But If Not

As we said at the beginning of this service, the Easter vigil was originally a preparation

for baptism, an all-night vigil kept by candidates before they would be baptized at first light

on Easter morning.

And as part of that preparation, candidates would read passages like we're reading tonight.

They would read passages like Daniel 3, the passage that we just heard read, very well

done, by the way, as they prepared for their new life.

Daniel chapter 3 is the story of three young Israelites who have been taken into captivity

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

with many of their people and forced to live in Babylon.

But this does not mean that God has abandoned his people, as many thought had happened.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God reveals that he has actually sent his people into exile

in Babylon to seek its welfare, to be in the city but not of the city, that God might bless

the city through their presence there.

And God has given the same mission to his people all around the world, to live like exiles

in captivity, to be in the world but not of the world, to be an extension, a vehicle of

God's blessing to the nations.

And so this passage, as we look at it, shows us, for those of us who are Christians, three

things about living this life faithfully.

For those of us who are here who are not Christians, it helps us understand why the world needs to be rescued,

why God needs to send his blessing out to the nations.

The three things we'll see are this, the danger of captivity, the way to freedom,

and the God of the furnace.

Let's pray.

Lord, we ask that as we have unfolded your story, as we have opened your word, that you would be true to your promise,

to be the God who speaks through your word.

This is not mere ink and paper.

Lord, this is your voice that we seek to hear.

And we pray that as we hear your voice, that we would come face to face with the living word, Jesus Christ.

And it's in his name that we pray.

Amen.

The danger of captivity.

The Babylonians had a very innovative approach to conquest.

They would conquer a people with their military, and then they would take the best and the brightest of those people into Babylon,

and there they would assimilate them into Babylonian culture.

It was subjugation through assimilation.

It was quite a brilliant tactic.

But it makes one wonder, how do you bring many people from many different cultures and traditions and religions into your city,

and then assimilate them?

And here's where King Nebuchadnezzar's brilliance really shines,

because he understands something about human nature that many of us don't.

He understands this.

He says,

So Nebuchadnezzar sets up a great tower, a 90-foot golden idol,

a representation of all the glory, all the values of Babylonian society,

a monument to human greatness.

And he tells the people,

you can have your own religion in private.

Believe whatever you want in your own home.

But when you're in public,

you must bow to this idol.

When you hear the music,

you will bow,

and if you do not,

you will be cast into a burning,

fiery furnace.

The spiritual conquest has begun.

If you want to control people,

you have to control what they worship.

Because whatever we worship ultimately controls us.

So he builds a statue,

and he ascribes divine value to this statue.

And this is how anything might become an idol in our lives.

We take some created thing.

It could be anything,

such as an object,

or another person,

or a relationship,

or an ideology.

And we imbue it with divine significance.

We set our whole heart on it.

We say to this thing,

or to this person,

or to this ideology,

my life's not worth living

unless I have this thing.

If I lose this thing,

my life is no longer worth living.

You set your whole heart on it.

And it becomes more important to you

than anything.

Even God.

We look at this society,

and we can't imagine

listening to music

and bowing to a great golden statue.

We say,

I would never do such a foolish thing.

Think about our lives here in D.C.

Those of us who live in the metro D.C. area,

we don't bow to a golden statue, do we?

But many of us do bow to other idols.

Perhaps the idol of achievement.

We set our hearts on being respected.

On being successful.

So we begin to elevate our grades,

and our college admissions,

and our jobs,

and our careers above everything else.

We drive ourselves,

and we drive our children to succeed.

We're willing to sacrifice friendships.

We're willing to sacrifice time

with our friends,

with our children.

We're willing to sacrifice our own health.

We're willing to work all the time

through nights and weekends,

which, by the way,

is much easier to do

now that many of us work from home.

I saw a thread on Reddit

a few years back

about the best places

in Washington, D.C.

to cry.

And it became wildly popular.

Now, why would people

want to swap secret places

to cry

in Washington, D.C.?

It's because of the pressure.

People say living here

is like being in a pressure cooker.

You're living in a meritocracy

where you're constantly struggling

to prove your worth.

And so people need to know

that if they

feel the urge

to run out of their office

weeping,

they can find a place

where they won't be disturbed.

Right?

So for those of us

who are Christians,

we may be Christians

in private.

We may believe in

and talk about

and teach Sunday school classes

on the value of Sabbath

and the value of rest

and a balanced life,

the priority of friendship

and family and community.

But in public,

we bow like everyone else.

And there's no difference

between our priorities

or work habits

and those around us.

Or consider the example

of politics.

