Daniel 14: The Witness of Faithfulness

Good morning, and welcome to family worship with the church body of Eastern Hills. Whether you are here in the room, or online, thanks for being part of our celebration of Jesus today.

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I wanted to take a moment this morning to say thanks to those who serve in our student ministry. As the former youth pastor, I know how important having great adult volunteers is. I also know that Trevor very much appreciates all of his student ministry adults. Thank you for serving our students.

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AAEO Video: Joseph & Kristen Gibbons, Favor City Church, Las Vegas, NV

Opening

We’re closing in on the end of the first half of the book of Daniel, which we’ve been studying since the beginning of the year. Last week, we saw the fall of the kingdom of Babylon after King Belshazzar's experience with the writing on the wall. We saw the importance of choosing to listen to godly people around us, of learning from our mistakes and the mistakes of others, and of trusting the Word of God.

The sixth chapter of Daniel is almost guaranteed to be the most well-known chapter of the book. Daniel’s experience in getting into the lion’s den and back out again captures our hearts and minds because of how unfair and how miraculous it is. But when I originally outlined the book of Daniel in preparation for this year’s study through it, I planned to only go through verse 9 of chapter 6 this morning, and I had planned to title this message “The Danger of Flattery,” with a focus on Darius. However, as I read and studied and prayed this week in preparation for this message, I found that I needed to change the scope of the passage, the focus of my message, and the title I’m using. So this morning, we will look at Daniel 6:1-17, and “The Witness of Faithfulness.”

So let's stand as we are able in honor of God's Word and open our Bibles or Bible apps to Daniel chapter 6:

Daniel 6:1–17 CSB

1 Darius decided to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, stationed throughout the realm, 2 and over them three administrators, including Daniel. These satraps would be accountable to them so that the king would not be defrauded. 3 Daniel distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit, so the king planned to set him over the whole realm. 4 The administrators and satraps, therefore, kept trying to find a charge against Daniel regarding the kingdom. But they could find no charge or corruption, for he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.” 6 So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said to him, “May King Darius live forever. 7 All the administrators of the kingdom—the prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors—have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an edict that, for thirty days, anyone who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Therefore, Your Majesty, establish the edict and sign the document so that, as a law of the Medes and Persians, it is irrevocable and cannot be changed.” 9 So King Darius signed the written edict. 10 When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God. 12 So they approached the king and asked about his edict: “Didn’t you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “As a law of the Medes and Persians, the order stands and is irrevocable.” 13 Then they replied to the king, “Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict you signed, for he prays three times a day.” 14 As soon as the king heard this, he was very displeased; he set his mind on rescuing Daniel and made every effort until sundown to deliver him. 15 Then these men went together to the king and said to him, “You know, Your Majesty, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or ordinance the king establishes can be changed.” 16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you!” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing in regard to Daniel could be changed.

PRAYER (Pray for Israel; Joseph & Kristen Gibbons, Favor City Church, Las Vegas)

Psalm 122:6–7 CSB

6 Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure; 7 may there be peace within your walls, security within your fortresses.”

What does it mean to be “faithful?” I get what it means when I talk about my marriage to Mel: that I will only look to her to meet my intimate relational emotional and physical needs. For me to fail in that would be for me to be “unfaithful.” The late Eugene Peterson had a good definition of faithfulness. He said it was “a long obedience in the same direction.” And that’s what I want to give to Melanie: a long obedience in the same direction—staying true to the vows that we made over 33 years ago, and to continue to do so until death parts us.

And I think that in our study of Daniel, that’s what we’ve seen in his relationship with both God and the kings that he served under, including the newcomer that was mentioned at the end of chapter 5: Darius the Mede.

A lot of paper and ink have been used in the discussion of the identity of Darius the Mede in Daniel. The difficulty regarding his identity is the fact that a King Darius of this time doesn't appear in any historical records that have been found to this point. Of course, King Belshazzar was without documentary evidence for most of history as well. To be fair, some critics of Daniel claim that the author confused this king with Darius I, who reigned over the Persian empire from 522 to 486 BC. However, given how much we actually know about Darius the Mede from Daniel’s writing, we can confidently say that there is no mistake, and that the Darius of Daniel was indeed king.

