Nebuchadnezzar
A careful reading of the book of Daniel may be a good, eye-opening experience for many self-proclaimed Christians these days. In it we are introduced to a tragic figure, Nebuchadnezzar. He was a pagan king who was very religious. He believed in many, many gods. More than that, he believed in the God of the Bible. His faith was flawed, however.
While he acknowledged that God is the most powerful God, capable of doing whatever He wants, he never seems to achieve the sort of faith that changed his life. In story after story, Nebuchadnezzar sees things that make him say God is the greatest, deserving praise and honor from all, he never seems to turn away from his many other gods.
More than anything else, though, Nebuchadnezzar was guilty of self-worship. He was his own God. He is ultimately driven mad until he confesses that God, and not Nebuchadnezzar, is deserving of all worship.
We do not ultimately know if Nebuchadnezzar became a child of God. However, we see many people professing a Christianity that resembles his form of faith than that which the Bible demands. They are of the opinion that God exists. They agree intellectually with the fact that Jesus was God and He died for their sins. They tell everyone that they should worship Jesus, and that he is the greatest. However, they tend to see Jesus as more of a charm than a Lord. They don’t take their devotion to Jesus to the extreme of actually doing whatever He asks of them. They simply interpret their faith in a way that justifies their own preferences in life.
Many “Christians” today are not followers of Jesus. They believe in a version of God that looks just like them and that does not require them to do anything other than what they already want to do. They do not look to scripture to learn how they should change, but rather to justify their already formed perceptions of the way they should live, and to help them tell everyone else that they should be just like them.
While he acknowledged that God is the most powerful God, capable of doing whatever He wants, he never seems to achieve the sort of faith that changed his life. In story after story, Nebuchadnezzar sees things that make him say God is the greatest, deserving praise and honor from all, he never seems to turn away from his many other gods.
More than anything else, though, Nebuchadnezzar was guilty of self-worship. He was his own God. He is ultimately driven mad until he confesses that God, and not Nebuchadnezzar, is deserving of all worship.
We do not ultimately know if Nebuchadnezzar became a child of God. However, we see many people professing a Christianity that resembles his form of faith than that which the Bible demands. They are of the opinion that God exists. They agree intellectually with the fact that Jesus was God and He died for their sins. They tell everyone that they should worship Jesus, and that he is the greatest. However, they tend to see Jesus as more of a charm than a Lord. They don’t take their devotion to Jesus to the extreme of actually doing whatever He asks of them. They simply interpret their faith in a way that justifies their own preferences in life.
Many “Christians” today are not followers of Jesus. They believe in a version of God that looks just like them and that does not require them to do anything other than what they already want to do. They do not look to scripture to learn how they should change, but rather to justify their already formed perceptions of the way they should live, and to help them tell everyone else that they should be just like them.
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