When we meet Boaz in v. 4, he is in the midst of an ordinary workday. Again, what seems to be coincidence is shown to be God steering things along in a very natural way, as He brings Boaz and Ruth together. Boaz had no idea this would be the day he would meet the love of his life. His greeting shows that he honors God first in the workplace and genuinely cares for his workers, and we see that they in turn respect him. Some qualities of a godly employer and employee are described in Eph. 6:5-9 and Col. 3:22-4:1.
When Boaz greets the reapers, Ruth catches his eye, and he asks about her in v. 5. The first thing about Ruth that the servant points out in v. 6 is that she is a Moabitess, an outsider. Apart from this surface level description, we can also glean information about Ruth’s character from the servant’s description. First of all, we see she is respectful and humble. Instead of demanding her right to work the field based on the law in Leviticus, she rather politely asks for permission and works in the fields where she finds favor (see v. 2). There is a significant amount of pressure these days for women to be more aggressively assertive, or ultimately more masculine, in the workplace. If instead we carry ourselves with feminine dignity (Prov. 31:25) and respectfulness, our character will speak for itself. In addition, we learn that she has a strong work ethic (Prov. 14:23, Col. 3:23-24, Prov. 31:13). She diligently continued working all morning through to this time, with only a short break. What can you do to grow in these qualities: respectfulness, humility, and diligence? Ruth was under inspection by the servant even though she was unaware. We need to be mindful that our conduct is also under observation. Unbelievers are watching to see how we act as children of God. What they see when they watch us matters. Boaz introduces himself to Ruth in v. 8, using a polite term of endearment to address her, “my daughter.” Boaz asks Ruth to continue working in his field alongside his female workers (the text implies prior to this that she has visited several fields). By placing Ruth in this position, he is not only helping her with her work and providing her with more food, but he is also giving her companionship among the other young woman. Remember that Ruth is a stranger in Bethlehem, so she has no female friends at this point. We also find in v. 9 that Boaz has told the male workers not to touch her. As we’ve discussed before, the time of the Judges were dangerous, and traveling to work in a stranger’s field all day surrounded by strange men would be a frightening, vulnerable situation. However Boaz provided her with protection, so she knows she can work safely in his fields. In addition, he said she is allowed to drink the water that the men draw. Not only does this save her the effort of drawing her own water, which is difficult work on top of gleaning the fields, but he is providing her with refreshment. What qualities of a godly man does Boaz’ exemplify in this passage? Altogether if Ruth works in Boaz’ field, she will find companionship, protection, and refreshment. God is clearly blessing Ruth through Boaz. In v. 10, we see Ruth’s reaction to Boaz’ kindness. Ruth felt that, based on nationality, she didn’t belong. In the Hebrew, she literally says to Boaz, “You have noticed the unnoticed.” The grace that she found in the eyes of Boaz’ was overwhelming to her. While again I think this speaks of Ruth’s humility, I think even more so we are reminded of the acceptance we have in Christ. While at times we may feel like an outsider or stranger who does not belong, we always belong in the family of God. Are you welcoming to those who are outside your tribe? In response, Boaz tells her in v. 11 that he has heard of her sacrifice and service for Naomi and ultimately of her trust in God (end of v. 12). He knows that she has placed herself under the wings of God for refuge, like a bird nestled in its mother’s wings for security. Her commitment to Naomi and to God, as well as her conduct in his field, has clearly moved Boaz. He then prays this blessing over her in v. 12 that the Lord would reward her for placing her trust in Him. This serves as a fitting reminder that believers should encourage one another and pray for one another. His words of comfort and kindness, as Ruth called them in v. 13, ministered to Ruth. She politely accepts his offer to stay in this field where she will find favor. Why is it important to speak words of comfort, kindness, and encouragement?
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This chapter begins immediately after Ruth and Naomi have arrived back in Bethlehem. Though it introduces the character of Boaz, he actually doesn’t enter the story until later. Boaz means “standing in strength.” He was so significant that Solomon named one of the main pillars of the temple after him (1 Kings 7:21). What set him apart was that during a time when everyone else did what was right in their own eyes, Boaz stood strong and did what was right in God’s eyes. We are also told that he is a relative of Elimelech and that he is wealthy. Unlike Elimelech, he stood strong and remained in the land during the famine, and he was blessed. The phrase translated “man of great wealth” is elsewhere translated “mighty man of valor” (See Judg. 6:12). This description is similar in concept to our idea of a knight. This is the same word (chayil) translated as “virtuous” when describing a godly wife (see Prov. 12:4 and Prov. 31:10). From this opening description alone we see that he is a man who stands firm on God’s Word and is unmoved by circumstances and that he trusts God for provision. We will see more of his qualities later in this chapter. What are the qualities of a man of valor?
