Compromise - Playing With Fire!
Daniel 1:1-21

If you look at a container of milk, you will notice somewhere on it the words, “Grade A, Pasteurized, Homogenized Milk!”

How many of you can remember going to the store and having a choice between pasteurized and non-pasteurized milk?

                      How about homogenized and non-homogenized?

Pasteurization has to do with heating the milk to a certain temperature and holding it there until certain harmful bacteria are killed.

Before the days of pasteurization, people would occasionally die from drinking a glass of milk.

           Homogenization is the process of mixing up the milk until it has a uniform consistency.

                      We might say it is fully blended.

           You can always recognize non-homogenized milk because the cream separates and comes to the top.

           I can still remember when we had a milk cow at home, and mom would set the fresh milk in the frig

                      and then later she would skim off the cream from the top.

                                 When she had enough she would make butter.

Homogenization is exactly what the world wants to do with Christians.

The world wants to shake us up and blend us so effectively that there is no longer any difference between us and them.

                      The cream no longer comes to the top.

                                 It’s no longer a separate substance.

But that isn’t what God wants.

           He doesn’t want the cream so mixed up with the rest of the milk that there is no difference.

                      He wants us to resist becoming “homogenized” with the world.

           But how do we stay in the world and yet not become “homogenized” with the world?

                      How do you maintain a dynamic, no compromise faith in a sin filled world?

This evening we begin a new six part sermons series called “Great Is Thy Faithfulness!”

           In this series we will see that God wants us as Christians to rise above the rest of world,

                      like the cream rising to the top of the milk.

           God literally wants us to be the “cream of the crop” even as Daniel was so long ago!

This evening, as we begin our look at Daniel, we are going to deal with the real temptation to compromise our faith so that we can fit in with the world.

           Compromise is the way the world tries to homogenize Christians.

           The AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY gives as the third definition,

                      under the word Compromise, “A concession to something detrimental...”

           Did you hear the push to compromise as we read the story in Daniel, chapter one.

                      The push to do something that would be detrimental to Daniel’s faith.

It begins with the military defeat, of what remained of the once powerful nation of Israel, and the deportation of certain young men who survived the siege of Jerusalem.

The time was 606 B.C.

Imagine four Hebrew boys, teenagers, being snatched from their lovely homes in Jerusalem and moved to faraway Babylon.

Since all of them were princes, belonging to the royal family, they were probably not accustomed to this kind of treatment.

It’s too bad when the youth of the land must suffer, because of the sins of the parents.

           The Jews had refused to repent and obey the Lord,

                      so (as Jeremiah had warned) the Babylonian army came in 606-586 B.C.

                                 and conquered the land.

           The policy of taking the youngest and strongest among the survivors,

                      of a defeated nation was common in that day.

           It insured a good flow of slaves for the conquering king to employ in his service,

                      and also made it certain that the defeated nation could not rise again against its conquerors.

In vs. 3&4 we see what fine specimens these four boys were:

           they were physically strong and handsome,

           socially experienced and well-liked by others,

           mentally keen and well-educated,

and spiritually devoted to the Lord.

Conservative scholars have placed Daniel and his friends, who were among these captives, somewhere in the age range of early teens.

What was the plan for these boys?

           The king wanted to force them to conform to the ways of Babylon.

                      He was not interested in putting good Jews to work; he wanted these Jews to be Babylonians!

 

Christians today face the same trial:

           Satan wants us to become “conformed to this world” , but Paul says we are not to conform.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Sad to say, too many Christians give in to the world and lose their power, their joy, and their testimony.

How did they try and homogenize these young men into the Babylonian lifestyle?

           And even more importantly, did these young men stay faithful to God?

A.     A new home (vv. 1-2)

No longer were they surrounded by the things of God in Jerusalem, and no longer did they have the influence of their godly parents and teachers.

           As we grow up we face somewhat the same challenge, as we start going out into the world,

                      without mom and dad.

                      We go to school, to college, one day off to work.

                                 Mom and Dad are no longer right there with us.

