Was Mighty SAMSON “Ungodly”?
Samson was called by the LORD before his mother even conceived to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (Judges 13:3-5). He led Israel for 20 years after 20 years of oppression by the Philistines (15:20), not as a king, but as a ‘judge’ in the sense of a fierce warrior who judged Israel’s foreign rulers as evil and boldly delivered them. The entire account of Samson is just four chapters, Judges 13-16.
The extraordinary thing about Samson, of course, is that he was anointed by God with great strength on occasion to slay a lion and 30 men with his bare hands, kill a thousand soldiers with just a jawbone of a donkey, tear loose the formidable gates of Gaza and carry them a long distance away, not to mention collapse an entire Philistine temple and execute the multitudes therein.
It should be added that Samson didn’t necessarily look like a body builder since his great strength didn’t come from his muscles but rather his divine anointing, an anointing — by the way — that he knew wouldn’t manifest to oppose the very people he was called to deliver, the Israelites (15:12). Meanwhile, Samson had his own form of ‘Kryptonite’ — if his hair was shaved he’d become as strong as any normal man (16:17). In other words, as great as Samson was, he wasn’t invincible.
Common Criticisms of Samson
Samson was a Nazarite from birth. A ‘Nazarite’ referred to a Hebrew who was exceptionally consecrated unto the LORD, abstaining from alcoholic beverages, grape products, unclean foods, haircuts and contact with human corpses (Numbers 6:2-8). What we want to examine here are Samson’s proclivities & practices, which have caused him to be denounced and slandered over the centuries, such as:
- His reoccurring desire for foreign women, all Philistines, which include: A woman from Timnah of whom Samson’s parents disapproved because she wasn’t a Hebrew (14:1-3), a prostitute in Gaza (16:1) and Delilah (16:4).
- Gambling before possessing the very items he wagered, which was thirty sets of clothes (14:12-13).
- His anger & violence issues (14:19 & 15:6-8).
- Enlisting the services of the aforementioned prostitute in Gaza (16:1).
While sleeping with the prostitute was definitely a sin, the others can be explained:
- Although Samson’s choice for the woman from Timnah as a wife was weak since the Philistines were Israel’s foreign rulers at the time, the Philistines were not among the seven nations of Canaan that the Hebrews were forbidden to marry (Deuteronomy 7:1–6). If it was a sin for the Israelites to simply marry a foreign person, then Boaz sinned by marrying Ruth, a Moabite (Ruth 4). Obviously he didn’t sin and neither did Samson. As far as the disapproval of Samson’s parents concerning his choice of a wife, Samson did not dishonor them since 1. they didn’t forbid him from marrying her and 2. choosing a lifelong mate was ultimately his decision as an adult and not theirs. Lastly, the text plainly states that Samson’s desire to marry this particular woman was “from the LORD” (14:4).
- As for Delilah, the text says that Samson “fell in love” with her and he was obviously blinded by her beauty since he must have known that she was being used by the Philistines to extract strategic information from him (similar to the situation with his former wife in 14:15). Yet there’s no indication that he was fornicating with Delilah (16:4). While some commentators insist that he fornicated with her, the Scriptures don’t mention it. Let’s be silent where the Bible is silent and not assume Samson lived in sin with Delilah.
- Regarding Samson lacking the items to back up his wager with the Philistines, he knew he could easily acquire them if it came down to it because he had faith in God’s anointing to take on Israel’s oppressors. This faith is why Samson is acknowledged in the “Hall of Faith” chapter of the New Testament (Hebrews 11:32). For those who argue that making the wager in the first place was a sin because it’s gambling, I can find no command in the Bible against making such a wager. Since this is the only occasion in Samson’s account in which he did this — a time period spanning 20 years — it cannot be argued that he was addicted to gambling.
- As for Samson’s anger & violence issues, there’s a place for righteous anger, like when Christ was angry with the legalists who objected to his healing a man’s shriveled hand on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6) or when he cleansed the Temple like a holy terror (Mark 11:15-18). In short, you can be angry and not sin (Ephesians 4:26). There’s also something called righteous enmity. Since the LORD rose up the judges in order to deliver the Israelites from their abusive foreign rulers (2:16), we can conclude that Samson’s anger & violence toward the oppressive Philistines was righteous. As such, God didn’t have a problem with his waylaying thirty Philistine men for their clothing, (14:19) or striking down a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey (15:14-15). In both cases the text plainly says that “the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power” before carrying out the violence. Neither did the LORD mind when Samson viciously slaughtered many Philistines after they wickedly burned to death his former wife and her father (15:6-8). So Samson’s supposed anger issues are examples of righteous anger rather than being carnally short-tempered; meanwhile his violence toward the Philistines was actually his divine calling and purpose.
Two other things we need to keep in mind about Samson’s aggressive attitude toward the Philistines:
- In the Old Covenant the Israelites were instructed to fight their human enemies (Deuteronomy 20:1-3).
- In the New Covenant believers are instructed to fight the spiritual forces of darkness not fight “flesh and blood,” aka people (Ephesians 6:12).*
* Please don’t take this to mean that believers can’t serve in the military, as explained here.
In other words, God’s directive in the Old Covenant has essentially flipflopped for believers in the New Covenant. Why is this? Simple: In the inferior Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6) the Hebrews didn’t have the advantage of spiritual regeneration (Titus 3:5) and therefore they didn’t have authority over the devil & filthy spirits as believers do in the superior New Covenant (Colossians 2:15). As such, Old Testament saints only had authority to fight people misled by the spiritual forces of darkness. In the New Testament, by contrast, believers have authority to conduct spiritual warfare against the root cause of deception and evil, the devil & his evil spirits, not to mention the grace to love our human enemies, including walking in tough love when necessary.
Please understand that no person on Earth had access to spiritual rebirth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit until Christ died for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (Romans 4:25 & 1 Corinthians 6:19). This explains why the Lord said there was no one on Earth greater than John the Baptist and yet the least in the kingdom of God — the Church — was greater than him (Matthew 11:11). You see, as great as John the Baptist was, he didn’t have the benefit of spiritual rebirth and therefore the Holy Spirit was on him, but didn’t live in him in the sense that only New Covenant believers experience. Likewise, the Spirit “came on” Samson, but he was not born-again spiritually (John 3:3 & 3:6) and therefore he was not a temple of the Holy Spirit, like we are today.
