Convictional Courage in a Compromising Culture

Discover

• The culture attempted to change the people of God through prosperity – not persecution.
• Daniel preferred to endanger his security rather than defile his integrity.
• How could the food possibly defile them?
  • 1. Dietary – The king may have offered them food forbidden in Scripture (Lev. 11:1-23).
  • 2. Devotion – The food may have been tied to the worship of other gods (Deut. 6:13-15).
  • 3. Dependence – The goal may have been to create reliance upon the king (Dan. 1:16).
  • 4. Defensive – The resistance may have been to exercise control over any potential area free for choice (Dan. 1:8).
• God blessed these young men with remarkable insight to position them for a strategic opportunity.

Unpack

• It is impossible to influence a culture if you are dependent upon it.
• In certain tests, God awaits our obedience before he provides the resources.
• God’s ways will outlast cultural trends, and God’s people will survive temporal concerns.

Apply

• Each of us must decide if we will be transformed by the culture or transformers of the culture.
• You can’t avoid being in the culture, but you can resist the culture being in you.
• If you want to follow God, surround yourself with people moving in the same direction.
• To have convictional courage in a compromising culture, we must believe that the reward is greater than the conflict.
• Put your faith in the only true God who can see you through to the end.