We have already seen in this book that people had two names, depending on the context in which those names were being used. Remember that our four Hebrew friends in this book were given new names upon their capture and relocation to Babylon. Given what we know: the time of the Persian defeat of the Babylonian Empire, the age of Darius of the Mede when the victory took place, and the identity of the Persian king who began the relocation program of Jerusalem, I believe that we can confidently say that Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Great of Persia are the same person, just with two names. The name Darius appears to be to a certain extent a title, rather than merely a name. I could go way deeper into it, but that would take entirely too long and would not help our study this morning. While I am confident that Darius and Cyrus are the same person, I’m going to use Darius throughout my message today, because that’s what the text does.

By this point in the book of Daniel, likely a year or two into the Medo-Persian rule over the province of Babylon, the relocation of the Jewish people in Jerusalem had begun. According to the first chapter of Ezra:

Ezra 1:1 CSB

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:

So Zerubbabel and the rest of the rebuilding pioneers of the Hebrews had returned to Jerusalem in 539 BC, and had restored the Lord’s altar of sacrifice and started giving offerings upon it again, and likely had just commenced the rebuilding of the temple, according to Ezra 3:8. This will be important in what we see in this chapter of Daniel.

In the meantime, Daniel stayed in Babylon. Unlike what illustrations from books of children’s Bible stories tend to show, Daniel was an old man—probably just over 80. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to be useful to Darius, or more importantly to God. He had a job to do. He was going to be faithful to the Lord whether he was in Babylon or Jerusalem, because that was his place of witness. We can see that Daniel was faithful at work, faithful in prayer, and faithful in the midst of persecution. And we should be as well.

1) Be faithful at work.

It should come as no surprise to us that Daniel was given a high-ranking position in the Medo-Persian government. He had been placed as the head of the wise men of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar when he was still a teen, had been most likely Nebuchadnezzar’s most trusted advisor through the end of his reign, and then had been called upon by Belshazzar’s mother the queen because of his great wisdom and his “extraordinary spirit” (Dan 5:12). King Darius found the same thing:

Daniel 6:1–5 CSB

It was a wise move to appoint people from Babylon into the administration of the Persian government there. Rome would later use the same tactics when it conquered lands. Those who were appointed didn’t need to learn the geography, the history, or the language in order to be effective in their roles, because they already knew them. “Satrap” is a word that basically means “guardian of the kingdom,” but apparently these 120 satraps weren’t necessarily trustworthy “guardians,” as Darius decided that it would be best to appoint three administrators over them, “so that the king would not be defrauded.” Apparently government corruption, graft, and waste has always existed, folks.

Daniel was one of these three administrators. And as we expected, he was so good at his job that he distinguished himself above the satraps and the other two administrators. In fact, he so distinguished himself that Darius was considering elevating him to what would basically be the position of Prime Minister, second in authority in the entire empire.

But as often is the case, success can multiply your enemies. Those other administrators and some of the satraps were desperate to come up with something that they could use to get Daniel out of the way. But unlike themselves (apparently), they found nothing. No wrongdoing. No moral failing. No corruption. No negligence in his work. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

But we get an insight into Daniel’s work life through what they said about him in verse 5. It is clear from their decision that Daniel’s faith was a very public faith. The people he worked with knew that he believed in and followed the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh. And we will see that they knew his religious habits so well that they could anticipate what he was going to do based on his consistency in them. They decided that they could exploit Daniel’s greatest strength—his relationship and faithful obedience to God—and turn it into a weakness.

Now, this might make us feel like, “Bill, this first point is ‘Be faithful at work.’ Being faithful at work was causing a lot of trouble for Daniel. That’s all well and good for you—you work for the church. But for me, I don’t know if that’s such good advice.” Well, I guess the question we need to ask is: “What other option is there?”

I mean, didn’t Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:13–16 CSB

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

And didn’t Paul say in Philippians:

Philippians 2:12–16a (CSB)

12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, 16a by holding firm to the word of life.