                                            We have to face the world without them.

B.    New knowledge (vv. 3-4)

The old Jewish wisdom had to go; from now on it would be the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of Babylon.

           They had to learn the wisdom and the language of their captors.

                      The king hoped that this “brainwashing” would make better servants out of them.

When we go off to school, we are often taught things that are contrary to what Mom and Dad taught us.

                      We learn about evolution, and that religion is only a crutch for weak minded people.

                      We are taught to question what we have learned at home and at church.

C.     New diets (v. 5)

For the next three years, the four youths were supposed to eat the king’s diet, which, of course, was contrary to the dietary laws of the Jews.

           No doubt the food was also offered to the idols of the land,

                      and for the Hebrew youths to eat it would be blasphemy.
As we grow up and begin to venture out into the world, we are often tempted to taste the things of the world.

                      Alcohol, gambling, drugs, pre-martial sex, stealing, lying, etc.

                                 Our diet often changes.

 
D.     New names (vv. 6-7)

The world doesn’t like to recognize the name of God, yet each of the four boys had God’s name in his own name:

           Daniel (“God is my judge”) was changed to Belteshazzar (“Bel protect his life”).

                       Bel was the name of a Babylonian god.

           Hananiah (“Jehovah is gracious”) became Shadrach (“the command of the moon god”);

           Mishael (“Who is like God?”) became Meshach (“who is like Aku,” one of the heathen gods);

           Azariah (“Jehovah is my helper”) became Abednego (“the servant of Nego,” another heathen god).

The Babylonians hoped that these new names would help the youths forget their God, and gradually become more like the heathen people with whom they were living and studying.

           The world wants us to forget about God,

                      forget about what we have learned at home and at church,

                                 and to live our life just like everyone else.

                                 That is, to live for the world and the things of the world!

But you know what?

           The Babylonians could change Daniel’s home, textbooks, menu, and name,

                      but they couldn’t change his heart.

           He and his friends, purposed in their hearts, that they would obey God’s Word;

                      they refused to become conformed to the world.

           As we take a look at how these young men kept themselves pure from the world,

                      how they keep from being homogenized,

                                 maybe we can learn how we can deal with the problem of compromise today.

1.      Be Reasonable.

When we are called to compromise, we need to know the difference between wrongful compromise and permissible concession.

           We see it illustrated here in Daniel.

These young men didn’t object to everything they were told to do.

           Only the thing that caused them to violate the law of God.

           Daniel and his friends didn’t believe the foolish religion and practices of the Babylonians,

                      but they studied just the same.

                      Just as a Christian student must do when he attends a university today

                                 and is told to learn “facts” that he knows are contrary to God’s Word.

                      Daniel and his friends didn’t believe many of the things they were being taught,

                                 but they didn’t rebel over this.

But there was one thing that they could not go along with.

           They are told to eat the food that was given to them from the kings table.

                      Which of course would include many foods that were prohibited by the Law of Moses.

           Daniel could learn their so called facts, but to eat this food would be a direct violation of God’s law.

There are some things we can go along with in the world.

           But we can not go along with anything that would be a direct violation of God’s will for our life!

           Someone has written, “Compromise is always wrong when it means sacrificing principle.”

2.      Be Resolute.

Look back at verse 8: Notice that the text says that Daniel “made up his mind” or “resolved.”

The Hebrew word behind that phrase, was one often used to describe the making of a rope. Individual strands or fibers are gathered up and placed side by side, then twisted into a rope.

Their combined strength makes a strand that is difficult to break.
After Daniel determined that this was an issue for which there could be no compromise,

                      he gathered up every strand of his resolve and made a decision.
 

A big reason why many Christians compromise with the world, even when they don’t want to, is that they never come to this kind of decision.

           They know something is wrong, but they beat around the bush,

                      hoping the unpleasant decision will somehow go away.

           Or, perhaps they try to somehow accommodate the best of both worlds.

It reminds me of the guy Paul Harvey described one time.

