Episode Details

Four Characteristics of Godly Faith

1 Samuel 26, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 05/02/2021

Introduction, v1-5

There is a lot of talk in our times about the secularizing of our culture. Much hay has been made of the rise of the “nones”, those whose religious preference is nothing in particular. Not Christian, not Jewish, not Muslim or Mormon or Hindu, etc. Just, “none.”

However, as scary as that may sound, especially to those of us who would look at America’s framing documents and think “how could this sort of Government work apart from some shared understanding of the world?” This decline in religious affiliation, and shift in worldviews actually does not indicate a secularizing worldview, at least at the individual level. If you go ask these “nones” if they are atheist, what you will find is that almost “none” are. They have some sort of faith. It’s usually a hodgepodge, feel good throw-together, characterized by sociologist Christian Smith as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Deistic because it does believe in some sort of deity. Moralistic because that God probably wants me to be nice to others and try to do more good than bad. Therapeutic in that how good and bad are evaluated is by my feelings. This somewhere out there higher power surely wants me to be happy. 

All of this to say, the worldviews we confront in the world today aren’t really “no-faith” options, they’re “wrong faith” options. Unbelievers have faith in, they trust, the wrong things. As believers, our temptation is not to abandon all beliefs-that’s not even possible-it’s to embrace the wrong beliefs. So we need the word of God to fix our minds firmly on the truth of who he is, and to show us what true faith looks like. So if you would, please turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 26.

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. 5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him. 

As we come into this chapter we start to hear echoes of the earlier story in chapter 24. There Saul was pursuing David after having been tipped off by the Ziphites that David was on the hill of Hachilah. And, just like in chapter 24, Saul is coming out with 3,000 of his best men to chase David down. But notice verses 4 & 5. Whereas in the cave Saul  had happened  

Godly Faith Withholds Vengeance, 6-12

6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. But