To understand what Ruth suggests in verse 2, you need to know that by Jewish law, harvesters were required to leave behind some grain for the poor and strangers (Lev. 19:9-10). Ruth understood that God had made this provision in the law for the poor (as her and Naomi were), and she trusted that this provision was an open door from Him that she should walk through. As she take hold of this opportunity, Ruth demonstrates a willingness to work hard, a servant’s heart (demonstrated by her initiative and resourcefulness to provide and care for Naomi), and foremost a trust in God’s provision. Keep in mind this was likely an unsafe trip for Ruth since this is the time of the judges, so as she asksNaomi’s permission to go, she also trusts God for protection. In what way was Ruth faithful to serve the Lord where she was? How can you faithfully serve the Lord where you are? Now there were many fields in Bethlehem, but we are told in v. 3 that she “happens” to go to the one belonging to Boaz. There’s no such thing as coincidence in God’s kingdom (Prov. 16:33). This is God’s providence. Often, He guides us in such a natural way that we don’t even notice it till later. Looking back, we often see God’s hand at work in our lives. Ruth just followed God and trusted that by the end of the day she and Naomi would have food to eat. As she obeyed God in the small things (see Luke 16:10), He steered her along to exactly the place He intended her to be. How can you be more faithful in the “small things” the Lord has put in your life while you wait for His guidance? When Naomi returns home to Bethlehem, she asks the towns people to call her bitter in v. 20. She clearly states in v. 21 that her bitterness is in reaction to her perceived understanding of how the Lord has dealt with her: afflicting her and taking everything away from her. Bitterness is a feeling of personal injury and resentment; an anger and disappointment due to a perceived unfair treatment. Bitterness begins to grow in our hearts when we experience unmet expectations as we walk with the Lord. When we face difficult times, the expectations of what we think should happen or what God should do can go unmet, challenging our faith. If you are experiencing bitterness, what are some practical steps you can take to remove bitterness from your heart?
When confronted with disappointment, we must realize our expectations for our lives are out of line with the Father’s, but blessed is he who is not offended because of Jesus (Luke 7:23). When we experience challenges, the Lord wants to use them to draw us up to another level of faith. If Jesus doesn’t do what you expect Him to, trust that He is still for you and has something better for you, even if you don’t understand it. We need to trust Him and walk by faith not by sight. When we are struggling in this, we need to persevere (see Matt. 15:22-28) and supply our faith further (2 Pet. 1:5-7). In addition, if we feel personally injured by unmet expectations, then we’ve lost sight of God’s sovereignty, and we need to humble ourselves. Everything we receive from God belongs to Him, and it is His to give and take away as He sees fit. We are simply stewards of our money, our families, our time, our ministries, etc. His ways are high above our ways; who are we to make judgment of God’s unlimited wisdom in our finite understanding? In addition, when our hopes are disappointed, it should challenge us to question what we were really placing our hope in (Prov. 13:12). The discouragement reveals the shaky foundation on which we were building instead of building our lives on the rock. Finally rather than giving in to bitterness (see Eph. 4:31), we need to shift our expectations to align with God’s (Ps. 62:5-6) and place our hope in Him (Ps. 42:5). A recognition must take place that it’s not the removal of the difficult situation but rather God’s grace that we need (see 2 Cor. 12:7-10). If we want godly contentment (1 Tim. 6:6), we need to draw from the only true source of joy and peace, which is the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), by abiding in the Word. We need to seek comfort in the Scriptures (Rom. 15:4) and allow the Word of God to burn away the discouragement in our hearts (Luke 24:32) and renew our hope. Our God is so good that when we are in this state of discouragement, disappointment, and even bitter resentment, He does not leave us there. He meets us where we are and translates His love to us in a way we can understand, just as He did for the discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus (see Luke 24:13-27). In Naomi’s story, we can see the Lord communicating His love to her through Ruth. He is going to bring unbelievable blessing into Naomi’s life through Ruth. The truth that Naomi could not see yet was that she did not truly come home empty as she claims in v. 21. In addition, it says in v. 22 that they return during the time of barley harvest, which is the time of the Passover. This paints for us a beautiful picture of God’s grace. Naomi returns home repentant at a time that symbolically points forward to Christ’s blood sacrifice which cleanses from sin. There is forgiveness and restoration for her, even when she feels God is against her. As we discussed a couple weeks ago, Naomi’s hopelessness twists her logic, so that she is unable