DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

HEAT
 When the Heat Is On:
Overcoming the Pressure to Conform

by Dr. Mark Yarbrough

W ith postmodernism and liberal theology taking the world by storm, those who hold to the
historic doctrines of the Christian faith are becoming increasingly unpopular—and often being
labeled as intolerant and judgmental. The pressure to conform has never been higher, and
thousands in the church are giving in. How can we overcome the pressure? And is it worth it?

In this chapel address, Dr. Mark Yarbrough gives inspiration for days like these from a favorite
story from the Old Testament. We pray his words will encourage and strengthen you as you
consider how to respond to those who try to persuade, threaten, or ridicule you into conformity.

M any times I have been in the midst of chaos. I think we all have. There are things in life that
we can’t control. Sometimes we create our own chaos! Other times, stuff just happens. Jesus was
spot on when He said, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). You may be struggling
with a variety of things, and you may feel as if you’re in a pressure cooker. So how should we
a
respond when the heat is on and everything is falling apart?

STAND YOUR GROUND

Daniel chapter 3 is a fascinating text that we’ve heard over and over again. I heard it in
flannelgraph Bible stories in children’s church. I remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach,
Abednego, and the fiery furnace told through an Arch Book that I read as a little kid. It’s a fabulous
literary masterpiece, a unit that is told purposefully and stylistically. The author goes to great pains
to have certain things repeated over and over again so that we, as listeners of the text, will see the
magnitude of the moment. It’s a life-and-death issue for our three Hebrew friends.
 Here are three individuals whose lives have been turned upside down. You’re familiar with the
Book of Daniel. Beginning in Daniel chapter 1, we’ve made a journey with these individuals who
had been deported and are now in Babylon. Here they are as Hebrews, individuals who worship
the God of Israel, although the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. presumably discredited their God. At
this moment we see King Nebuchadnezzar saying, “You Hebrews will worship the god that I
dictate.”

In Daniel chapter 3, the author moves us quickly into the text to see what is going on: “King
Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold.” What an image it must have been, 60 cubits high and 6
cubits wide. (That’s 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide.) This thing was made to be seen. Picture that out
on the plain of Dura. The author goes to great lengths to show us the long list of government
officials that are there. They are present. They are participating. They are going through the process
just like everybody else.

A HEART ISSUE

But for our three friends, there is a problem, and it’s a heart issue. As believers and students
of the Bible, we know what the problem is. The problem is found in Exodus 20:1–4:

Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for
yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the water under the earth.”

That passage is pretty clear, is it not? So how would they respond to Nebuchadnezzar’s decree that
whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing furnace?

Look at what happens starting in Daniel 3:8. The band began to play. The rulers of the land
submitted to Nebuchadnezzar’s political and religious authority. The throngs of government
leaders touched their foreheads to the ground and worshiped, but the three Hebrews remained
standing. Why? Because the laws of God are greater than the laws of men.

I love the way John Feinberg phrases this: “In situations like this, no crime is greater than
nonconformity, yet that is exactly what God asks of us when the things of the world are arrayed
against the things of God.”

How should we respond when the heat is on? When the question of conformity is forced upon
the church and upon conservative theology? Stand your ground in a culture that seems to be
cracking at every seam. The greatest temptation is for us to conform. But we are called to stand our
ground.
A PICTURE OF FAITH

Several years ago, my two boys and I chartered a little boat and went fishing on the Gulf of
Mexico. My youngest, Joseph, was 9 at the time. We had been fishing all day, when all of a sudden
something hit Joseph’s pole.

Now he was all strapped up and holding the pole. When that fish hit, it took off. Do you know
what happened to my lightweight son? He went flying. You should have seen it. All of a sudden, I
watched Joseph just go up into the air. He got to the other end of the boat, slammed his foot up against
it, and started reeling. I thought the fish was going to pull him overboard. He’s pulling up. He’s reeling.
He’s screaming and hollering, “I won’t let go!” He’s yelling at the fish, “Bring it on!” I started helping
him, and he said, “Daddy, let go! I will not give up!” And he caught that big fish. He caught the thing
that outweighed him!

When I see the picture of my son and that fish, I translate that to a picture of faith. It’s his
generation that has a very significant battle ahead. By the grace of God, those of us who are moms
and dads and parents and grandparents, we will help our children stand their ground.

We must do this in the right way, in the right tone, at the right time. But stand your ground.
Don’t give in to the call to conformity. Stand right here. It’s an attack. It’s an affront. It is upon us.
It is in our culture. There is a day where the line is drawn, and we say, “No, this is what God says.
We will not give up, and we will not give in. We will stand our ground.”