Samson’s situation was compounded by the fact that he lived in a time of spiritual decline in which “everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 17:6 & 21:25). As such, you’ll observe the Israelites in the book of Judges engaging in some morally dubious actions, like Jephthah’s rash vow which cost him his daughter’s life (11:31 & 11:39).
With these things in mind, perhaps we should cut Samson some slack.
A Few Other (Undeserved) Criticisms of Samson
Some commentators accuse Samson of drinking wine, eating food that wasn’t kosher and having contact with a corpse, all of which were against the Nazarite vow (Numbers 6:2-8), but these are dubious accusations since the account of Samson 1. never says he drank wine or ate non-kosher food, even though he participated in a wedding feast in Philistia (14:10) and 2. the prohibition against contact with a corpse referred to human beings, not animals, plus the lion in question was freshly slain by Samson and when he came back later all he did was scoop honey from a bees’ nest in the carcass (14:5-9).
‘Samson Was Ungodly’
Another accusation is that Samson was “ungodly,” which suggests that he wasn’t in communion with God, yet the account plainly shows Samson praying to the LORD and never an idol (15:18 & 16:28). Furthermore, as already noted, God Himself rose Samson up to lead Israel for 20 years (13:5 & 15:20) and the man is cited in the Hall of Faith Chapter of the Bible as a hero of faith (Hebrews 11:32). Would this be so if he were truly ungodly?
‘Samson Lies to Delilah’
Yet another accusation is that Samson lied to Delilah three times about the secret of his strength (16:7, 16:11 & 16:13). However, these weren’t malevolent or selfish lies, but rather justifiable untruths since he knew the rulers of the Philistines — Israel’s enemies — were using Delilah to manipulate him into revealing the secret of his power in order to defeat them (16:5), similar to how his wife in Timnah was earlier manipulated (14:15).
If the Philistines took down Samson they’d have Israel under their thumb. So, naturally, Samson didn’t divulge the truth to Delilah. The fact that he eventually did reveals Samson’s flesh weakness for the fairer sex in general and Delilah in particular.
For anyone who thinks there’s no such thing as a justifiable lie, that’s simply not true. While lying for selfish, evil purposes is always a sin (Leviticus 19:11 & Colossians 3:9), a justifiable lie is not a sin for the precise reason that it’s justified and done with the greater good in mind. In other words, a justifiable lie is not evil, it’s good.
One obvious example in the Bible is the Hebrew midwives lying to Pharaoh because his command was evil and it saved the lives of innocent babies, “So God was kind to the midwives… because the midwives feared God” (Exodus 1:15-21). Another example is Rahab the prostitute who lied to the officials of Jericho about the whereabouts of the Hebrew spies, which she’s commended for in the Hall of Faith chapter (Joshua 2:1-6 & Hebrews 11:31). You can read biblical details on this topic here.
Samson’s error was that he caved to the Philistines’ manipulations by foolishly telling Delilah the truth about his anointing of strength, obviously due to his weakness for beautiful foreign women. Yet having a penchant for alluring Philistine women wasn’t a sin in-and-of itself; it’s what one does with such a proclivity that determines whether it’s immoral or not. For instance, being attracted to and deciding to marry the woman from Timnah wasn’t a sin; it was “from the LORD” (14:4).
‘But What About His Sleeping With a Prostitute?’
Aside from the folly of caving to his enemies’ manipulations due to his love for Delilah, this is the sole transgression we can lay on Samson from what is written in the text and it’s only chronicled that he did it on one occasion (16:1). While this is bad, it’s not as bad as King David committing adultery with Bathsheba and indirectly murdering her husband (2 Samuel 11) and, yet, David is constantly praised for his greatness.
It is true that David was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) and thus he humbly confessed his sin after Nathan’s rebuke (Psalm 51 & 2 Samuel 12). Yet what about Samson? Did he repent after having sex with the prostitute? The text doesn’t say, but clearly he still had God’s anointing to take hold of the massive city gates, tear them loose, and carry them to the top of a nearby hill (16:1-3).
What can we get from this? Simply that “God’s gift and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). For instance, I could be totally out of fellowship with the LORD and still teach the Scriptures. How so? Because God gave me the gift of a teacher (Ephesians 4:11). It’s a gift. This explains how an itinerate preacher can travel the landscape and have anointed services, but commit sexual immorality at his hotel in his off time.
Of course such sins will eventually draw God’s judgment if they’re not dealt with and removed from one’s life (Numbers 32:23, Galatians 6:8 & 1 John 1:8-9). In other words, where God’s gracious mercy ends, God’s judgment begins, and this can be observed in Samson’s very account: The impenitent lust of the eyes led to Samson’s downfall (1 John 2:16) and so judgment ultimately fell and his eyes were gouged out in captivity wherein he spent the rest of his life grinding at the mill (16:21). The moral of the story is: If a sinful weakness is ignored, it will master you (Genesis 4:7) — first it will bind you, then it will grind you (Proverbs 5:22 & 29:6).
So, based on what is actually written in Samson’s scriptural account, enlisting the services of a prostitute on one occasion and obviously having lust issues for beautiful Philistine women in general are the ‘only’ sins we can pin on the man. Otherwise, Samson is depicted as a mighty national leader and hero of faith (Judges 15:20 & Hebrews 11:32).
For those determined to denounce him, which is tantamount to faultfinding & slander, honestly ask yourself this question and be honest: In your life, as a believer, have you ever lusted after an attractive member of the opposite sex and had sex with them, if not physically, in your mind? (Matthew 5:28). If so, you’ve sinned in a similar fashion to Samson even with the advantage of spiritual rebirth and the indwelling Holy Spirit, both of which Samson did not have the benefit. In short, have some compassion for the man!
To close, Samson was called and anointed of God to fight against Israel’s #1 enemy at the time, the tyrannical and ruthless Philistines. By keeping relations between the Hebrews and Philistines in a constant state of upheaval, he helped prevent the Israelites from being absorbed into their pagan culture.
This article is available in book form as chapter 9 of…
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Related Topics:
Suicide – Can Someone Who Commits Suicide Still Have Eternal Life?
Is there Such a Thing as Righteous Hatred or Righteous Enmity?
Jesus Christ — Milksop or Mighty Lord?
Does Walking in AGAPE LOVE Mean You should be a DOORMAT to Abuse?
How to Walk FREE OF THE FLESH by being Spirit-Controlled
PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT vs. TONGUES PROPHECY—What’s the Diff?
