October 5, 2022
Last week we addressed the question “What are the temptations that arise when a culture presses against one of the tradition biblical moral standards?” This week we are going to follow the course of the most recent Sunday school discussion and answer the question “What do Christians need to navigate these pressures well?” Following the example of David in 1 Samuel 17 we see several things at play.
Our conflicts, whatever they are, unfold within the context of God’s creation as instruments of his plan. For example - Goliath was a willful enemy of God’s people, yet the Lord used him to reveal his own glory to Israel through the might and courage of David. (Eph 1:11; James 1:12-13)
We see that David’s had faith in God’s faithfulness to deliver him (1 Samuel 17: 37)
We see that, because his faith was in the LORD, David took measurable steps towards victory: setting aside Saul’s armor and taking up his sling (1 Sam 17:38-40). An excellent example of God’s sovereignty being worked out through the faithfulness of his people.
During our conversation the passages about spiritual warfare and the armor of God came up - and rightly so! Ephesians 6:10-20 draws the courage of David forward into an applicable context for us in our own settings. The fact that we aren’t called to pick up stones does not mean that we are relegated to a cultural pacifism. Instead, we have the tools of faith: truth, righteousness, eagerness to proclaim the Gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God. G. K Chesterton and D.A Carson give us a fitting reminder to our current situation:
"On five occasions in history the Church has gone to the dogs, but on each occasion, it was the dogs that died.”
“Evangelize. Evangelize and plant churches. Evangelize and pray. Evangelize and live life in the light of the consummated kingdom for which we wait.”
-Matt Allhands
