Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

Perhaps no other region of modern life is less scrupulously evaluated by Christians than their media choices. You may be a faithful churchgoer. Your kids may be getting a Christian education. You may read a Bible verse or two after supper. But many Christians apply next to zero discernment regarding their entertainment choices.

INTRODUCTIONThe Story of Ruth begins in agony, and ends in ecstasy. The darkest chapter has past, but faith lays hold on the promise through sorrow and sunshine, and does not relent until faith has been made sight. Ruth, by faith, lays hold and doesn’t relinquish her hold. The Saint is one who lays hold on God, for God has first laid hold of them. God’s hand has been behind all these events, and now Ruth lays hold of God’s promise. This is the true life of faith.THE TEXTThen Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. […] (Ruth 3).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTNaomi puts into action a plan to fulfill her duty to bring rest to Ruth by appealing to Boaz to fulfill his duty as kinsman redeemer (vv1-2). That very night Boaz was holding a celebratory harvest feast (v2); Naomi instructs Ruth to wash, anoint, and adorn herself, then go in secret to Boaz’s threshing floor, mark where he would lay down to sleep, uncover his feet, and lay down at them (vv3-4). Naomi assures her that Boaz would take it from there (v4b), and Ruth assents to obeying these instruction (v5).At the threshing floor, Boaz––after all the merry-making––lies down behind a pile of corn, and Ruth discretely makes her way to lay down at his feet (v6-7). Boaz is startled at midnight by her presence (v8). He asks who she is, and she replies that she is Ruth, and petitions him to spread his skirt over her, for he is the goel––the kinsman redeemer (v9). He blesses her and praises her for her kindness to him by seeking him out as the kinsman; instead of sporting with the young bucks, she came in unto him (v10). Boaz agrees to do what Ruth requires, and declares her a virtuous woman (v11).Then he gives her bad news. There is one who is a closer kinsman (v12); nevertheless, Boaz vows to settle the matter first thing in the morning, and permits Ruth to lay with him until the morning (v13), she does so, but at his feet. In the early dawn, Ruth sets out to depart, Boaz requests (either in prayer or instruction to his stewards) that it not be known that a woman had been with him that night at the threshing floor (v14). Then he fills Ruth’s veil with six measures of barley; a symbolic impregnation (v15). Upon arriving at Naomi’s lodging, Ruth reports the evening’s events, and Naomi predicts that Boaz will not rest until he has brought Ruth the rest which Naomi promised at the beginning of this chapter (vv16-18).THE STRANGE OR VIRTUOUS WOMANEvery ounce of tension in this section must be felt. This episode is laden with euphemisms and “callbacks” to other events in Scripture. We are meant to grab our hair and say, “Oh no, not again.” Ruth goes in to Boaz, in a way that clearly has sexual connotations. He is merry with wine and asleep. Ruth coming in unto him conjures up some of the worst episodes of the Bible. Ham coming in and seeing Noah’s nakedness. Lot’s daughters sleeping with their father to conceive children. There’s even a reminiscence of Potiphar’s wife grabbing hold of Joseph’s garment when Ruth asks for Boaz to spread his garment over her.The difference here, is that Ruth comes lawfully. She comes to petition her redeemer to grant salvation, to give her the rightful Seed. God had promised Abraham a Seed; a Seed that would bless the entire world. God had promised Judah a Scepter. Ruth comes in faith to Boaz. In the Hebrew ordering of the OT, Ruth comes right after Proverbs (with its many warnings about the strange woman, and its closing praise of the virtuous woman) and it leads into the Song of Solomon (with its portrait of the glory of sexual union between the Shulamite and her Beloved). Solomon asks “Who can find a virtuous woman (אֵֽשֶׁת־חַיִל) (Pro. 31:10)?” and then in the story of Ruth, Boaz answers the question, “all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman (אֵֽשֶׁת־חַיִל) (3:11).We’re led to think Ruth is an Eve offering forbidden fruit to Boaz’s Adam. Or Noah’s son. Or Lot’s daughter. Or Balaam’s whores. But Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, surprises us: he pronounces blessing upon her, and proclaims her a virtuous woman, whose price is far above rubies. This woman is like Rahab. She is like Tamar (Gen. 38:26). She is like Sarah.THE THRESHING FLOORIt shouldn’t escape our notice that this episode takes place on a threshing floor. This is where the grain would be gathered and then the ox would tread out the grain. This is the place of fertility. It would be a favorite trysting place, and in paganism a place for sexual immorality & wicked fertility rituals.The