Samson – Fatal
Attraction (Sermon, March 3, 2019)
Samson is the last judge, the end of
the story – he is the “anti-peak”, the bottom of the spiral.
The story is layered like an onion:
- Samson, the man. His birth is foretold by an angel and he was to be dedicated to God – never to cut his hair or drink alcohol. He is set apart to God. Instead he is self-indulgent. He scoops honey from the carcass of a lion. This is a symbol of his life – he takes what is sweet, he takes what he wants. He has to have it. His vows are broken. His heart is fickle – he is more interested in the next pleasure rather than being faithful to God.
- It is also the story of Israel. Like Samson, Israel did not have time for God. They wanted to be like the people around them and this is what they pursued.
- It is a story about us. We may protest – but, like Samson and Israel, God calls us to be holy. We are fickle and desire more to fill our desires than to cling to God.
- It is a story about Jesus – really? Samson is an “anti-type.” He drives us to look for something better, a better savior – Jesus. The point is to make us long for something better. Samson's story ends with salvation. God saves his people at any cost and by any means. This is the story of the one who came to save us.
Thoughts
on Devotions – LD38
Q.
103
What is God's will for you in the fourth commandment?
J.
V. Fesko, in The
Rule of Love,
explains how the concept of Sabbath has changed during the story of
salvation. In the garden of Eden, Adam was to rest from his labors
and contemplate the goodness of God. After being delivered from
Egypt, the Sabbath was to remind God's people of his deliverance. All
along, however, it looked to God's eternal rest and proclaimed that
we enter that rest not by our works but by grace – that is, through
Christ's fulfillment of the required works. In this he notes that the
death penalty associated in the OT with breaking the Sabbath is still
in effect – if we try to enter on the merit of our own works
instead of resting in Christ's work we will merit death. The Sabbath
rest is a celebration of Christ's completion of the work required.
Our attitude to the Sabbath may be telling – is it an obligation or
is it a pleasure? Do we see it connected with Christ's work and our
salvation? DeYoung, in The
Good News We Almost Forgot,
emphasizes that we are no longer held to strict Sabbath
keeping. While Jesus kept the law perfectly, his discussion and
demonstration of the Sabbath was of a day of freedom and for doing
good. He notes that Calvin outlined three principles in regard to the
Sabbath: 1) one day in seven should be set aside for worship; 2) we
should trust Christ to provide for our material needs – we show
this by resting from our labor; and 3) we need to rest in Christ for
our spiritual needs and trust in him for salvation.
Monday:
The
Sabbath day of rest was established at the time of Creation, and then
was incorporated into the law of the covenant with Israel in the Ten
Commandments. Jesus, in keeping the Law, faithfully kept the Sabbath
(even though the Pharisees would beg to differ). In the new covenant,
the day of Christ's resurrection is defining moment that it became
the day Christians gather to worship, replacing the Sabbath as
outlined in the OT.
Genesis
2:1-3
The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in
them. By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been
doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been
doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he
ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation.
Exodus
20:8-11
“Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. For six days you
may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son,
or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or
your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. For in
six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all
that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
John
20:19-20
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples
had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they
were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them
and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he
showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when
they saw the Lord.
Tuesday:
The NT practice is to meet one day in seven to worship and do two of
the church's most important tasks – Gospel proclamation in the
preaching of the Word and teaching the “full counsel” of God.
Churches are easily distracted from these two important tasks – we
want to be attractive to the outside world, or sometimes we have just
lost our way.
1
Timothy 3:14-15
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to
you in case I am delayed, to let you know how people ought to conduct
themselves in the household of God, because it is the church of the
living God, the support and bulwark of the truth.
1
Tim. 4:6-11
By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters, you will be
a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the
words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
But reject those myths fit only for the godless and gullible, and
train yourself for godliness. For “physical exercise has some
value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for
the present life and for the life to come.” This saying is
trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. In fact this is why we work
hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God,
who is the Savior of all people, especially of believers. Command and
teach these things.
Wednesday:
The
Lord's Day is to be a “festive day” - a celebration! We rejoice
in hearing the Good News proclaimed, we participate in the sacraments
(signs and seals of our faith) and we take joy in meeting with
brothers and sisters in Christ – to encourage and be encouraged, to
be nourished as others use their gifts (e.g., teaching) so that we
can grow in the Lord.
Psalm
95:2
Letʼs enter his presence with thanksgiving! Letʼs shout out to him
in celebration!
Isaiah
58:13-14
You must observe the Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on
my holy day. You must look forward to the Sabbath and treat the
Lordʼs holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by
refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your
selfish pursuits and from making business deals. Then you will find
joy in your relationship to the Lord, and I will give you great
prosperity, and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your
ancestor Jacob.” Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.
