Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were deported from Jerusalem to Babylon in 605 BC. Now they faced similar spiritual and moral pressures you and I face living in a godless culture. How do you stay true to Christ when the pressures all around are to compromise or lower your standards of godly living? These four young boys were entered into a three-year Babylonianizing indoctrination program to learn all the languages and religions and superstitions of the Babylonian magicians and gurus. They were given new pagan names to help them forget their Hebrew roots. And the king provided for them the best of food and drink, straight from his own table (Dan. 1:5).
Daniel didn’t have a problem with learning the Babylonian philosophies and religions. He didn’t have a problem having his name changed. There was nothing in God’s law forbidding these matters. Moses had been educated in all the learning of Egypt (Acts 7:22). You don’t have to believe what you learn.
But Daniel did have a problem with the choice food and wine from the king’s table. It may or may not have been forbidden food like sausage, shrimp, or smoked oysters. But the meat and wine from the king’s table was first sacrificed as offerings to honor the gods. Daniel knew that food sacrificed to idols would defile him and make him an abomination to God. God clearly said:
Exodus 34:14-15 –for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God– 15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice….
What will Daniel do? What does it mean to live by convictions?
Make up your mind what you believe and how you’ll live.
Daniel 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.
This is where Daniel drew the line. Daniel lived by convictions. A conviction is a strong unbending commitment to a truth or practice based on Scripture that you will not compromise. Daniel wasn’t a waffler or a compromiser. He’s going to teach us how to live by convictions in a godless, pagan culture. We’re not talking about preferences here. You like the ESV, I prefer the NASB. You like neckties, I prefer open collars. You like Coke, I prefer lemonade. You like to read your Bible in the evening, I prefer the morning. These are preferences. We’re talking about convictions here. Daniel made up his mind. He resolved or determined something in his heart. The phrase “made up” is one Hebrew word that means to set, determine, establish, or fix. ESV says resolved. KJV says purposed.
Many years ago I dug seven holes for a fence around our patio in our backyard. I set or fixed posts in each hole with gravel and concrete, making sure they were vertically straight and in line with each other. They are still there, standing strong. Daniel sank or fixed a post of biblical conviction in his heart that determined his decision and behavior. He lived by the conviction that he would not defile himself with food sacrificed to idols.
It’s easy to waffle. He could have convinced himself that it wasn’t a big deal to eat this food and drink this wine. I’m sure it was really tasty food and refreshing wine. He could have come up with plenty of excuses. He could have said, “This situation is abnormal. We’re not in our homeland. God certainly doesn’t expect absolute obedience. If we go along to get along, we’ll probably get a high position in the government and make a great impact for God.” That’s pragmatism – the end justifies the means. Remember, it is never right to do wrong to get a chance to do right. Daniel didn’t give in. He lived by conviction.
How do you live by convictions in a godless, pagan culture? You have to know and love Christ above this world. You have to desire God’s approval more than man’s approval. You have to know God’s truth and understand what is non-negotiable in your faith and practice. Proverbs 2 lays the foundation for developing godly convictions and spiritual courage grounded in God’s Word.
Proverbs 2:1-5, My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; 3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.
You can almost see Daniel meditating on a passage like this, taking in the Word, listening carefully, working hard to understand what God says, asking God for wisdom, discernment, understanding, valuing God’s truth above all earthy treasure, and sinking convictions in his heart in the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God.
God gives us other examples of men who lived by convictions. Joseph sank a post of conviction that was tested and held firm when Potiphar’s wife tempted him, “How can I do this great evil and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9) Joshua lived with the post of conviction in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” No question, right? Job lived with a post of conviction in Job 31:1, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” Basically, “How can I look at pornography?”
