Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How God Uses Broken People | Judges | Judges 14

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're going through the Book of Judges. If you haven't subscribed to our new podcast, Truth Over Tribe, I'd encourage you to take some time and go do that right now. We've got interviews about culture, politics, and the things you really care about with people like John Mark Comer, John Tyson, Oz Guinness, and many, many others. It's going to be a great podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:33 I've been excited about the interviews and the topics that we've taken on. So stop right now. Go subscribe to Truth Over Tribe on your podcast player. Today, the most popular Christian podcast is the rise and fall of Mars Hill, which tells the story of an emotionally and spiritually abusive celebrity pastor named Mark Driscoll. I've listened to every episode, and it's harrowing because I actually became a Christian during Driscoll's ascendancy. And his teaching, it actually had a big influence on my faith. And there's a part of me that feels really ashamed and embarrassed to say that. I mean, of course, at the time, I had no idea what was happening behind the scenes.

Starting point is 00:01:10 He was a celebrity pastor in Seattle. I lived in Columbia, Missouri. And yet, when I look back on it, it's not surprising what happened. When I think about how he taught and what he said. I mean, he bragged about firing elders. He said that you either get on the bus or you get run over by the bus. And he hoped that one day his ministry would leave behind a pile of bodies because they were defending the truth. He taught a patriarchal vision of marriage and men and women. Wives, they should stay at home.

Starting point is 00:01:39 They should work. They should have kids. They shouldn't be out in the workforce. And if they didn't satisfy their husband's desires sexually like an at-home porn star, well, then it would be their fault when he committed adultery. He yelled at people. He demeaned them. He mocked them. And yet, his ministry, it influenced hundreds of thousands of people. And this was often the justification for the abuse. And yet at the same time, you know it's also true. When you hear the story, you just can't help but wonder whether everything Driscoll was associated with is now somehow innately corrupted. I mean, shouldn't it all be questioned? Big churches, online streaming, networks, platforms, writing books, podcasts. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. And almost

Starting point is 00:02:26 everybody agrees, whoever you are, that what he did was terrible. It was wrong. But what do we make of his impact? What do we make of his methods? What do we make of everything else? While history never repeats itself, it does echo. In the 300s, the Roman emperor, Diocletian, he began systematically persecuting Christians. And many of the most prominent Christian leaders at the time proved unresilient. They recanted their faith in Jesus. They gave their allegiance to the emperor. After the persecution ended, many of these leaders wanted to return. And this created a, enormous debate. Those who didn't recant said, look, you've disqualified yourself from ministry. In fact, they said that their actions discredited their entire ministries altogether. And so,

Starting point is 00:03:14 if you were someone who was baptized by one of the recantors, well, your baptism, it doesn't really count. Or if you received communion from one of the recantors, well, it wasn't real. It wasn't authentic. One extremist group called the Donatist, went even one step further. They argued that authentic Christian disciples should ultimately experience moral perfection in their lives. The Donatists, they were looking for a pure church, for the perfect church. Any failure on the part of leaders or followers or anyone else, well, that was a damnable sign that the ministry itself was destructive and abusive and that it wasn't leading anyone towards Jesus. Any practices associated with a not perfect ministry were suddenly suspicious. As church history rolled on,

Starting point is 00:04:01 monotism was eventually identified as a heresy because the Bible never teaches that we will be perfect on this side of heaven. It also explicitly teaches that the effectiveness of a ministry, well, it's not in the hands of God's human instruments. It's not in the hands of humans at all. It's in God's hands alone. Ministry is effective because God is the one who ultimately doesn't, no matter who he works through. In Paul's letter to the Philippians in Chapter 1, verses 15 to 18, this is what he says. He says, it is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.

