Pastor Slaughter
Reformation
10-26-2023
Theme: Trust in God in the Face of Persecution
Text: Daniel 6:10-12, 16-23
If you spoke out against her, you died. Men in the past tried to reason with her, but they were burned. She was corrupt. A man dared to question her, to question her teachings. This man was Martin Luther. Luther looked at God’s Word and saw what the Roman Catholic Church was teaching was wrong. Luther was invited to the Diet of Worms in 1521 and was under the impression that he would be able to debate and discuss his works. On April 17, he was brought before the Diet. The place was packed; the political leaders of Germany were there, the bishops and princes of the church, representatives of the great cities, and the most powerful official of the time, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V himself. In the midst of this assembly there was a table with his books on it. The archbishop gestured toward the pile and asked him two questions: “Had he written these books? Would he recant them?” Luther was taken aback by the question. There was no debate; there was no discussion, just two questions. They gave him a day to make his decision.
Can you imagine what was going through the mind of Luther? Some of the things that Luther wrote about were regarding man’s salvation. He was faced with a dilemma. He could recant what he wrote, make peace with the Roman Catholic Church and continue teaching at Wittenberg. If he refused to recant, then he would be branded as a heretic and have to live with the constant threat of becoming a martyr.
If it came down to it, what would you choose? God’s Word, or your life? We may never be placed in that situation, but we are placed in many different situations where we have to make a choice, God’s Word or persecution. Our theme for today is
Trust in God in Face of Persecution,
1)Trust God so that you can do the right thing.
2) Trust God that he will do the right thing.
Daniel had to make a difficult decision like Luther. The Medes and the Person’s captured Babylon and are now in charge. King Darius was appointed as the governing authority in Babylon. He had appointed 120 regional governors called satraps, and three people to oversee them. One of the overseers was Daniel. The Bible describes him by saying, “It came about that this Daniel distinguished himself above the supervisors and satraps, because there was an outstanding spirit in him. So the king intended to promote him so that he would be in charge of the entire kingdom.” (Daniel 6:3). The other governing authorities became jealous of him and tried to find some grounds to bring charges against him, but Daniel was neither corrupt nor negligent. They figured the only way to bring charges against him was if it went against the law of his God. So they convinced the king that “… the king to establish and enforce a decree that prohibits anyone to pray a prayer to any god or person for thirty days except to you, Your Majesty. Anyone who does so will be thrown into the den[a] of lions.” (Daniel 6:7)
Daniel had a difficult choice to make; he had to choose to either break the law of men or the law of God. God did not command Daniel to pray three times a day with the window open and facing toward Jerusalem. That was Daniel’s regular routine and was known by others. Daniel could have prayed at a different time of day or at a different place but if he had done that it would have given people the impression that he was following the king’s edict by either praying to the king or not praying at all.
Daniel had a choice either to pray or not to pray. Luther was faced with a choice of holding on to the Word of God or recanting. What are the choices you have to face? We probably face persecution in a different way than Daniel. Our lives are not necessarily threatened. Our form of persecution may come from family, friends, or strangers. Do you proclaim God’s Word to a family member and risk losing them, or do you hide God’s Word because of that fear? Do you hide your faith when you know your friends are sinning or don’t know Christ because you are afraid hostility they may have toward the message of God’s law..
Hiding our faith, fear of being ridiculed, fear of persecution are very real things that we have to deal with as Christians. Daniel had a choice to make. If he did not obey the kings edict, then his sentence was death by the lions’ den. If he followed the kings edict, the consequences could have been much worse, eternal death because Daniel would have been starting down the slippery slope of not trusting in God.
What do our choices say about our relationship with God? The fear of persecution, the fear of confrontation, the fear of losing someone clouds our judgment and leads us down a path that does not trust in God. This lack of trust in God is dangerous to our faith because it takes our trust from a caring God and places upon ourselves, to a sinful person. If we follow this road, it will lead us straight to the grave. John 3:36 says, “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, God’s wrath remains on him.”
In the moment of truth, do you want to lean on yourself or on God? The God who never wavered from his plan. Jesus who died to save people who did not trust in him. Jesus who arose from the grave and promises to be with us until the end of the age, who promises to be with us in the face of persecution, who gives us the strength to trust in him, who will give us the words to say. Jesus told his disciples, “19 Whenever they hand you over, do not be worried about how you will respond or what you will say, because what you say will be given to you in that hour. 20 In fact you will not be the ones speaking, but the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.” (Mt 10:19-20). Because of what Christ has done for you, you, like Daniel, can trust in God so that you can do the right thing.
Daniel trusted in God so that he could do the right thing. He chose to continue praying to God. The civil leaders thought they had him. They went and told the king that Daniel was caught praying. The king was distressed. One of his most faithful, most trustworthy leaders was now facing one of the most gruesome forms of execution, the lion’s den. The king made every effort to save Daniel but the law of the Medes and the Persians could not be changed. So the king had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den, and a large boulder placed in front of it. The king placed his seal on it to make sure no one tampered with the boulder. He left Daniel saying, “May your God whom you serve continually, rescue you!” (Daniel 6:16). The king had a restless night and hurried to the lion’s den the next day. He called out to Daniel to see if he was live and Daniel responded, ““Your Majesty, may you live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the mouth of the lions. They have not hurt me because he found me innocent in his presence. Also before you, Your Majesty, I have committed no crime.” (Daniel 6:21-22). What a surprise it must have been for the king to hear Daniel’s voice! He is alive, his God saved him.
God did save Daniel from the lions. Daniel trusted in God that he would do the right thing. When Daniel prayed, he did not know if God would spare his life or allow him to die. What Daniel knew was that God would do what was right for him. If he died, praise be the Lord that he would go to heaven. If his life was spared, praise the Lord for allowing him to live longer on this earth.
Do we trust in God to do the right thing for us when persecution, and trials come up in our lives? Our trust is tested when a friend or family member is rushed to the hospital. Our trust is tested when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. Our trust is tested when we face persecution by what someone may say or do to us. We may begin to question God, “Is God really looking out for my good?” “Is God really doing the right thing?”
The king could not save Daniel. Daniel could not save himself, instead he relied on God’s promises. The promise that his sins are forgiven. The promise of happiness that heaven brings. The promise that God will work out everything for our good, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God saved us from our sins and has given us the promise that no matter what our situation is in life, he will work it out for our good.
God does not promise that our life will be a bed of roses. He tells us quite the opposite. In the Gospel for today Jesus says, “Be on guard against people. They will hand you over to councils, and they will whip you in their synagogues. You will be brought into the presence of governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.” Hardships, and persecutions are what is in store for those who profess Christ as their Lord. But in the face of these trials God calls us to trust him that he will do the right thing.
Luther returned to the Diet of Worms with his answer. The examiner said, “You must give a simple, clear, and proper answer to the question, will you recant or not?” Luther gave an answer. He gave his answer before leading officials in both the Roman Catholic Church and the governing bodies, before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V himself. His answer would decide his fate.
Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds and reasoning—and my conscience is captive to the Word of God—then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience.
Luther then said, “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen.” Luther made his decision and was branded as an outlaw. He chose God’s Word even at the risk of his own life. He trusted in God and took his stand. On this reformation Sunday let us take our stand like Luther. Let us take our stand with God and Trust in God in the Face of Persecution.