to see God’s grace in the midst of her circumstances and the blessing of Ruth in her life. Wherever you are at in your walk with the Lord, know that He loves you and that He desires to meet with you and communicate His love to you right where you are. What are some things in your life right now that speak to you of God’s love for you? In this passage, Ruth’s reaction to the circumstances stands in contrast to Naomi’s. Ruth has experienced the same loss that Naomi has (though a husband, brother, and father rather than husband and sons), yet it is clear that she doesn’t feel empty or afflicted. From her promise back in v. 16-17, it is clear that she view her relationship with Naomi as a mother and a daughter, as a sister and a friend, as something valuable. For her, everything had changed when she encountered the living God. She grew up in a culture worshipping the idol Chemosh (1 Kings 11:7, 2 Kings 3:26), but now she has experienced the grace and forgiveness of the Living God. She has no husband, but she has intimacy with a loving God and has a new family in Him. For Ruth, this is enough. She responded to her challenges by being grateful for her blessings and finding ways she could serve someone else. How can you respond to the difficulties you are facing with gratefulness and selflessness? Looking back at 2:19-21: We have seen that the good news God has for us is Jesus Himself, the Man who gave Himself for us that we might be taken out of this evil age. He personally offers us all the benefits that Christ earned freely in love. What is clarified in chapter 2 is that these benefits are taken hold of by faith, and not by any work of the law. If the law had any power to make us obtain the riches of Christ, then Christ would have been unnecessary. So faith has been shown to be the most important piece of our justification with God. We also saw that there is a recognition that the law made us dead men walking, but that Christ now lives in us, and we access that life by faith in Christ. Looking at verse 1: It is so easy to become bewitched. This word means that we are led away to evil by the false promise of something good. That truth is it that we are so easily led away from? It is the truth that Jesus was crucified on our behalf. This truth should teach us two things that drive us to the Lord. 1. THE LORD LOVES US ENOUGH TO GIVE HIS LIFE FOR US: Romans 5:8 tells us that God demonstrates His love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If you ever think that the Lord does not love you, then you have been bewitched and forgotten the image of Christ on the cross for your sake. 2. THE COST OF ETERNAL LIFE IS TOO HIGH FOR US TO PAY: Hebrews 10:1-4 tells us that the rituals of the law do not make the worshippers perfect. There is nothing that can be done to complete us in righteousness before the Lord apart from Jesus. The cost is too high. It costs the precious blood of Jesus. This is not something we can pay ourselves. If we think we can earn our salvation, we have been bewitched and are sorely mistaken about the true cost of salvation. We must again look at the image of Christ on the cross. Paul asks three questions to clarify his point about living before the Lord in faith and grace. Looking at verse 2: Paul asks how the Spirit was initially received. Receiving the Spirit was not achieved by the works of the law. In other words, it was not earned. God does not give us the Spirit as a reward. There is no trade of equal value involved. You cannot receive the Spirit because you have read your Bible extensively, been nice to everyone around you, or made significant progress at work or school. Receiving the Spirit is done by faith. What does this mean? First, "received" does not mean offered. The Spirit is offered freely as a gift in Christ. The offer is for all. Received means to "grab ahold of." It is about accepting the offer. The Spirit is accepted by faith! What is faith? Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 for us as the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is taking something that you do not see, and actively becoming a vessel to show that thing in real in the physical life you live now. It is taking the promises of God, which we do not see here and now, and actively living your life as a demonstration that those promises are real. God has promised us the Spirit, and receiving the Spirit in faith is about DOING THINGS IN YOUR LIFE as if you have the Spirit because you have the great confidence that God has given you the Spirit. As a note, this is not blind faith. We do not just randomly believe that God will give us His grace, or that the Spirit will dwell with us. We have CONFIDENCE of this provision because God Himself has PROMISED IT and PROVEN IT by Jesus Christ. Romans 5 says that if God has shown us His love by dying for us, then how much more shall we live by His life! It is the only reasonable and true conclusion that can be drawn from the life of Jesus! He is our sacrifice, and He has brought us into a place of life in Him. Surely if He loves us enough to die for us while we are sinners, then He loves us enough to give us His Spirit and dwell with us eternally! It's a promise we can trust our lives with! Looking at verse 3: Paul asks if the work of God which was begun in the Spirit can be perfected