Praying in the spirit is not the same as a believer speaking in tongues in the prophetic sense to minister to the assembly, which requires an interpretation for the people to be blessed by it. The difference is simple.
To explain, let’s first define…
Praying in the Spirit
Praying in the spirit is defined by Paul here:
14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
1 Corinthians 14:14-15
The apostle points out two forms of prayer:
- Praying in the spirit
- Praying with one’s understanding
Praying in the spirit is praying in an unknown tongue, which any believer who’s baptized in the Spirit can do, anytime they choose. This awesome gift is for every believer, if they want it. It’s not just for believers in the 1st century, which is a false doctrine and I’ll prove this as we proceed.
Praying with one’s understanding is praying in your everyday language, like English for me. In other words, praying with your understanding is what we would call normal prayer.
Paul then points out in verse 15 that he regularly practiced both types of prayer: He prayed in the spirit and prayed with his understanding.
(As for Paul’s reference to “singing with his spirit” and “singing with his understanding,” this just refers to adding a melody to your prayer, whether praying in the spirit or praying with your understanding).
Paul then contrasts praying in the spirit with speaking in tongues as a form of prophecy:
18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:18-19
In Paul’s prayer time he prayed in tongues—prayed in the spirit—more than all the believers in Corinth, an assembly he started. He contrasts this with what he does “in the church.” To explain, in the setting of a church service praying in a tongue is not profitable to others present since they wouldn’t be able to understand the prayer seeing as how it’s in an unknown language. As such, Paul insisted that believers only speak in tongues at a church service if they’re doing so in a prophetic sense, which must be accompanied by an interpretation otherwise it’s not profitable to the believers present:
27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.
1 Corinthians 14:27-28
This brings us to the topic of…
Speaking in Tongues in the Prophetic Sense
Speaking in tongues in this sense is not praying in the spirit. Rather, it’s a form of prophecy in which God speaks to the church.
Praying in the spirit, by contrast, is the believer praying to God by his/her spirit with the help of the Holy Spirit. One is prophecy and has to be accompanied by an interpretation to be profitable to the assembly whereas the other is a form of prayer. They’re very different even though they both involve glossolalia, aka “tongues.”
Speaking in tongues as a form of prophecy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit. When the Spirit moves a believer to operate in this gift at a gathering it’s simply a prophecy given in another language, unknown to the speaker. This type of prophecy is only beneficial to those present if it is accompanied by an interpretation. The interpretation of tongues is another gift of the spirit.
When someone operates in the interpretation of tongues s/he is simply interpreting a prophecy that was given in tongues. Think about it in terms of two nickels equaling a dime: The charismatic gift of prophecy is the dime whereas tongues & interpretation of tongues are two nickels. The latter two combined are equal to prophecy.
When someone gives a tongue at an assembly — I’m talking about the gift of the Spirit — the Spirit will either move that person to interpret or move upon someone else present to interpret because interpretation is necessary in order for the Church to profit from this gift and be built up (1 Corinthians 14:5).
Why Should Believers Pray in the Spirit?
What is the benefit to praying in the spirit, like Paul did in his private life? Here’s one reason:
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
This shows that believers can “build themselves up” in faith by praying in the spirit, which suggests charging up your faith like a battery. Furthermore, praying in the spirit builds the believer up in power, love and self-discipline:
6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:6-7
‘I thought praying in the spirit was praying with my mind guided by the Spirit’
While believers should certainly be led of the Holy Spirit when they pray with their understanding (Romans 8:14), Paul plainly defined praying in the spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 (quoted above) as praying in an unknown tongue in one’s prayer life. The epistle of 1 Corinthians was written 5-6 years before Paul wrote this verse in prison:
And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Paul was encouraging believers to pray in the spirit on all occasions as he gave exposition on the armor of God and spiritual warfare. The definition of “praying in the spirit” did not change in the 5-6 year interim. In short, the meaning of praying in the spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 also applies to this verse. Scripture interprets Scripture.
‘But didn’t charismatic gifts CEASE at the end of the 1st century?’
The idea that charismatic gifts ended when the biblical canon was completed at the end of the 1st century is a misreading of 1 Corinthians 13:8. Those who believe this are known as cessationists.
Let’s read the passage:
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:8
Cessationists argue that this passage contrasts life before and after the biblical canon was completed, but that’s not what it’s talking about. The text clearly contrasts our life on this Earth where “we see in a mirror dimly” with life on the other side of glory being “face to face” with our Creator; now we only “know in part” whereas then we shall “know fully” even as we are now “fully known” by the LORD (verse 12).
The biggest problem with the religious doctrine of cessationism is that it encourages believers to deny what the Scriptures plainly instruct us to eagerly desire: Believers are exhorted to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39) while cessationism encourages believers to do the precise opposite. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see any indication that charismatic gifts would cease to exist by the end of the 1st century.
You can learn more about cessationism here.
Let me quickly and respectfully add…
Charismatic Gifts Are NOT a Major Doctrine and Are Therefore NOT an Issue of Salvation
While cessationism is a erroneous doctrine, what one believes about spiritual gifts is not an issue of eternal salvation. If a believer or sect embraces this doctrine it doesn’t mean that they’re not fellow believers, loved by the Lord. It just means their faith—their level of belief based on the false doctrine of cessationism—won’t allow them to “eat everything” the gospel of Christ has to offer; in this case, spiritual gifts and the blessings thereof (Romans 14:1-6).
Those of us with fuller understanding of this issue are not to look down on those with the lesser because it would be arrogant and arrogance is the #1 sin (James 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:5). Similarly, the one with the lesser revelation must not condemn those with the fuller. On the contrary, we are to “accept one another… just as Christ accepted [us], in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). You could insert any non-essential doctrine or issue into this scenario and it would apply.
So, whether you accept or reject spiritual gifts for the Church after the 1st century, it’s entirely your prerogative. If you reject them, it doesn’t mean you’re not a believer, it just means you don’t “eat everything” the gospel of Christ offers. This explains, by the way, why those who embrace charismatic gifts are referred to as “full gospel.”
Related Topics:
Baptism of the Holy Spirit (“Tongues”) and It’s Benefits
What Are the Nine Gifts of the Spirit?
Believers Who Believe in Spiritual Gifts vs. Those Who Don’t
Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?