Brothers and sisters, wherever you work: whether it’s at home, online, in a factory, in an office, at a help desk, in a fast food restaurant, or in the church, if you have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, it is your calling to reflect the light of Christ wherever you are. I’m not saying that you should go around and beat people over the head with the Bible or be the moral police force at your place of work. That’s not your place. What I am saying is that people should know you love Jesus, they should know that you pray for them (and you should actually pray for them), and they should know from the excellence of your work and attitude that you are a person of faith.

While the instruction in Ephesians 6:6-8 was given to slaves, that doesn’t change the principle being taught:

Ephesians 6:6–8 CSB

6 Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. 7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.

This is how Daniel approached work, even as essentially a slave in a pagan government surrounded by people who hated him. Your job is probably not that bad, whatever it is. So decide that you’re going to first be consistent in your walk like Daniel, so that you truly are reflecting the light of Jesus. Then decide that you will not police your place of work, but pastor it. If your workplace is the home (taking care of family), then decide to pastor them. Lovingly shepherd the people around you in your work toward the saving truth of the Gospel, as you have opportunity to do so.

And throughout, you should live out the second thing that we see Daniel was faithful in: prayer.

2) Be faithful in prayer.

So other two administrators gather the satraps (certainly not all 120 of them), and head as one large group to King Darius to tell him this great idea that they’ve come up with: Darius is so wonderful that for the next month he should basically be exalted to the position of a god, or at the very least, the only priest through which people could petition the gods. And if anyone petitions any god or man except Darius should be fed to the lions. The statement about petitioning a man would have been referring to a priest… this wouldn’t have made it illegal to ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar. They prepared it ahead of time and pushed him to sign it into law right then and there, knowing that once the king signed something into law, then it could not be changed… even by the king.

You’d think that the king would have seen what was happening. A bunch of politicians had come, and the text makes a special note that they “went together” to the king. The Aramaic there means that they came with a focus, as if they had colluded in something. Our English translations usually say that there was some “agreement,” but the NRSV catches the gist of what was happening the best:

Daniel 6:6 NRSV

6 So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!

Also, they claimed that “all of the administrators and the rest of the government officials had agreed to this plan. But this was a lie. Daniel wasn’t there, and he certainly wouldn’t have agreed.

They didn’t want Darius exalted. They knew that Daniel was going to Daniel: He was going to pray to God, regardless of what the law said. They used flattery to set up the king, and he bought it, and by doing so, they were able to set up Daniel. But catch this: they didn’t want him demoted or fired. They wanted him dead.

How did Daniel respond? Exactly as they expected him to:

Daniel 6:10 CSB

10 When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel, knowing fully what the edict said and what it meant, kept right on praying, where he had always prayed, right where anyone who knew him could see he was praying. And what kind of prayer did he offer to the Lord? Prayers of thanksgiving or praise.

He prayed toward Jerusalem and the site of the temple, probably even as its foundations were being laid, knowing that was happening after all this time. And he did so probably because of the prayer of Solomon at the first temple’s dedication in 1 Kings 8:46-49:

1 Kings 8:46–49 CSB

46 When they sin against you— for there is no one who does not sin— and you are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, and their captors deport them to the enemy’s country— whether distant or nearby— 47 and when they come to their senses in the land where they were deported and repent and petition you in their captors’ land: “We have sinned and done wrong; we have been wicked,” 48 and when they return to you with all their heart and all their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to you in the direction of their land that you gave their ancestors, the city you have chosen, and the temple I have built for your name, 49 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, their prayer and petition and uphold their cause.

Daniel’s relationship to his God was the most important thing in his life. It was the thing that had been completely consistent throughout his experiences in Babylon. And in this moment, Daniel was faced with a choice: I mean, it’s not like with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his three friends—they were commanded to actively violate God’s law and worship an idol. The edict just commanded Daniel to passively take a one-month break from prayer to God. What would we do in this situation?

In his very practical book, Secrets to Thriving In Babylon, Tim Paskert sums it up:

Daniel couldn’t change the decree, but the decree wouldn’t change Daniel’s relationship with God.

