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FIVE KINDS OF CHRISTIANS- Lessons From Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

 Daniel 3:16- 18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said to the king, to Nebuchadnezzar, “it’s not necessary for us to respond in this matter. Your majesty, if it be His will, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and He will deliver us from you. But if not, rest assured, your majesty, that we won’t serve your gods, and we won’t worship the golden statue that you have set up. “(ISV)

PART ONE

 There are Christians who like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego believe that “our God is able to deliver us out of the fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand.” They do not go on to make the declaration in verse 18; “but if not, be it known unto thee that we will not serve thy gods or worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

Yes, they believe in the miracle working power of God not necessarily out of faith but because of what it does for them.
Thus they are ready to defy the king’s orders but only as long as God will deliver them from the fire. They will only make efforts and risk their skins for God as long as there is a physical, tangible, immediate reward. If not, then, “no, God, I’m sorry but I can’t.”

Such people are not faithful and do not understand what it means to have faith in God.  They have not come to the point where they can say with Job, “though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15). They are unable to say with Queen Esther, “if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16).

 Such people get discouraged easily and complain and murmur about the least thing that happens because they do not expect the way to be difficult. After all, they are Christians. Aren’t all things supposed to work together for their good?
How would some of us live our lives if we heard that there was no heaven anymore? Would we live careless lives because the reward we looked forward to doesn’t exist anymore? Or would we continue to do the right things? God wants us to be like these three men, who though they believed God could save them, would still have obeyed Him even if He did not. 

 Grace abounds. Amen.


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