Daniel made up his mind, sank a post of conviction in his heart that held him there under the pressure to compromise. The key is to get before God, determine what God allows and doesn’t allow, and make up your mind ahead of time what you will or will not do. If you wait till the steaks are sizzling on the grill and then try to decide if you’re going to eat steak or not, it’s too late. Instead of being a double-minded man who is unstable in all his ways like James talks about, make up your mind now that there are certain doctrines and practices you simply refuse to compromise. Here are a few posts of conviction you should have.
The post of telling the truth and refusing to lie or cheat. There are plenty of circumstances and people who will push on that post to see if you will give in. In the movie Courageous, Javier Martinez was offered a higher position in the company if he would be willing to falsify inventory records. He needed the extra cash. What would he do? He talked with his wife about it. They agreed he could not compromise his conviction to tell the truth. He returned to the owner the next day and said he couldn’t take the job. The owner immediately praised him and gave Javier the promotion. The boss had been testing Javier’s integrity.
The post of moral purity. Drive this post in early in your life. Don’t wait till your passions are getting steamed up and then think, hmmm, I wonder if I should sin against God and do this thing. Live by conviction. Make up your mind ahead of time. Honor God in your moral life.
The post of a future marriage partner. Before getting emotionally involved, make up your mind, “I will only marry a believer.”
The post of entertainment. What kinds of entertainment will you engage in? Author Steve Farrar and his wife were enjoying a show in New York City. Everything was okay until the show had a woman walk over and kiss another woman. The Farrars got up and walked out. It takes conviction to walk out, turn it off, refuse to go along. Erwin Lutzer in his book We Will Not Be Silenced wrote, “A survey showed that most Christians follow no guidelines for what they watch on television, their smart phones, tablets, or computers.”
The post of biblical doctrines. Luther had a post of conviction about the Word of God driven deep in his heart when he declared, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant.” Biblical conviction will take you out of a liberal or compromising church.
What about the post of faithfulness to your local church? Make up your mind. Don’t get up Sunday mornings and go, “Wow, such a nice day. I think we’ll just stay home this morning.” That’s a real problem, especially if you’re the pastor!
Hold your convictions with humility and grace.
Daniel 1:9-10, Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, 10 and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.”
Warren Wiersbe notes that Daniel didn’t act like an idiot, burn down buildings, stage a protest, or threaten anyone. He obviously won the respect of the commander, but now there’s a problem. It’s true, when you live by convictions, there will be difficult situations. Not everyone will understand. Others will think you are extreme or legalistic. Daniel was not legalistic. He was simply committed to honoring His God. Living by your convictions may affect others around you. In this case, if these boys don’t look up to speed with all the others, the king will take it out on the commander. But there’s a way of handling difficulties without compromising. That’s where godly wisdom comes in
Be strong but reasonable.
Daniel 1:11-14, But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 “Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.
Daniel didn’t give up, “Oh well, I tried.” He didn’t think, “When in Babylon, do as the Babylonians.” Or “What happens in Babylon stays in Babylon.” No, convictions don’t tolerate excuses. Vance Havner described an excuse as “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.” Daniel didn’t try to squirm out of his conviction. Instead, he came up with a creative alternative – a veggie and water diet. Did he get this diet from God? There’s nothing in the Bible that says you have to eat only veggies. If that’s your thing, do it. And Daniel requested this diet as a creative alternative to eating food served to idols. When the boss asks you to compromise God’s Word and your integrity, pray for wisdom for a creative alternative. Sometimes a husband doesn’t want a wife to go to church. God wants her to go to church. What does she do? She comes up with a creative alternative that will please her husband. That’s 1 Peter 3:1-2. If the shoe is on the other foot, verse seven tells a husband how to please his wife by treating her with great honor.
So here Daniel comes up with a ten-day veggie and water diet. I checked out a ten-day water fast. I could never do that. Then I read not to water fast more than three days. Then I read a bit more and found what I was hoping for. “Water fasting will not be safe for everyone, and should not be undertaken by (guess) older adults.” I qualify for that so I decided to go back to my ELF diet. Eat Less Food. It works every time.