Starting point is 00:04:42 The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains. What then is the issue? Just this. That in every way, whether by false motives or true Christ is preached, and in this I, I rejoice. Paul is not justifying wrong motives or bad behavior. And yet he seems to understand that God mediates the gospel to us through broken people. Baptism, communion, and His grace, they come by means of broken people. And it's not the people who make them effective. It is God

Starting point is 00:05:21 who makes them effective. Now that's not to say that brokenness has no consequences. Sometimes a pastor's brokenness does disqualify him from ministry. But at the end of the day, this is how God works. There is no pure church. There is no perfect church. This takes us to the book of judges, which we've been studying in 10-minute Bible talks. In chapter 14, Samson's downward spiral really begins. Even though he was called by God to rescue Israel and to live the life of a Nazarite,

Starting point is 00:05:54 Samson ends up doing the exact opposite. You might remember that a Nazarite vow was normally taken for a short period of time, but Samson is a lifelong Nazarite. And taking the vow was a way that a ordinary person who wasn't a priest could, for a brief period of time, become holy like a priest. This meant that they were not only expected to follow the Old Testament laws to a T, but they needed to go beyond them. They weren't supposed to touch impure things like dead bodies or dead carcasses. They weren't supposed to drink wine or even cut their hair. But in Judges 14, Samson begins breaking all of the rules. First of all, he chooses to marry someone who doesn't worship Yahweh.

Starting point is 00:06:37 Then, on his way to make things official, he not only digs into the dead carcass of a lion, but he does it for a quick meal. He's literally eating out of a dead animal. And so he's explicitly breaking his vows of holiness. Now, at the end of this, it ends up leading to Samson having a battle with a the Philistines and he ends up killing most of the men in this Philistine town. And we have to remember, the Philistines were using their advanced technology to oppress the Israelites and to treat them as slaves.

Starting point is 00:07:06 And so God does want to set the Israelites free. In other words, God works through terribly broken people. One verse that's always bothered me, although I guess at the end of the day I should be thankful for it is verse four. I want to read it in context. Seamson is convincing his parents to let him break God's law, which said that you were not supposed to marry someone who didn't worship Yahweh. We'll pick up in verse one. Seamson went down to Timna, and there he saw a young Philistine woman, so here's someone who doesn't worship Yahweh.

Starting point is 00:07:39 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, I've seen a Philistine woman in Timna. Now, go get her for me as my wife. His father and mother replied, isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife? But Samson said to his father, get her for me. She's the right one for me. And now catch verse four, which might disturb you. It's in parentheses in the NIV because it's an aside.

Starting point is 00:08:07 It says this, his parents did not know that this was from Yahweh, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines, for at that time they were ruling over Israel. These are shocking verses, aren't they? For anyone who wants to be a purist, at least, they should be very shocking. God was working through Samson's brokenness to bring about God's own ends. Now, this doesn't justify what Samson did. Instead, it shows a broader principle. Our sin cannot overwhelm the grace and goodness of God. Our evil cannot undo God's ultimate plans.

Starting point is 00:08:43 If we choose the path of injustice and abuse, it is always wrong. And yet, God's plan will not be stopped. even through those things, he will work. And you know what? This is great news for all of us. Because myself, because you, because every person who listens to this podcast, we are more like Samson than we are like Jesus. We are all, every single one of us, full of mixed motives, sinful desires, evil thoughts.

Starting point is 00:09:12 If someone did a podcast about you and your life, it might not be as bad as Mark Driscoll, but it would be bad for you. Imagine if the whole world knew your every sinful thought, your every sinful deed, your every sinful action, unblemished and uncut. Praise Jesus that in His grace he works through sinners. People like you and me. So let's fight to repent. Let's fight to follow him and to live out his ways, to choose love and gentleness, grace, and

Starting point is 00:09:41 mercy. And yet let's also not forget that God has always and will always work through sinners until Jesus returns. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily. Also, ask yourself,

Starting point is 00:10:01 who could you share this podcast with? Texting an episode to a friend or a family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How God Uses Broken People | Judges | Judges 14

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