Beloved in Solomon’s song likens the Shulamite’s belly to a heap of grain. In one of Job’s speeches, he states that if he’s sinned may his wife become anothers, and uses imagery of a threshing floor to express that curse (Job 31:10). Gideon was called to deliver Israel at a threshing floor. Later on, the destroying angel would cease at Ornan the Jebusite’s threshing floor, and that would be the place where God would tell David that the temple should be built, by Solomon his son.Which should lead us to see that later moment in light of this one. Why would God select a gentile’s threshing floor for the spot to call a ceasefire on His just judgement, and then command that as the place where His name & temple should dwell? Because that is the place where righteous faith took hold of the promise that God would raise up a Conquering Seed.UNDER THE WINGS OF BOAZIn the previous chapter we saw that Ruth had come to rest under Jehovah’s wings. This is Boaz’s way of saying that by the blood of the Mercy Seat, under the cherubims’ wings, Ruth was welcomed into God’s covenant, with all its attendant promises of blessing. But now Ruth asks for Boaz to spread his skirts (the word here is the same: wings) over her.Put simply, this is a story of covenant mercies above and below, within and without. She had come to hide under Jehovah’s wings by faith, but this covenant of grace always insisted on being incarnated. Boaz was to be a foreshadow of the incarnation of Christ. Here he’s the incarnation of Jehovah’s covenantal promises to Ruth. By vowing to be her kinsman redeemer, Boaz became the incarnation of the Lord’s redemption for Ruth. He foreshadows Christ in this vow to redeem the barren widow, and grant her the fruit she desires.RESTNaomi’s plan was intended to bring Ruth rest. Boaz is then restless until he procures that rest. The Gospel is on display here. We are that barren and fruitless widow. The first husband could not bring about fruit, and now he was dead, utterly powerless.But from the fall in Eden until the Resurrection, God set about to redeem His chosen people. The Lord was restless, as it were, until He secured our eternal Rest. The Lord vowed and would not relent until He secured our salvation. We come to Christ alone. We cling to Him alone. He is our rest. Would you be fruitful? Would you find rest? You must come to Christ, the mighty man, the goel, and He will raise you up. After all, He rose from the grave on the first day of the barley.

INTRODUCTIONAs Christians, we must live our lives here in the light of the life to come. Those who live in the ways of YOLO are like pigs under a vast oak tree, looking for acorns. They do not consider what is above them, not at all, they do not care about the source of their blessings, not at all, and they keep their snouts pointing toward the dirt always, hunting for the next acorn. We are summoned to a way of life that is completely and entirely different.THE TEXT“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:1–10).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTSo we begin with a summary of this passage. Paul starts by comparing our mortal bodies to tabernacles, to be followed by an eternal body in the heavens, fashioned by God Himself (v. 1). Dwelling in tents is a time for groaning, as we look for our permanent heavenly house, which will clothe us (v. 2). If we are clothed in this way, we will not be found naked (v. 3). While we live in these tent bodies, it is a burden, and we groan under it. But we do not groan in the direction of “no body,” but rather in the direction of “ultimate body,” so that our mortal bodies might be swallowed up by life (v. 4). God has fashioned us for this very thing (v. 5), and He has given us the earnest payment of His Spirit (v. 5). This means that the Spirit is dwelling here with us in these tents. This is the ground of our confidence—we know that to be present in these bodies is to be absent from the Lord in Heaven (v. 6). We walk by faith (faith generated by the Spirit who is the earnest within us), and not by sight (v. 7). But the confidence we have while not seeing with our eyes is a confidence that is looking forward—to the time when we leave this body, and are present with the Lord (v. 8). This is why we work as hard as we do, so that whether we see Him with our eyes or not, we are nevertheless accepted by Him (v. 9). This is what we want and need, because absolutely every one of us is going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ (v. 10). The upshot of this judgment is that we will all receive according to our life in the body, whether good or bad (v. 10).THE SPIRIT HELPS US GROANWhen Paul points out we live in a tent, he says we groan (stenazo, v. 2). With the burden of tabernacling, we groan (same word, v. 4).He teaches something very similar in Romans 8. The whole creation groans (stenazo), like a woman in labor (Rom. 8:22). We