INTIMACY WITH GOD and Its Benefits
Spiritual Warfare — The Basics
The SHEPHERDS and Baby Jesus vs. the MAGI and Toddler Jesus
People tend to mix-up the stories of 1. the shepherds who came to see Jesus when he was born, inspired by an angel, and 2. the Magi who came to see Jesus when he was a toddler, inspired by a moving “star.” Let’s look at both to distinguish the two…
The Shepherds and the Angels at Jesus’ Birth
When Yeshua was born in a stable in Bethlehem an angel appeared to some shepherds in a nearby field:
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:8-20
The shepherds were terrified by the initial angelic sighting, which is usual with angelic visitations in Scripture, but the angel encouraged them not to be afraid and told them where to find the amazing baby, who happened to be the Savior of the world, Christ the Lord.
That’s when “a great company of the heavenly host [angels] appeared with the angel, praising God” (verses 13-14).
Thus the shepherds went into the town of Bethlehem and found Mary & Joseph and the divine baby lying in the manger, which naturally inspired praises to the Most High (verses 15-20).
It wasn’t until almost two years later that…
The Magi Meet and Worship Toddler Jesus, Led By a “Star”
Here are the key passages chronicling this event:
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:9-11
The Magi were neither kings nor sorcerers, but rather learned men from either Persia (modern-day Iraq) or Media (modern-day Iran) that studied the stars and sought wisdom or meaning; they were possibly Zoroastrians who were familiar with the Hebraic Scriptures (Daniel 2:2 & 5:11).
But please don’t confuse the Magi with astrologers of today and their eye-rolling horoscopes. Whilst Christ pointed to heavenly signs to indicate prophetic events (Matthew 24:30), the Scriptures clearly warn against turning to the stars for guidance or, worse, idolization (Deuteronomy 4:19 & Isaiah 47:13-15).
Tradition suggests that there were three Magi, but the Bible doesn’t actually reveal their number. Three is assumed simply due to the number of gifts they brought for the infant Savior—the gold, frankincense and myrrh (verse 11).
Figuratively, the Magi symbolize all people outside of the Hebrews who sincerely seek ultimate reality. Their inclusion in the Scriptures points to God’s salvation being for Jews and Gentiles—the entire world and not just one nation of people in the Middle East (Acts 20:21 & Romans 1:16).
But what exactly was “his star in the east” that the Magi followed to worship the child Jesus? The way the star moved and settled over one place (verse 9) reveals that it was not a normal star, a supernova or planetary conjunction, but rather a supernatural manifestation similar to the Shekinah glory or angel that guided the Hebrews when Moses led them through the Sinai wilderness to the Promised Land (Exodus 13:21 & 23:23).
When the Magi arrived to worship Jesus, “the King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2), the child was almost two years old in a house and not a babe in a manger (a feeding trough) inside a barn or cave. Lending support is Herod’s ruthless order to kill all boys in Jerusalem who where two years old and younger because he was enraged after being “outwitted by the Magi” (Matthew 2:16).
Thus the difference between the two events are:
- The shepherds were local Israelites informed by an angel about the baby Jesus in nearby Bethlehem.
- The Magi were from far away in the east, led by a moving “star” to Bethlehem and the toddler Jesus, who was close to two years old by that time.
Related Topics:
ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?
THE Angel of the LORD — Mighty Angel or Pre-Incarnate Christ?
Holidays—Which Ones Should Christians Observe or Not Observe?
Does Each Person HAVE A STAR?
There is no personal relationship between stars and people. Stars neither light up when a person is born nor blink out of existence when someone dies. Actually, most of the stars that are visible to the eye have been known about since the Sumerians from Mesopotamia mapped them out 5000 years ago.
Scientifically speaking, stars are celestial bodies made up of gas and they outnumber people on Earth 1 to 1000 million. For proof, there are currently 8 billion people on Earth whereas there are an estimated 1 septillion stars in the Universe (a septillion is “1” with 24 zeros).
Scripturally speaking, there’s nothing in the Bible to suggest that each person has their own star. Stars were not created to represent human beings on Earth; they are made by God to illuminate the night sky (Genesis 1:17). So, when a person dies s/he does not become a star.
The idea that every person has a star is rooted in a dubious reading of this passage:
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
The Magi were neither kings nor sorcerers, but rather learned men from either Persia (modern-day Iraq) or Media (modern-day Iran) that studied the stars and sought wisdom or meaning; they were possibly Zoroastrians who were familiar with the Hebraic Scriptures (Daniel 2:2 & 5:11).
But please don’t confuse the Magi with astrologers of today and their eye-rolling horoscopes. Whilst Christ pointed to heavenly signs to indicate prophetic events (Matthew 24:30), the Scriptures clearly warn against turning to the stars for guidance or, worse, idolization (Deuteronomy 4:19 & Isaiah 47:13-15).
Tradition suggests that there were three Magi, but the Bible doesn’t actually reveal their number. Three is assumed simply due to the number of gifts they brought for the infant Savior (Matthew 2:11).
Figuratively, the Magi represent all people outside of the Hebrews who sincerely seek ultimate reality. Their inclusion in the Scriptures points to God’s salvation being for Jews and Gentiles—the entire world and not just one nation of people in the Middle East (Acts 20:21 & Romans 1:16).
But what exactly was “his star in the east” that the Magi followed to worship the child Jesus? The way the star moved and settled over one place (verse 9) reveals that it was not a normal star, a supernova or planetary conjunction, but rather a supernatural manifestation similar to the Shekinah glory or angel that guided the Hebrews when Moses led them through the Sinai wilderness to the Promised Land (Exodus 13:21 & 23:23).
When the Magi arrived to worship Jesus, “the King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2), the child was almost two years old in a house and not a babe in a manger (a feeding trough) inside a stable. I point this out because some people mix-up this story with that of…
The Shepherds and the Angels at Jesus’ Birth
When Yeshua was born in a stable in Bethlehem an angel appeared to some shepherds in a nearby field to inform them of the arrival of the Savior of the world, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:8-20). They were terrified by the sighting, which is usual with angelic visitations in Scripture, but the angel encouraged them not to be afraid and told them where to find the amazing baby.
Then this happened: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host [angels] appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests’ ” (verses 13-14).
Thus the shepherds went into the town of Bethlehem and found Mary & Joseph and the divine baby lying in the manger, which naturally inspired praises to the Most High (verses 15-20).
So here’s the difference between the two events:
- The shepherds were local Israelites informed by an angel about the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
- The Magi were from far away in the east, led by a moving “star” to Bethlehem and the toddler Jesus, who was close to two years old by that point. Their journey took 4-5 months.
