Daniel 6:4
While the title says Nebby, we are now under a new kingdom and king, Persia and Darius.
Daniel, a former slave and current Jew, a non-Persian, distinguished himself and maintained a high position in the Persian empire even after nobly serving under Babylon.
Because of the favor shown him, Daniel was one of three governors over the whole Persian empire, accountable to the king only. This engendered some jealously from the other governors and satraps (Persian regional rulers).
But Daniel’s enemies could “find no charge or fault because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.”
It is part of the Church’s call, especially in this hour, to be a complete testimony of righteousness.
This does not mean the world will not bring accusation and charges and investigate you. Biblically, we’re promised they will. But they should find no evil or error.
Too often they easily find the error. And excusing ourselves by throwing up our hands and saying “Christ is my righteousness” while we sin away is not being His Body on the earth.
Jesus was greatly persecuted and hated by the world, especially the religious. Then He tells those who would follow Him, “they hated Me, they’ll hate you. In this world you’ll have trouble.” But Jesus did nothing wrong, despite the charges and accusations against Him.
If we are to be Christians, little Christs, we should have the same testimony. Jesus said we are blessed if persecuted for “righteousness’ sake.”
“Surely this is not for the whole Church,” you may say.
Peter, writing to the whole Church (1 Peter 3:14-16) says this: “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed … But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evil doers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”
The assumption, again, is that the world will defame you, but they should have no reason to do so.
This totally flies in the face of many who claim no difference between the saved and the unsaved besides a mental acknowledgement of certain doctrinal truths.
If all God wanted was a people He had to continually forgive, He had that under the Old Covenant. He gave the New Covenant, the resulting grace and indwelling Spirit, to have a people that, once forgiven, would live righteous.
Thoughts?
Peace.
We’re going through Daniel in a Bible study group, and we found possible reasons for the jealousy of the other rulers. The point is, they were offended because of this jealousy, not because of his personality.
I think we try to hard to offend at times, such as speaking the truth minus the “in love” part. If only that was the limits of our hypocrisy.
If we continue to live the life of obedience, that alone will and should be the offense.
your last two sentences are like BAM!!!
(my way of saying amen emphatically)
I’ll tell you what…I’ve gotten more flack from Christians over the past few years trying to figure out how to say exactly that.
Here’s the problem that I’ve seen in saying this to people.
If we actually started believing the truth that Christ spoke, and all the sudden we have to wake up every day and start saying “Christ has enabled me to live in righteousness. Like, for real. Like, right now. Like for the rest of my life…” it makes people really uncomfortable.
While it’s true and wonderful that Christ has forgiven our sins, it’s also true and wonderful that Christ also calls us to “go and sin no more.”
We are quick to rejoice in the forgiveness, and we should! But we don’t rejoice, and in fact, almost lament the “and now we are free from sin through Christ!” part.
In fact, we demonize the idea as blasphemy.
“How dare you say that you don’t sin! That’s impossible!”
I thought I read somewhere that impossible isn’t a big deal to Jesus…maybe I’m crazy.
We fail to make a distinction between the state in which Christ called us, and the state in which we are now living.