How Sin Takes Over – The Story of Samson

Introduction

Good morning. If you open your Old Testaments with me to Judges chapter 16. Book of Judges, chapter 16. As you’re turning there, as we think about times past and we think about people we used to know, through video and pictures, we often have people’s memories indelibly printed on us, not just with how we experienced the different situations in life, but how we saw them in pictures, how we’ve seen them in videos, maybe of situations we’ve been a part of, and maybe of situations we have not been a part of. Oftentimes it’s even hard to understand what am I remembering versus what did I see in a home video? Have you ever had that problem? When you think about this church, it used to be involved in a television program many years ago, and there was an intro that would have pictures of various sides of the congregation, and it’s pretty neat to get to see old faces you haven’t seen in many years.

But it’s also a bit sombering to realize that some have passed on. And more sad yet, that some have fallen away. One of the most difficult questions that is often thrown into our minds is why do people sin? And we know that’s because they want to, but how do people who are good Christians fall away? How is it that people who are upstanding citizens in God’s kingdom trying to do what’s right, knowing that God’s way is not only best, but must be followed and submitted to? How is it that we find ourselves in a position where we fall away, where we reject God entirely? If anyone is a decent example of this, it’s Samson. In Judges chapter 16, of course, Samson is known for his account with Delilah, and that’s what we’ll focus on this morning.

But as we’re reading the story, consider in the back of your mind how sin took over the life of Samson. Samson was a tool in God’s chest that was done that did much good and particularly much bad against the Philistines and punishing them and waging judgment on them. If you go back to Judges chapter 13, though, you see how Samson was born, and you see what was unique, powerful, and different about Samson from any other child. Read with me in Judges chapter 13 first, beginning in verse 1. And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. And there was a certain man of Zora of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and had no children.

And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head. For the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. That is a very important verse there in verse 5. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite before or to God from the womb. And he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Then the woman came and told her husband, a man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome.

I did not ask where he was from, and he did not tell me his name. But he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. Samson was uniquely and particularly going to be a child of God’s, that was going to upkeep his holiness, that was going to be a part of the Nazarite vow. His head would not be shaven, there would be no drinking or uncleanness in him. From the time of his womb, as verse 7 concludes, until the day of his death. What’s interesting about Samson is what God said is true. At the end of verse 5, he would begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.

And we ought to know about big, strong Samson, from his exploits in chapter 14 and chapter 15, and how he defeated the Philistines and the exact ways and the very interesting stories in which he inflicted God’s vengeance on the Philistines, and when he inflicted his vengeance on them for their unrighteousness and judging them. But in chapter 16, the Samson, this participant in the Nazarite vow, who was uniquely blessed to his father Manoah and his mother, who previously was barren. In chapter 16, we see he’s not exactly doing what you would expect of a child set apart for God. In Judges chapter 16, Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went into her.

Them, verse 3 on his shoulders and carries them to the top of the hill. This was a powerful man who was blessed by God. He was a powerful man, not only in the sense of his physical brute strength which he had, but also the fact that he was blessed by God. But unfortunately, we see in verse 1 that he’s not exactly doing all that God would want him to. We see in verse 1 that Samson had gone to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute and he went into her. And of course, it’s not just there that the story continues. We see in verses 4 and 5, he falls in love with someone, to say the least, he should not have. In verse 4, after this, he loved a woman in the valley of Sorak, whose name was Delilah.

And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, Seduce him and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver. So that Delilah said to Samson, please tell me where your great strength lies and how you might be bound that one could subdue you. We think of Samson, we know the story of Delilah, how she’s going to try over and over again, and we’ll read it in just a moment, to take Samson’s strength from him, and all why? Because of verse 5. If she could do that, if she could find the secret, each of the lords of the Philistines would give her 1,100 pieces of silver.

We know that Delilah is a traitor. The ironic thing is Samson seems to by the end of this too, or at least he should if he was thinking right at all. And the truth is, as we go back for just a moment and we think about how sin takes over in our life. We start out like Samson. We start out as new babes in Christ being baptized, having our sins forgiven. We’re focused on serving God. We say, we’re not going to get caught up in unrighteousness. We’re going to focus on doing exactly what God has said. If God says not to, we won’t. If God says to go forward, we will. And we have that fervor. And we have that zeal. And we’re excited and ready to serve God.

