True North

Daniel 3:14-23; Luke 11:27-36; 1^st John 2:3-11

Rev. Chris Harbin, Rocks Baptist Church—Pamplin, VA

08 August 2004

Our lives need direction. While we may not focus on it too much, we have a deep-seated need to know what we are about and where we are headed. We need orientation that will help make sense of our lives. What will our guiding principle be? What will we allow to direct our steps? What will we determine to be the greatest reality in our lives? How we answer that question has a lot to with the kind and quality of our faith.

Daniel’s friends had some hard decisions to make. They had to judge how important it was to follow God in complete sincerity. They had stood with Daniel in determining not to defile themselves at the Babylonian court. They had followed Daniel’s lead in refusing to eat the rich food of the court in order to remain true to the instructions of Yahweh. Now, however, they faced the threat of death if they were to disobey the king’s orders. By the king’s command, they were to ascribe deity to the golden image erected in Babylon.

They were in a quandary. Disobedience would be costly. Whom would they obey? They would have to choose between obeying the king of Babylon and obeying Yahweh. Which was more important? What was the guiding principle that would guide their decision? The king’s furnace was an obvious, physical reality. Its threat was not only visible, for they could feel the heat of its flames. Yahweh’s demand for sole allegiance was not a visible reality in the context of Babylonian exile. It would be all too easy to consider the act of obeisance nothing more than a meaningless formality—after all, their lives were at stake! Which reality was greater? They would have to choose between the physical threat of the king’s furnace their choice to serve Yahweh. After all, the Torah said not to bow to any graven images. Which was the greater reality, the spiritual or the material? What principle would guide their response? Where would they find direction for the dilemma that faced them?

The crowds in Jesus’ day often followed Him for the wrong reasons. In part, they sought the spectacle of Jesus’ healing ministry, in part the attraction of hearing a “controversial prophet.” They were essentially looking for various kinds personal benefits or entertainment. As one woman declared Mary’s blessing at having birthed and reared Jesus, He called them to a different definition of blessing and importance. Jesus reminded them that true blessing comes from a vital faith. Real faith expresses itself visibly. According to Jesus’ words, the greater blessing is to live out one’s relationship with God.

Knowing God’s will is not enough. Simply knowing about God is pointless. Living to receive blessings from being near God is empty and fruitless. If we understand God’s will, we are to live in accordance with it. Knowledge is empty, if not for action. As James puts it, faith without works is dead. It is fruitless. It is pointless. As long as faith seeks its own gratification, it focuses in the wrong direction. Self-centered faith is not directed toward God. It places self at the center of the universe.

Jesus reminded us of Jonah’s visit to Nineveh. Here was a prophet who did not want to be in Nineveh, but the people responded in living repentance to the words he did not wish to share. They allowed a new faith to bloom and live. It caused them to act and respond to God. They recognized that they needed to submit their will to Yahweh’s, and they did. Jesus went on to speak of the Queen of Sheba, who came to see Solomon. She recognized something in Solomon that she did not have. Jesus called these as witness against the people, for they were not recognizing God’s demands upon their lives. They were content with a dead, purposeless faith.

Jesus said that like a lamp, faith is to shine for all to see. It is to serve as guide to all who come near, that they might have direction, life, and health. If a lamp does not light the house, it is worthless. So if faith does not fulfill its function, it is no faith at all—it is dead.

John’s letter extends Jesus’ comments to the practicality of loving one another. John’s claim is that if we do not love one another, we lie in claiming to know God. He speaks of relational knowledge, the experience of life with God. This living faith is to spill over into the manner that we treat others. It is to take up residence in our lives, directing our steps and controlling our decisions. Faith is to become the principle that guides our actions, determines our values, and charts our course.

Tim Boschen states that fundamentalism is evil, for it allows a self-centered drive for security to determine its course.^[1] Seeking security amid a society in turmoil, fundamentalism forces reality into a narrow compartment, shutting out all else. It redefines truth for reasons of personal security. Because its focus is on self, it cannot accept others. Because it strives for the security of a neatly packaged faith, it does not have the security to respond in love to challenging perspectives or unresolved issues. It cannot love, for its focus is turned in upon itself.

A self-centered approach to life runs counter to the gospel of Jesus. John sums up Jesus’ perspective on the outcome of faith as a life focused on others. If our experience of God is real, it brings about a change in our lives. God lives within, changing the direction of our lives, giving new direction. We begin to love in the manner that God has loved, sacrificing life for the benefit of others. Faith becomes the guiding principle by which we make our decisions. It becomes the basis for our response as we allow God to live in us fully.

Faith allows God access to our lives. It allows God to live through us. Faith calls upon God to take over and direct our course in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. To accomplish this, faith must first live. We must grant it the authority to direct our steps and lead us into the unknown.

Daniel’s friends allowed faith to become the greater reality of their lives. They recognized that falling down before an idol in order to rescue themselves from danger would be cowardice and faithlessness. They determined that they would allow God to be the ultimate reality and faith to be the principle to guide their actions. They chose to allow God to become their security, so they lived by faith.

On what will we base our decisions? What will become our guiding principle? Will we allow our faith in God to be our source of security so that faith might live? If faith does not guide our decisions, it is dead. How shall we then live?

—©2004 Christopher B. Harbin

This sermon in pdf

¹ BOSCHEN, Timothy L. “Fundamentalism, Authoritarianism and Radical Evil”, June 2004 Sabbatical paper, Oxford University, unpublished.