—Tim Paskert, Secrets to Thriving in Babylon

What had distinguished him to Darius and those who had come before was his “extraordinary spirit,” but we know that that spirit came from his relationship with God. Who Daniel was in chapter 1 determined who he would be in chapter 6. The truth is that trials and difficulties don’t usually form our character. More often, they reveal it, showing the reality of what’s underneath. Alistair Begg wrote about this in his short commentary on Daniel:

In general (and notwithstanding the power of the Holy Spirit to work in us what we ourselves cannot) what we are in our early years we will be in our later years. If you think you’re going to be something at 80 that you’re not now, then you’d better start playing catch up. Don’t assume that you can be half-hearted now and then somehow make a big push later on.

—Alistair Begg, Brave By Faith

Prayer isn't just a good habit for the Christian To engage in as part of spiritual discipline. Rather, we must see prayer as Daniel did: As the lifeblood of a healthy relationship with God. Consistent prayer helps us to know God and his will, to walk in faithful obedience, and to share in the needs of others as we intercede for them. Prayer should be in normal and regular part of everyday, not just something we do when we find ourselves in a period of crisis. In fact, it is Daniel's consistency in prayer that made him ready to face this crisis without fear or panic.

I will readily admit that my own prayer life isn’t what I want it to be. It’s certainly not like Daniel’s—not that we need to have three times a day set aside to pray. But Daniel’s prayer life was consistent, focused, and intentional. We should pursue that kind of prayer life as well. Consider what Paul said to the Romans in chapter 12 of his epistle to them:

Romans 12:11–12 CSB

11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

But as we see in Daniel, serving the Lord sometimes might bring us into direct conflict with an instruction from government leaders. And what we've gone through in the past several years with the pandemic and the government mandates regarding meeting and such, I wanted to take just a moment to reflect on that time in light of Daniel’s civil disobedience in our focal passage this morning.

Much like Peter and the apostles’ civil disobedience in Acts 5:29, where they replied to the command to quit teaching in the name of Jesus with, “We must obey God rather than people,” we must be prepared to peacefully disobey our government’s mandate if it demands that we violate the express commands of Scripture. However, these acts of civil disobedience should be exceedingly rare, undertaken peacefully and with a great deal of prayer, and not merely because we don’t like a particular mandate or law.

While we might want to look at Daniel as some kind of a rebel because of his violation of Darius's edict, consider how long he had worked in the Babylonian and now Persian governments. He had distinguished himself with Darius not because of his rebellion, but because of his excellence in serving the community. Certainly he would have joined his friends in the fiery furnace had he been there when all of that took place, but otherwise, Daniel appears to have been an upstanding and useful citizen in all that he did for probably about 67 years at this point. But one thing we can see clearly in both the fiery furnace of chapter three and our focal passage today is that when disobedience was necessary, those who felt they needed to disobey were prepared to receive the punishment mandated for their disobedience.

We cannot neglect the commands of Scripture when we face difficult or unpopular governmental decisions. And as Romans 13 makes very clear:

Romans 13:1–5 CSB

1 Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. 2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. 4 For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. 5 Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience.

We should pray that our government representatives would seek to do the will of God, that they would be wise and have integrity, and that they would represent their constituents well. And when they don't, it provides us with one more avenue to be faithful in like Daniel. We are to be faithful in persecution.

3) Be faithful in persecution.

Daniel's enemies knew that he would pray. They knew when he would pray. They knew where he would pray. And so the Scriptures tell us that they went and found him “petitioning and imploring his God.” Almost gleefully, they returned to Darius and engaged him in a conversation about his edict:

Daniel 6:12–13 CSB

12 So they approached the king and asked about his edict: “Didn’t you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “As a law of the Medes and Persians, the order stands and is irrevocable.” 13 Then they replied to the king, “Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict you signed, for he prays three times a day.”

Verse 14 tells us that Darius was very displeased at this—not because Daniel had prayed to God, but because he realized that they had manipulated him into issuing the edict knowing that Daniel would violate it. So he tried to rescue Daniel, but apparently the edict demanded that it be carried out on the day the violation was discovered, and so he could find no loophole, no legal maneuvering that would allow Daniel to escape being thrown into the lions’ den before sundown.