But as time passes, we all do have our vices and mistakes that we make in the first three verses of chapter 16. No doubt Samson is doing so. But there’s a turning point in the story, and it starts in verse 4. After this, he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. It seems to be unknown exactly what nationality that Delilah was from, what nation she would have been near, but it does seem to be very important in verse 5 that the lords of the Philistines came up to her. They had access to her. In fact, it wasn’t just the wealth, but they were able to buy her services, you might say, to get Samson to give up his secret so that he could once and for all take down the mighty warrior of God and take down the people of God with him.

So perhaps she was a Philistine woman, perhaps she was an Israelite woman, perhaps she was a proselyte. All of these are ideas put forward in commentaries. But the truth of the matter is, whether she was an Israelite or a Philistine, as it turns out we know she couldn’t be trusted. We know she was out to get this man of God. But in verse 4, tragically, it says that he loved that woman named Delilah. When we think about sin, yes, we start out strong, we think about how we want to serve God, but then comes the true test, that thing which we love so much as we’ve become so accustomed to practicing, to enjoying, to living within our life. What happens then? What happens when we have to make that choice?

We know what Samson did. Delilah probes for Samson’s weakness beginning in verse 6 when she says, Please tell me where your great strength lies and how you might be bound that one could subdue you. And if you think that’s a weird question, I’m with you. But in verse 7, Samson gives her an answer. He says, If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber, and she said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson. But he snapped the bowstrings as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire.

So the secret of his strength was not known. Then Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound. And he said to her, if they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson. And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber, but he snapped the ropes off of his arms like a thread. Then Delilah said to Samson, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound. And he said to her, if you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.

So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made him tight with the pen and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson. But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pen, the loom, and the web. And she said to him, How can you say I love you when your heart is not with me? I find this fascinating that three times Samson would be tricked by Delilah into an actual ambush. She wasn’t just messing with his strength. Do you see that? It’s important to see this isn’t just some sort of lover’s conversation. In verse 7, he tells how he might be bound. If he’s bound with seven fresh bowstrings. And then what happens in verse eight?

The lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now, verse nine She had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. This was not Delilah and Samson. This was a group of Philistines constantly, three times ambushing Samson. If that sounds dramatic, please know that it is. You think Samson would know that this woman is not playing. This is not a joke. And undoubtedly Samson was strong and perhaps had some arrogance here, perhaps pride knowing that he could get out of any tight spot. But three times Delilah not only seeks to undo his strengths, but has the Philistines come and ambush him. This is a man who should have known something was up.

Can we say that at the least? In verse 15, though, she said to him, How can I how can you say I love you when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies. And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man. This is a tragic story in the sense that what should have been a man devoted to God, who should have had any amount of common sense to know what was going on through the ambushes, through the deceitful trickery, or even perhaps not even that deceitful, Delilah’s just outright acting, asking him, but the trickery and the traitorous woman that he loved.

But in verse 15, when she cuts at his heart and says, How can you say you love me? Note verse 16. This is the critical verse, not only in the story, but in our text for the lesson this morning. And when she pressed him hard with her words, day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. Now we could say that she beat him into submission, and he was tired of having that conversation. But the point is that last phrase, his soul was vexed to death. You ought to know the problem with sin is we don’t truly hate it. We don’t want to get rid of it. As Samson knew ambush after ambush after ambush, that Delilah was not just messing around, but that she was coming for him with the Philistines, that this wasn’t a play, it wasn’t a joke, it was a serious attack on his strength, pride or not withstanding.

This he loved this woman. And his soul was vexed to death, despite the fact she was outright trying to take his strength away, to allow him to be captured by the Philistines, he loved her. And so this decision to give up his secret, to give up his secret of his standing before God, even was put in the crosshairs, as his soul is vexed to death. You know what the problem was? It had become too real to him. This vice, this woman named Delilah, was so important to him that as verse 17 shows, he was willing to divulge his greatest secret. And of course, you know where the text would go from there, beginning in verse 18, you see this executed. When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she went and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.

Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. She made him sleep on her knees, and she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, The Philistines are upon you, Samson. He awoke from his sleep and said, I will go out at other times and shake myself free. But he did not know that the Lord had left him. And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to God’s eye, bound him with bronze shackles, and he ground at the mill in the prison, but the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

What happened out of his trust for Delilah? Because he loved her, because his soul was vexed when he was choosing between obeying God and not revealing his secret, not having his hair trimmed or shaved, and that woman that he loved so much despite all that she was doing. In verse 21, he was seized by the Philistines. His eyes were gouged out. And he was bound in bronze shackles and brought to Gaza. And we think, Samson, you fool.

1. We Must Never Flirt With Sin

It will come for us. It will take everything you want, everything God wants you to have, that is life with him, and it will leave you with nothing. Just like it did Samson. Consider, first of all, we must never flirt with sin. In verses 4 through 14, we read about Samson’s love for Delilah, this woman who time after time is trying to figure out his secret. At what point is enough enough? And we think about Samson, how come after the first time that there was an ambush in verse 9, that wasn’t enough for him to know, you know what? I’m going to stop being with this woman. How about in verse 11, when he talks about being bound with new ropes, and in verse 12, she took the new ropes and bound them on him, and the men again are lying in ambush within an inner chamber?

What about after the third time, when again she seeks his secret and he reveals it? But he awoke and was able to escape. Perhaps we think that we can be like Samson in a particular way that’s problematic. All three times that Delilah first tempted him, what was the result? Yes, she was tricking him, selling him out. Yes, the Philistines and the first two in particular were lying in ambush. But what was Samson able to do every time? Samson was able to escape. Don’t we kind of think that sometimes about sin? And we think, you know what? If I just have one or two drinks, or if I just sell this one or two different lies, or I just lose my temper, lose my cool, or I let my boss have it have the what for.

I treat my spouse like this, I treat my kids like that, I treat my parents like so. You know what? It’s just one time. It’s really not that big of a deal. And you know what? I can watch that movie that has that language. I can watch that video on YouTube because it won’t bother me. Samson, three different times, was able to escape. Now, granted, that’s because he fixed the game. But the truth is we often flirt with sin when God says we need to run at every opportunity. Look in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 22. In 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 22, Paul writes, Timothy, the attitude Christians should have about sin. What we should have about this attack that is being made on us as children of God.

In 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 22, rather than playing with it, rather than toying with it, frankly, rather than being deceited deceptive about it, flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness. Flee, youthful passions, flee, youthful lust, flee, go the opposite direction of. And not just that, pursue what? Righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Verse 23 have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies. You know that they’d read quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will.

Oftentimes we put ourselves right in the devil’s crosshairs in verse 26. We are seized, we are stuck, and we cannot escape because we put ourselves there. Sin cannot be tolerated. We must recognize we can’t play around with it. It’s like fire. You play with fire, you will get burned. That was good as the first time I’ve done it. When you think about 2 Timothy 2 and verse 22, though, it’s not just about fleeing youthful lusts. It’s pursuing righteousness, pursuing faith, pursuing love. Are we acting for God or not? Are we seeking God or not? If so, stop the sin. Start the holiness. Pursue righteousness. There’s a big difference in living for God and living like you know God exists. If you are living entirely for God, you will pursue faith, love, peace, and righteousness.

2. We Must Hate Sin

If you live knowing that God exists, you’ll try to do good things because you know there’s a judgment, and deep down inside you, that voice that knows the truth is going to tell you, you need to stop doing bad things and start doing good things. But we need to not be like Samson. We need to not play around with this. We need to say, God wants me to be holy, so I’m going to strive for that blameless perfection to which Jesus died that I might have. We must hate sin. You see that problem back in Judges chapter 16 and verse 16, that key verse I pointed out moments ago, when Delilah had pressed him hard with her words day after day and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.

And again, the question is, why did Samson not cut this cord at some point day after day? She’s having this opportunity, and guess what happens? After time, after knocking at the door, what does Samson do? The same thing I do if I allow temptation to hit me day after day, and I don’t remove myself out of the trial. He gives in. And why? Because his soul was vexed to death. His priorities were mistaken, and he did not hate the wickedness that was going to be upon him. The idea of the Nazarite vow was he was committed to God. That it wasn’t just about his strength. It was that he was committing himself in this particular role in this special way, going all the way back to Judges 13, that he would be a blessing from God to Manoah and his wife, to his father and his mother.