in the flesh. The idea is that God has begun a work in us, transforming us into the image of Christ here on earth. This was begun by the receiving of the Spirit in faith. It is continued unto completion also by faith! Just as much as you could not earn the gift of the Spirit by fulfilling the law, you cannot earn Christ-likeness fulfilling the law. Being like Christ is not something that is earned. It is something that is given. The Lord promises to accomplish this in you, you must simply live with faith in that promise. Looking at verse 5: Paul asks if the Lord supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles by works or faith? Moving past the personal work of the Spirit in your life, the working of miracles and external demonstrations of God's power are not something that we accomplish by the law. No, rather the Spirit works THROUGH our lives as a gift to help in the glorification of Christ here and now. He provides gifts of prophecy, tongues, interpretation, knowledge, faith, and healing as He wills. It is not a reward for our spiritual state. It is His gift to bless those around us and glorify Christ through us. Everything is done by faith, by receiving the offer of a gift in our lives. It is all by grace, through faith. At this point in the story, Naomi’s situation had grown depserate. The journey they would make would be 75 miles, including 4500 ft of descent and 3750 ft of ascension, through desert. Once in Bethlehem, Naomi still had no idea how she would be cared for; she would be destitute with no land, work, or food. In addition to all this, she’s certainly struggling with depression. In verse 14, after Naomi had urged them to return home, Orpah relents and leaves, but Ruth clings (literally sticks like glue) to her. Both daughters have affection for her. Both initially resisted, and both shed tears, but only Ruth made a real commitment. Genuine love wasn’t demonstrated by emotive expression but by loyal service. Ruth wanted to be there for Naomi and care for her. She makes a beautiful poetic promise to her in v. 16-17. She must have been very persistent and determined, because Naomi gives up in v. 18. We can follow her example by committing ourselves to be loyal friends and put the needs of others before our own. David had Jonathan, Paul had Timothy, and Naomi had Ruth. God designed us to be relational, and we need to be willing to reach out and let other people into our lives. We see two responses to a person in need: the superficially sympathetic and the faithful friend. Which one are you? How can you be a friend more like Ruth?
In this passage, Orpah and Ruth not only represent to types of love, but also two responses to the gospel. Both women married into a Jewish family and heard the testimony of their husbands and in-laws. But when Naomi made a stand for God in returning to Judah, it was Ruth who demonstrated a commitment to God. Orpah was like those who are lost but are close to the kingdom of heaven (see King Agrippa as another example of this in Acts 26:28). She lived with them for a while, perhaps even seeming from an external view like a believer for a time, but ultimately the trial and her following choices revealed she did not genuinely believe. She returned to her gods (see v. 15). On the other hand, Ruth makes a commitment to follow the Lord, using His name, Yehovah, in her promise to Naomi in v. 17. You are presented with the same choice. Trials will reveal the true nature of your faith. The same difference between Ruth and Orpah is the difference is between Peter and Judas, or David and Saul. What things are not necessarily evidence of genuine faith? What things are evidence of genuine faith? We cannot judge another person’s heart or be certain of their faith. We can only see their actions or the fruit in their lives (Matt. 7:16) and whether or not they continue with the Lord (1 John 2:17). However, we can have certainty about our own salvation, in that the Holy Spirit will confirm it in our spirits (Rom. 8:16). We can be confident of our salvation when we are walking in the Spirit, keeping God’s Word (1 John 2:5). Even more than that, our confidence is built on our knowledge of God’s love for us (1 John 4:17). The Holy Spirit pours out the love of God into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). As Naomi is returning home to Bethlehem, she wants her daughters-in-law to know that they are not obligated to go with her (v. 8) and that she has no future for them (v. 11-13). In her second plea, she references a Jewish law (Duet. 25), which says that a younger, unmarried brother has a responsibility to marry his widowed sister-in-law in order to raise up an heir to carry on his brother’s name. She reminds them, with sarcasm, that she has no other sons to fulfill this role. In the midst of her plea for them to go, she makes this sad remark (end of v. 13): “it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” While she seems to believe that this is for their best, this comment also reveals that she is pushing them away because she feels like a burden to them. Not only does she blame herself for the suffering of these women, but she also feels like the Lord is against her. How did discouragement affect the way Naomi saw the situation? How is your perspective and thought-life affected by discouragement?