His words were, “Remember the uncertain soldier in our Civil War who, figuring to play it safe, dressed himself in a blue coat and gray pants and tip-toed out onto the field of battle. He got shot from both directions.”

We need to be resolute.

We need to make up our minds, that we are going to be faithful to and live for God, period.

           If we don’t, we’ll soon be homogenized and we’ll be no different than the world.

3.      Be Respectful.

1:8: “…so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.”

I suppose that Daniel could have gone on some hunger strike or something, but he didn’t.

                      He could have protested loudly.

                                 Instead, he sought out the commander and respectfully told him his dilemma.

I’m told that between two farms near Valleyview, Alberta, you can find two parallel fences, only two feet apart, running for about a half mile.

           Why are there two fences when only one would do?

           It seems two farmers, Paul and Oscar, had a disagreement that erupted into a feud.

                      Paul wanted to build a fence between their land and split the cost,

                                 but Oscar was unwilling to contribute.

                      Since he wanted to keep the cattle on his land, Paul went ahead and built the fence anyway.

After it was completed, Oscar said to Paul, “I see we have a fence.” “What do you mean, ‘we’” replied Paul. “I got the property line surveyed and built the fence two feet into my land. That means some of my land is outside the fence. If any of your cows set foot on my land, I’ll shoot them.”

Oscar knew Paul wasn’t joking, so when he eventually decided to use the land adjoining Paul’s pasture, he was forced to build another fence, two feet away.

           Oscar and Paul are both dead now.

           But their double fence stands as a monument to their stubbornness and uncalled for disrespect.

Being right and doing right, doesn’t give us a license to be disrespectful of others.

           There really is no place for a cantankerous saint of God.

Daniel first sought permission from the commander of the officials to be excused from eating the king’s food.

Does that mean if the commander had said “no” he would have gone ahead and defiled himself with the food?

           No!

But it does indicate that, whenever something can be done respectfully, it should be.

Romans 12:18: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

4.      Be Resourceful.

Daniel’s proposed plan to the overseer, is in verse 11-13:

           Daniel asked for a ten-day test,

                      which was not very long considering that they had three years of training ahead of them;

                                 the head servant agreed with their plan.

“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov. 16:7).

The servant was afraid to change the king’s orders, lest anything happen to the youths and to himself, so Daniel’s proposed test was a good solution to the problem.

Of course, God honored their faith.

           The boys were fed vegetables and water for ten days,

                      thus avoiding the defiled food of the Babylonians.

           At the end of the test, the four lads were healthier and more handsome than the other students

                      who ate from the king’s table.

It’s not enough to take a stand against something.

           We need a plan, we need a way to keep us from compromising our faith in God.

           Jesus said that we were to be “wise as serpents and cautious [innocent] as doves.”

           Daniel had a plan, do you?

Let me share with you a plan to keep us from compromising with the world.

           It’s very simple really, make sure that your best and closest friends are Christians!

           Yes, you can and should have other friends,

                      but make sure that the ones you run around with are your Christian friends.

           Make sure that the ones you look to for advice and support are your Christian friends.

                      Develop a relationship of accountability with them.

                      So that when someone in the group begins to compromise with the world,

                                 the others can, in a gentle and loving way,

                                            point out the problem and you to stay true to God and His Word.

Being on God’s side doesn’t excuse us from having a plan to deal with the problem of compromise.

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.”

1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...”

Do you seek wisdom to know how you should respond when the world calls for compromise?

Conclusion

An interesting thing to watch for from the window of an airplane, is the winding path of the rivers below.

           No two waterways are alike, but they all have one thing in common:

                      they are all crooked.

                      They get that way because they conform to what stands in their way.

           Another way to look at it, is that they follow the path of least resistance.

                      Yes, rivers are crooked because they take the “easy way.”

We, too, can become crooked if we always take the easy way.

           The things that have been suggested here today from Daniel 1 are not the easy way.

                      They take courage, conviction, and commitment.

           But if we practice them, they will yield a life that is straight as God intended,

                      and we won’t be homogenized.