who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan as we look forward to the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8: 23). Yearning toward that same end, the Spirit Himself labors with groans too deep for words (Rom. 8:26). This is because the entire cosmos is pregnant with the new creation.WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIEPutting all this together, we can see what happens when believers die. Our bodies are called tabernacles, and this is where we live now. If this tent is destroyed, we are (Paul says) “with the Lord.” This is some sort of intermediate state, and too many Christians confuse this intermediate state with our final eternal state. That final eternal state is after the dead are raised. So being a ghostly spirit in Heaven is not our final hope. We are Christians, and we believe in the resurrection of the body.CHRISTIANS AND THE JUDGMENT TO COMEAs we consider the end of the world, we must distinguish between two different aspects of how God will judge the world at the last day.In the first instance, there is the Great White Throne Judgment. We see this in Revelation 20:11-15. This is a judgment that distinguishes and separates the saved from the lost. We see the same thing in Matthew 25, in the separation of sheep and goats (Matt. 25:31-36). Those who are saved through this judgment are saved on the sole basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, imputed to them by the grace of God. You will stand in this judgment, or not, on the basis of whether or not you are in Christ. Salvation is based on whether or not their names are found written in the “book of life from the creation of the world” (Rev. 17:8).But there is another judgment, often called the bema-seat judgment. This is a judgment that evaluates the lives of Christians, and rewards them (or not) on the basis of how they lived. Paul refers to this in our passage (v. 10), but also elsewhere. “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ . . . So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10–12). If we compete in accordance with the rules, we will be crowned (2 Tim. 2:5). “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:1–9).

INTRODUCTIONEach chapter of the tale of Ruth builds with tension. In this chapter, we’re introduced to a mighty man, who could save our distressed damsels. But will he? This portion of the story is a real cliff-hanger. It doesn’t give any resolution, but it does leave us important hints. It foreshadows, without giving anything away.THE TEXTAnd Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? […] (Ruth 2).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTNaomi & Ruth returned empty to Bethlehem, during the barley harvest (1:22). They were empty, but Bethlehem was full. The disaster has befallen, but now we witness a hero arise, a mighty man, of the kinfolk of Naomi, Boaz was his name. His name means “fleetness” or “in him is strength” (v1, Cf. 3:18); a clear contrast with Mahlon. Ruth sets out–with Naomi’s blessing, and likely due to Naomi’s instruction–to busy herself with the lawful means of subsistence given to widows & strangers (v2; Cf. Lev. 19:9). God’s hand is clearly at work, for she “happens upon” the field of Boaz, Naomi’s kinsman (v3). A diligent man, Boaz comes to see the state of his harvest with a blessing for his reapers who bless him in return (v4). Like any good love story, he spots the fair maiden, and inquires of his steward as to who she was (v5); the steward provides a thorough report: 1) she was the Moabitess who’d returned with Naomi, 2) she’d sought permission to exercise her right to glean, and 3) she’d displayed a remarkable work-ethic (vv6-7).Boaz speaks to Ruth, inviting her to glean permanently in his fields, permitting her to work alongside his maidens without harassment by his young men, and encouraging her to help herself to the cool waters of his wells (vv8-9, Cf. 2 Sam. 23:15). She bows in reverence, asking as to how she, a stranger, should procure his grace (v10). He explains that he’d heard the full tale of her loyalty to Naomi, forsaking her own land (v11), and he speaks a word of covenant blessing over her, for by her faith Jehovah’s wings were spread over her (v12). She expresses her gratitude (v13), but his kindness to her is not yet done, for he welcomes her to dine with him & his harvesters (v14), and then instructs his reapers to purposefully make her gleaning both easier (v15), more abundant, and hassle-free (v16).After Ruth’s full day of work, she returned to Naomi with the abundance of her industry: arms full of blessing (vv17-18). Naomi insists on knowing who to bless for this bounty, and Ruth informs her it was Boaz (v19). This news incites Naomi to burst forth in prayer & praise, explaining the importance of their relation to Boaz (v20). Ruth and Naomi then agree that this gleaning arrangement should be continued (vv21-23).THE ONE WHO CLUNGIn some Rabbinic tradition