Related Topics:
ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?
THE Angel of the LORD — Mighty Angel or Pre-Incarnate Christ?
Holidays—Which Ones Should Christians Observe or Not Observe?
Beware of Developing a Religious SPIRIT OF FAMILIARITY
A religious “spirit of familiarity” is when a believer develops a go-through-the-motions manner concerning God and the things of God, including things related to church & ministry.
Take, for instance, a pastor who has a “go through the motions” manner. How does a minister of God fall into such a rut? It’s something that slowly develops over the years as the pastor moves away from relationship with the LORD to working for the LORD. A spirit of familiarity settles in concerning the Almighty, the church, God’s Word, pastoring, and the things of God in general.
We see this “spirit of familiarity” with Uzzah in the Old Testament. Uzzah was involved in moving the Ark of the Covenant to a different location during the reign of King David. If you’re familiar with the Ark, you know that it was a sacred chest filled with holy articles and that the LORD’s very presence dwelled on its lid—the Mercy Seat—between two gold-sculptured angels (Psalm 99:1). Observe what happens on this unfortunate occasion:
6When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
2 Samuel 6:6-7
As you can see, the oxen stumbled whereupon Uzzah reached out to grab the Ark and the LORD struck him down in righteous anger.
Why was God mad and why did He take Uzzah’s life when the man was only trying to help? Because only the Kohathites, a clan of the Levites, were permitted to carry the Ark and even they weren’t allowed to touch it at the penalty of death (Numbers 4:15). There were some 30,000 men involved with moving the Ark on this occasion and they were all ripe for judgment because they were moving the sacred chest in a manner contrary to God’s instructions. We see the LORD’s great mercy in that He only struck down one individual in the fiasco, the person who came closest to disrespecting his holiness, Uzzah.
We know Uzzah grew up in the house where the Ark was stored for many years, the house of Abinadab (1 Samuel 7:1). It’s conceivable that he became so familiar with the holy object that he no longer had a healthy reverence for it. This was a mistake that cost him his life.
Just the same, it’s possible for believers in the New Testament era who grew up in church or have pastored for many years to become so familiar with the things of God that they take them for granted. It’s easy for such people to cop a “go through the motions” attitude, especially if they’ve moved away from relationship with God to focus on performing tasks for him, which can be observed in the insightful story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). God may not kill them, as with Uzzah, but they’ll experience death nevertheless in the form of this strain of legalism, which you can read more about here.
How does one get set free of a religious spirit of familiarity? Simple: The Basics of Christianity.
This article was edited from chapter 5 of…
Print version Kindle version
- The print book is available here for about $10 (291 pages)
- The eBook is available here for just $2.99!
Both links allow you to “Look inside” the book.
Related Topics:
Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms
What is a “Spirit of STUPOR” or “Religious FOG”?
Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?
Godliness and Religion—What’s the Difference?
Law (Torah) — New Testament Believers are NOT Under the Law
Is there Such a Thing as Righteous Hatred or Righteous Enmity?
What Are the “LAST DAYS”?
We’ve been in “the last days” since the Church Age began, also referred to as “the end of the ages,” as observed in these two passages:
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he [Christ] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews 9:26 ESV
Here’s a diagram of Earth history according to the young Earth position that helps visualize the Church Age as the “end of the ages” or “culmination of the ages” before the millennial reign of Christ and the eternal age-to-come:
(click to enlarge)
Many sound ministers believe that Christ will return in about 2000 years, which you can find evidence for here. I believe this is true since we are experiencing the signs Jesus prophesied (Luke 21:10-11, 21:25-28 & Luke 21:31). As such, we are living in what could be called the last of the last days.
While we don’t know the exact day or hour of the Lord’s return (Matthew 24:36), it’s obvious that we are in the general time frame of the Second Coming. The Rapture is imminent and could take place today (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Yet the Lord might not come until 2050 or later, which still keeps His return in the timeframe of roughly 2000 years. Until then, the believer’s responsibility is to faithfully “keep watch.”
What About Those Who Predict the Day of Christ’s Return?
Historically, there have been a succession of people who predicted the exact day of the Second Coming and they’ve always been wrong. When this happens they inevitably set another date, which turns out to be wrong as well. A friend of mine from another state adhered to such a prediction in 2019 and excitedly anticipated Christ’s return on a particular day. When it failed to happen he became disillusioned and I’m not sure if he’s even walking with the Lord anymore.
This is why the Scriptures repeatedly instruct us not to set a date, as observed in Matthew 24:36 (paralleled in Mark 13:32), Matthew 24:42, Matthew 24:44, Matthew 25:13 (paralleled in Mark 13:33-37), Acts 1:7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2. In light of such clear passages I marvel that anyone would be foolish enough to set a date!
It’s enough to know that we’re in the general timeframe of the Lord’s Second Advent. Amen?
Related Topics:
Second Coming of Christ — Rapture and Return to Earth
Amillennialism — What Is It? What’s Wrong With It?
The Five Earths of the Bible (and the Eight Ages)
Why 2000 Years Until the RETURN OF CHRIST?
The Bible promises that the Lord will return (John 14:3 & Acts 1:11). Although we cannot know the exact day or hour of this return (Matthew 24:36), Christ said there will be glaring signs that the time is nigh for those alive on the Earth (Luke 21:10-11, 21:25-28 & Luke 21:31).
Many sound ministers believe that the Lord will return about 2000 years after his crucifixion, as illustrated in this diagram (click to enlarge):
Since Christ was crucified in 33 AD, we are very close to the 2000-year mark. But why do theologians think the Lord will return in about 2000 years? What evidence is there in the Bible to support this position?
One reason that always impressed me can be observed in The Parable of the Good Samaritan:
30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “
Luke 10:30-35
The story consists of four main characters aside from the robbers — a man, a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan. Each of these are symbolic as follows:
- The beat-up man left for dead represents fallen humanity doomed to death, which is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23).
- The priest and Levite who pass by the dying man represent useless religion, which cannot save.
- The Samaritan, however, symbolizes Christ, the compassionate one who provides the way to health and life.
After bandaging his wounds, the Samaritan takes the traveler to an inn (the Church) and gives the innkeeper (the Holy Spirit) two denarii until he comes back. Since a denarius was equal to one day’s pay in that culture, it’s implied that he’d return in two days. Thus, because “a thousand years are like a day” to the LORD (2 Peter 3:8 & Psalm 90:4), it’s assumed Christ will return in approximately two thousand years, which is two days from His perspective.
