're liable to meet a shipwreck of your faith. People say to me, do you think Christians ought to go to secular universities? The answer to that is I think some Christians ought to go there, not all of them. Some of us maybe have to be exposed to that in order to deal with it. So they didn't mind the education because they had what it took to deal with the education. And they would even take the Chaldean names.
That's not so rare. We live in a society where we're named according to what's current in our society. Names don't mean anything nowadays. That didn't really bother them at all, but they never would adopt the lifestyle. It's the lifestyle of any society that is the most corrupting, you see. Because once you begin to live the way the society lives, you have abandoned yourself to their philosophy no matter what you've been taught. Lifestyle will always be the most corrupting element of any pagan society. And so we see Daniel rejecting at that point.
He stops the brainwashing process and will not adapt to their lifestyle. In Proverbs 4 23 it says, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. And what it means is guard your heart. Because if you ever lose your heart, if you ever give away that basic part of your being that thinks and responds and motivates and makes you act, if you ever abandon that, the issues of life will be corrupted.
Guard your heart. And that's what Daniel did. Now for our study, I want us to see the consequences of such a commitment. He made the commitment.
Now what are the results? And by the way, they could have all been bad. I mean, you know, Nebuchadnezzar was not the all-time nice guy. And when he came along and said, I want all these young fellows to eat the king's food. I want to obligate them to me. I want them to feel obliged to me. I want them to know that I have supported them and I have given them the very best. I want them to get a taste of the great stuff that we have here in Chaldea. I want them to hunger for these things and forget the stuff of the past.
I want them to adapt to the lifestyle. This is part of the process. And to say, no thanks, king, could have been a pretty serious issue. All you have to do is read a little further in the book and you find out that one time when somebody didn't do what the king said, he threw him in a fiery furnace. And another time when somebody didn't do what the king said, he threw him in a den of lions. So the results of taking an uncompromising stand sometimes will be bad. There's no question about it.
Sometimes there's a great price to pay. Going against a pagan monarch could be very, very dangerous. But Daniel had to do it because it was in his character to do it. And his three friends, those wonderful young men mentioned in verse 6, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, they took their stand and they walked right into that fiery furnace. Daniel took his stand and he walked right into that den of lions. If that's what it has to be, then that's what it has to be.
There still would be no compromise. Now, let's look at the text beginning in verse 8, and I want you to see a sequence of characteristics. I think this is so exciting, a sequence of characteristics that are true of one who takes an uncompromising stand. When a person determines in his mind to live in an uncompromising way in a pagan society, there is a sequence of characteristics that I see illustrated here, and they're not in any particular order, but I just see them manifest and they are so practical.
I'm just going to give them to you kind of in a grocery list so you can just start writing them down. Number one, an unashamed boldness, an unashamed boldness. Verse 8, now look at it, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's food nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested of the prince of the eunuchs, that's Ashpenaz, that he might not defile himself. Now stop right there. This is fascinating.
This is fascinating. Here is an unashamed boldness. Daniel says, Ashpenaz, I do not wish to eat the king's food. I do not wish to drink the king's wine because it will defile me. Now wait a minute, Daniel, that's pretty bold stuff. I mean, couldn't you hem and haw a little bit? I mean, you're telling the king that his food will defile you?
I love that kind of boldness, don't you? He doesn't say, you know, King, ever since I was a little fellow, I've had to have a special diet. He didn't con the king or the prince of the eunuchs.
He didn't wiggle out of it. He didn't say, well, you know, my body won't adjust to this. He didn't say, I'm very ill and, you know, I just don't feel too well and I just better not.
It's such rich food and, you know, oh I'm so used to the food in the land where I've lived, I just can't digest this. He doesn't say that. He could have said that.
We might do that. You know, many times when we want to get out of a situation that is really a spiritual issue, we give a reason other than a spiritual reason to get out of it. We don't want to admit that's it. Somebody says to you, hey, why don't you come along with us? We're going to do this and we're going to do that. And we don't say, well, you know, I don't believe that's right.
I believe it's sinful to do that and I wouldn't compromise my commitment to Jesus Christ. We say, well, yeah, it'd be real nice, but you know, I've got to stay home tonight. I've got to do something. Well, you know. We hem and haw.
We don't really establish the fact that there's a spiritual issue here. Oh, I love that. Daniel is 14 years old.
What character? He says, by the way, tell the king I can't have his food. It'll defile me. An unashamed boldness goes with an uncompromising life.
It's a great thing. Courageous. He could have used a word other than defile.
That's a very strong word. Something that is defiled, it says in the Old Testament, is an abomination to the Lord. But the reason he can't eat and drink is because he would be defiled.
And so that's what he said. He would be defiled, number one, because it's meat offered to idols and he wouldn't come near an idol. Secondly, he'd be defiled because it wasn't prepared according to Jewish dietary law, and he would be violating God's laws, and that constitutes a defilement. And you know what I believe? He doesn't say in that verse, but the fact that he said that he might not defile himself implies to me that he must have explained to Ashbenaz why it was a defilement. He must have given him a whole deal on the Old Testament dietary laws, and he must have given him a few choice words about idolatry as well. And just let him know the whole deal.
This is where I stand. I don't do that because that's not according to God's law. Oh, you know something? Isn't it a wonderful thing when somebody in the midst of a very tough situation is not ashamed to speak the truth of a commitment to the Lord's Word? That's real character, people, real character, real uncompromising character. He wasn't ashamed of his God, and he wasn't ashamed of his faith in God, even in the midst of a pagan society, even though he was a prisoner of the king, even though the king had the right to kill him for disobedience and rebellion. It never phased his commitment. Frankly, for normal people, the Bible says the fear of man brings a what?
