Enduring Faith: Lessons from Samson's Life

"We know that the apostle Paul, in Romans 15, said that all of Scripture was written so that we might be encouraged and that we might endure. And, in a real sense, Hebrews is a book about being encouraged to endure. That's probably the occasion for the writing of the letter to the Hebrews -- the occasion being that there were some Jewish Christians who seemed to be abandoning Christianity to go back to Judaism." [00:42:06]

"And, in the context of the 1st century, that's maybe not so surprising, because the numbers of Christians were tiny compared to the number of Jews. So you had left a big, significant, influential religion in the Roman world to be part of a little insignificant religion. And Judaism had special privileges in Roman law to practice their religion, whereas Christianity, in the 1st century, was illegal in the Roman world; which meant, sometimes, Christians were persecuted, but all the time they had to worry about how the government was going to relate to them." [00:73:51]

"And so the whole book of Hebrews is, in a sense, a book about the right use of the eyes. And so it shouldn't surprise us that, eventually, the book of Hebrews comes to Samson as one of those who need to be an example to us of the right and the wrong uses of the eyes. And so Hebrews is, is almost a long sermon, calling on the people of God to persevere in the faith; not to drift away; to keep looking to Christ, who, as we'll read in Hebrews 12, is the 'author and finisher of our faith.'" [00:171:70]

"And, and what Hebrews is saying, in many, many ways, is, is the Christian life is a matter of trust. We have a family in our congregation in Escondido whose father was part of the Dutch resistance during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. And, on the last day of the German occupation of that part of the Netherlands, he sat his family down to dinner, and they read from Hebrews chapter 4 -- a call to perseverance in faith, and a declaration: 'There yet remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.'" [00:264:22]

"And that father went out and died on the last day of the German occupation. But what resonated in the ears of his family was that promise: 'There yet remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.' There is a life beyond this life for the people of God. It's a life we can't see. It's a life that's only promised. And so we have to hold on to those promises. We have to trust in those promises. And we have to look beyond what we can see." [00:313:26]

"Samson did not always avoid the fleeting pleasures of sin, and his life is representative that the people of God have to be on guard about that. The fleeting pleasure of sin can be seductive and deceptive, and we have to learn that. Samson learned it very slowly; learned it, finally, only at the end of his life. And so Hebrews is, is creating a whole spiritual picture here for us that is so critical." [00:473:55]

"And in particular, then, it says that we need to learn, as Christians, that strength comes out of weakness. Strength comes out of weakness. Hebrews 11, verse 34, where there's this whole -- better start reading up a little further than that. Let's start at Hebrews 11:32: 'And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of' -- here we are, in the book of Judges -- 'Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,' -- and what does all that mean? -- who 'were made strong out of weakness.'" [00:508:12]

"And Paul eloquently summarizes that in 2 Corinthians 12:9 and 10: ''My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.'" [00:605:30]

"And I think that word of Paul, illustrated in the life of Samson -- that he's really at his strongest when he's at his weakest and most humiliated -- is a really important lesson for us in America today, because American Christianity has had a long run of strength in our culture, but, about two weeks ago, I was in a bookstore (my wife always says, when we travel, we go from bookstore to cemetery, cemetery to bookstore), and I found a book there, just published, entitled The End Of White Christian America." [00:642:72]

"And I think we, as Christians, need to say at this moment, 'Alright. If we're going to be weaker, then let's pray to the Lord that that will actually be an occasion for us to be strong.' And let's act in love. Let's show the love of Christ, so that we'll win people to us. Let's not depend on having law enforce what we think is right. It'd be nice if that happened. But let's show how important Christian values are in living life, so that, in a world where the family is under attack, let's show families that're full of love, and stability and, and blessedness." [00:741:57]

"And I think that's what the New Testament is reminding us about -- that we need to, despite our weakness, to be consecrated to the Lord, to serve the Lord, to give our lives over to the Lord. And that's why, at the end of this list in Hebrews 11:38 -- a list that includes Samson -- we are told the world was not worthy of them. Now, you read the life of Samson in Judges, and you think, 'Well, maybe Samson wasn't worthy of the Lord,' but the Lord sees things differently. And Samson, for all of his faults, was a sinner saved by grace." [00:888:12]

"We are justified and made right with God by the work of Christ alone, which we receive as an act of grace alone, through faith alone. We contribute nothing to being justified and made right with God. But, at the same time, we are called to be a sanctified people, and to be growing in grace, to be growing in holiness by the strength of the Holy Spirit, to be more and more conformed to the image of the Son." [00:1212:19]