Hebrews
10:23-25
And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one
who made the promise is trustworthy. And let us take thought of how
to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own
meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each
other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.
Thursday:
What are the things that God's people do when they gather on the
Lord's Day? They are largely the same things that we read about in
Acts when people gathered to worship: read the Word and hear it
preached and taught; celebrate the sacraments; pray together; and
bring offerings and gifts to support ministry and to care for the
poor (both physical and spiritual poverty).
Acts
2:42-44 They were devoting themselves to the apostlesʼ teaching and
to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Reverential
awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came
about by the apostles. All who believed were together and held
everything in common,
1
Timothy 4:13
Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to
exhortation, to teaching.
1
Cor. 11:23-25
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the
Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and
after he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body,
which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way,
he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new
covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in
remembrance of me.”
1
Tim. 2:1,8
First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and
thanks be offered on behalf of all people... So I want the men to
pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute.
1
Cor. 16:1-2
With regard to the collection for the saints, please follow the
directions that I gave to the churches of Galatia: On the first day
of the week, each of you should set aside some income and save it to
the extent that God has blessed you, so that a collection will not
have to be made when I come.
Friday:
The
Sabbath is more than we see just on the surface – I is also a
picture of what we have in Christ. It is a picture of the “rest”
that Christ has earned for us – and one day will experience fully
when He returns.
Hebrews
4:3, 8-10
For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I
swore in my anger, ʻThey will never enter my rest!ʼ” And yet
Godʼs works were accomplished from the foundation of the world...
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken
afterward about another day. Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for
the people of God. For the one who enters Godʼs rest has also rested
from his works, just as God did from his own works.
Saturday:
Jesus
called people and promised to give them rest – he has finished the
work of perfect obedience to God. When we trust in him we receive it
as a gift – we must rest, stop any ideas of earning God's favor on
our own. Jesus also gives us new hearts and we are free from having
to be slaves of sin. In Jesus we also have rest as his Spirit within
us produces fruit for God's glory. God's will for us is that we make
every day a Sabbath day – resting in Jesus by faith and rejoicing
in God's love for us.
Matthew
11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke
is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”
Acts
13:38-39
Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one
forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by this one everyone
who believes is justified from everything from which the law of Moses
could not justify you.
Romans
6:17
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed
from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to,
Romans
8:6-10
For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit
is life and peace, because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to
God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do
so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are
not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives
in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person
does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness.
Reading
between the lines...
Paul
tells us to submit to the governing authorities - “the powers that
be”. Authorities have been established by God. But since they have
been established by God as his servants, they are also answerable to
him. Their role is to execute justice. Jesus shows how power is to be
used in service – the Son of God became the slave of all.
Romans
13:1-7
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there
is no authority except by Godʼs appointment, and the authorities
that exist have been instituted by God. So the person who resists
such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist
will incur judgment (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but
for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will
receive its commendation, for it is Godʼs servant for your good. But
if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain.
It is Godʼs servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.
Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of
the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience. For
this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are Godʼs
servants devoted to governing. Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to
whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom
respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Mark
10:45
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The
world looks for God in two ways: 1) a miracle encounter, or 2)
rational proof. Paul recognized these two groups in writing to the
Corinthians. The Jews he was writing to wanted miraculous signs; the
Greeks were used to rational understanding. In both cases members of the group were setting the terms on which they would deal
with God. Paul says that God frustrates every such demand – in a
world of power lovers and wisdom seekers, God shows up on a cross! It
is scandalous - “stumbling block” is a translation of the Greek
term skandalon,
something that trips you up. The miracle lover is given weakness and
a bloody corpse on a cross. The wisdom seeker is given foolishness –
a God who dies. It is not what they want, but it is what God wants
preached. But to those called, Christ is the power of God and the
wisdom of God. This is the greatest miracle imaginable – someone
can stumble on the cross and say, “My Lord and my God!” and
recognize it as God's power and God's wisdom. Death is defeated
through dying; the curse defeated through condemnation. The Son
glorified in shame. The living God is not found in the human search
for power and wisdom – instead he serves and dies. He does not
enforce our goodness; instead, he forgives our badness. The stumbling
block is more wonderful than what we can imagine.
1
Cor. 1:22-25
For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, but we
preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the
foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of
God is stronger than human strength.
