Faith in the Fiery Furnace

February 11, 2024 Background Scripture: Daniel 3:1 - 30 Lesson Passage: Daniel 3:19 - 28 The prospect of imminent death can be a delineator of one's character. We are not always sure that we know ourselves very well when we are confronted with what appears to be imminent death. It's not difficult to answer the question, "Do you feel strongly about your personal convictions?" But our opinion changes quickly when asked if we are willing to die for our conviction. The prospect of being wrong makes those convictions much softer. Children of God must be absolutely convinced of our personal relationship with God. Our eternal destination is based solely on our personal relationship with God. That relationship cannot be unstable in the face of imminent death. Otherwise, our conviction about God is reduced to our opinion rather than a reality wrought by our faith. Many people have been martyred over the years because they stood up for their religious convictions. Some seem justified and others more cultic and not so justified. Again, children of God must know that their personal relationship with God is not based on their opinions or feelings. We must confess with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead. Our confession must be because God's word declares this to be so. Our faith comes from hearing and believing this declaration from God's word. If everything is taken from a child of God, the one thing that must remain is one's faith in God. Anything less than this is an opinion. Jesus said that the Jewish statement of faith is based on two declarations: The Lord God is one God; and He should be loved with all one's heart, soul, and mind. And the second is that one should love one's neighbor as oneself. Our lesson today has three Jewish young men who embraced the Jewish confession of faith. They were captives who had been deported to Babylon. They were placed in the predicament of either denying their religious conviction as to their personal relationship with God or to face death by incineration. I believe we can learn from their behavior when they were confronted with this ugly choice. First, it seems that they were not hesitant in responding to the choice before them. I believe their response was deliberate but not impulsive. They were so certain of their conviction that no time delay was necessary. Oftentimes, procrastination works against us. Procrastination can allow doubt to surface and fester. They had to be certain of their conviction prior to being put in that predicament. Secondly, they did not presumptuously obligate God to do what they thought was best. Their statement was, "our God is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." They believed that God would deliver them from the king's hand. Either they would be delivered from the fiery furnace or through death in the fiery furnace. Either way, they would be delivered from the king's hand without abandoning their personal conviction about their relationship with God. Faith in God is a personal conviction that does not change in the face of imminent death. The lesson topic is, "Faith in the Fiery Furnace". Their faith existed before the fiery furnace. Their faith continued in the fiery furnace. And their faith remained after they were delivered out of the fiery furnace. Robert C. Hudson February 1, 2024