Orpah is known as “the one who kissed,” and Ruth is known as “the one who clung.” Ruth clung to Naomi, displaying a true conversion to the God of Naomi. In Chapter 2, Boaz invites Ruth to cling to his fields amidst his handmaids and young men until the end of the harvest (Cf. 2:8,21); which is the very thing she does (2:23).This is the same word that’s elsewhere used to describe a husband cleaving to his wife (Gen. 2:24). The Lord repeatedly tells Israel to cleave unto Him (Deu. 10:20, 11:22, 13:4, 30:20); and to not cling unto the cursed things (Deu. 13:17) or else the curses will cling to them (Deu. 28). Joshua renews the insistence that Israel continue cleaving to the Lord, if she would enjoy the Deuteronomic blessing (Jos. 22:5, 23:8,12).But Bethlehem has been under the curse of God, as evident by the famine. However, Ruth has come to cling to Naomi and her God; and now in Boaz, she clings to the fields of Israel. In contrast, Elimelech forsook the fields of Israel for the fields of Moab. Ruth has clung to God, and as the story unfolds we wait to see whether this clinging will result in blessing. We often want to see the blessing before we cling in faith. But Ruth displays the life of true faith, clinging comes first. Faith and then sight. As the hymn writer put it, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.”THE MIGHTY MANThe arrival of Boaz into the narrative is meant to tantalize us, but not satisfy us. He’s a close kin of Naomi, and thus he could fulfill the required duty of redeeming her, and raising up an heir for Elimelech (Deu. 25:5).There are a few things we learn about Boaz. He himself apparently doesn’t have an heir. He was the son of Salmon and Rahab. Some scholars object to the timeline, and insist that the genealogy at the end of the book must have been streamlined. But this just shows a lack of imagination and basic math skills. John Tyler (born 1790), our tenth president (1841-1845), still has a living grandson. In other words, it is not at all unlikely that Boaz’s mother was indeed that famous Jerichoite, Rahab.So his own mother had been a Gentile stranger who came to rest in the land of Israel. He was likely rather old, as his referring to Ruth as “my daughter” indicates. His care of her is initially paternal. He is a mighty one. And, as we see, a man of profound generosity. His charity is notable, and worthy of emulation. But most importantly, he’s a possible Kinsman-redeemer for Naomi and Ruth.LIGHT IN THE SHADOWSThis whole section is laden with important symbolism. There’s a contrast being made between how Boaz treats this Moabitess with how Moab treated Israel during her wanderings (Deut. 23:3-4). Another shadow which is being illuminated for us is in the language used to describe Ruth’s departure from the land of her nativity (2:11). It calls to mind Abram’s departure out of Ur. Boaz’s feast invites us to see in him a sort of Melchizedek, bringing wine and bread to this feminine version of Abram.The first man, Elimelech & his sons, left Naomi and Ruth in a wasteland. Not unlike Adam in Eden. Boaz arises to be a sort of second Adam. He is painted as what a good and godly king ought to be. Mighty, diligent to know the state of his flocks & fields (Pro 27:23), overflowing generosity, a mouth full of blessing. He is indeed a portrait of a godly patriarch, and all this is aimed to reinforce the Davidic Kingdom.UNDER JEHOVAH’S WINGSThe only place of protection is under the wings of Jehovah. This expression will come into play again in the next chapter. But to be under the wings of Jehovah is likely a reference to the wings of the cherubim, which covered the ark of covenant. It was by the blood, sprinkled on the mercy seat, whereby all of Israel rested under the blessing and protection of God.The story of Ruth is the story of the Redemption of the world in miniature. It sets before you the question: have you come to rest under the wings of Jehovah? Ruth the barren, brings to Naomi, in the midst of her bitter trial, armloads of sweet blessing. Where did this abundance come from? It came from resting under the Shadow of the Almighty. But the blessings here only foreshadow greater blessings which await these godly women.This truth remains unchanged. Many people want God’s blessing, but they do not want to forsake Moab’s fields. They want their arms loaded full with the harvest, but they do not want to cleave to the fields of Boaz. God’s blessing is found, even in the midst of bitter trial, by clinging to Him alone, obeying His Covenant Word, and steadfastly hoping in the promised Seed.Naomi gives a speech at the end of each chapter. The first chapter is her cry of godly despair; she even refuses to call God by His covenant name, opting instead to call Him El Shaddai (the Almighty). But here at the close of chapter 2, she praises Jehovah, and His covenant-mercies. The Redeemer arises, to make good on all the promised covenant blessings.