For more concrete reasons on why theologians believe Christ will return after about 2000 years see this article.
Related Topics:
Second Coming of Christ — Rapture and Return to Earth
Church of Christ — What Is It?
The Five Earths of the Bible (and the Eight Ages)
Millennial Reign of Christ — Why?
Eternal Life (“Heaven”): Questions & Answers
The Fall of Man (Humanity) and Slavery to Satan
REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation
Beware of RELIGIOUS FORMAL DEATH
Since legalism is a dead religious spirit that focuses on rules above relationship with God it naturally saps life, freedom, joy and spontaneity. God is the Fountain of Life from which all life flows, whether physical or spiritual, and Yeshua is “the life” who came to give us “life to the full” (John 14:6 & 10:10). As such, those who move away from The Life to focus on rules and ritual will move further and further away from the abundant life the Messiah came to give.
Think about it, if we are “made alive with Christ” then those who move away from him move toward death (Colossians 2:13). They’ll develop a sterile spirit as spiritual rigor mortis sets in. Unsurprisingly, religious gatherings of such people will have a very formal, lifeless air. Those performing the various aspects of the services—whether pastors, teachers, worship leaders, elders or deacons—will seem to be just “going through the motions.” They’ll function like religious zombies. It goes without saying that attending these services will be dreadfully boring. Why? There’s no life there.
Two Biblical Examples
We see evidence of this sterile spirit in a few of the churches that Christ addressed in Revelation 2-3. The Lord gave each of these seven assemblies a report card. Why did he pick these specific fellowships? Because they characterize the seven basic types of churches that would exist throughout the Church Age. What Jesus said to these assemblies is therefore relevant in any time period.
He had nothing good to say about two of the churches, one being the church of Laodicea. Notice what Jesus said to this group of believers:
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
Revelation 3:15-17
Christ rebuked these believers for being “lukewarm” and threatened to spit the whole fellowship out of his mouth if they didn’t repent, meaning he would “pull the plug” on them and they’d be a ‘church’ in name only.
The Lord wished they were cold or hot rather than lukewarm. This was an allusion to nearby cold and hot springs. The cold springs were useful for refreshing and the hot springs for bathing, but lukewarm water was useless.
Notice what Jesus goes on to say:
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:19-20
Verse 20 has traditionally been used by evangelicals to verbally witness to the lost, which would suggest that Christ was addressing unbelievers, but this wasn’t the case. Jesus was talking to believers who had pushed him out of their fellowship. They forsook relationship with the Lord for religion and consequently became lukewarm—sterile, lifeless, useless. They were just “playing church,” just going through the motions.
There are assemblies like this in practically every community today, all over the world. Jesus is knocking on their doors wanting in, but they’re convinced everything’s fine because they have money, a nice facility, regular congregants, etc. (The Laodicean believers certainly felt this way, as observed in Revelation 3:17). But the Lord is ready to pull the plug on them altogether if they don’t repent. Some of them he already has, like the Episcopal Church (which is not to say that there aren’t any genuine believers still in the Episcopal Church; there’s usually a “remnant” faithful).
The church in Ephesus wasn’t as bad as the one in Laodicea. The Lord commended them for several things—their good deeds, their hard work, their perseverance and their refusal to tolerate false teachers. These are all good, but notice where they missed it:
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent, and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Revelation 2:4-5
The Ephesians forsook their “first love.” They steadily moved away from relationship with the Lord toward cold, mechanical religion. They maintained orthodoxy and performed good works, which is good, but they lost intimacy with God. They were just going through the motions. They had the outward veneer of Christianity but lacked its heart. Since Christianity at its core is a relationship with God and the first and greatest command is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:29-30), this was a grievous offense, which is why Christ said they had fallen from a great height.
Reflect on that: As far as Jesus was concerned they had fallen from a great height! In other words, it was no little transgression. They stumbled into the trap of legalism and the Lord’s message was a stern warning to repent. If they didn’t, he threatened to remove their “lampstand from its place.” The “lampstand” represented the Ephesian church itself (Revelation 1:20) and therefore its removal meant that they would no longer be Christ’s church. In short, the Lord was prepared to “pull the plug” on them if they refused to repent; in which case they’d be a ‘church’ in name only.
Both the Laodicean and Ephesian churches made the mistake of substituting sterile religiosity for personal relationship with the LORD and it resulted in a lifeless, go-through-the-motions spirit. The Laodiceans were further along on this dark road, which can be observed in their arrogant attitude and the fact that the Lord literally had nothing good to say about them, but the Ephesians were heading in this same direction.
An Example From My Own Experience of a Church With a Sterile Spirit
Years ago I went to an assembly for nine months to fulfill my formal schooling in an internship program. The first thing I detected on my initial visit was a very sterile spirit. Everything was done in such a formal, ritualistic manner and the congregants participated in drone-like fashion. I’m not saying this to be mean or to suggest that I was looking down on these dear brothers and sisters in the Lord; I’m just giving my honest appraisal of the experience.
Needless to say, my wife & I did everything in our power to give this fellowship a spark of life while we were there. After nine months with no appreciable change—not to mention enduring some gnashing of the teeth by some of the congregants—we decided to leave. I couldn’t stomach that lifeless spirit for one more service.
It dawned on me later that this sterile go-through-the-motions mindset was a form of legalism.
The pastor was a gentle soul, and—I believe—a sincere Christian man. Yet the whole time I was involved with this fellowship I saw him in the grip of some kind of quiet torture. It was as if he was just playing the role of a pastor, just going through the motions, and his sermons and ministry reflected this. The entire time I was there I didn’t hear a single moving, stimulating or life-changing teaching. It wasn’t in him. Somewhere along the line in his decades of service he was infected by legalism in the form of religious formal death. It’s a spirit of sterility.
I say this with sadness, not joy. I had zero hostility toward the pastor or any of his congregants; I just felt sad for them. They were in a rut and couldn’t get out. The only way out was to break free of their “go through the motions” spirit. Unfortunately, they probably weren’t even aware of the problem. Although they were obviously concerned that their church wasn’t growing, I doubt they were aware of how utterly dead their gatherings had become. Carol & I could see it only because we were outsiders.