Hopelessness can really skew our logic. Despite how bleak things look or feel, the Lord is still for her (Rom. 8:31). There is no evidence that the suffering they are experiencing is punishment for her actions. First of all, suffering and death are an unavoidable part of living in a fallen world. Secondly, God does not punish His children; He disciplines them. The goal of punishment is justice; the goal of discipline is correction. Punishment speaks of wrath; discipline speaks of love. The Scripture tells us that God disciplines us because He delights in us (Heb. 12:6). Naomi is unnecessarily carrying around a sense of guilt and shame because she believes she is being judged. But the truth is that once we repent, there is no need to revisit our past mistakes. There is no condemnation for us. We stand before God as blameless, robed in Christ’s righteousness (see Rom. 8:1 and Jude 1:24). Whatever difficult circumstances you face, know that God is not against you or angry with you. You are not a burden. You are the object of God’s love and delight. He wants to encourage you and give you hope. What should you do when experiencing hopelessness and discouragement? To properly respond to feelings of discouragement, there first needs to be a recognition that the battle taking place is spiritual in nature (Eph. 6:12). From Col. 3:15, we learn that our hearts should be ruled by God’s peace, rather than us being ruled by our hearts. Therefore, we shouldn’t yield to feelings of discouragement and worry but rather take them to the Lord in submission. We are told in 2 Cor. 10:5 to take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Thus, we shouldn’t allow our thoughts to drift down a path of discouragement but rather by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can practice self-control in our thought-life (see Phil. 4:8 for a list of things to dwell on). Knowing that our logic can be skewed by discouragement, we shouldn’t accept those thoughts and feelings as truth, but rather challenge them like the psalmist in Ps. 42. In this warfare, we only have one weapon: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17). The word for “sword” means “choice weapon,” so as the enemy creeps in with lies, we must replace those lies with corresponding Scriptural truths. Notice how we did that above for the discouraging thoughts experienced by Naomi. In addition, our spiritual battles are fought through wrestling in prayer (Eph. 6:18). Remember the three R’s of fighting spiritual battles: Recognize (that it is a spiritual battle), Resist (the devil and he will flee), and Rejoice (for the Lord has already given you the victory). In her discouraged state, Naomi needs to be reminded of God’s love, His compassion and grace towards her, and how precious and valuable she is to Him. We will see that God provides just such an encouragement to her in the person of Ruth. In the same way, God meets us where we are at and communicates His love to us in a way we can understand. What is the Lord speaking to you today? Do you allow others to speak into your life when you are discouraged or do you push them away? In v. 1, the word translated “dwell” is more literally “to temporarily dwell, sojourn, be a stranger, dwell for a time.” However, in v. 4, the word translated “dwelt” is a different Hebrew word meaning “to remain, abide, inhabit.” Perhaps Elimelech only intended for his family to leave Israel for a short time, but they remained in Moab for ten years (end of v. 4). The leaving of Judah is an analogy for leaving fellowship with God, which of course results in sin. While he thought that he would leave his troubles behind by going to Moab, unfortunately he met with tragedy. “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay (R. Zaccharias).” Can you think of some examples of sins taking people further than they wanted to go?
In v.2, we find that Elimelech took with him his wife Naomi, whose name means “my delight” or “my pleasantness”, and their two sons Mahlon (“sick”) and Chilion (“wasting away”). Symbolically looking at these names, we can probably infer a few things about Elimelech’s mindset. When things were delightful and pleasant, he was content to be in the house of praise. But when things were sickly and wasting away, as in a famine, he distanced himself from the Lord. Elimelech was not the only one affected by his choices. He brought his wife and sons along with him. Our actions, our sins, always affect those around us. In verse 4, we see that this decision led to his sons marrying Moabite women, something which was forbidden (see Duet. 7:3) because intermarriage with the surrounding pagan nations would lead the Israelites to unfaithfulness to God (see Ex. 34:16). In v. 15, we see that at least one of the sons’ wives was truly not devoted to the Lord. When her husband died, Orpah simply returned to her gods. The compromise in the spiritual walk of the sons resulted from the example set by their father. Many people today don’t think that their sins are truly harmful to themselves or those around them; can you think of examples of “harmless” sins taking people farther than they want to go and affecting their loved ones? All three women, Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth, are now childless widows. For a woman in this time period and culture, this was absolutely devastating. They had to depend on the generosity of strangers. The situation is very dark. While having gone through a physical famine before, Naomi has never experienced a famine like this. But in the midst of all of this, she resolved to return to the Lord, to trust Him to provide for her. No matter how far or how long she had been gone, she knew it was a good idea to return home. Times of crises can become times that our Savior powerfully moves on our behalf. If we trust God and return to Him, they can be the most defining and glorious times in our lives (Rom. 5:3). For Naomi, God was going to bring her life from ashes to beauty. If we look at the two main characters in this passage, we can learn an important lesson about dealing with trials. Elimelech needed to care for his family and found a practical solution by moving to Moab, not really considering the spiritual impact this would have on his