So Daniel proposed this test, this comparison. What if these Hebrew boys would have looked like scarecrows? What if they were forced to eat the food and wine sacrificed to the gods? Listen to Psalm 15:4b “He swears to his own hurt and does not change.” Would they have been willing to die on this hill? If it defiles them, yes! This is exactly what happened later with Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace and King Darius’ lions’ den. There are some things you simply cannot fudge on, whatever the cost. Yes, it might cost you a job. That’s living by conviction. John Bunyan was arrested for illegal preaching. He refused to stop preaching. He believed God had called him to preach! He went to jail twice! The first was 12 years; the second six months where he wrote Pilgrim’s Progress. Pastor Coates in Edmonton, Canada, was willing to go to jail for refusing to stop meeting as a church.
God honors those who honor Him.
Daniel 1:15-17, At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. 16 So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. 17 As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams.
Okay, show time! Line them up beside those guys who gorged themselves on the king’s choice food. Result? Daniel and his friends were “fairer and fatter” (KJV) than all the others. Fatter probably means robust, healthy, full, firm; a glowingly healthy appearance. They didn’t look like scrawny scarecrows. God honored their obedience. God honors those who honor Him.
Notice how God gave them knowledge. These guys lived an exemplary life, studied hard, learned everything they were given. All your learning is a gift from God, but He doesn’t download it into your noggin the night before the test. God would not honor laziness. They studied and God gave them all this mental brilliance: knowledge, intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom. God even gave Daniel extra giftedness to understand visions and dreams. This will come in handy later on. What’s the application? Live by convictions, be strong but polite and respectful, work hard, and God will honor you.
Enjoy the blessings of convictions and integrity.
Daniel 1:18-21, Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. 20 As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.
Three years in the books and it’s time for an oral exam before the king. Nebuchadnezzar was not a fool. Babylon was the center of learning in the Middle East and the king wanted sharp young assistants around him. He interviewed these fellows and they passed with flying colors, graduated summa cum laude, and entered into the king’s personal service.
Proverbs 22:29, Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.
Amazing. He discovered they were ten times better in appearance and in knowledge than all his other “swamp creatures” – the magicians and conjurers. We’ll find out next week that he’s ready to turn all of their homes into latrines. But that’s next week. In verse 21 Daniel will be serving in high offices all the way into the Persian court, where he’ll be one of three presidents over the Persian empire. He lives into his 80s. He is a great man of faith in a sovereign, powerful, awesome and great God. God has His people placed just where He wants them. We’re thankful for godly men of conviction in places of authority. Where does He have you placed?
What does Daniel teach us? Live by convictions. Figure out where you can’t compromise and then stand strong for God and His honor! God’s people really ought to shine in our culture. These young men, like us, were light in a dark world and salt for a corrupt earth. They shone for Almighty God in the midst of Israel’s judgment and captivity.
So What?
You might wonder, is it safe for Christians to go to secular universities? That depends on your convictions and what you’re wanting to learn. Be careful. You’re dealing with spiritual poison and doctrines of demons in the secular academy and even in some so-called Christian colleges. You have to know what you believe and be aware of all the false teaching. It’s good to have books like Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines or Live Not By Lies by Rod Dreher or By What Standard to help us discern the lies of the culture so we don’t get swept away.
You must sift everything you hear through the grid of the Bible. These Hebrew youths knew who created the universe, the two genders, marriage between a man and woman, the curse of sin and man’s need of redemption. They knew the ten commandments. They viewed everything from a biblical worldview. They stood strong and tall for God. You too, by God’s grace and power and truth, must set those posts of convictions and take your stand for Christ. And if you don’t really know Him, you need to bow your heart to Christ and acknowledge your sin. Believe the work of Christ on the cross was for you. Believe Christ resurrected from the grave and ascended into Heaven. Turn from going your own way and put your trust in Christ alone for your salvation. There’s no other way.