The Dichotomy Of A Drifting Samson (Saint)! - Part 1 Series

Text: Hebrews 11:32-34; Judges 14

Title: The Dichotomy of a Drifting Samson (Saint)! - Part 1

Proposition: Although Samson was predestined to be a deliverer of Israel, his life decisions caused him to drift away from the determined purpose and plan of God, into personal destruction. We will be doing a dichotomy = a step by step examination of how a saint drifts away from God!

Intro: You’ll remember last week I pointed out the parallels between Samson and a Christian:

a) Both product of miraculous births

b) Both have a divine mission and calling

c) Both are empowered by the Spirit

d) Both can experience a drift and a departure!

A primary purpose of the book of Hebrews is to warn us against this:

Hebrews 2:1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. -NIV

The text we have been working from to examine a life of faith:

Hebrews 11 (NIV) 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

And as I have pointed out to you before: that though the writer of Hebrews does not point out their faults, flaws, and failures in this chapter, the bible as a whole is not reluctant to do so. It paints a honest picture of the people recorded in this chapter of the successes, their mighty exploits, as well as their failures. It paints a picture of them proverbially speaking with warts and all!

And another thing that I pointed out in past weeks that the primary purpose of the book of Hebrews can really be expressed in this one verse which is recorded in chapter 2…

Hebrews 2:1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. -NIV

The consequences of drifting can be catastrophic!

Hebrews 6: 4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.- NIV

That is why we should seriously heed this warning!

Hebrews 3: 12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.- NASB

So let’s look at how this could happen by examining the life of Samson, The bible tells us that Old Testament history is written for this purpose:

1 Corinthians 10:11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Let’s look at…

The Dichotomy of a Drifting Samson (Saint)!

By first looking at….

I. Samson’s Conception & Childhood!

There are ninety-six verses in the Book of Judges concerning the life of Samson, twenty-four of those verses deal with his birth.

Why does the Bible say so much about the birth of Samson? Perhaps it is to emphasize the point that Peter makes about all believers…

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. -NIV

So when you consider Samson – you have to consider first of all..

A) His privilege’s!

1. He was born with a “spiritual silver spoon” in his mouth!

Judges 13: 2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.