Integrity Does Not Conform to the World
Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17 "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Dan 3:16-18 (NASB)
In the past we have looked at Integrity as it pertains to the follower of Christ. We learned that Integrity is NOT something we have inside us… or something that we can produce on our own!
But we came to learn that integrity for the believer is directly related to the willingness of the believer to submit in obedience to God’s commandments. Christian integrity is obedience to God.
We also learned that integrity for the believer does not simply happen. WE cannot sit back and believe that God is going to bless us with integrity, but that integrity for the believer comes from an active participation in God’s Will through our active obedience to His purpose and plan!
Today I want us to look at another aspect of integrity for the believer in that Integrity for the believer does not conform to the way of the world!
In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception “that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior.” He goes on to say, “It is revival without … repentance.”
1. The World has its standard (v.1-15):
In these verses we find that King Nebuchadnezzar builds an image that he demands the people of his kingdom to worship. It is most likely an image of himself, since the kings of this period often believed themselves to be gods among men.
The image is built and the entire land bows down and worships except for Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Now I do not know why Daniel is NOT mentioned in this passage…
Perhaps it is because Daniel had already proved his great worth to the King and he was going to allow Daniel some slack, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego had not to this point had any direct dealings with the King…
There is no direct evidence either way, but for whatever reason we find that Daniel is NOT mentioned here. But we do know that later in Daniel’s life, he faces and deals with the same type of situation.
Now there were those who were jealous of the standing and position that had been given to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and they ran to the king and told on the Hebrew men.
The king is furious and wants these men to give homage to him… homage that he believes he is due and so Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego are summoned to the King’s side…
It is obvious that the people of the kingdom felt that integrity meant doing what the King wanted. Just as the world today believes that integrity is doing what the world sees as right!
But the trouble with that (other than the fact it is NOT biblical) is that the world cannot come to a consensus on what they believe is the right thing. In fact many people in this world don’t think integrity is something worth worrying about…
Noted author and avowed atheist Bertrand Russell once said this about life…
“…Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim…”
Russell believed that there was NOTHING about this life that was salvageable and that happiness was an illusion and that God and religion were a hoax!
Like Russell, there are many who see life as a ‘dog-eat-dog’ world and that only those who think for and about themselves will come out on top in life! Integrity to the world is doing what OTHERS believe to be the right thing… but the world does not know what is the right thing?
We have people in this world who are very sincere in their belief that abortion is NOT murder but ABORTION is actually merciful and loving.
• They look at this world and all the evil in it and say, how can you bring a new life into the cesspool we call earth…?
• They say things like a baby would ruin this woman’s life at this time, and that is simply NOT fair.
To these people, anyone who has an abortion is seen as a procedure that enhances the life of the woman…
There are those in this world who believe that moving in with your girlfriend or your boyfriend and living together as a couple is a thing of integrity because you have committed to a relationship. They consider this a responsible act!
There are those in this world who believe that loving another human being in an intimate and sexual way, regardless of what gender they are… Many believe this is totally natural!
Our world has its own sense of what integrity is… In fact, we can look at Mark 10:17 and we find one story that shares what the world believes to be INTEGRITY!
The Rich Young Ruler comes to Jesus and asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life… Jesus reveals 5 of the 10 commandments of God to him and says that he must keep these commandments.
He tells Jesus… possibly with his chest poked out… that he has kept these commandments from his youth. Arrogantly this rich young ruler believed he had great integrity before God.
However, we find Jesus sharing with him to give all he has to the poor and come and follow Him. The rich young ruler was devastated and did not understand why he had to give up his wealth…
And what we must understand there is a principle being taught here and it is that we are NOT who we think we are. WE believe we are basically good and that our good deeds will get the attention of God. But what have to come to grips with is that we are all sinners who have fallen and failed God even from birth…
And that there is simply NO amount of human integrity that we bring to the table that will allow us to be part of God’s family or bring us any closer to God!
The world says to have integrity means that others will hold you up in esteem and the world will think highly of you… but God’s Word is clear in this matter as it says,
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Matt 16:26a (NASB)
We can have all the praise and adoration this world has to offer and still miss out on heaven because it is NOT what we can do. It is not worldly integrity…that is going to do us any good when it comes to eternity!