When the conspirators finally pressed the king at the end of the day, he had no choice but to give in. Laws that are not applied justly will lead to lawlessness. We see no sign of Daniel fighting against the judgment—no screaming, no fighting, no cursing or arguing or demanding his own rights, because he had indeed violated the law of the land by praying. He submitted to the punishment, trusting in God. Perhaps he, like Paul, knew that either way was winning:

Philippians 1:21–24 CSB

21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

And so it is for us. We do not need to worry when we face persecution. We can trust ourselves to God’s hands when those things come our way. And they will come our way:

2 Timothy 3:12 CSB

12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

1 Peter 4:19 CSB

19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

This is how we are faithful in the midst of persecution—by continuing to do what is good. Continuing to be a witness to the lost about the Gospel, sharing about their need for a Savior, and the love that God revealed in the death of Jesus. And our lives should match our testimony if our witness is going to be authentic and an example to those who come behind us.

What a witness Daniel was! And what an impact that he had had on Darius’s life in just the short amount of time that Daniel had served under him. Look at what happened with Darius because of Daniel’s example:

Daniel 6:16 CSB

16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you!”

For probably the first time in Darius's reign, Darius and Daniel were both trusting in the same God for deliverance, and this was completely because of Daniel’s witness and example. Did you see how Darius said it? “May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you!” Daniel hadn't kept his faith private even from the king, and now the king prayed for Daniel to Daniel’s God.

And so 80-something-year-old Daniel is thrown into lions’ den. And just to make sure something crazy couldn't happen, like him jumping out, or someone sneaking in and lifting him out, the lions’ den was sealed almost like a tomb:

Daniel 6:17 CSB

17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing in regard to Daniel could be changed.

Closing

This last verse of our focal passage today reminds me of Resurrection weekend, which we celebrated just two weeks ago. After Jesus died on the cross for our sins, His body was placed in a tomb, and a large stone was rolled over the entrance, and was sealed so that nothing could be changed from the outside concerning Jesus:

Matthew 27:62–66 CSB

62 The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.

You see, Jesus really died, and He was really buried. And they thought that he wouldn’t really rise again. But on Sunday, the stone was rolled away, but not by His followers. And He walked out of that tomb alive, just like Daniel walked out of that lion’s den alive (as we’ll read next week). And if we surrender to God in repentant faith, trusting in Jesus’ death to pay the penalty for our sins and believing that He rose again so that we can have eternal life with Him, then we will be saved through Him.

In a moment, the band is going to come and lead us in a song of invitation and response, and I’ll be joined down front by Joe and Kerry, Trevor, and Rich. And if this morning, you believe that God is calling you to surrender your life to Him in faith, then you can do that right where you are in your pew or wherever you’re watching online. Or if you’re in the room, we invite you to come and share that you believe that God is calling you to repentance and faith this morning, and we would love nothing more than to walk with you as you respond to Him. If you’re online and that describes what God is doing in your heart and life, then send me an email to bill@ehbc.org, and I’ll get back to you to talk about this new step of faith you’re taking. If you have questions about Jesus or salvation, please let us know that as well.

If you’ve already surrendered your life to Christ, and you’ve never been baptized as a testimony of that faith and you’re ready to take that step or have questions about it, please come and let us know that as well.

Church Membership

Prayer

Giving (Text: EHBCGIVE to 888-364-GIVE[4483])

PRAYER

Closing Remarks

Bible reading plan (Deut 10-11, Ps 104) New Bible Reading Plan discussion group in the app. Just tap the speech bubbles on the top, tap DISCOVER, then search for Bible Reading Plan, and you should find the group. It’s open to join. And just so you know, you can access the messaging function on the website as well: on the Family Life menu, just click EHBC Messaging.

Pastor’s Study tonight at 5:30.

Prayer Meeting this Wednesday, led by Joe. Starting the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2.

Dee Hutson passed away on Monday evening. Her funeral service will be this Friday at 11am. The family will have a viewing for any who choose to do so from 10 to 1045 in the Parlor on Friday.

Instructions for guests

Benediction

Colossians 3:23–24 CSB

23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

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