People
try to distract themselves from their feeble and mortal condition. In
Paul's letter to the Corinthians he tells them to “stay put” –
he gives three reasons: 1) remember your calling – God has called
us into fellowship with the Son. If we are not content in that,
changing our circumstances will not make a difference. We are to flee
from sin, but not from our situation. 2) Mission – as we build up a
witness in our station we can have a tremendous impact. 3) Because
“the time is short” - don't live for our earthly circumstances;
instead, live for “that day”. The message is not that our time to
live is running out, but the time is short and then at the end of
that time we will really live in the resurrection. We should look for
contentment in Christ. If we are in difficult circumstances we can
pray that we will have relief or be taken out of them, but that is
not our “hope”. Instead we seek to know Jesus in the place that
we are and to serve him there – take heart! The time is short.
1
Cor. 7:17
Nevertheless, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called
each person, so must he live. I give this sort of direction in all
the churches.
1
Cor. 1:9
God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his
son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
“All
things to all men” does not refer to slick marketing campaign or
devious social strategy – instead Paul is presenting a mission
strategy of deep integrity which seeks to honor something far deeper
than cultural expressions. In every situation Paul adopts cultural
practices that are appropriate so that he can engage the person
before him. Because he belongs to Christ, Paul is free from the
claims of culture and can be flexible, and uses that flexibility and
freedom to serve others so that some might be saved. But in all of
this Paul's true allegiance and commitment is to Christ – his
constant phrase is “in Christ”. His vision is that the Gospel is
big enough to touch all people and that one day he will sit down at
the feast with people of all cultural backgrounds. Paul is following
Jesus in this endeavor – Jesus went so far as to become one of us
in offering us salvation. We too can take this strategy in reaching
out to all types of people that we encounter.
1
Cor. 9:19-23
For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in
order to gain even more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew to
gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law
(though I myself am not under the law) to gain those under the law.
To those free from the law I became like one free from the law
(though I am not free from Godʼs law but under the law of Christ) to
gain those free from the law. To the weak I became weak in order to
gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all
means I may save some. I do all these things because of the gospel,
so that I can be a participant in it.
Psalm
23, John 1 and 1 Corinthians 13 are some of the most recognizable
parts of the Bible. People see 1 Cor. 13 as a scriptural “bubble
bath” - warm, soothing and inoffensive. But it was a strong rebuke
when read by the Corinthians. The first paragraph revoltionizes our
thinking – Paul is saying that without love our spirituality is
bankrupt. Impressive gifts without love are just noise. Impressive
gifts of teaching or leadership without love are nothing. Gifts
without the Spirit – manifest in love – are nothing. Without
love, gifts are nothing. Is he saying put the gifts aside and focus
on sacrificial service? He is not saying that either – love is
still what qualifies the service as worthy. Love is the source and
substance of the Christian life. We are loved by Christ and because
of this we love others. The question to ask is, “Is the love of
Jesus in you and does it come out of you?”
1
Cor. 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have
love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy,
and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so
that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I
give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to
boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit.
1
Cor. 13 is dynamite, exploding all our ideas about spirituality. Love
never fails. We often can act loving to a certain point, but when we
are faced with one thing too many, we lose it. When love is
flourishing, boasting and envy are not issues – but they are huge
issues for us. So what does that say about us? We must consider what
Paul is describing – it is not an abstract noun with lots of
adjectives to make it look really great. But love here is a concrete
living thing that performs actions. Love is a power; love is a
person. Christ exemplifies this in Gethsemane – he is overwhelmed,
yet says yes to the fierce suffering that brings us peace. He exceeds
all adjectives in the list – he never fails. We ask “what is
love?” The better question is “who is love?” Love is a person –
we love because he has first loved us. Love is first down to us, and
then is done in us and through us.
Paul
is not assessing the level of love a person has – either one has it
or one does not. Either you have Jesus or you do not.
1
Cor. 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag,
it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is
not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice,
but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1
John 4:19
We love because he loved us first.
We
think of the present as reality. Paul says that when we compare our
current life to resurrection life in Jesus, the present experiences
are not the substantial ones. Paul uses 3 illustrations to compare now
and then. In verse 10 he calls the future “perfection” - all
things have come to the goal and completion. Verse 11 describes the
future as maturity. Paul says that we are like children now compared
to our wisdom and maturity in the resurrection. In verse 12 Paul
talks about seeing “face to face”. It describes openness,
adoration, intimacy with Jesus. Now we see “through a glass darkly”
- we see Christ but things can be indistinct or confusing. We think
that we are now seeing in technicolor, but Paul says that we cannot
even imagine what it will be like then.
1
Cor. 13:8-13
Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside;
if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will
be set aside. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but
when what is perfect comes, the partial will be set aside. When I
was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside
childish ways. For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we
will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know
fully, just as I have been fully known. And now these three
remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