family. Naomi, however, recognized her need for the Lord and returned to Judah, even though she couldn’t see a solution to her problem. Naomi and Elimelech demonstrate two contrasting reactions to trials. One is to withdraw from God. The other is to draw near to God. You might view it as choosing to rely on yourself or the Savior. When we are faced with obstacles, we make a choice to either operate in the flesh or the spirit. Whether in feast or famine, we always want to be those who draw near to God. He promises to take care of you in the famine, and we see in v. 7 that He truly had taken care of those who waited through it all in Bethlehem. Which reaction resonates with you? What do you do when you experience times of famine in your life? Looking back at verses 1:11-24: Paul brought up that the gospel he was preaching was given to him directly by Jesus Christ. The only time he had been to Jerusalem and spoke with the leadership about it was after three years in Arabia, and even then he was only with Peter and a few others for fifteen days. We see that the gospel is not man's idea and it is not man's work. It is a truth given to us by God Himself. The authority of it is not from ourselves, the power of it is not from ourselves. It is all the Lord, His doing, His sharing, His goodness and His love. Looking at verse 6: There is nothing to add to the gospel. There is no deficiency in it. It is perfect and complete and true just the way that it is. Remember that the gospel is this statement, "Jesus Christ has come to die on your behalf as payment for your sins, so that He might take you out of this evil age. The benefits of His life, death, and resurrection are offered personally and freely to you." There is no necessity to add a law to this. There is no standard of requirement that must be completed by any person in order to receive this. As far as Judaism goes, even when Paul brought Titus (a Greek) to Jerusalem, none of the leaders thought it was necessary that Titus become a Jew culturally in order to receive the gift of God in Christ. There are no requirements! No academic requirements, no economic requirements, no racial or cultural requirements. The only thing that is necessary is a response of faith in Christ. Looking at verse 8: An interesting note is that Peter and Paul were called to share the SAME gospel to DIFFERENT people. The gospel is the same everywhere and every time, but the audience changes. As we live our lives for the Lord, proclaiming His gospel in every setting of our lives, we must be aware of the audience we have before us. We must reach the people around us in the most effective way we can. Effectiveness here is not measured by the amount of skill you have in sharing (see how Paul shared in 1 Corinthians 2:1-4), the comfort you have in sharing (see Paul's lists of discomforts in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28) , or even the number of people you find yourself sharing with (see Phillip preaching to the eunuch in Acts 8:26-40). Effectiveness is measured by whether the Spirit moves in power in someone's life. The power of the Spirit is to show people the true Jesus and bring them to a place of responding to His call. Are people seeing the true Jesus and responding to Him where you are? Then there is effectiveness. Looking at verse 12: When Peter comes to Antioch, he displays a certain amount of hypocrisy because of his own fear of looking bad in front of other Jewish believers. This is easily one of the most common fears that we have. Even as those who follow Christ, we find fears creep into our mind and drive us away from the truth of the gospel. It can be even justified in this way: Peter probably thought to himself, "I am a leader in the church. I don't want to make any of my brethren stumble. These Greeks understand the freedom we have in Christ, but these Jews are a little sensitive about the Jewish customs, so I will just distance myself from the Greeks while they are here, so I can be kind to them." But even that line of thinking is flawed, for in justifying himself by saying it is an act of love towards the Jewish believers, he has not been loving or true to the Greek believers around him. The situation we find ourselves in truly is a difficult one! But we must, by the grace of God, push forward into SHOWING EVERYONE EVERYWHERE, AT EVERY TIME, THAT THE GOSPEL IS FREE. Looking at verse 14: Peter is caught living a double life. He acts one way in front of Jews, and another way in front of Greeks. This teaches us two things about the gospel: 1. IF THE GOSPEL IS NOT TRUE FOR ONE PERSON, THEN IT IS NOT TRUE FOR ANY PERSON: Truth cannot be subjective. Things that are absolute are only absolute if they remain absolute at all times and in all circumstances. Either the gospel is true, and God's gift of Jesus is freely given to all regardless of background, culture, race, personality, economic status, or social status, or the gospel is false, and we are left with something to earn, whether by culture, race, personality, economic status, or social status. 2. THE GOSPEL ALLOWS US TO FREELY BE OURSELVES EVERYWHERE WE GO: Apart from the gospel, we often find ourselves changing the way we act based on where we are. At school, we act one with our friends, and another way with our teachers. Both of these things are different than how we act with our siblings or our parents. Different things are hidden from different people, so as to give some impression that makes us look good to them. This can be an exhausting life, moving between circles of people, never truly being who you are in any setting. But in the gospel, what we find is that we can be ourselves everywhere, all the time. We do not have to convince others that we are good, we rest in the grace of God. We are free to live simply as beloved children of God everywhere we go. Looking at verse 16: The law has never at any time made anyone righteous with the Lord. The word righteousness is positional and relational. It means to be standing on the right side. It becomes quite clear how the law could never make someone stand on the right side with the Lord. The law does not do anything to change a person. It has no power to move a person to the right position. The best the law can do is show you that