But in Romans chapter 12 and verse 9, Paul says, Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Doesn’t that sound a little bit like 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 22? Flee youthful passions, pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. We need to hate evil, and we don’t too often I, too often we laugh at it on our television screens. To me, it’s a travesty. The devil has worked so well that he has convinced Christians, me, us, to spend money going to watch movies that run antithetical to every cord in the Bible scripture. That is a travesty. And we invite it into our homes. We buy the movies, we keep the copies, we stream the videos, we watch the television, we read the books, we talk the way others talk.

We surround ourselves with people who reject God and we say, I won’t be burned. I won’t get caught. I can escape. What does a Christian do? A Christian hates evil. You realize the difference between a mature Christian and an immature Christian is one who recognizes what God’s will is. In Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 14, the mature Christian is one who has his powers of discernment trained to distinguish good from evil. And when we consider what that means for my life, that means I don’t laugh at things that aren’t funny. And things that aren’t funny are sin. The reason that Samson’s story in Judges 16 is such a big deal is because he was set apart for God, because it took the very strength with which he was conquering for God’s people.

Samson was a judge of Israel. And he fell. Noah is perhaps one of the greatest examples of a follower of God. And yet what happened with Noah at one point he allowed himself to be drunk. You think about all the Bible heroes of faith, and if we have enough Bible on them, they show where they struggled each and every time. We cannot play around with sin. We must recognize it for the evil that it is. I wonder if, instead of hearing a bad word, if every time a bad scene or a bad word or anything that we participate in in our conversations in our social groups or on the movie screen was something that would tear us apart from God, if that popped up and we had to choose, pursue righteousness or pursue youthful lusts.

How much garbage we would take in.

3. Sin Will Corrupt Even the Best of Us

We have to be looking. We have to be watching. Because without that we won’t recognize what the will of God is. Consider with me thirdly this morning. Sin will corrupt even the best of us. We talked about that with Samson. Samson was a judge of God. Samson was one. Do you think he didn’t know better? Of course he did. But he allowed sin to become prominent in his life. Remember one more time, verse 16, his soul was vexed to death. Now consider that. Consider Samson’s choice, where the next verse he reveals his secret to Delilah. He begins the process with which breaks his vow to God. And look at Matthew chapter 6. Consider Matthew chapter 6. And what Jesus says about treasure, what it says about our priorities, what should be first.

And Matthew chapter 6 and verse 19, beginning, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where neither thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body, so if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. Verse 24 no one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and mammon or God and money. When you consider these words of Jesus, these are profound, these are obvious truths. And if I preach the lesson on having our heart right, laying up treasures in heaven, that would be powerful and important. But we see what was Samson’s problem. Where was his treasure? It was where his heart was. Where was his heart? In verse 4, in verse 16 and 17, and the taunt from Delilah in verse 15, his heart, his love was with Delilah. Delilah was not bringing him close to God. Delilah was not helping the people of God defeat and keep the Philistines at arm’s length as God had commanded that they do. Rather, Delilah was going to sap his strength away and allow him to be captured, his eyes to be gouged and to be shackled in bronze shackles and carried away.

That’s what Delilah did to Samson. That’s what sin does to us. It takes everything and leaves nothing. Whereas God gives everything and takes nothing. Yes, we must sacrifice our lives. Yes, to lay up treasures in heaven is not as easy as some sort of mental goal. But when you think about what God has done, he has paid the price for our way to have forgiveness. He allowed Jesus to come and die on the cross for our sins. And so in verse 24, we just have to decide who will we serve, the devil or Jesus? No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. And we think for ourselves for a minute, I don’t always hate sin.

What does that tell me where my treasure is? If I’m a follower of Jesus, if God is first, what do I think of sin from verse 24? I will hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. Do I hate and despise sin? Do I hate and despise filth? If so, I will be seeking what is God’s will. How can I pursue righteousness? I will wonder how can I cling to what is good. I will be focused on laying up for myself treasures in heaven. I have to ask, where is my heart? It pains me to say Samson’s story, while tragic. Oftentimes we look at Old Testament stories and we consider them to be some sort of fables or fairy tales that we don’t understand.

