“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.”

Daniel 1:8

We become effective witnesses when we have bottom line convictions. 

Intro:  Two things disturb me.  The first is when a person who calls themselves a Christian lives and acts like any other person in the world.  They reject the Bible’s teaching on spiritual and moral issues.  They swear and tell off color jokes.  They are not afraid to flirt with people other than their wives.  They lie and cheat and steal.

              The second is when people who call themselves Christians get up on their soapbox and portray a Christ that is so different than the one I see in the Bible.  The group that came and picketed military funerals because the US supports gay rights is one extreme example.

William Adam said, "Certainly it is a world of scarcity. But the scarcity is not confined to iron ore and available land. The most constricting scarcities are those of character and personality."

              I want to be effective as a witness for God.  I am convinced that either extreme is not what God wants from me.  Nor will either extreme be successful in bringing people to a wonderful savior.

              I have opinions and convictions. I view life like running a marathon:  On certain issues I will not quit.

              The Bible is the Word of God.

              There are many roads to Jesus, but Jesus is the only way to God.

              I don’t want to sin.

Sometimes we find our convictions in times of crisis.

              Facing death or tough sickness.

              Facing moral temptation

              Facing financial decisions

              The world respects people of conviction.  They don’t respect hypocrisy, but conviction is another matter.

“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.” Daniel 1:8.

              The background was Leviticus 20:23-26.

“23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. 24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations. 25 “‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground--those which I have set apart as unclean for you. 26 You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” Leviticus 20:23-26, NIV.

                            The diet was not for health, though it was healthy

                            The diet was to symbolized the difference between clean and unclean

                            The diet was to symbolize the separation between Israel and other nations.  It is what made Israel different.

You hold Biblical convictions.  If you are a Christian, you believe in God.  You believe Jesus was the second person of the trinity,  God the Son.  You believe he came and died on the cross for sin.  You believe he rose again.  You believe that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ and not by any works we could ever do.  Salvation is a gift of God, not a payment for a good life.

Don’t be afraid to speak up about godly convictions you hold.

              If you are in school in a discussion of evolution, don’t be afraid to let out that you believe in creation.

              If you are at the water cooler and people are downing marriage, don’t be afraid to stand up for Biblical marriage.

              If someone offers to pay you “under the table” don’t be afraid to ask for a check and a receipt.

              If you make a promise, resolve to keep it.

              If you are struggling with a secret sin, resolve to be done with the sin.  Expose it to someone you trust and have them hold you accountable.

I heard a report a while ago that said that one reason that Russia allowed in evangelical Christian missionaries was that new converts became honest, worked hard and produced better.

              When we have convictions and live them out, we become noticed.  We are not noticed because we want to be noticed, we are noticed because the Christian life is not the same as the life of the world around us.  Our motivation is different: we live to glorify God.  Our actions may be different: we follow the teachings of the Bible. 

              Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the people who go to this church were known in the community as being honest, hard-working, helpful, moral people? 

              Being a person of conviction, along with whatever God has given us at birth or has allowed along the way, will become a backdrop for our ability to be an effective witness for Jesus Christ.

              Imagine that Daniel did not take this stand!  Nothing would have distinguished him from all the other smart people he worked with.  Nothing in his life would have been a light to king Nebuchadnezzar. 

              And so it is with us.  Our convictions, our character, are essential to our effectiveness as a witness.

              Selah!