10/03/10 “Lessons From the Fiery Furnace”

Martyrdom is becoming more and more a reality in the collective experience of the modern church. Even in America where Christianity is still well represented, we see an alarming erosion of religious freedom. Those who read the Lomontville Gazette have been exposed to a relentless series of reports from around the globe, but especially from Muslim controlled countries as well as China, of Christians who have been murdered, unjustly incarcerated, whipped, disenfranchised and tortured. The magazine, “The Voice of The Martyrs” is a must read for Christians who wish to know more and do something about this alarming trend both here and around the world. In the Bible we have many stories of people who forfeited their lives rather than give in to pressures to deny their faith. Hebrews 11:35-38 gives a stirring summary of the sacrifices of these heroes and heroines. I just quote here a portion of that passage:” Some faced jeers and flogging while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They (were) destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” And many of these saints drew strength and inspiration from the three Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who were willing to be incinerated in a fiery Mesopotamian smelting furnace if needs be rather than bow down to a statue of a Babylonian god, probably Nabu. We read about this in Daniel 3. The Babylonian dictator and megalomaniac, Nebuchadnezzar, had a huge golden statue built and ordered all the officials in his kingdom to bow face down on the ground in worship of Nabu and in fealty to the god’s viceroy, the King. All the officials except the three Hebrew men, obliged the Babylonian tyrant. It was that or be thrown like fire wood into a fiery Mesopotamian smelting furnace. The Hebrew’s “insubordination” was reported to the king and they were paraded before him and questioned. They were not disrespectful of the ruler of the land but admitted their “disloyalty.” They were warned of their impending doom but they refused to budge. They assured the King that their God was very able to rescue them but then they said words that have encouraged countless people of God through almost three millenniums: “But even if (God) does not (rescue us), we want you to know, Oh king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up (Dan. 3:18).” This story is well known and obviously, their lives were miraculously saved as an astounded Nebuchadnezzar gawked at their unsigned forms and the spectacle of a fourth man, no doubt an angel (although, it is interesting that the NKJV translates the Hebrew here to read, “...and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” My generation (I am 74 years old) of Americans may not experience martyrdom, but there is no telling what will happen in the future as the web of persecution continues to expand and even is beginning to touch Americans some of whom are losing their jobs and freedom of religious expression. But all Christians can learn from the example of the three brave Hebrews that (1) God gives grace to those who endure persecution and special grace to those who are martyred. That, persevering grace grows within as we walk in communion with God and when pain and death confront us we are given special grace to endure even unto the end; (2) satan will challenge our advancement in the Kingdom as well as our success in mundane pursuits (the three Hebrew men had recently been promoted), so we need to be walking in faith if we are to ward off “the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).” More can be added here but I’ll close with this third observation, namely, that God intends for us to go through the heat of persecution, even the pain of sickness and personal loss rather than look for the nearest exit. True, we are not to seek calamity and it is our purgative to seek healing and deliverance, but if relief or rescue are not given, we can learn obedience and trust as we let God take us through the fire. So, as things continue to heat up, we should not bury our heads in the sand, for we are called to endure hardship for the cause of Christ like good soldiers ever ready to do battle. See II Timothy 2:3-5.