As we read the story of Samson in the Book of Judges it is hard not to notice the distresses he went through. At the same time we wonder “How come Samson is mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 as a hero of faith?” Most of preachers or commentators that I read would give explanation such as “Samson did not give up trusting/believing God till the end.” But that doesn’t seem to be an enough reason to be cited as a hero of faith, considering the overall teachings of the Bible.
The question regarding Samson’s faith was finally answered in a very important stage in my life through the published sermons of Dr. Hong-chun Kim. Many thanks to God for sending a preacher like Dr. Kim to the Church. His sermons helped me tremendously in appreciating the historic reformed faith.
In this post, I will try to summarize and translate what I understood as the main points in Dr. Kim’s exposition. It will inevitably reflect my understanding; so if there is any mistake, it is due to the error in my part. I encourage you to read Dr. Kim’s original sermon which is much more detailed and thorough. (At this point, there is no English translation of it.)
The state of the church in our day and age is not too different than that of the days of Samson. May our Lord Jesus Christ bless us in reading the story of Samson, open our eyes, and allow us to see the necessity of the faith that Samson had.
