There is a lot of bending of God's laws today. There’s a lot of things going on even among Bible believers today that are against the law of God. We hear a lot about the so-called New Calvinism. What is New Calvinism? Well it’s a sudden fashion to adopt the doctrines of grace and the doctrines of the Reformation, while not taking on board the moral obligations and all the duties. So those people who would call themselves new Calvinists have all kinds of things they let slip; they put to one side. They want to relax the rules of the Christian life and the rules of Scripture. They call it unnecessary, or secondary, or even legalism. But the Lord won’t greatly use them, and he’ll warn them, but the outcome will be bad, because in this chapter 1 of the Book of Daniel, who is used? The people who would not compromise, resulting in disobedience to God; the people who purposed in their hearts and were truthful before the Lord, who touch not the unclean thing. We have to leave worldliness well alone. Friendship with the world is enmity with God, and we don’t forget that. We will accept the penalties and the difficulties and the derision, and God will use us and bless us. We proceed by faith.
Will there be a great test for you this week? Will you stand? Will you fall? As the years have gone by we have seen a lot of young people come and go, people with great promise, teens, early teens and early twenties. What will happen to them? Will they stand? Will they be significant in the Lord’s service? Will they be fruitful for him? Whether they stand, or whether they fall is all to do with this: faithfulness to the Lord. Will they go into the world and be absorbed by it, and be of no great consequence, even if the truly saved? How will they proceed? The secret is all here in Daniel chapter 1; that's where it starts. This massive test, and he stood, and some others stood with him, and were they blessed.
We are faced with temptations to buy unnecessary possessions, to mollycoddle ourselves, tickle the fancy, or to purchase some status symbol acquisition for others to admire, or we give way to ambition. We are tempted to comfort or entertainment, or to acquire some unnecessary electronic device. You have opportunities to witness, but giving way to such temptations will torpedo it all. The unbeliever will say that you need these things as much as he does. How does devil try to draw us aside if converted? He will do it intellectually as for these youths. Throw in doubts – plausible, intellectual assaults. But also to entice in some area of pleasure. This would affect them and make them want all this for constantly. If you never ration yourself, it weakens you and draws you away. So there is a twofold attack: on the intellect and through personal pleasure.