Tony Evans - Saints in a Secular Society
- Watch
- Donate
Drawing from the story of Daniel, Dr. Tony Evans warns that Christians are living in a modern «Babylon"—a rapidly devolving culture seeking to rename and reshape them. The key to standing firm is to be intentionally «stamped» with God’s identity (like Daniel’s God-centered name) from childhood and to establish clear, non-negotiable boundaries that honor God, even within secular society.
Living in a Modern Babylon
You and I are no longer living in the same country that your mother gave birth to you in. You and I are witnessing, at warp speed, the devolution of a nation. You’re watching the unraveling of a culture spiritually. While there’s always been evil, always been sinful people, always been bad things, they used to be called that.
I regularly hear on television that the opinions of the people are shifting, that they no longer view things as they used to view them. The great tragedy is that the opinions of Christians are shifting with them, as though God checks with polls before He decides what is legit versus illegit. As long as we keep church in the four walls, that’s fine, but the moment you try to be Christian out there, you now become a problem.
This was the situation in the Book of Daniel. Verse 2 says, «The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,» that is, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon. Babylon is a secular society, a pagan society, led by a man named Nebuchadnezzar. When God’s people rebelled against God, He turned them over to secularism. That’s where the story unfolds.
He turns them over. He takes the vessels from the house of God, he invades the church, he brings them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God. So, the secular god takes over the Christian God. Then the king makes an order, verse 3, to Ashpenaz, the chief of the officials, to bring some of the sons of Israel—the crème de la crème, the cream of the crop, including some from the royal family and the nobles.
Youths, teenagers, in whom there was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding, discerning knowledge, who had the ability for serving in the king’s court. And he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. In other words, «Let’s get the next generation. Let’s reshape their thinking into who we are, not where they came from. Let’s get church up out of them, let’s get their God away from them, and let’s reorient them.»
The Babylonian Strategy: Isolate, Re-educate, Rename
So how do they do that? The first thing they do is isolate them from their spiritual heritage. They remove them from Israel, from the house of God, to Babylon, to the house of idols, and they relocate them in order to re-educate them. Now, if you’re going to a Babylonian school located in a Babylonian city, by Babylonian teachers, reading Babylonian literature, then you’re going to start to think like a Babylonian.
You’re going to start to think like the culture’s influence on you. And then, let’s add a little something-something to it. Let’s entertain them. In verse 5, «the king appointed for them a daily ration of the king’s choice food and the wine which the king drank.» And then let’s do something else. Let’s rename them. Their names coming out of Israel, verse 6, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
But we’re going to rename them. And look at the names: the names are Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. In other words, they’re all Babylonian names. «We’re going to give you a secular name 'cause you’re part of this secular culture.» So right now we have to raise the question: why did they have to change the guys' names? Why can’t you just call them what their mama called them? Why we got to change the name?
So, let’s learn a little Hebrew right now. Two of the Hebrew boys' names back home when they were born and their mama named them was Daniel and Mishael. Please notice that those two names end with «-el.» The other two, Hananiah and Azariah, their names end with «-iah.» So now we learn a little bit about their mama and their daddy, 'cause they’re the ones who named them.
The ones whose name begins or ends with «-el»: «El» is the Old Testament word for Elohim, God. It’s the singular of the plural. «In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.» That’s plural because God is plural in His person. It’s a majestic plural. God is three persons composed of one God, or making one God three different persons, making the singular God Elohim.
But if you just want to designate it singular… God said, «let us make man» (plural), then He said He made man (singular). So you can make Elohim the plural God, or you can use «El.» «-iah» is «Yah.» Hallelu-*jah* means «praise *Yah*.» *Yah* means God. So those two boys were named after Jehovah—come on now—which is God’s self-revealing name.
The Power of a God-Stamped Identity
So now we learn a little bit about these four boys' mama and daddy. They wanted these boys to be baptized with God’s name so that they could never get away from God, 'cause every time you call their name, they had to be reminded of «El» or «Yah.» They had to be reminded that they had a God-stamp on them. Your job, mothers and fathers, is to stamp your children with God so that when they go to Babylon, their name has already been stamped on them.
They can’t go any time—Daniel, Azariah, Mishael, Yah—any time they will call, «God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, I keep bumping into God.» Now, I know some of your kids are fussing that you make them go to church. I understand that. But the reason why you should be making them go to church—if they get a vote, you’re a bad parent.