The world has ITS standard but it falls woefully short of heaven, but also this morning I want to point out that…
2. God has HIS standard (v.16-18):
Let’s look at what the response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego was to the King. They basically said this to the king…
“Well we don’t feel like we need to give you a reason or an answer for our actions so do what you have to do because we are NOT going to bow down to the idol, and we trust that God is going to deliver us, but even if he chooses NOT to deliver us… we still refuse to bow to your image!”
We can see that there was absolutely NO conformity in these young Hebrew men. They knew what God expected of them and they were obedient to His commandments.
Commandment #1 states that you shall have NO other gods before Me, and these young men knew that if they were to bow to this idol… they would be placing it before God.
Nobody or no thing must come between our worship of God! When we come to Christ as believers and are saved from our sin and accepted into God’s family… we are then called to submit to the Lordship of Jesus in our life!
This means that when you accept Christ that your focus MUST be obedience to God’s commands and not allowing yourself to conform to something less that absolute submission to Jesus as Lord!
Paul states it very clearly in Rom 12:1-3 when he says,
“…1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice [submission], acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world [obedience], but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself [integrity] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith…” (NASB)
We must realize what ‘submission’ means when it comes to the Lordship of Christ in our lives. We are called out by God to live FOR Him, sacrificing our desires and submitting to His.
We are NOT to allow the world and the influences of the Evil One to CONFORM us to a worldly standard, but rather we are to allow God to transform us into a new creature… so God’s will is done!
We are NOT to elevate ourselves but we are to rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He leads our thoughts and actions in our walk with Christ!
Jesus taught the same thing in Mark 8:34-36,
“…34 If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? (NASB)
God’s standard for integrity is not conforming to the world, but allowing Christ to transform you into a new creature, allowing Christ to change you from the inside out!
We cannot clean up our act and come to God and expect Him to accept us… the Bible is clear that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God… it also shares that we like sheep have ALL gone astray… and finally it shares that there is NOT one good person in the world… NOT one single one!
And once we accept Christ as Savior we need to understand that God’s standard for integrity is total and complete submission to His Lordship in your life! These means that regardless of the circumstance or situation, you are faithful to Christ in obedience and we are submitting to His plan and purpose!.
Whether God chooses to deliver you FROM the trouble or be with you thru the trouble… you are called to fully and totally submit to HIS plan and HIS purpose!
I believe I need to make this point absolutely clear for all believers in this building today… and for all non-believers as well. The standard that God requires of any believer does not include conformity, but rather it firmly demands that we be transformed… but there is one final point I want to share this morning…
3. True Integrity is revealed thru God’s standard (v.19-30):
In this passage we can see that the true integrity of God was revealed thru the submission of these 3 Hebrew men to the commandments of God! God was glorified because they were willing to be obedient to His commands.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar that obedience to God was paramount in their lives and that God honors obedience to Him.
At that time we find King Nebuchadnezzar issuing a decree that the God of the Hebrews would be respected and exalted and they would not be persecuted because they worshipped Him.
When we live a life of obedience to Christ in all we say and do, then God’s integrity is revealed thru our lives and actions. Like I said earlier this morning, True Christian integrity is obedience to God!
I want you to know that the great Christian leader, John Wesley was so concerned about building a righteous fellowship that he devised a series of questions for his followers to ask each other every week.
There were some who found this rigorous system of inquiry too demanding and they left the fellowship! And in today’s church, the very idea of such a procedure would horrify many churchgoers.
Yet some believers see the wisdom in Wesley’s approach to living as we should and these believers wisely are willing to practice this accountability with fellow believers!
Chuck Swindoll, who I consider to be a modern day Wesley has come up with seven questions that he and a group of his fellow pastors use to challenge each other and keep each other accountable: Here they are…
• During this past week have you been with a woman anywhere that might be seen as compromising or as a stumbling block?
• Have any of your financial dealings lacked integrity?
• Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material?
• Have you spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?
• Have you given priority time to your family?
• Have you fulfilled the mandates of your calling in Christ?
• Have you just lied to me?