you are in the wrong position. It never could, and never will be able to move you into a right position with the Lord. The only thing that does that is trusting Jesus (faith in Christ). What does this even mean? It means that the only thing that can makes you right with God is you trusting that Jesus makes you right with God. You have no other reason (particularly based on the law) to ever think that you are right with God. The only thing you have is that you trust that Jesus has made you right. This would seem like foolishness, except every part of this trust that you have is built on the life of Jesus Himself. He lived always right with the Lord, and took on a punishment that was not owed Him, and now has presented that payment to the Lord on your behalf, and it has been accepted by God! All of these things are known by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus! You don't see it now. You don't feel it now. You don't even really understand it now. But you believe it now and that is enough. Just have faith in the work of Jesus! Looking at verse 17: Paul addresses a common question. The logic goes like this: God is righteous and true and just. He could never tolerate or excuse sin. A Christian is said to be right with the Lord because of Jesus alone. But then if a Christian sins, is Jesus then an enabler of sin? Does Jesus become a reason for us to continue sinning? Shouldn't someone who is right with God, always do the right thing? The question is valid, but the premise is misguided. The Christian life is not a life of practical sinlessness, but a life of blamelessness. It is not that Christians are incapable of sin, it is that we always have a continual advocate who makes us right with the Lord (1 John 2:1-2). Every time we find ourselves in sin again is another time where we must confess that our righteousness is not based on our works, but Christ Himself. Looking at verse 20: The law truly only accomplishes one thing. It condemns us all to death. By looking at the law, we become dead men walking. We are people existing only to die. But having been killed by the law, we find that there is life on the other side of that death. There is life in Christ. This truth awakens us to what the Christian life is about. The Christian statement is not one of moral goodness, self-righteousness, or inherent sufficiency. A Christian is not someone who thinks they are good and respectable. A Christian is not someone who thinks they can find the fullness of life by accomplishing things or becoming better. A Christian is someone who thinks that the only life to be found, the only life worth living, is the one where they stop trying to prove themselves; the one stop trying to please themselves. They simply and completely trust that Christ gives them the life He has, the life that can conquer death. They live their lives trusting Jesus, following what He says, obeying what He wants, because they know that His life is the only life. Questions to think on: 1. What should you do if you are trying to live by faith, but find yourself still sinning? 2. What do you think it means to have Christ living in you? How does that kind of living differ from living under the law? Looking back at verses 1-9: We have seen that the gospel is stated clearly in verse 4, where it describes Jesus as the one that ACCOMPLISHED GOD'S AGE OLD PLAN OF BEING THE ONE WHO GAVE HIS LIFE IN SACRIFICE FOR OURS, SO THAT WE COULD BE TAKEN OUT OF THIS EVIL AGE. We have also seen that this news is something that God speaks to us as A PERSONAL INVITATION INTO THE MANY BENEFITS WHICH CHRIST HAS EARNED AND WE HAVE NOT. These two thoughts together give us a beautiful piece of news, showing that God has satisfied both justice and mercy. Justice, because Jesus has earned all things according to the Law. Mercy and grace, because He has done so out of love, taking away our punishment and instead giving us the profit of what He has earned. It is all around good news! We also saw that anything more or less than this news is not the gospel. It is bad news because it places us under the curse of having to pay (even partially pay) some part of the Law for our sin. Finally, we saw that we can find ourselves believing this bad news because we struggle with wanting to prove ourselves to other people, looking to want to make ourselves appear valuable, worthwhile, and acceptable according to what people think. We are freed of this thinking by realizing God has placed value on us by His gospel, freeing us from having to prove our worth, making us free to serve without hesitation or reservation. Looking at verse 11: Here we see that the gospel was not received by Paul until it was given to Him by the revelation of Jesus Christ. We know he heard the news that was being shared at least one time before Jesus spoke to Him. Stephen shared the gospel with Paul present in Acts 7. It was not that Paul had not heard the news. It was that Paul had not accepted the news until it was given by Jesus Himself. We find two important truths here about how the gospel is shared and received. 1. IT IS SHARED BY GOD HIMSELF: The word of salvation is something that is shared by God Himself. John 1 declares something magnificent. The Word became flesh. God's plan and purpose for all of time was the person of Jesus Christ. God's plan was direct communication of His love to us through Jesus Christ. He did not send someone else to communicate His love to us. He sent prophets and judges previously to point to what was coming. He provided the Law to make us ready to receive what was coming. But when it came to the actual demonstration of His love, He did it Himself. He loves you so much, being so willing to meet you precisely where you are (in sin and failure), that He comes directly to you to speak to you about His love. 2. IT IS UNDERSTOOD ONLY IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST: The gospel cannot be understood or received unless we have a clear understanding of the person of Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis said that based on Jesus' life, He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. Which person do we see Him as? Others take the view that He was just a good moral teacher, like Ghandi or Mohammad. Anything less