Daniel 1:1-8: The Principles You Decide Before the Pressure Comes

September 08, 2026

Up next

The Lost Site of the Tabernacle...Have We Found It? | Big Update

September 4, 2026

00:00 31:31

Listen on Your Favorite App

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

RSS

Here's a question worth sitting with: what are the principles you actually live by? In this message I look at Daniel. They changed where he lived, what he studied, the language he spoke, and even his name. But the text says he had resolved not to defile himself (past tense). He didn't develop those convictions under pressure. He arrived with them.

CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell)

CHECK OUT: Consider Supporting the Ministry! (https://seanmcdowell.org/give)

*Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf)

*USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM)

*See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK)

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/

Website: https://seanmcdowell.org

0:00 — What principles do you actually live by? 1:15 — A lesson from my dad 3:06 — Daniel: a man of principles 6:08 — Daniel 1: the siege of Jerusalem 11:01 — Why Babylon actually won 13:42 — Chosen for the king's court 17:16 — Living somewhere unsympathetic to your beliefs 19:38 — They changed his name 21:09 — Why the food? 23:59 — What hills will you die on? 25:43 — Jana and the assignment she wouldn't do 27:20 — An athlete who walked away 29:31 — What Os Guinness told me about legacy 30:56 — Decide before the pressure comes

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

More Episodes

See all episodes

Meet Your Host

Sean McDowell is a professor of Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He has earned two Master's degrees in philosophy and theology and his Ph.D. in Apologetics and Worldview Studies. He is the author, editor, or co-author of more than 20 books, including "More Than A Carpenter," "Chasing Love," "End the Stalemate," and "The Fate of the Apostles." Sean has one of the top apologetics YouTube channels with over 340k subscribers. He is an internationally renowned speaker and he is on the teaching team at his home church in southern California.