If your kids get to vote while they’re in your house on whether they go to church, you are an embarrassment to the kingdom of God. They don’t get a vote. You didn’t ask them to vote whether they go to public school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday just 'cause they don’t like school. Why? Because you know that an education is essential to their well-being and being productive in an American capitalistic society.
Well, if they don’t get to vote on eight hours a day, five days a week, how do they get to vote on two hours once a week? My father never gave me a vote: «Do you want to go to church today?» Not unless I lied and pretended like I was sick, and even then I had to prove it. They don’t get that vote. Why? Because when Babylon captures them in college, when Babylon captures them in society, when Babylon captures them by media, you want to make sure they got an «El» or a «Yah» on their name.
In fact, the only reason some of us are in church today is 'cause Mama made you go to church. You got all misdirected at Babylon, but you couldn’t get away from «El» and «Yah,» and so God had something to reel you back in on. You should be not only saying «go,» but «what did you learn?» and «what were you taught?» and «let’s review it,» and «let’s memorize it,» and «let’s rehearse it,» and «let’s have devotions on it.»
'Cause when Babylon gets them, it’s going to try to rename them. «Oh, let’s forget this 'El.' Let’s forget this 'Yah.' You’re now in Babylon; we’re going to give you a secular name 'cause you’re part of this secular culture.»
Daniel’s Decision: Establishing Boundaries
«But Daniel made up in his mind he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank.» Daniel says, «I got my limitations.» But Daniel made up in his mind—that is, he established a boundary. Have you established a boundary for your kids? In fact, have you established a boundary for you on your job?
But Daniel, now, what exactly was Daniel thinking when he set up in his mind? Come on, Daniel, what’s wrong with eating food at the king’s table? Got to eat somewhere; the king’s going to take you to lunch. What’s the problem? Remember, Daniel’s last name—the last part of Daniel’s name—is «-el.» God.
I can tell you what Daniel was thinking, 'cause see, he’s raised in a theocentric, theistic, God-centered environment. He’s probably 15 or 16 years old when we read about him in Babylon, so he’s had 15 or 16 years being raised in the house of God by a family that wanted to remind him that he belonged to God, that was instilling him with God. He had that.
And I know exactly what he’s thinking. He’s thinking: uh, Exodus 34:14–15. «For you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.» He doesn’t like competition. Otherwise, verse 15, «you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice.»
Daniel «Googled» food in a foreign land up top: Exodus chapter 34, verses 14 and 15. «I am a jealous God, and in the foreign land they’re going to try to feed you food that has been sacrificed to a foreign god and then ask you to come eat with them.» You ought to be smart enough, Daniel, to know this food is not just about eating; this food is about fellowshipping around their god.
'Cause we’ve already been told in verses 1 and 2 that he took out of the house of God and brought into his house that served his god. He knew the food had been offered to a god, so he knew to fellowship around the food was not just to eat; it was to fellowship with Babylon’s god. Watch out when they invite you out to dinner. It may not only be about food.
Like people who do business deals around food: «Let’s have lunch to discuss the deal.» Daniel knew, «Let’s have food to discuss the god.» He knew that this was about eating about idolatry, about the worship of another god. And I hope you understand that’s what the culture is offering you today in the name of secularism, in the name of political correctness. What they’re offering you is another god.
In Babylon, But Not Of It
He would not eat the king’s food, but he *did* take the king’s job. Because God is not asking you to isolate yourself from the culture. I mean, you got to work somewhere; you got to earn money doing something. He even wound up going to the king’s school for three years. He went to a secular university. The issue is not, did he go to a secular university? The issue is, did he lose his identity in a secular university?
The issue is not that he worked on a secular job; the issue is, did he lose his identity on the secular job in which he worked? The problem is not that he worked that job; the issue is that the job didn’t work *him*. Daniel said, «I’ve got my limitations. I’m going to work for you, I’m going to do good for you; the company’s going to benefit because I’m here and working hard and being productive. But you have to understand, I have my boundaries.»
College student, your friends ought to know: «There are certain parties I don’t go to. I am identified with God, so there are certain things I don’t go to, there are certain things I don’t participate in because they have religious connotations against God.» And he took his stand. Now watch this verse 9: «Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials.»
