Word In Life Study Bible
MODELS OF FAITH
Dan.2:48-49
God’s people often find themselves in the minority. For example, many believers run into values and practices in the workplace that go against godly principles. Likewise, many students encounter beliefs and ideas that run counter to the Bible’s teaching. How should people of faith respond when the surrounding culture seems hostile to faith?
There is no one “right” answer. In the Old Testament, God called the Israelites to develop their own society. He established laws designed to keep out pagan practices and influences. By contrast, New Testament believers were sent into the world to have an impact for God on the prevailing cultures.
Christians today must reflect carefully on their relationship to modern society, which has become increasingly secular and at times even hostile to the things of Christ. It might help to consider several examples in the Old Testament of people who were taken out of their “safe” environments and placed in rather hostile circumstances, yet still honored God.
There are many other models of faith in the Old Testament, but these have several things in common:
• They were all laypeople. They were not among the priests or Levites, and so had no “professional” reasons to exercise faith in their day-to-day work. Yet they carried out God’s purposes more faithfully than some of the professionals would have.
• They were all believers living in foreign lands. The environments were spiritually hostile and therefore a temptation to abandon God. Yet these believers did a better job of following the Lord in antagonistic societies than many of their contemporaries did back in the Holy Land, in a society that was supposedly conducive to spiritual life.
• They all remained committed to God, His people, and His Word. The pressures of the surrounding cultures seemed to harden their commitments, not destroy them. They seemed aware of a larger picture and purpose beyond their immediate circumstances, by means of which they evaluated the situation and made wise choices. While others around them caved in, they held on to fundamental convictions that governed their actions. As a result, Scripture presents them as models of faith worth emulating today.
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Models
of Faith in Hostile Societies
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Joseph (Gen. 37–47) |
Sold as a slave and taken to Egypt, but maintained godly character despite numerous setbacks. A model of integrity both in adversity and prosperity. |
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Daniel Shadrach Meshach Abed-Nego (Dan. 1–6) |
Taken to Babylon as captives of war and trained for service in a pagan government. Models of integrity and commitment to the Lord while carrying out duties for unbelievers. |
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Nehemiah (Neh. 1–6) |
A strategically placed official in the Persian court who was allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. A model of leveraging one’s position to accomplish God’s purposes while overcoming hostile opposition. |
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Esther Mordecai (Esth. 1–10) |
Two members of an ethnic minority who found themselves in a position to influence a godless king. Models of taking courage and acting wisely in order to withstand evil. |
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