Many of us can tend

to make politics

more important

than anything else.

And that begins to define

our view of other people.

Surveys show that

we on both sides of the aisle

tend to view

those on the other side

of the aisle,

not merely as people

with whom we might

disagree on policy,

but as evil,

as immoral,

as unintelligent,

as representing

an existential threat

to the future

of our society.

And again,

for those of us

who are Christians,

we may be Christians

in private.

We may believe

that we're all part

of Christ's body,

that we're all one

in Him,

but in public,

we tend to bow.

There's been a big

reshuffling of Christians

over the last three years

who are changing churches,

not for theological reasons,

but for political reasons.

Wanting to be in churches

where their political views

are going to be supported

rather than critiqued.

There are many Christians

who have changed their church

because of their politics.

How many Christians

have changed their politics

because of their church?

The point of these examples

is this.

Everybody worships something.

Even if you consider yourself

non-religious,

and by the way,

if you consider yourself

non-religious

and you're at a three-hour

Easter vigil,

I'm so delighted

that you're here.

And I would love

to talk to you

after the service

and to know

what got you to come.

Did somebody trick you?

But if you consider yourself

to be non-religious,

I guarantee you,

with all due respect,

you are still

worshiping something.

It could be achievement

or politics.

It could be affirmation.

It could be security.

It could be comfort.

Whatever makes your life

worth living,

whatever you can't imagine

living without,

that is your idol.

For those of us

who are Christians,

that doesn't make us

immune to idols.

When we bow

to the same idols

as everyone else,

it means we are in

spiritual captivity.

And we don't have

Nebuchadnezzar to contend with,

but great politicians,

great influencers,

great leaders,

great advertising companies

know this spiritual truth.

If you can control

what people worship,

you can control them.

The real danger

is not physical captivity.

It is spiritual captivity.

That's the danger of captivity.

Now, what is the way to freedom?

This brings us to the climax

of the story.

The music plays,

but these three young men,

Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego,

they refuse to bow.

You need to understand,

they were surrounded

by Israelites,

all prostrate,

and they're standing tall.

Some of their co-workers

tell Nebuchadnezzar,

who brings them up front

of everyone,

and he says,

if you do not worship,

you shall be immediately

cast into a burning,

fiery furnace.

But look at what they say.

Oh, Nebuchadnezzar,

we have no need

to answer you in this matter.

If this be so,

our God,

whom we serve,

is able to deliver us

from the burning,

fiery furnace,

and he will deliver us

out of your hand,

O king.

But if not,

be it known to you,

O king,

that we will not serve

your gods

or worship the golden image

that you have set up.

Now, we know how the story goes.

We know that when they're thrown

into the furnace,

God miraculously saves them,

but they had no idea.

They had no idea

this was going to happen.

This is the Holy Saturday moment

of Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

And they're staring

into the unknown,

and they have no idea

what's going to happen.

But if not,

signifies a single-minded

devotion to God.

We know God has the power

to deliver us,

and He might.

But if not,

we will serve Him

and Him alone.

The Reverend Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr.'s sermon

on this passage

is by far

one of my most favorite sermons

he ever preached.

And he talks in that sermon

about the difference

between an if faith

and a though faith.

And an if faith says,

if God saves me

from the furnace

or helps me get this job

or makes sure

I have enough money

or helps me feel fulfilled,

then I will worship Him.

It's faith that is contingent

on God holding up

His end of the bargain.

It's transactional.

A though faith says,

though God may allow me

to suffer,

though God may refuse

to answer my prayers

the way I want,

I will still worship Him

and Him alone.

That is a faith

with no contingencies

where we're worshiping God

for God's sake alone.

Now you say,

what does this have to do

with idolatry?

Well, remember,

Nebuchadnezzar allowed

his people to worship

their own God

as long as they also

worshiped his idol.

That way he could still

control them.

And this is the real problem

with an if faith.

With an if faith,

you're not actually

worshiping and serving God.

You are co-opting God

in service to your idol.

When you say,

if God makes me successful,

then I will worship Him,

then the thing that you're

worshiping is actually success.

And you're trying to force God

to serve your idol.

And if your true idol

is success,

then success is your master.

And guess what?

Whoever holds the keys

to your success

is in control of you.

So if your boss

asks you to do

unethical things

in order to be successful,

you'll do them.

That's captivity.

But when you are able

to say,

though God may allow me

to fail,

though I may miss

the promotion,

though I may lose my job,

I will still serve Him

and Him alone,

then the idol of success

no longer has any power

over you.

And you, my friend,

are free.