Okay, wait a minute. Stick with me here. In verse 8, *but* Daniel. In verse 9, *now* God. You don’t get «now God» until you first get «but Daniel.» Everybody wants God’s favor, God’s compassion, God’s blessing when they’ve made absolutely no commitment. They haven’t said, «I’m taking my stand with God,» and then see, «now God.»
We want to see God *now*, like we want to be blessed first, and then we promise what we’re going to commit after we get blessed. That’s called backwards Christian soldiers. Daniel takes a stand: *but* Daniel. And then you see God: *now* God. «God blessed me on my job when nobody knows you’re a Christian?» But remember the verse? The verse says, «I am a jealous God.»
So whenever we join the world and then still expect God’s blessing, that’s a contradiction. You can’t join the world that’s offering you a competitive god and at the same time say, «Lord, bless me.» Every Sunday people come to church, «I want my blessing,» when they go out on Monday they eat the food of another god. Verse 8 comes before verse 9. I don’t miss this. Don’t miss this. Don’t miss this.
The Order of Faithfulness: «But Daniel» Before «Now God»
It says, «*But* Daniel made up his mind.» God didn’t make up his mind for him. God’s not going to make the decision for you. He will honor the decision if it’s the right one made, but He will not make the decision *for* you, because then you’re no longer the free agent He created you to be. But He will respond to the right decision.
You’re saying, «God, bless me in my career,» and God’s trying to see whether you’ve made up your mind. Are you taking Him into that career, or you just want Him to bless you even though you’re going to forget Him in your career? This is radical stuff. It used to not be radical stuff 'cause a lot of the people that were around you were like you.
Now you will find yourself like Daniel and the three Hebrew boys: the odd man out. To make up your mind and not go with the crowd and not be politically correct, you’re going to find yourself the oddball. Let me tell you now, when you don’t go with what’s politically correct, when you seek to be a Daniel in a Babylon and still retain the «-el» on your name—I ain’t talking about going to church; I’m talking about not compromising with the standards of God in order to be accepted by the culture.
Oh, but I love verse 9, 'cause verse 9 says, «*Now* God.» After we get a «*but* Daniel,» so give God a «*but* Betty,» a «*but* Ralph,» a «*but* Ruth,» a «*but* James,» and let’s see what a «*now* God» looks like. I see what «*now* God» looks like when He sees you have made up your mind. Student, when you go to that secular university, let’s see what God can do with you when He sees you made up your mind, and then He comes in on the back end saying, «*Now* I can do something with that, because I understand that you made a decision for me in a secular society.»
Raising Children of Conscience in a Culture of Decline
America is primed for decline. You’re watching a generation without conscience. I hope you’re seeing it. All this stuff that you’re seeing kids doing at younger and younger ages is because they have no conscience. They don’t have a sense of, «this is wrong; this is shameful.» They don’t feel that bad about it because all the culture out there has made it sound like it’s okay, and everybody’s doing it, and you don’t have to feel bad about it, and it’s no longer sinful, it’s no longer evil, it’s no longer something you should refrain from, it’s no longer something you should say, «That’s not right; yeah, I did it and it was wrong.»
It’s now the *in* thing. And yes, you *are* going to look weird because you’re living in a culture that says it’s no longer weird, so you’re going to look strange when you make up your mind that that’s not how I roll, 'cause I got «-el» on the back of my name or «-iah» on the back of my name.
And how did you get «-el» on the back of your name and «-iah» on the back of your name? And then you can say, «Let me tell you about my mama and my daddy. They named me so every time I looked up, it was 'God this' and 'God that, ' and 'Jesus this' and 'Jesus that, ' and 'the Bible this' and 'the Bible that.'»
Yeah, your kids aren’t going to like it. It’s going to get on your nerves. But when Babylon tries to own them, you’ve given them a name to remember and something to reel them back in if they depart. «Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.» You will give God a fishing reel and a line to reel them back in on.
So don’t think you’re wasting your time when you pray with them and pray for them and ask them, «What did you learn in Sunday school?» and have devotions with them. I know they’re falling asleep. I know they’re not paying attention. I know it looks like they are not interested. But if you give them «-el» on the back of their name, «-iah» on the back of their name, you have given them something for God to use when Babylon takes over.