Standing When Everyone Else is Bowing

Introduction

You and I live in a world where every day the pressure to conform presses upon us with a greater intensity.

It is a tragic reality that there is a godless culture which seems to be gaining greater power and influence every day.

As believers we must respond to this culture, but how? Do we compromise and ”go along to get along”?

Do we fight fire with fire and attack those who promote this anti-god ideology?

What are we to do as wickedness and immorality abounds in our nation?

In this passage, three young men were placed in a very difficult situation and you and I may find ourselves in the same position under mounting pressure to compromise and to conform.

Yet in these young men, we have a wonderful example of a right response to the pressure.

In the first portion of the chapter we see the…

Establishment of a Godless Culture (Vs. 1-7)

In this portion the image is created and it is expected that everyone in the kingdom will bow down and worship the image on cue.

All of the leaders in the kingdom are gathered together and each of them give affirmation to the plan to have the entire kingdom worship the image.

Finally there is a punishment instituted for anyone who refuses to bow down to the image that has been set up.

The cue was then given and all the people bowed down to the image which had been set up to worship.

This is eerily similar to what is currently taking place in America.

There may not be a physical image which has been set up to be worshipped, but there is certainly an ideology that has been promoted which it is expected that everyone must embrace.

Many political leaders, cultural leaders, and sadly even religious leaders have affirmed this ideology and have already bowed down in surrender to it.

We have also seen a system of punishment which has been instituted to deal with anyone who refuses to bow down to this new way of thinking.

It has been correctly referred to on many occasions as “cancel culture.”. The idea is that if you refuse to give affirmation to this new ideology you will be cancelled, you will no longer be able to have a voice, you will no longer be allowed influence, you will be mocked and ridiculed, labeled as a bigot, and in some cases you may even lose your livelihood.

The threat of this punishment alone is enough to cause many to comply. For others the peer pressure is what causes them to conform and to compromise their convictions.

We may think that what we are seeing in our culture today is new but it is not, the devil and those under his influence used the same tactics generations ago.

Next in this chapter we see…

The Accusations Against the Godly (Vs. 8-12)

Everyone in the kingdom bowed down to the image with the exception of this small minority of Jewish young men.

These young men worshipped the true and living God and as such they were unwilling to bow down and worship the image.

There were some who apparently witnessed their rebellion and then reported it to the king so that they could be punished.

These men were not rebels who were intent on resisting the king’s authority, they simply were not willing to violate their conscience by worshipping false gods.

When you and I choose to live out our faith in Christ and to allow it to influence every area of our lives we may also find ourselves being accused of bigotry, of hate speech, or intolerance.

2 Timothy 3:12 (KJV): Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

When you refuse to confine the practice of your faith to the church and you choose instead to live out your faith and to allow your faith to influence your decisions and your behavior, there will always be opposition.

Illustration- baker who refuses to create a cake for a gay wedding. Christian adoption agency refuses to allow same sex couples to adopt children, individual who refuses to recognize a transgender person, an employ who refuses to lie and cheat to get ahead.

The Confrontation (Vs. 13-15)

Now the three young men are brought before the king and he confronts them regarding their unwillingness to bow to the idol.

The king then gives them a final opportunity to bow down and warns them of the consequences of failing to do so.

This is happening every day in our society. There are those who refuse to bow to the pressure of the godless culture, who refuse to give affirmation to the wicked agenda that is being promoted.

Once the accusations have been made, then there is often a confrontation where these individuals are given an opportunity once more to bow to the culture and to give affirmation to their wicked agenda.

Sadly many believers when confronted bow to the pressure and compromise their beliefs to avoid the consequences of standing for the truth.

Throughout history those who have followed Christ have often been the target of this same style of persecution as men and women have been called upon to recant and to renounce Christ. Thankfully we have the record of many who were willing to stand for Christ even to the point of laying down their lives for Him.

You and I may one day find ourselves in the crosshairs of the authorities because of our desire to follow Christ and to remain true to His Word.

We may be confronted because of our unwillingness to embrace their ideology. If we find ourselves in such a circumstance how will we then respond?

The Response (Vs. 16-18)

These three young men did not give a hasty response but gave careful consideration to what they must do.

After careful deliberation they came to the conclusion that they could not bow to the king’s idol and that they were willing to face the consequences.

You and I need to make up our mind that we will not bow, we will not compromise, we will not embrace the wicked agenda which is being promoted and that we will continue to stand boldly for the truth.

These men knew that to make such a decision could certainly cost them much, but they deemed that it was worth it to remain faithful to God.

We often suppose that these men knew that they were to be miraculously delivered but that could not be further from the truth.

They knew that the God they served certainly had the power to deliver them but they were also aware that this decision may cost them their lives.

Whether God delivered them or allowed them to become martyrs for their faith, they were intent that they would not bow down.

This is still true today, the God we serve has the power to deliver us out of the hands of our persecutors, but we do not have the guarantee that He will.

It may be that He allows us to go through persecution in order that our faith may be strengthened or in order that others may be moved by our sacrifice.

Whatever the case and whatever the consequences, we cannot bow down to the godless culture that surrounds us. We cannot embrace any ideology that is in contradiction to the Word of God. We must continue to stand for truth.

The Frustration (Vs. 19-23)

When the king hears their response, he is consumed with anger and hatred towards them for their refusal to bow.

This is still the case today. There will be those who hate you and I simply because you will not embrace their warped ideology.

The king was intent on making these men pay just as so many are intent today on making those who dare to stand against the advance of the godless agenda of our day to pay.

We must expect that there will be those who hate what we stand for and who will stop at nothing to see to it that we are punished for the beliefs that we hold.

The Deliverance (Vs. 24-30)

Here we see a miraculous deliverance of these men out of the hands of their enemies. God is no less capable of working a miraculous deliverance today.

This deliverance would ultimately so impact the king that he would declare that the God which these men worshipped was powerful and was not to be spoken against again.

The king ultimately put forth a decree which allowed these men to continue to worship their God and even promoted them to a position of higher authority.

We must note that it was ultimately the Lord which delivered them as He walked with them in the midst of the fire.

You and I may or may not be delivered from the fire of persecution, but we can be sure that the Lord will walk with us in the midst of the fire either way.

It may be that God will do a supernatural work and deliver us from the hand of our enemies and even cause them to give us the opportunity to continue to worship God and to stand for truth.

It may be that God allows us to face persecution and chooses not to deliver us out of the hands of our enemies for He knows that this is what is best for the advancement of His kingdom.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome, we must continue to stand boldly for truth and righteousness through the power of the Spirit of God that dwells within us.

The respect that the king had for the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdnego was the result of their bold stand and God’s deliverance.

Conclusion

It is likely that in the coming days the pressure to bow to a godless culture will only continue to increase.

We must make up our mind and commit ourselves to standing for truth and right whatever the consequences.

It may be that we will be called upon to endure suffering and persecution, but it may be that God will provide a miraculous deliverance.

It may be that through our bold stand for God other may be impacted and we may be able to continue to freely worship Him in the future.

If we instead compromise and succumb to the pressure, we can be sure that future generations will not have the religious liberty that we enjoy.