Allow me to recommend this excellent sermon by Brian Schwertley on Daniel 1:

SermonAudio.com - Daniel's Separation from World

Here is a summary:

1. Context of the first chapter of Daniel

2. The role of education in Babylonian Statism

3. Daniel's respect for pagan civil rulers - Christians are not to be anarchists, social change is through regeneration not ungodly revolution

4. Daniel's refusal to compromise - often Reformed people have a lot of knowledge, but lack obedience; Daniel had both

5. How we can avoid sin by pre-meditatively thinking about our actions should a situation arise in the future - we can do this through carefully thinking upon the Scriptures in our daily Bible studies

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Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)