INTRODUCTIONWe read in the book of Job that man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward (Job 5:7). This being the case, we need to learn how to handle these troubles rightly, for you will have them. They are not optional. There are no exceptions. What do you call a man who is really wealthy, who has a sunny disposition, and good digestion, and a photogenic family, and a shelf stacked with trophies and assorted other honors? Well, one name for him is “worm food.” This is the only way to reckon the value of everything “under the sun.”But there is another calculus, introduced to the world three days after the crucifixion of Jesus.THE TEXT“We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:13–18Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTPaul has the same spirit of faith as Christ, and so he speaks the same way the psalmist did. He believes, and therefore he speaks about it (v. 13). This is cited from Ps. 116:10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). True heart belief is connected to the tongue. Paul then turns to reason from the certainty of the Lord’s resurrection to his own resurrection (v. 14). The one who raised up Jesus will raise up Paul, and will present them all together with the Corinthians (v. 14). Everything is for their sake, Paul says, so that abundant grace might redound to the glory of God through the thanksgiving of many (v. 15). Widespread gratitude in a community of saints is potent. Grace brings that gratitude, and gratitude brings abundant grace, which glorifies God (v. 15). This truth is what keeps Paul going. He does not faint (v. 16). The outward man might be getting beat up, but the inner man is getting younger every day (v. 16). Now remember that we have previously noted that Paul was one of the most afflicted men who ever lived. He certainly had gone through countless troubles. But how does he describe it here? He calls it “our lightaffliction” (v. 17). It is light affliction, and it is also a momentary affliction (v. 17). It will pass in a minute. But notice something else. Paul says the light affliction “worketh for us” a much weightier thing—the eternal weight of glory (v. 17). So gratitude works abundant grace, and affliction works its weight in glory. Paul therefore says that the key is to keep your eyes off what you can see, in order to fix your eyes on that which we cannot yet see (v. 18). Why? Because the things you can see you will only be able to see for a minute—they are temporal (v. 18). All day yesterday is now ghostly. What was so real turns out to have been momentary. And the eternal things you cannot now see in the present moment are things you will be able to see forever and ever (v. 18).NOT KIDDING HIMSELFNow when Paul calls his afflictions “light,” this is not because he is delusional. He knows very well the weight of his afflictions. Talking about how pressed and pushed down he was, he earlier referred to the weight of his troubles in Asia (2 Cor. 1:8Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). He was not a block of wood, and no Stoic. He is not arguing that his pains are non-existent, or trifling. Rather, he is telling us, by faith, that his pains fade in comparison to something else. He refuses to weigh his troubles in isolation. He evaluates his life, and the troubles in it, by the video and not by the snapshot.This is a typical Pauline turn of mind. He says elsewhere in Romans that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). You put the glory of the resurrection on one side of the scales, say ten bricks of gold, and then drop twenty or so lead molecules of affliction on the other side. That is the kind of thing he is doing. He is comparing, not muscling through. This is not a stiff upper lip approach. He calculating and comparing. But in order to do this you have to be able to see the coming glory, and this is only possible with the eye of faith.AFFLICTION’S BLOOMBut Paul is not saying that there are bad things that happen down here, but then later, in a completely different realm, good things happen up there, and so it all evens out somehow. No, he is not saying that. Rather, the weight of glory that is coming for us, which we cannot now fully comprehend, is the bloom of our afflictions. The afflictions are the instrument that God uses to bring the other about. The “light” affliction works for us the weight of glory. That is what he is saying, that is what he is arguing in v. 17. As the cue ball put the eight ball in the corner pocket, so your troubles are laboring industriously for your gain. They are your friends. They are your very best friends. You ought to be nicer to them.They are remodeling contractors, come to renovate your soul. They showed up right on time, 8 am, and they all have crowbars in their gloved fists, and that kitchen is going to be fabulous when they are done. Your afflictions are the dust all through the house. So this is why you need to count it all joy when you meet various trials (Jas. 1:2Open in Logos Bible Software (if available))—you can see what is coming (Jas. 1:3-4Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). This is why we are to