TRUST IN THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

How else should we respond when the heat is on? This answer shouldn’t shock us too much.
It’s this: trust in the sovereignty of God. The story continues in Daniel 3:13–15. The three friends
are called to account for their actions, and the king lays down the gauntlet, “submit or face the
consequences.” In the presence of the king, they had an opportunity to recant, to change their mind,
to distort their actions, to justify them.

Consider what they could have said: “This is just a temporary bending of the knee. We’re not
forsaking the worship of Yahweh forever. We’re not required to become idolaters, but only bow
once. We can do that quickly with mental reservation and then confess it. God will forgive us.” Or
how about this: “We need to consider that the king has treated us well, appointing us to positions
of honor. This act of obedience would show our appreciation, even if it does strain our consciences
a bit.” Or “If we bow, it will be under duress, and we would simply be following orders.” Maybe
they could have said, “If we bow to the image, our lives will be spared, and we will continue to
occupy our strategic positions in government and be able, therefore, to help our people when they
need it. But if we refuse, we will be killed, and our people will be without our valuable assistance.”
The end could easily justify the means.
THE FAITH OF, “BUT IF NOT”

Nebuchadnezzar, after giving them another opportunity to recant, says, “What god is there
who can deliver you out of my hands?” Now read Daniel 3:16–18:

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O

Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning
this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your
hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O
king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden
image that you have set up.”

This is one of the finest displays of trust in the sovereignty of God in all of Scripture. They stated
God’s ability, but they also acknowledged—what if He does not? Very reflective of Job 13:15,
isn’t it? “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” They knew that God was sovereign whether the
result of their obedience was triumph or tragedy.

Dr. William Culbertson, former president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, years and years
ago wrote about this biblical story. Pay attention to the way he phrased this. He said:

Arraigned before the angry king, they are calm, respectful. . . It took
courage for these men to remain standing when everyone else on the
plain bowed. It is one thing to stand among the common people. It
is another to face the man who has the power of life and death. They
now stood near the doom announced by the king, but they stood
nonetheless. In this instant, it was good to stand in silence, but it
was better to speak of one’s confidence in God before the tyrant.
They had greater faith . . . “God will deliver us, but if not”—here, my
friends, is the paralyzing possibility—“but if not.” Suppose He
chooses not to deliver or He postpones His activity, what then? We
say, “God will work, but if not . . . God will heal, but if not . . . God
will answer our prayer in the way that we ask, but if not . . . God will
deliver, but if not.”. . . May we suggest that there is a greater faith
than one that asserts God will work. It is a faith that whispers, “Not
my will but Thine be done.”

It is not the man who arrogantly or boastfully proclaims that God

must work in a certain way who has the most faith. That is easy to
say. Suppose, for reasons known only to Him, God says no.
Hebrews 11 records that some women received their dead by
resurrection. In that same context it says, “Some were tortured,
 stoned, and sawn in two.” James was slain. Peter was delivered.
Sometimes God says no. Then to trust Him is the greatest faith.

Do not doubt in the dark what has been revealed in the light. How do we respond when the heat is
on? We stand our ground. We trust in the sovereignty of God.

The story wraps up rather quickly. In Daniel 3:19–30 we see that the three Hebrews are thrown
into the blazing furnace. We see Nebuchadnezzar looking in amazement at a fourth man in the
flames. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are pulled out unharmed, without even the smell of
fire on them. The author wants us to see that the God of Israel had indeed performed a great miracle.
And Nebuchadnezzar issues a new command, praising the God of Israel and ordering all to respect
Him.

REGARDLESS OF THE COST

How should we respond when the heat is on? It’s a simple question, and it’s another simple
answer. Submit yourselves to His service regardless of the cost. The words of Alister McGrath in
The Mystery of the Cross are very well posed:

Experience cannot be allowed to have the final word. It must be

judged and shown up as deceptive and misleading. The theology of
the cross draws our attention to the sheer unreliability of experience
as a guide to the presence and the activity of God. God is active and
present in this world, quite independently of whether we experience
Him as being so. Experience declared that God was absent from
Calvary, only to have its verdict humiliatingly overturned on the
third day.

As with the cross, sometimes, friends, our darkest hour may be God’s finest moment. It may
be there that He does His greatest work.

He calls us at all times when the heat is on to stand our ground, to stand on His Word, to trust
His sovereignty, and to submit ourselves to His service regardless of the cost.