When we are obedient to God, these questions will not be bothersome to us b/c we will have the right answers… God’s true integrity will shine forth in our lives through our submission to His will and obedience to His commands…
Conclusion:
Well preacher you keep harping on this obedience thing… I really wish you would move onto something else… well I am sorry but I cannot do that, obedience to Christ and His calling on your life is the most important thing you can do for the kingdom…
You may say to yourself, I may not obey right away, but eventually I relent and do what God has called me to do. What you are saying here is that God is to adjust to YOUR time schedule…
The great theologian Thomas A Kempis once said, “…Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace…”
In other words what he is saying lines up with 1 John 2:4 where the Bible is very clear in its message that if you are not willing to be obedient to God’s commandments… then you are NOT part of God’s family!
So often we say to ourselves, I am doing things for God, why can’t He just appreciate what I am doing instead of trying to get me to do what He wants!
What does He want me to do… at least I am busy doing SOMETHING for the kingdom…
When you have that attitude you are saying that performance is more important than obedience. Let me share with you a short list of things that disprove that theory very quickly…
What we fail to understand is that obedience is seeking God with your whole heart. Performance is having a quiet time because you’ll feel guilty if you don’t.
Obedience is finding ways to let the Word of God permeate your life and saturate your actions!
Performance is quickly scanning a passage so you can check it off your Bible reading plan.
Obedience is inviting guests to your home for dinner. Performance is feeling anxiety about whether every detail of the meal will be perfect.
Obedience is following God’s call for you to start a small group in your home.
Performance is reluctance to let anyone else lead the group because they might not do it as well as you would.
Obedience is saying yes to whatever God asks of you. Performance is saying yes to whatever people ask of you.
Obedience is following the promptings of God’s Spirit. Performance is following a list of man-made requirements.
Obedience springs from fear of God.
Performance springs from fear of failure.
Are you ‘performing’ for God… or are you being obedient to the calling in your life. The 3 Hebrew men were thrown into the fiery furnace because of their willingness to be faithful and obedient to God’s commandment!
They were NOT performing, but we find they were obeying! My friends if you are simply performing for God, I pray for you this morning!
I warn you to NOT try to impress God with your performance, but please God with your willingness to submit to His will thru your obedience to His commandments…
Come and allow Christ to cleanse your heart and forgive your sin and save you from an eternal hell that awaits all those who do not submit to His Lordship!
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17 "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Dan 3:16-18 (NASB)
In the past we have looked at Integrity as it pertains to the follower of Christ. We learned that Integrity is NOT something we have inside us… or something that we can produce on our own!
But we came to learn that integrity for the believer is directly related to the willingness of the believer to submit in obedience to God’s commandments. Christian integrity is obedience to God.
We also learned that integrity for the believer does not simply happen. WE cannot sit back and believe that God is going to bless us with integrity, but that integrity for the believer comes from an active participation in God’s Will through our active obedience to His purpose and plan!
Today I want us to look at another aspect of integrity for the believer in that Integrity for the believer does not conform to the way of the world!
In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception “that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior.” He goes on to say, “It is revival without … repentance.”
1. The World has its standard (v.1-15):
In these verses we find that King Nebuchadnezzar builds an image that he demands the people of his kingdom to worship. It is most likely an image of himself, since the kings of this period often believed themselves to be gods among men.
The image is built and the entire land bows down and worships except for Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Now I do not know why Daniel is NOT mentioned in this passage…
Perhaps it is because Daniel had already proved his great worth to the King and he was going to allow Daniel some slack, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego had not to this point had any direct dealings with the King…
There is no direct evidence either way, but for whatever reason we find that Daniel is NOT mentioned here. But we do know that later in Daniel’s life, he faces and deals with the same type of situation.
Now there were those who were jealous of the standing and position that had been given to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and they ran to the king and told on the Hebrew men.
The king is furious and wants these men to give homage to him… homage that he believes he is due and so Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego are summoned to the King’s side…
It is obvious that the people of the kingdom felt that integrity meant doing what the King wanted. Just as the world today believes that integrity is doing what the world sees as right!
But the trouble with that (other than the fact it is NOT biblical) is that the world cannot come to a consensus on what they believe is the right thing. In fact many people in this world don’t think integrity is something worth worrying about…
Noted author and avowed atheist Bertrand Russell once said this about life…
“…Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim…”
Russell believed that there was NOTHING about this life that was salvageable and that happiness was an illusion and that God and religion were a hoax!