glory in tribulations (Rom. 5:3Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). This is why, when you are tempted to look at your demolished kitchen in despair, you are instructed to go pull out the computer rendering of what it is going to look like, and then rejoice in the chaos (Rom. 5:4-5Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).THE SPIRIT OF FAITHThis is not courage, not in the first instance. This is not endurance, not all by itself. This is not insight, not as the first thing. This is faith. That is what lies at the foundation of all courage, endurance, and insight. This is faith, and because Paul believes, he speaks. Because he speaks, he gets stoned and dragged outside the city again. And then he gets up, and because he believes, he goes on to speak again. He does this because he knows how the transaction works.Where does this faith come from? According to Paul, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). This is why faith is being formed in your hearts right now. The Word is being proclaimed, right now, and you are hearing it, right now.What is that Word? It is that Christ was crucified. He was buried in the tomb. On the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures, He rose again from the grave. A short time later, the Holy Spirit was poured out into the world with the express purpose of anointing that message, making it powerful to save. Because all of these things are true, I am authorized as an emissary of Christ, to invite you to come. Are you already a Christian? Then come. Are you not a Christian at all, in any sense? Then come. Are you a nominal Christian, a Christian only on the surface of your life? Then come. This is the gospel call. What does Isaiah say? “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else” (Is. 45:22Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). What does the Lord Jesus say? “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). And what does the Spirit say, together with the bride? “Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come” (Rev. 22:17Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). And this is why we say, every week we say, “Come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.”And when you come, be assured that your afflictions will not disappear. But do understand that when you come, your afflictions will start to make sense.

THE TEXT“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable . . .” (Heb. 11:8–16).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTAbraham obeyed God by faith (v. 8). And his obedience left him a sojourner in what was both a strange county and a promised land (v. 9). As he dwelt in tents, he looked to a well-founded city which was built by no man (v. 10). Abraham’s wife received strength to conceive a child when she was long past childbearing years. And this strength came to her through faith (v. 11). The result of this faith was children innumerable like the sand by the Pacific Ocean (v. 12) . . .THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITHAn old Southern Presbyterian once said that the gospel is always crucified between two thieves, legalism on the one hand and lawlessness on the other. Likewise, you have one Christian who says he is all about faith and another who says he is all about obedience. All of this could be solved if we would just remember that old hymn, “Trust and Obey.” The text says that it was by faith that Abraham obeyed. You cannot have the latter without the former and you cannot have the former without the latter.THE CITY TO WHICH WE LOOKGod told Abraham to go to place on earth. And God told him that he would give him a particular place on earth. Now Abraham obviously gave some attention to the land of Canaan. He walked in that land for some amount of time. But as he did so, he looked for a city with foundations.STRENGTH THROUGH FAITHA central theme in this text is not only that faith and obedience are closely linked. It is that faith is the only way to obey. Sarah was long past childbearing years. She simply couldn’t become pregnant. We have here something similar to Joshua before the people of Israel. The people say, “We will serve the Lord.” And Joshua replies, “You cannot serve the Lord.” Abraham was “as good as dead.” And Sarah herself was ninety years old. Where did the strength come from? God. And how did it come? “Through faith Sara herself received strength to conceive.”SPRINGING STARSGod does not merely work good things in the world. He works wonders. From Abraham there sprang “so many as the stars of the sky in multitude.” And all of this from one man. Christ feeds five thousand with but five loaves and two fish. And God moves mountains with faith the size of a mustard seed.DYING IN FAITHNWe are still near the entry in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith. After Abraham and Sara come Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Samson, and many more. Yet all of these died in faith not having received the promises but having genuinely embraced them. In verse 40 of this chapter we hear the reason, “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Faith, then, is