SOLD OUT FOR THE LORD

 

 

 

The Apostles had been forbidden to speak of Jesus. At their hearing at the Sanhedrin, following their arrest, Peter boldly proclaimed:

 

·       let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10–12)

 

Once again, they were brought before the Sanhedrin and warned to not speak of Jesus, but:

 

·       …Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19–20)

 

We too cannot speak otherwise, especially those of us who are leaders. If we choose to be faithful to our Lord, we cannot put any consideration above His will. While pleasing people can be virtuous when it coincides with the will of our Lord, it can also be adulterous:

 

·       You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15)

 

We cannot conform ourselves to our society and its perverted beliefs:

 

·       Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

 

Our minds must be renewed according to the Words of our Lord. However, today the pressures to conform are enormous. We are being forced to speak the approved words and to even believe and vote in the correct manner. If we fail to do so, we can be denied employment and other benefits. Even our churches are now in jeopardy. Our freedoms to hire and fire and to preach within prescribed guidelines are being threatened.

 

However, the people of God have always faced these threats. King Nebuchadnezzar had made a gold statue of himself, which the people of Babylonia were required to worship. He might have even had a good reason for doing so, perhaps to unite his great and diverse empire under one religion. However, there were some Israelites who refused to worship the statue. When discovered, they were reported to the king:

 

·       You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:10–12)

 

The king had every reason to be angry. He had elevated these three Jews, and they had refused to show gratitude by worshipping along with the rest of the king’s subjects. The king even gave them a second change. However, they continued to refuse:

 

·       Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this 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 to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16–18)

 

Compromise would have been easy, as it is for use. The Hebrew young men owed the king a great debt. He had elevated them far above other Jews to positions of power and authority. It was likely that a  part of their “job description” was to honor their king and guardian. How could they betray their protector and even put the rest of the Jews in Babylon in jeopardy! Besides, they would no longer be in a position of influence to intervene on their behalf if they are threatened. The three young men had much to lose and little to gain but their own self-esteem. Surely, they could secretly pray to their God as they bowed before the king’s statue. Nothing wrong with that, at least not according to a pragmatic cost/benefit analysis! And our Lord wants us to be pragmatic, right?

 

Compromise is comfortable; faithfulness stands against the storm. As second in the Persian Empire, Haman required all to bow before him. The Jew Mordecai refused. Even though this placed all the Jews in peril for their lives, Mordecai would not repent. For him, faithfulness to His God came before all other considerations. Instead, he would trust in Him to deliver His people. He would stand against all the dismal cost/benefit calculations and not take the comfortable path of compromise the way that many Christian institutions are doing today.

 

Our leaders assure themselves that compromise is expedience. It will preserve their Christian institutions. However, unfaithfulness does not know where to stop. It is the slippery slope towards apostasy. History even demonstrates that a little like in the dam will eventually cause its collapse.

 

Compromise also communicates that prudence and wisdom requires us to be pragmatic. However, compromise is also beckons those under our leadership to do the same, to the destruction of their conscience (1 Corinthians 8:10-13). No wonder our leaders are held to a greater standard.

 

Faithfulness tries the heart. God tried Abraham’s heart, asking him to sacrifice his child of the promise, Isaac. Would he be faithful? After following his God for more than 40 years, he had learned to trust in God above all else, even if it cost him his marriage, the child of the promise, and the respect of his entire household.

 

Jesus is the Pearl of exceeding value who has guaranteed us eternal life. God had delivered the Apostles, the three Hebrews, Mordecai, and Abraham. However, He also warned that the price of faithfulness might include martyrdom. However, this is a small price to pay when compared with the gift of eternal life with our Lord. May He grant us to remain faithful!