STAND STRONG IN THE FACE OF DEATH
Shadrach,
Meshach, Abednego… and George
Almost
500 years ago, a small group of Christians met in the city of Augsburg in what
is now the nation of Germany. They were
there for only one reason: to present a written statement of faith to the Holy
Roman Emperor himself. This emperor
though, was not too sympathetic of these Christians because he happened to belong
to the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman
Catholic Church was the only other church of that time and dominated not only
the religious activity of the people but much of the government policies as
well. And for years they had accused these
Christians of heresy and had even outlawed anyone who held to the name that
this group called themselves by: the
name “Lutheran.” And so a number of
Christians were willing to stand up for the truth even in the face of death. One of those Christians was a man named
George. He was the margrave, or the
ruler, of the area of Brandenburg. One
evening, George and a few others met with the emperor and his brother, king of
Austria. These two high officials and
both members of the Catholic Church demanded that while the Lutherans were in
town, no Lutheran sermons could be preached in the churches, all Lutherans
would be required to attend religious events that were contrary to Scripture,
and they would have to submit to whatever decision the Roman Catholic Church
made. George, bold in his faith and
unafraid of the consequences, responded, “Before I let anyone take from me the
Word of God and ask me to deny my God, I will kneel and let them strike off my
head.” George’s head remained intact
that day, but what a courageous stand on the truth! In the face of death this Christian layman
was not going to back down! He would
have rather died than compromise even one letter of God’s Word that he had come
to believe.
Doesn’t
that remind you of those three men who faced death at the hands of the king of
Babylon? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
were in a similar situation when the king of that time demanded that they bow
down to another god - and if they didn’t, they would be thrown into a furnace
and burned to death. But like George who
would live many years later in Germany, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were
bold in their faith too and unafraid of the consequences. “If we
are thrown into the blazing furnace,” they said, “the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us
from your hand, O king. But even if he
does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or
worship the image of gold you have set up.”
That was a bold statement! And the
king was obviously a little upset by their insolence, and so he heated up the
furnace seven times hotter than usual, tied up these three Israelites, and threw
them into the blaze. But you know the
rest of the story: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not die. Instead an angel from the Lord was sent to
rescue them and these three men ended up walking out of the fire without even
the smell of smoke on them. But they
didn’t know that was going to happen!
They didn’t know that they would be saved! These men understood that their lives that day
could have ended in a very unpleasant and extremely painful way. But they stood strong in the face of death
nevertheless. They did not back
down. They were even willing to die for the
sake of the truth of God’s Word.
“Even to the
Point of Death”
Has your
life ever been threatened because of your confession of faith? Mine hasn’t.
I have never been in a situation like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego… or
George had to deal with. I have never
stood before a blazing kiln because of my faith - a fire so hot that it killed
those who got too close. I have never
been declared an enemy of the state for what I believe. I have never been put into a situation where
my life was on the line depending on whether or not I would stand strong on the
truth of God’s Word. And, knowing most
of you fairly well, I don’t think any of you have been in a situation like that
either. But even though most of us here
haven’t had to face that kind of pressure, most of us here have promised that
we would stand strong in the face of death if we ever are in that
situation. In fact, a couple more of us
will make that same promise today. Because
when a person becomes a member of this congregation or another congregation in
our church body, that person stands up in front and before everyone and before
God himself that person promises to remain faithful to the Word of God in every
respect “even to the point of death.” Even to the point of death! That’s a big promise, isn’t it? So anyone that has made that promise in the
past or anyone who is about to make that promise in just a few minutes, is
really saying: “Even if my life is put on the line because of my faith, I will
not back down. Even if my life is
threatened because of what I believe, I will not compromise. Even if death itself is the consequence I
have to face for standing strong on the Word of God, I will never give in.” That’s a big promise.
I have
made that promise too. Years ago, after
a thorough instruction in God’s Word, I promised to remain faithful to that
gospel “even to the point of death.” But
I was 14 years old! And as I look back at my life and how well I have kept that
promise, it seems that I wasn’t even trying.
At those times when something should have been said about inappropriate
language and a horrible abuse of God’s name, did I stand strong? At those times when a clear confession of
faith should have been verbalized for the sake of someone who didn’t know it,
did I stand strong? At those times when
someone sat in front of me, a person who was struggling with life because they
did not believe in Jesus as their Savior, did I stand strong? Did I boldly and unashamedly confess my faith
in the Lord who not only forgave my sins but theirs as well? Sadly, at many of those times I failed to say
anything that really mattered. Why? Maybe because I was scared about what they
would have to say to me in return. Maybe
because I was embarrassed about what they wouldn’t agree with. Maybe because I wanted to avoid an
uncomfortable situation. But it wasn’t
death! I wasn’t standing in front of a
blazing furnace ready to be tossed in! I
wasn’t brought before high powered authorities who held my freedom in their
hands! I wasn’t on the verge of having
my life taken away depending on what came out of my mouth! And I still backed down! I still gave in! And so what would happen if I actually did
have to face the threat of death on account of my faith? How could I expect myself to act in that kind
of situation?