How did the pastor develop a “go through the motions” manner? I’m sure it was something that slowly developed over the years as he moved away from relationship with God to working for God. A spirit of familiarity settled in concerning the Almighty, the church, God’s Word, pastoring, and the things of God in general.
What’s the answer in these types of situations? Simple: The Basics of Christianity.
This article was edited from chapter 5 of…
Print version Kindle version
- The print book is available here for about $10 (291 pages)
- The eBook is available here for just $2.99!
Both links allow you to “Look inside” the book.
Related Topics:
Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms
What is a “Spirit of STUPOR” or “Religious FOG”?
Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?
Godliness and Religion—What’s the Difference?
Law (Torah) — New Testament Believers are NOT Under the Law
What Is a “Spirit of STUPOR” or “Religious FOG”?
I was giving a sermon at a small Assembly of God church a dozen years ago and the Word was just not getting across to the people, except a few. With all due respect, they sat there with blank faces in what seemed like some sort of religious trance. I’m not putting these people down, but rather humbly detailing what occurred. I previously taught this same teaching at a couple of other fellowships and it was received well, so the problem wasn’t likely the topic or my delivery. So what was the issue? This passage might shed some light:
As it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”
Paul was referring to the Israelites who hardened themselves to the truths of the Messiah’s message. Since they rejected God’s grace in Christ he gave them over to a state of stupor so that they couldn’t see or hear spiritual truths. In other words, God allowed them to reap the harvest of their own spiritual stubbornness.
Please don’t misinterpret this, God will show his ways to anyone who humbly turns to him. As James put it: “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8). But he will give a spirit of stupor to those who continually harden their hearts to his ways and truths. Why would he do this? Simple: “God resists the proud, but gives his grace to the humble” (James 4:6). God actively resists or opposes the stubborn and arrogant, but gives his favor to the humble; the teachable meek, not the weak.
What is a spirit of stupor? It’s a dazed condition of inertia and lethargy wherein the simplest of spiritual truths are unable to arouse, change or motivate. This is what I saw in that congregation; not all of them, but a lot of them. You can teach/preach the most magnificent truths of God’s Word until you’re blue in the face and it will have little or no effect on the bulk of such people due to their foggy religious stupor.
This appears to have been the problem with the Sardis church in the late 1st century. Notice what Christ said to these believers:
“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”
Revelation 3:1-3
The assembly in Sardis was dead. They had a reputation for being alive only because of their legalistic airs, which undiscerning people confused as genuine Christianity. The Lord urged them to “Wake up!” Why? They had fallen into a religious stupor.
I experienced a similar condition in an old friend I saw several years ago. I desperately wanted to minister to him the life-changing power of the LORD and his Word, but he kept chain-smoking and drinking beer after beer while blasting secular music. As a confessing Christian, these were things he should have dealt with over 25 years earlier, but here he was still in bondage, still in the baby-stage. I’m not saying this with arrogance, but with honesty and compassion—I truly wanted to help him.
Unfortunately, although he admitted to being an alcoholic and that God was the ultimate answer to life’s problems, he talked as if everyone else was to blame for the pit he was in and nothing I said could penetrate his dazed mindset. It’s a spirit of stupor, although in this case it was a lawless stupor and not a religious one. You see, Legalism and libertinism are two sides of the same bad coin.
I didn’t give up on him at the time. I still prayed for him and tried to reach him. He admitted to feeling “lost” and expressed a desire to change, which is good. This is the most important thing because there’s no hope of change without the realization of the need to change and, of course, the desire to change. Unfortunately, he foolishly chose to continue with his addictions, which led to his premature death in early 2021.
On the other side of the spectrum, some people foolishly choose to continue with their religious fog at the expense of freedom in the LORD, like the Pharisees, the Teachers of the Law and their followers, noted in the Scriptures (Matthew 13:15, John 8:44, John 5:39-40, Galatians 5:1 & Matthew 15:14).
Needless to say, be careful of succumbing to a spirit of stupor, whether a religious stupor or a hedonistic one.
For anyone in such a fog, how do you get out? Since the Lord said it’s the truth that will set us free (John 8:31-32), a good starting point is The Basics of Christianity. Anyone who masters these basics will indeed be set free.
This article was edited from Chapter 5 of…
Print version Kindle version
- The print book is available here for about $10 (291 pages)
- The eBook is available here for just $2.99!
Both links allow you to “Look inside” the book.
Related Topics:
God Exists in a State of TOTAL FREEDOM
Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?
Godliness and Religion—What’s the Difference?
Law (Torah) — New Testament Believers are NOT Under the Law
Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms
Libertinism — What’s Wrong with It and How to Walk FREE
God Exists in a State of TOTAL FREEDOM
People in the world sometimes perceive God as some old fuddy duddy in the sky who can’t stand folks having a “good time” and therefore is obsessed with removing anything “fun” from our lives. While human religion and forms of legalism might be like this, the LORD is quite different and actually operates from a state of absolute freedom. See for yourself:
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Thus in the Scriptures you’ll find several statements like this:
Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
The Lord does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
In other words, God functions in a state of total freedom and therefore does whatever he wants.
What’s interesting is that people — male and female — are created in God’s image and likeness and so we have this same desire. We intrinsically hate captivity and the restraints thereof. We want freedom! This explains why we have an instinctive revulsion of slavery. No wonder efforts to end the slave trade in the West were spearheaded by godly people, like William Wilberforce in Britain and William Lloyd Garrison in America.
Satanic people & their godless ideologies, by contrast, love tyranny and bondage in one form or another. Communism is a good example. And this explains why citizens in socialist states East of the Iron Curtain always tried to escape to the freedom-oriented republics of the West and not vice versa.
That’s all I really wanted to stress in this article. Chew on these things and you’ll be blessed.
For those interested in additional miscellaneous insights on this topic, keep reading…
Democracies and Republics
While a king or queen rules absolute in a monarchy and an elite ruling class reigns in Marxist governments, the people rule in a democracy (the Greek word dēmos means ‘the people’ and kratia means ‘rule’). In a republic the people rule as well, except that they appoint representatives to do the political work, which frees-up the citizens to raise families and conduct the business of their livelihoods (the Latin res refers to an ‘entity concerning’ and publicus means ‘the public’).
Countries today that are called ‘democracies’ are actually republics since the people of the various regions elect representatives to carry out the political duties, like traveling to the capitol cities and speaking for them. America is a good example.