not merely an individual enterprise. We are, after all, children of our father Abraham. We are a covenant people, who look to the promises together and will be made perfect together. The covenant in which we find ourselves is always kept by faith.Living in the New Covenant, we have received more of the promises than our fellow saints in the Old. The seed of the woman has come. The foundations of that city, the prophets and apostles that is, have been laid. The cornerstone himself has come. We are centuries into the building project of that heavenly city. And yet, we, like those who have gone before us, will die in faith. And we must die in faith. And though we die, yet shall we live. For we have believed in the one who is the resurrection and the life.GOD IS NOT ASHAMEDThe hallmark of those in this hall of faith is that God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has publicized his grace toward us long ago in our father Abraham, saying, “I will be God to you and to your seed after you in their generations.” He has placed his sign on us in baptism. He sets us apart from the world by feeding us bread and wine. And he has not left us without a home and without children.Jesus says in Mark 10:29, “Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”These promises from our Lord were true for Abraham, the man of faith. And they are true for all of his children. So trust God and look around. You can already see God pouring out blessing upon you a hundredfold. As you take in what God is already doing for you and yours now, go on desiring an even better country. For we must go on walking (that is, we must go on obeying). And we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

THE TEXT“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. . .” (Galatians 5:13–23).

INTRODUCTIONJustice, freedom, and love are the buzz words of our culture, but it is not at all clear that many of our neighbors know what these words mean. The Bible teaches that all three of these gifts originate in the Triune God and are only received and enjoyed through the Cross of Jesus.THE TEXT“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…” (Gal. 5:13-23).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTTrue liberty is the ability to love our neighbors, through serving them lawfully from the heart (Gal. 5:13-14). The opposite of liberty (slavery) destroys community, through biting and devouring, driven by lusts and envy (Gal. 5:15, cf. Js. 4:1-3). Those who walk in the Spirit are led by the Spirit and therefore free from the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). There is a battle in true Christians, where they sometimes find themselves doing what they do not want to do (Gal. 5:17). But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the condemnation of the law (Gal. 5:18, cf. Rom. 8:1). You can tell you are under the condemnation of the law because you are enslaved to the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). The marks of true freedom are the fruit of the Spirit, against which the law can bring no charge (Gal. 5:22-23).NEGATIVE V. POSITIVE JUSTICEThe Bible teaches that justice is primarily negative and punitive (Rom. 13:3). It is only positive in declaring innocence, affirming or praising the righteous (Rom. 13:3), but otherwise it condemns and punishes, executing God’s wrath (Rom. 13:4). Lady Justice is pictured in all the old paintings and statues as blind or blindfolded holding a set of scales in one hand and a sword in the other. Her job is simply to weigh out certain actions and demand equity – retribution and/or restitution that restores balance to the world, according to the law of God (cf. Ex. 22:1-15).Related to the notion of justice is the notion of “rights,” and rights always imply obligations. If you have a right to life, everyone around you is obligated not to harm you. If you have a right to private property, everyone around you has an obligation not to take or damage what belongs to you. If you are a wife, you have a right to be provided for, and your husband is obligated to provide for you as himself (Eph. 5:29). Justice is called for when one of these obligations has been breached, defied, or severely neglected — eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life (Dt. 19:21). However, when someone claims they have a right to a job, education, health care, or welfare, the implication is that someone else is obligated to give it to them. But who? God has assigned the family government the ministry of health, welfare, and education. God has assigned the church government the ministry of worship in the word and sacraments. God has assigned the civil government the ministry of justice, punishing evil doers.LOVE IS LIBERTY TO SERVEThe problem with coerced “love” from the state is like that demon-possessed guy in the tombs from the gospels – his name is Legion. First, the state is presuming to know how my resources are best used for the good of others. Second, the state is presuming to know how my neighbors will be best cared for and served. Third, the coercion of the state destroys the personalism of individuals freely giving and