A snare. For most people, a fear of man traps us, not Daniel. But those who have an uncompromising character always seem to have that unashamed boldness. I thought there's such an interesting point that I decided to chase it around a little bit in the Bible. And you know, I saw it in Moses.
I just love it. I see it in Moses. Moses just walks up to Pharaoh and says, Pharaoh, let my people go.
Oh, I like that. Let them go, Pharaoh. And Pharaoh says, let me show you who's boss. And he calls his magicians, and they do tricks and throw their little sticks down, and their sticks turn into snakes. And Moses throws his little stick down, and it turns into a snake and eats their snakes.
And he says, let my people go. He wasn't afraid to stand up for his God and for his people. I see it with David. A couple of times the Psalms record things that give us this insight into David's heart. Psalm 40, I love this, verse 9. Well, verse 8, I delight to do Thy will, O my God. Yea, Thy law is within my heart. Now any time a person has the law of God in their heart, and they want to do the law, that's the uncompromising spirit.
That's just like Daniel. David says, I know your law, and I'm committed to doing it. So I have preached righteousness in the great congregation. Lo, I have not restrained my lips, O Lord, Thou knowest.
I never pulled a punch. I never held back a word of righteous truth. I have not, he says in verse 10, hidden Thy righteousness within my heart. I have declared Thy faithfulness, and I have not fulfilled Thy righteousness. I have declared Thy salvation. I have not concealed Thy loving kindness. I have not concealed Thy truth from the great congregation. He says, God, I am committed to it, and I have unashamedly boldly preached it.
O God, give us people like this. Later on in Psalm 71, verse 15, my mouth shall show forth Thy righteousness and Thy salvation all the day. All day long, he says, my mouth will show forth Thy righteousness and salvation.
Unashamed boldness. Daniel's friends had it. Look over at the third chapter of Daniel.
It's just really great. Verse 13, Nebuchadnezzar was so furious and filled with rage that he brings in Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And he brought them in, and he said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
Have you failed to do what I told you to do? Now, if ye be ready that at that time that ye hear the sound of the... And then he names the whole orchestra that blew when it was time to worship the gods. If you don't fall down, I'll cast you in the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
He has a rather weak view of God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said, I love this. O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
It's no big deal to respond to you. 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 your hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we'll not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Doesn't matter what happens, we won't worship your image. Oh, what boldness. What upright character is manifest in those three young boys. We see it again in the New Testament so many times, this same kind of unashamed boldness that comes with an uncompromising heart. I'm thinking of a verse here. Yes, Mark 8 38, our Lord says, Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.
Wow, that's pretty strong stuff, isn't it? In 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 16, it says, If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. You know, when you suffer for a Christian, you know, when you take a lot of abuse and people talk down to you and people hassle you, it's easy to just kind of be ashamed to be a Christian, and you just clam up. As I've said, some Christians are like the Arctic River frozen over at the mouth. They just don't say anything.
They just don't let it be known because of shame. But Peter says, Let none of you suffering as a Christian be ashamed. I love to see Paul at the end of the book of Acts as he's paraded through a bunch of puppet rulers, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and every time, without hesitation, boldly, unashamedly preaches Jesus Christ. He writes to Timothy and says, Timothy, Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. And Timothy, do not be ashamed of me, the prisoner of Christ, and do not be ashamed of the gospel. In Philippians chapter 1 verse 27, I just love this, Only let your conduct be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Now listen to this one, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries.
Isn't that great? In nothing terrified by your adversaries. Boldly willing to stand and speak, uncompromising character has a holy, fearless courage that knows no shame in bearing the name of Jesus Christ. And so, you know, the way you can measure whether you have that uncompromising stand, whether you're living that uncompromising life, if you find that unashamed boldness. I tell you, once in your own mind, like Daniel, you purpose in your heart that where God's word draws an absolute line, you will draw an absolute line. And unashamedly and boldly, you will stand there and you will speak his testimonies before kings. You're going to find that boldness a reality in your life.
And you know what? Those are the kind of people God really used. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur.
Thanks for being with us. John is chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. He calls his current series an uncompromising life. John, this idea you spoke of today, taking an uncompromising stand for the word of God. You have to wonder if taking that sort of firm stand on biblical truth has ever been more unpopular than it is today.
But being popular certainly is not our goal. What is important is being faithful with biblical truth and proclaiming it as clearly and as widely as possible. You know, it's been the Ministry of Grace to You to tell the truth, to tell the truth from Genesis to Revelation, to tell the truth through all 66 books of the Bible. That's what we do. We give the bad news so we can give the good news.
The word of God does all of that. And we believe that no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter what your circumstances, you are affected by the fall. You are affected by the curse. We're all dying. You know, life is a terminal illness. You're going to die and the wages of sin is death. The soul that sins shall die. The reason you're going to die is because of sin.
That is the bad news. We want to give you the good news. That is why we bring divine truth, telling the bad news, telling the good news, revealing everything God has said in his holy word. Only divine truth can rightly inform you, give you wisdom, and bring you salvation. Divine truth changes lives, transforms families, builds up communities, changes nations, gives hope for eternity. That's what we work to supply every single day. And you who support us financially make it possible. Please know that when you give, you help take the truth of God's word to all 50 states in the United States and all over the planet. You make sure that thousands of sermons are available to millions of people every month.
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Or you can write to Box 4000, Panorama City, California 91412. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson. Look for Grace To You television this weekend on DirecTV channel 378, and join us here tomorrow as John continues his study on how to live for God without compromise. It's another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on Grace To You.
