Evangelism (Part IV)

Good, Better, Best God.

Daniel 6:19-21 (NIV)

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den.

20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"

21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever!

King Darius makes and interesting statement here: “has your God, whom you serve…” We can assume from this passage that Darius didn’t serve this God. Daniel was in an interesting pickle here.

He could correct Darius and say something like: “Umm king?! I ‘serve’ the One True God!” or he could let this miracle speak for itself. Daniel chose the latter and in verse 26 and 27, we find Darius’ response.

26 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.

27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."


Darius still didn’t really get it. In verse 26, it is translated ‘he {God} is the living God’ it could also be translated ‘he is a living God.’ I contend that this is a better translation because if Darius saw God as ‘the’ one true God, I believe there would be record of his conversion.

Still Daniel prospered, and was able to share his faith with many: including Darius. Also that day, Darius opened the door for Daniel to share the truth of God that couldn’t be shut.

I think that some Christians would cringe at Daniel’s approach here. After all, He didn’t put Darius in his place and set him straight that there was only one God and all others were imposters. Here is my theology question for the day: are we, as Christians, polytheistic or monotheistic?

This is a conundrum for us. We believe that there is one true God. We see Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as ‘Extensions’ of our one true God. We are monotheistic.

Yet God says this in Exodus:

Exodus 20: 2, 3

2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

This may ruffle a few theological feathers, but this clearly implies there are other ‘gods’. So what does monotheism really mean or imply? There are lots of theories on this, and it really comes down to this simple statement: nothing compares with the One True God. The little-g god’s can’t hold a candle to the greatness, majesty, and ability, of the Lord, Our God.

I’m sure some of you reading this are now thinking: ‘That’s all and good but what does this have to do with evangelism?’ It occurred to me that I don’t need to disprove the gods of other religions to validate that I serve the One True God. Remember Elijah taking on the prophets of Baal.

I Kings 18 36-38

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

Elijah didn’t have to prove that Baal wasn’t a real god (though he felt free to poke fun at them), he only needed to show that his God: ‘The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel’, was greater, and in doing so, made the existence of Baal a moot point.

How do we show the greatness of our God today? Does God fire down thunderbolts at our call? Not too often. The important point of this is in verse 36. “I have done these things at your command”.

The short of it is to let God worry about that and just follow His lead.

In life, the humanists, atheists, and agnostics are fully aware of how their ‘god’ is working out for them. We don’t need to point this out, or dwell on it. Sharing God’s love in a relatable way: in the face of their bitterness and distrust of our motives, is a great choice here. God is not worried about being dethroned, and we need not take offense or even be challenged by the rallying of the little-g gods. God doesn't need an advocate or apeasement because He is in charge.

We need to convey to them in a tangible manner, how the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is there for them: He loves, and yearns to have fellowship with them. When they have experienced the presence of the One True God, nothing else will compare.

Again I come back again to pointing to the scriptures and allowing the seeker to find not man’s answers but God’s.

God Bless
Doug