I bring up republics because they are God’s preferred form of government since they allow for people to function in the most liberty in a fallen world. While it’s true that the LORD uses flawed human governments in general as an instrument to bring order to societies by protecting innocent citizens from criminals (Romans 13:1-6), God is not a big fan of authoritarian-styled governments since they stifle human freedom (1 Samuel 8).
This explains why the first nation of millions of people to have no king in the history of the world was the Hebrews after they escaped slavery in Egypt. For the next 400 years they had no human king. Instead, the LORD was their spiritual King and they had noble human representatives or intermediaries, like Moses, Joshua or Deborah, along with the priests teaching the Law and individuals being accountable to God based on conscience.
While technically a theocracy, this was a republic from a purely natural perspective. It was the beginning of the concept of equality in regards to a nation of millions with the Law supporting the premise of no respecter of person, rich or poor. Ideally, everyone was to be treated the same and by the same standard.
This Hebrew Republic was God’s original plan for the Israelites, but eventually the people wanted to be like all the nations around them (1 Samuel 8:19-20), so the LORD reluctantly gave them their first king, which was Saul, who started out good, but became corrupt.
Interestingly, the Pilgrims used the Hebrew Republic as a model for government when they arrived in Provincetown Harbor & Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They were a Puritan sect of the Church of England, known as Separatists because they considered their congregations separate from the English state church (as opposed to the non-separatist Puritans). They fled tyranny in Europe for sanctuary in the New World.
Here’s something interesting to consider: The Pilgrims in America focused on the model of pre-King Saul Israel, which was the Hebrew Republic whereas King James I of England (and other Euro monarchs) preferred the Israel of King Saul-onward.
King James naturally favored the Saul-onward model due to the idea of “the divine right of kings” in which Kings have subjects who are subject to the king’s will, which is the final word. This is in contrast to a democracy or republic that the Pilgrims had in mind based on the pre-Saul Hebrew Republic.
This explains why the colonies in America were so successful and attracted multitudes of freedom-seeking people in the 1600s-1700s, the vast majority of them being devout believers. Towns sprung up across the landscape, all Judeo-Christian republics. A group of people with their pastor would found a settlement, a town, and the church facility would service both spiritual gatherings and political meetings, aka the townhouse.
The reason the Hebrew republic ultimately failed is because of humanity’s fallen nature and the corresponding need for a new spiritual nature. Thus Israel fell into times of moral anarchy in which “everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6 & 21:25). While this sounds good on the surface, it’s not good when people are slaves to the flesh or sinful nature and collectively lack virtue. In the American colonies, by contrast, the vast majority of the people were spiritual regenerated and hence the communities operated on the foundation of the love and fear of God and the virtue thereof.
So what hampered America’s godliness and goodness and led this formerly great nation to where it is now with all the glaring corruption and immorality? Simple: being a free nation, godless ideologies were increasingly introduced and spread in the last century through the educational system, the media, arts & entertainment and government. I’m talking about the atheistic religion of secular humanism, aka LIEberalism.
Thus, instead of being a virtuous nation, America is now looked on as a moral joke throughout the world, which doesn’t mean that there aren’t millions upon millions of genuinely godly people in the population; it just means that the ungodly are in positions of influence and power, corrupting the youth. The Parable of the Weeds (Tares) applies (Matthew 13:24-30 & 13:36-43).
So, just like with the Hebrew Republic in Israel, the people forsaking the fear of God and giving themselves over to the sinful nature is bringing down America and similar Western republics. The problem, of course, is that hedonism, aka libertinism, is not true freedom, although it disguises itself as ‘freedom.’ It’s actually just bondage to the flesh, which brings us to…
Individual Freedom
The problem with humans functioning in a state of total freedom, like God, is that human desires are corrupted by the flesh or sinful nature. Thankfully, the LORD has provided a way for us to “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4); it’s called “participating in the divine nature” otherwise known as walking in the spirit (Galatians 5:16). When you learn to “put on the new self” you’ll be spirit-controlled rather than flesh-ruled (Ephesians 4:22-24) and, hence, your desires will be righteous rather than corrupt. (You can learn more about living by the spirit here or see this video).
When your desires change from worldly to godly you’ll naturally find yourself no longer interested in chasing worldly things for satisfaction. For instance, is going out on the weekend to get plastered on alcohol & drugs really “fun” or is it potentially destructive? Is it really “freedom” to “let loose” in this manner or is it actually bondage, bondage to the flesh?
If believers “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” by walking in the spirit, the community in question will have virtue — a spirit of goodness — which is the opposite of lawlessness. And this is one of the reasons the American settlements were so successful in the 1600s, attracting throngs of freedom-seeking people in the 1700s, the vast majority of them being believers and, often, pastors & their congregations.
A few early examples include Puritan ministers Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone who led a group of about 100 people to establish the settlement of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1636. Hooker also founded Windsor and is unsurprisingly considered the “founding father” of Connecticut. Meanwhile theologian Roger Williams founded Providence, Rhode Island, in 1636 wherein he established the first Baptist church in America.
While all forms of government in a fallen world are flawed and have shortcomings, the republic model — often called ‘democratic’ — is the best for individual liberty and opportunity. People tend to flourish in republics whereas they languish under the gross restraints of Marxist countries or dictatorships/kingships, which explains why folks naturally try to escape communistic states and dictatorships in preference for freedom-loving republics and not the reverse.
In republics the Word of God is freely spread and believers gather & worship at liberty whereas in communistic states or corrupt dictatorships/kingships believers have to meet secretly and, if they’re caught, they’re fined, imprisoned or worse.
Regardless of the form of human government believers exist under — whether freedom-oriented, tyrannical or somewhere in between — the individual believer can certainly function in a personal state of spiritual freedom thru living by the spirit since “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). In light of this you can be in a state of captivity and yet be free on a deeper level, like Paul when he wrote the prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon).
Remember, the LORD functions in a state of total freedom wherein He does whatever pleases Him. You are created in God’s image and thus naturally want to do the same. If you’re spirit-controlled rather than flesh-ruled, here are some scriptural insights on how to obtain your (righteous) desires, regardless of the government you’re under or situation you’re experiencing (or see the video).
Keep in mind, off course, that every believer will face the ongoing challenge of temptations, trials and tests during their spiritual pilgrimage in this fallen world, which you can learn about here.
Related Topics:
The Seven FREEDOMS — Take Hold of ‘Em!
Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?
Godliness and Religion—What’s the Difference?
Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms
Libertinism — What’s Wrong with It and How to Walk FREE