How
strong would you be for the sake of God’s Word in the face of death? How strong have you stood on God’s Word so
far? Have you always been bold and
unafraid or have you oftentimes backed off and backed down? Have you always said what needed to be said
or have you sometimes not said anything at all?
Have you always been proud to confess your faith in your Savior or have
you been embarrassed at times and scared at others? Have you faithfully stood strong on the word
of God in every situation or have you stood to the side more often than not and
avoided the situation altogether?
If we
have not stood up for the Lord, why would the Lord stand up for us? If we have not stood strong on his Word, why would
the Lord continue to support us with his strength? If we aren’t even sure that we would remain
standing on the truth in the face of death, why would the Lord remain standing
by our side?
Jesus Stood
Strong in the Face of Death
He
shouldn’t, to tell you the truth. He has
no reason to. But he did. Jesus has already stood up for us and stood
strong for us and stood by our side. And
he even did that in the face of death!
Remember what he did on Palm Sunday: he rode right into the city where
his enemies had been plotting his death.
And he didn’t go quietly either; he didn’t sneak into the city. Instead he entered in a very public fashion
as children and disciples and the crowds sing his praises and wave palm
branches in the air. Jesus was making
sure that everyone knew exactly who he was.
But why? He could have gone into
the city without anyone else knowing.
Why would Jesus stand strong in the face of death threats when he didn’t
have to? Because he had to for you.
Remember
what happened four days later when he was in a garden with his disciples. A crowd was sent out at night to find Jesus
and arrest him. And when they approached
him, Jesus didn’t hide or run away or try to talk his way out of it; instead he
said, “I’m the one you’re looking for, let everyone else go.” But why?
Jesus could picked any place to go that night, especially when he knew
what was going to happen in that garden.
Why did Jesus stand strong in the face of death when he didn’t have to? Because he had to for you.
Later
that evening and into early Friday morning Jesus stood on trial in front of the
chief priests and teachers of the law.
They accused him and hit him and spit on him. They challenged him and asked him who he
claimed to be. Without hesitation Jesus
admitted that he was the Son of God. A
few hours later he found himself in front of the Roman ruler who was trying to
figure out if Jesus deserved the death penalty that the Jews were clamoring
for. But instead of claiming his
innocence, Jesus proclaimed what he knew the people hated to hear: that he was
a king and that his kingdom was from another place. Not long after that he was being tortured by
Roman soldiers, and then he was carrying his own cross on his back, and then he
was being nailed to those pieces of wood, and then he was hanging in the
afternoon sun, dying. But why? Jesus could have come down from that cross at
any point. Jesus could have stopped the
Roman soldiers from doing what they did.
Jesus could have struck down the Roman ruler in an instant. Jesus could have instantly wiped out every
one of those priests and teachers of the law in a moment. Why did he stand strong in the face of
beatings and torture and death when he didn’t have to? Because he had to for you.
Jesus
knew that if he did not stand strong on this earth, you would never be able to with
him in heaven. And so he stood there and
he took it and he suffered it and he endured it. He let the pain of sin hit him in the face;
he allowed the consequences of sin to be thrown on his back; he permitted the
penalty of sin to take its full effect.
And even when death was at the door, Jesus did not shy away but cried
out in a loud voice: “It is finished!”
Because death was not going to stop Jesus from doing what needed to be
done for your salvation. In fact, when death
got in his way, he beat death by rising from the dead. So he not only stood strong on the cross, but
he stood strong outside of the tomb, alive and victorious. And because he now stands reigning in
Paradise, so will we. We will stand with
the one who stood up for us. And we will
stand with him forever.
Stand Strong on the Word of God
Just
like George is. Just like Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego are. Just like
thousands upon thousands of other Christians are. But all of those Christians are standing by
their Savior in heaven not because they were so faithful in this life. Not because they were so good or tried so
hard. No because they never failed to
stand strong in the face of death. They
were too sinful! They were to weak and
selfish and incapable - just like we are!
No, they are standing next to their Savior right now because they
believed in the one who stood strong in the face of death for them. They believed in Jesus. They clung to Jesus. They trusted in Jesus to rescue them from the
consequences of their sins and bring them home.
And so now that’s exactly where they are. And that’s where we will one day be.
And so
as you look back at that promise you have made to your Lord or the promise that
you will make shortly, you do not have to worry that your entrance into heaven
will somehow be based on how well you keep that promise. Your salvation is based on how well your God
keeps his promise. And is promise is
what the children just sang: God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal
life. You salvation is based on that
promise. Stand strong on that
promise. Stand strong on that Word. Because it is the Word of your God. And he has proven that he will never let you
down - even in the face of death.
Amen.
“Praise be to the
Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the
Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”
- Psalm 68:19-20
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