For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14
Several years ago, I saw a t-shirt that read, “Go against the flow; any dead fish can float downstream.” This statement is a good illustration of the Lord’s demands for His people, as the call of the gospel is thoroughly countercultural. As time passes, more and more people have declared war on the Christ who died for them and those who dare to follow Him. This should come as no surprise as Jesus warned, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).
In a similar vein, Peter told his readers, “Beloved I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” . (1 Peter 2:11-12).
Sadly, so many Christians today have lost sight of the need to maintain purity in their lives. They have chosen to go with the flow rather than keep themselves unspotted by the world (James 1:27). They try to be a friend of God and the world at the same time, but James is clear that such cannot be done (James 4:4-5). Why is this tragedy of eternal significance taking place? Why are so many willing to sacrifice their souls to blend in with the culture?
I make no pretense to have the answer for all who so choose. Some claim it is just impossible to live the kind of lives God requires in the current culture. Perhaps in a bygone era in these United States, when the culture was more conducive to Christian moorings, they would be able to remain pure. This may make those who surrender to the demands of our culture feel as if they are excused, but a look at the history of God’s people reveals the futility of such thinking. People have always been hostile to the will of God, yet the faithful have always endured the pressure. In fact, that is what true faith is.
The prophet Daniel is one of the most obvious examples of the ability to maintain purity amidst a crooked people. He was taken from his home and his people while a young man to be transformed into a Babylonian. (Daniel 1:4-5-youth ESV). No one knows his exact age, but most scholars believe he was a teenager. How many of our children go away to college and become entangled in the ways of the world? How many adults practice sinful things while away from other Christians? These things ought not to be.
Daniel offered the solution to this problem as a young man who was able to remain faithful while living in a hostile environment. He was able to do so because he “…purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank…” (Daniel 1:8).No doubt he faced major challenges to his faith. No doubt he had moments of weakness. Yet, in the end, he remained faithful despite his surroundings. We too are called upon to be “…blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).We must go against the flow because any dead fish can float downstream.