Like Russell, there are many who see life as a ‘dog-eat-dog’ world and that only those who think for and about themselves will come out on top in life! Integrity to the world is doing what OTHERS believe to be the right thing… but the world does not know what is the right thing?
We have people in this world who are very sincere in their belief that abortion is NOT murder but ABORTION is actually merciful and loving.
• They look at this world and all the evil in it and say, how can you bring a new life into the cesspool we call earth…?
• They say things like a baby would ruin this woman’s life at this time, and that is simply NOT fair.
To these people, anyone who has an abortion is seen as a procedure that enhances the life of the woman…
There are those in this world who believe that moving in with your girlfriend or your boyfriend and living together as a couple is a thing of integrity because you have committed to a relationship. They consider this a responsible act!
There are those in this world who believe that loving another human being in an intimate and sexual way, regardless of what gender they are… Many believe this is totally natural!
Our world has its own sense of what integrity is… In fact, we can look at Mark 10:17 and we find one story that shares what the world believes to be INTEGRITY!
The Rich Young Ruler comes to Jesus and asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life… Jesus reveals 5 of the 10 commandments of God to him and says that he must keep these commandments.
He tells Jesus… possibly with his chest poked out… that he has kept these commandments from his youth. Arrogantly this rich young ruler believed he had great integrity before God.
However, we find Jesus sharing with him to give all he has to the poor and come and follow Him. The rich young ruler was devastated and did not understand why he had to give up his wealth…
And what we must understand there is a principle being taught here and it is that we are NOT who we think we are. WE believe we are basically good and that our good deeds will get the attention of God. But what have to come to grips with is that we are all sinners who have fallen and failed God even from birth…
And that there is simply NO amount of human integrity that we bring to the table that will allow us to be part of God’s family or bring us any closer to God!
The world says to have integrity means that others will hold you up in esteem and the world will think highly of you… but God’s Word is clear in this matter as it says,
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Matt 16:26a (NASB)
We can have all the praise and adoration this world has to offer and still miss out on heaven because it is NOT what we can do. It is not worldly integrity…that is going to do us any good when it comes to eternity!
The world has ITS standard but it falls woefully short of heaven, but also this morning I want to point out that…
2. God has HIS standard (v.16-18):
Let’s look at what the response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego was to the King. They basically said this to the king…
“Well we don’t feel like we need to give you a reason or an answer for our actions so do what you have to do because we are NOT going to bow down to the idol, and we trust that God is going to deliver us, but even if he chooses NOT to deliver us… we still refuse to bow to your image!”
We can see that there was absolutely NO conformity in these young Hebrew men. They knew what God expected of them and they were obedient to His commandments.
Commandment #1 states that you shall have NO other gods before Me, and these young men knew that if they were to bow to this idol… they would be placing it before God.
Nobody or no thing must come between our worship of God! When we come to Christ as believers and are saved from our sin and accepted into God’s family… we are then called to submit to the Lordship of Jesus in our life!
This means that when you accept Christ that your focus MUST be obedience to God’s commands and not allowing yourself to conform to something less that absolute submission to Jesus as Lord!
Paul states it very clearly in Rom 12:1-3 when he says,
“…1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice [submission], acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world [obedience], but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself [integrity] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith…” (NASB)
We must realize what ‘submission’ means when it comes to the Lordship of Christ in our lives. We are called out by God to live FOR Him, sacrificing our desires and submitting to His.
We are NOT to allow the world and the influences of the Evil One to CONFORM us to a worldly standard, but rather we are to allow God to transform us into a new creature… so God’s will is done!
We are NOT to elevate ourselves but we are to rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He leads our thoughts and actions in our walk with Christ!
Jesus taught the same thing in Mark 8:34-36,
“…34 If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? (NASB)
God’s standard for integrity is not conforming to the world, but allowing Christ to transform you into a new creature, allowing Christ to change you from the inside out!
We cannot clean up our act and come to God and expect Him to accept us… the Bible is clear that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God… it also shares that we like sheep have ALL gone astray… and finally it shares that there is NOT one good person in the world… NOT one single one!
And once we accept Christ as Savior we need to understand that God’s standard for integrity is total and complete submission to His Lordship in your life! These means that regardless of the circumstance or situation, you are faithful to Christ in obedience and we are submitting to His plan and purpose!.