The only way to be free

is to worship God alone.

If we try to worship God

plus anything else,

we will be taken captive.

So how do we get

a though faith

that leads us to freedom?

Only in the God of the furnace.

We think of this story

as a story of God

miraculously saving these men.

But look what he does.

He could have hurled

a meteor down

and destroyed Nebuchadnezzar

and the idol

and the furnace.

But he does not prevent them

from going in.

He allows them

to be thrown

into the furnace.

And yet,

when Nebuchadnezzar

looks in,

to his astonishment,

he sees four men

walking around

unharmed.

The first three

he recognizes

is Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego.

But he is awestruck

by the fourth man

who looks like

a son of the gods.

This has such a profound

impact on the king

that at that moment

and for a time,

for a time

in the story of Daniel,

he's willing to worship

and honor

the God of Israel.

Christians look at this story

and recognize this

as a foreshadowing

of the coming

of Jesus Christ.

And what we recognize

is that when Jesus

died on the cross,

he went into

the ultimate

furnace

of God's wrath.

But he went alone.

And this begins

to open our eyes

to the way,

the only way,

that we might be able

to have a though faith.

It's in realizing

that Jesus

is the only one

who's willing

to go into

the furnace

for us.

See,

no idol

would ever do

that for you.

Whatever other

thing we worship

gives us

nothing in return.

Never delivers

on the promise

it makes.

but Jesus

is willing

to plunge

into the furnace

on our behalf.

And because

of the cross,

Christians know

that we have

nothing to fear.

Because if you are

in Christ

by faith,

then you know

the worst thing

that could possibly

happen to you

has already happened.

It will never

happen to you.

And because

Jesus went

into that

furnace

of sin

and death

and then

rose again,

he transformed

death

into a

mere doorway.

See,

eventually

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

died.

They were

preserved

this time,

but eventually

they died.

And one day

we will all

die.

God does

not promise.

He never

promises to

save us

from death.

God promises

to save us

through death.

The furnace

is really

a metaphor

for the

suffering

that Christians

face

throughout

our lives.

You know,

we read

this passage

and we wonder,

will I ever

have to go

into the

furnace?

Will I

ever be

plunged

into the

furnace?

not if

you have

an if

faith.

With an

if faith

you have

a shot

at living

a long

and reasonably

pain-free

life.

With an

if faith

you have

a shot

at being

relatively

reasonably

comfortable.

With an

if faith

you have

a shot

at fitting

in,

at being

well-liked,

at being

esteemed

even.

With an

if faith

you'll have

a religion

that is a

source of

encouragement

to you

when you're

feeling down,

that gives

you a sense

of meaning

and direction

that provides

some structure

for your

children

and a

source of

friendship

for you.

But someone

else is calling

the shots

in your life.

And you

will never

really experience

closeness

with Jesus

because Jesus

is in the

furnace.

And you

will live

your whole

life standing

on the

outside

looking in.

If you

want to be

free

and if you

want to be

with Jesus

you have

to go

into the

furnace.

And that

means following

Jesus no

matter what

it might

cost you.

And that

means a

hard life

where you

most certainly

will suffer.

But in

that furnace

you will

never be

alone.

because Jesus

Christ is

already there

and he

will always

be there

with you

until he

leads you

out the

other side.

And because

of the cross

you know

you have

nothing to

fear.

See for

those early

Christians

in those

early Easter

vigils as

they prepared

for their

own baptisms

they were

clear on

the meaning

of what

they were

about to

do.

Baptism

my friends

is a

death.

But it

is a

death that

leads to

new life.

That's

why the

early

baptistries

looked like

mausoleums.

They looked

like tombs.

That was

intentional.

You're going

to die a

death and

then emerge

into new

life.

A life

that is

free.

And a

life that

is fireproof.

A life

that no

amount of

suffering can

ever diminish.

Because it

will be a

life that

will go on

into glory

in eternity.

Let's

pray.

Lord, we

thank you for

your word.

We thank you

that you went

into the

furnace.

We thank you

for the

example of

these

exiles

who in

their holy

Saturday

staring into

those flames.

Not knowing

what would

come.

Nevertheless

trusted you.

And we

pray that as

we sit here

in our

holy

Saturday

staring into

the emptiness

of the

tomb.

Wondering

what we

might find

on the

other side.

I pray

that you

would give

us the

same

reassurance.

I pray

that you

would galvanize

us and

strengthen

us to

have a

single-minded

devotion to

you,

knowing that

you already

have a

single-minded

devotion to

us.

And we

pray this

in your

holy name.

Amen.