than seeing Jesus as God Himself dwelling with us and dying for us will inevtiably lead you to misunderstanding the gospel. It is our goal to always know the Person of Jesus more and in doing so, we find that we are taking in more and more of God's grace! Looking at verse 14: It is evident that Paul's limitation in understanding and accepting the gospel/grace of God was in part due to what his life was focused on before encountering Christ. We see that Paul was a zealous Jew, being well educated and having great skill in the Judaic traditions. It would also be noted that being a well respected teacher of the Law, Paul had a strict mindset concerning keeping everything in the Law. This helps us see two things that prevent us from understanding and accepting the gospel: 1. WORLDLY SKILL AND WISDOM: The gospel is not something that is understood by the wisdom of men. Even with all of the resources we have at our disposal, and with all the education we have access to, we remain blind to the grace of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:6-9 tells us that all of the wisdom of the world could never have thought of what God had prepared for mankind. Why is it that our wisdom is incapable of leading us to the gospel? In James 3:13-17, we see that the world's wisdom is characterized by self-promotion and envy. The focus is yourself, emphasizing either making yourself look good or making yourself feel bad that you don't have what someone else does. The Lord's wisdom is concerned with meekness and humility. The focus is on others and viewing their needs as more important than your own. Worldly wisdom will never lead us to understand the love that God has demonstrated in Jesus. It is a love that is so selfless and free that it stands in complete contrast to everything we know in this world. 2. THE LAW: The gospel is the end of the law. It is a statement that Jesus has fulfilled all that is necessary in the Law, earning all the benefits of the Lord, being raised to the right hand of the Father. It is a statement that He freely gives those benefits to us. If your mindset is one of trying to earn the Lord's favor by keeping a list of rules, then you will not understand and accept the gospel. If your mindset is one where you keep some rules so the Lord does not bother you anymore, then you will not understand and accept the gospel. God is not interested in you appeasing His wrath so you can be without Him. He is interested in you being pleasing to Him and being in an intimate relationship with Him. As long as we try to appease to God through the Law so that we can live our own lives without thinking of Him, we will not understand the grace that is given to us. It is not until we come to an end of the Law in Christ, and realize that He wants us to be in close connection with Him continually that we will truly understand and accept the gospel. Looking at verse 15: The gospel did not become clear to Paul until God's appointed time. Why this was the most appropriate time according to the Lord is a mystery. But this gives us a clue about what living in grace means. It means accepting the timing of the Lord. It means forgetting about doing what you want to do when you want to do it, and instead embracing that God is doing something, wants you to do it with Him, and will do it in His time. Living in grace is letting go of control of everything, even letting go of when we think things should happen. Looking at verse 16: We must remember that God's grace is given to us with a purpose in mind. That purpose is that we would be able to participate in glorifying God to everyone around us. He has revealed Himself in His love to us, and now invites us through the many gifts He gives us access to, to participate in revealing Him to everyone. To live in grace is to participate in God's work by His Spirit. It is to let His life be your life, to let His nature be your nature. God did not just give you grace to make you feel good about yourself. He gave you grace to save you and to enable you to faithfully serve Him in these times. As a note, we see that Paul was a servant to the Gentiles. This was probably the last group Paul would have originally thought of serving, since he was such a prominent Jew. In fact, through Acts we see several attempts by Paul to reach a Jewish audience in spite of his calling to the Gentiles. Eventually, he recognizes that Peter had received grace to preach the Gentiles, but still we see that Paul's heart was for his own countrymen. This teaches us that where God calls you to serve is not necessarily in line with what you are most passionate about in a worldly sense. In a spiritual sense, we are most passionate about the Lord Jesus and the grace given through Him in love. This influences everything about who we are. In a physical sense, we have things that please and satisfy us personally. Serving the Lord will always satisfy our passion for Jesus, but it may not satisfy our physical passions. There are only two things we must know about serving the Lord: 1. THE LORD OPENS THE OPPORTUNITIES: The only thing we are responsible for is to be passionate about serving the Lord exactly where we are in whatever capacities are available to us. He will create opportunities around us that we are free to step into. If we perceive an opportunity, we can try it out, but we must be open to the Lord closing those opportunities. We must trust that He will take us exactly where He wants us to go. Our wisdom, our desires, our passions... these are not what guide us. The Lord is the One who guides us. 2. THE LORD GETS THE GLORY: One primary way to know whether you are walking in a path that the Lord has laid out for you is whether or not God is receiving the glory in the middle of the service. True service to the Lord is done in the power of the Spirit, and the Spirit accomplishes one thing: He glorifies Jesus. We must be those who are primarily concerned with only doing the things that make the name of the Lord great. Questions to think on: 1. Do you find that you trust your own "skill" or "goodness" more than God and His grace? If so, how can you change that? 2. Where has God placed you right now that you can glorify Him to others? |
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