Whether God chooses to deliver you FROM the trouble or be with you thru the trouble… you are called to fully and totally submit to HIS plan and HIS purpose!
I believe I need to make this point absolutely clear for all believers in this building today… and for all non-believers as well. The standard that God requires of any believer does not include conformity, but rather it firmly demands that we be transformed… but there is one final point I want to share this morning…
3. True Integrity is revealed thru God’s standard (v.19-30):
In this passage we can see that the true integrity of God was revealed thru the submission of these 3 Hebrew men to the commandments of God! God was glorified because they were willing to be obedient to His commands.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar that obedience to God was paramount in their lives and that God honors obedience to Him.
At that time we find King Nebuchadnezzar issuing a decree that the God of the Hebrews would be respected and exalted and they would not be persecuted because they worshipped Him.
When we live a life of obedience to Christ in all we say and do, then God’s integrity is revealed thru our lives and actions. Like I said earlier this morning, True Christian integrity is obedience to God!
I want you to know that the great Christian leader, John Wesley was so concerned about building a righteous fellowship that he devised a series of questions for his followers to ask each other every week.
There were some who found this rigorous system of inquiry too demanding and they left the fellowship! And in today’s church, the very idea of such a procedure would horrify many churchgoers.
Yet some believers see the wisdom in Wesley’s approach to living as we should and these believers wisely are willing to practice this accountability with fellow believers!
Chuck Swindoll, who I consider to be a modern day Wesley has come up with seven questions that he and a group of his fellow pastors use to challenge each other and keep each other accountable: Here they are…
• During this past week have you been with a woman anywhere that might be seen as compromising or as a stumbling block?
• Have any of your financial dealings lacked integrity?
• Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material?
• Have you spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?
• Have you given priority time to your family?
• Have you fulfilled the mandates of your calling in Christ?
• Have you just lied to me?
When we are obedient to God, these questions will not be bothersome to us b/c we will have the right answers… God’s true integrity will shine forth in our lives through our submission to His will and obedience to His commands…
Conclusion:
Well preacher you keep harping on this obedience thing… I really wish you would move onto something else… well I am sorry but I cannot do that, obedience to Christ and His calling on your life is the most important thing you can do for the kingdom…
You may say to yourself, I may not obey right away, but eventually I relent and do what God has called me to do. What you are saying here is that God is to adjust to YOUR time schedule…
The great theologian Thomas A Kempis once said, “…Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace…”
In other words what he is saying lines up with 1 John 2:4 where the Bible is very clear in its message that if you are not willing to be obedient to God’s commandments… then you are NOT part of God’s family!
So often we say to ourselves, I am doing things for God, why can’t He just appreciate what I am doing instead of trying to get me to do what He wants!
What does He want me to do… at least I am busy doing SOMETHING for the kingdom…
When you have that attitude you are saying that performance is more important than obedience. Let me share with you a short list of things that disprove that theory very quickly…
What we fail to understand is that obedience is seeking God with your whole heart. Performance is having a quiet time because you’ll feel guilty if you don’t.
Obedience is finding ways to let the Word of God permeate your life and saturate your actions!
Performance is quickly scanning a passage so you can check it off your Bible reading plan.
Obedience is inviting guests to your home for dinner. Performance is feeling anxiety about whether every detail of the meal will be perfect.
Obedience is following God’s call for you to start a small group in your home.
Performance is reluctance to let anyone else lead the group because they might not do it as well as you would.
Obedience is saying yes to whatever God asks of you. Performance is saying yes to whatever people ask of you.
Obedience is following the promptings of God’s Spirit. Performance is following a list of man-made requirements.
Obedience springs from fear of God.
Performance springs from fear of failure.
Are you ‘performing’ for God… or are you being obedient to the calling in your life. The 3 Hebrew men were thrown into the fiery furnace because of their willingness to be faithful and obedient to God’s commandment!
They were NOT performing, but we find they were obeying! My friends if you are simply performing for God, I pray for you this morning!
I warn you to NOT try to impress God with your performance, but please God with your willingness to submit to His will thru your obedience to His commandments…
Come and allow Christ to cleanse your heart and forgive your sin and save you from an eternal hell that awaits all those who do not submit to His Lordship!
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