This is real, this is inspired by God, this happened. And I can tell you, unfortunately, I’ve heard the same story today. One of my good friends who was preaching in Texas at the time, I was meeting with and spending some time in a car ride with, and he told me about a young couple that he was doing some counseling with, and the man who was going to marry this woman said, I know that she will not support my children being faithful. She says she will, but I know that she’s not. Now, this is the fiance talking about his soon-to-be wife. I know she will not support my children’s faithfulness, even though she says she will. This is a man who’s accusing his wife of basically lying.

He knows she will not be a good influence. She knows, he knows, excuse me, that she is not laying up treasure in heaven, and she will not help him do so with their future children. And when asked what he was going to do about that, the answer was marry her anyway. Hopefully, I haven’t heard an update. Maybe that he will be a good example. Maybe, like many of us who have family members and close relationships with people, friends, family, co-workers, he can teach her what God offers, how to be a dedicated Christian, someone who abhors what is evil and clings to what is good. But the truth is too often we act as if God doesn’t care when we know that God does. We act as though sin doesn’t pull us away from God.

When over and over in the scripture it shows us that sin separates us from our loving God. Over and over, we say that we believe in God, but we’re laying for ourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. It doesn’t matter what you say, it matters what we have done. It doesn’t matter what you think you believe, it matters what your body of work shows it to be. Our God is going to judge us. He’s going to judge us, yes, on our thoughts, but also on our actions. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10, we must all give account. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. God knows. When you think about Samson, we need to learn that we cannot play around with sin.

Conclusion

We not only must not play around with it, think that we won’t get burned, we must hate it for the evil that it is. And recognize that if we don’t, if we play with it, if we laugh at it, if we don’t hate it, it will corrupt even the best of us. Consider this morning, though, that the rest of the story in Judges chapter 16 does end with a little bit of happiness. Turn in Judges chapter 16 as we finish the lesson this morning and see about God and where he stands with Samson, the child of the Nazarite vow. In verse 23, the story continues of Judges chapter 16. Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon, their God, and to rejoice, and they said, Our God has given Samson our enemy into our hand.

And when the people saw him, they praised their God. For they said, Our God has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country who has killed many of us. And when their hearts were merry, they said, Call Samson that he may entertain us. So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them. Now the house was full of men and women.

And on the roof there were about three thousand men and women who looked on while Samson entertained. I want to point out before we see how this story concludes, did you see in verse 23 and in verse 24? Our God gave us Samson. Our God gave our enemy into our hand. Verse 24.

Our God delivered their God’s messenger. Verse 28. Then Samson called to the Lord and said, Oh Lord God, please remember me. Please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the Lord and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zora and Ashteal in the tomb of Manoah, his father.

He had judged Israel twenty years. Yes, Samson in Judges 16 made many problematic decisions. He trusted a woman who was out to get him from the beginning. He gave up his secret, he cheated on his vow to the Lord, and he was punished. Yes, he prayed for vengeance to be avenged for his eyes being taken out. But if you note that God heard Samson, and God heard that the Philistines were celebrating not God, not him giving up Samson, but their God for defeating the Israelite God. Their God, day God, for defeating Samson, the judge of what should have been faithful Israel. Our God is listening, our God is active, and if we trust in him, if we seek his holiness, if we trust in his ways, we can lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break and steal.

Do you trust in God? Do you believe in him? Consider if you come forward this morning, that our God who answered Samson’s call is here for you. The God of Samson, who gave him his strength, who gave him his power, who gave the Israelites the victory, is there. He wants you to be enveloped in his forgiveness, to be covered by his grace, if you will simply trust and obey. Consider if you believe in him, if you believe in Jesus the Christ, that he died on the cross for our sins and was raised to walk in newness of life. If you repent from your wrongdoing, you confess that Jesus is to be Lord in your life, you can be baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of our great and sacrificed Lord.

You can be one with God. And maybe if you’re a Christian this morning, maybe you’re a child of God, maybe you’re someone who’s considered to be faithful in some ways like Samson was, but you played with evil. You haven’t hated evil, and it corrupted you like it would have done and did Samson and so many others in the Bible story and in our lives today. Realize we can pray with you, we can pray for you. Our God is faithful, our God is just, and he is willing to forgive you if you trust and obey and you seek his will. If we can help you in any way this morning, come forward now as we stand and sing the invitation song.