serving and receiving, reducing “love” to a merely material transaction or wealth transfer. Fourth, the automated provision of the state creates weak, irresponsible, immature, and ungrateful dependents. Fifth, the coercive automation of the state is massively inefficient. In all of these ways (and more), love and liberty are destroyed by the threatened violence of the state. True liberty is the room to exercise true wisdom and generosity with time and resources to care for the needs of your neighbors, and in particular, those entrusted to your care (Eph. 5:28-29, 6:4, 1 Tim. 5:8).SINS & CRIMESMany moderns confuse jurisdictions by conflating sins and crimes. Crimes are those acts that harm the person or property of others or are designated by God to corrupt society and therefore fall under the jurisdiction of the civil magistrates for punishment. Sins are those thoughts and acts that break fellowship with God and others, many of which fall under the jurisdiction of families and churches. True love, liberty, and justice occur when each jurisdiction submits to God’s assigned sphere. In a Christian civil order, all crimes would also be sins, but in most civil orders, there are a mix of crimes that may or may not be sins. So if the magistrate orders that meeting for worship is a crime, it would not be a sin to disobey that order (Dan. 3:18, Acts 5:29). But the other point is that not all sins are or should be crimes. So for example, covetousness is a sin and it may reveal itself in bad thoughts or words, but it isn’t a crime until it turns into overt theft or vandalism. The point is that Lady Justice deals with black and white actions, punishing evil doers upon the testimony of two or three witnesses, but she is not entrusted with matters of the heart, house rules, or matters of worship. When “justice” tries to meddle in those things assigned to the family or church, you don’t get love, liberty, or justice.CONCLUSIONSThe greatest act of liberty ever performed was also the greatest act of love and justice: Jesus laid His life down freely as a ransom for sinners. No one took His life from Him, He laid it down freely (Jn. 10:18). And He had that freedom because it was obedience to His Father.But the sinful heart of man always wants to get this backwards and upside down. The sinful, prideful heart of man wants to collapse and confuse justice, liberty, and love in order to remake the world according to its own wisdom, which always involves manipulation and coercion and demands that you must acquiesce to the demands of government thugs.But justice only punishes or exonerates. That’s all it does. And that is what it did in the Cross. God’s perfect justice punished Jesus in our place, and then because our debts were fully paid, God’s justice exonerates all who trust in Him. That is a supreme manifestation of God’s love and liberty, but you cannot mix them up without confusing the gospel.Those who receive this gospel really are set free, and the Spirit begins to lead them to love their neighbors freely and generously in imitation of Jesus in obedience. But slavery to the flesh is manifest and obvious. So which one are you? What characterizes your life? Is it the fruit of the Spirit or the works of the flesh? If it is the works of the flesh, then any demand for justice is only to have the law of God fall upon you with all of its fierce condemnation. But if it is the fruit of the Spirit, you are truly free, and you are a manifestation of the righteousness of God in Christ.

INTRODUCTIONAt first glance it may appear to us that justice, liberty, and love are three very distinct topics. But if we examine them in light of Scripture and a biblical worldview, we will discover that they are all addressing the same thing. Every virtue, every grace, is a manifestation of the gracious gift of the singular holiness of God. The integrated Christian life is therefore all of a piece.THE TEXT“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. . .” (Galatians 5:13–23).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTPaul begins by telling the Galatians that they have been called to liberty (v. 13). He immediately moves to tell them that they are not to use that liberty in the cause of self-indulgence (v. 13). Instead of serving the flesh, they are called to use their liberty to serve one another in love (v. 14). Why is this? Because the entire law is fulfilled in one phrase, which is to love your neighbor as yourself (v. 14). Paul is citing the second greatest commandment, identified as such by Jesus (Matt. 22:30), and which is taken from Lev. 19:18. But if instead of loving, they bite and devour each other, they need to take care that they don’t eat each other up (v. 15) . The thing that will enable them to avoid fulfilling these fleshly desires is what Paul calls walking in the Spirit (v. 16). The flesh and the Spirit are fundamentally at odds with one another, which prevents them from doing what they wanted to do (v. v. 17). But if they walk in the Spirit, they will not be under the condemnation of the law (v. 18). The works of the flesh are obvious (v. 19), and Paul then works through a litany of uncleanness (vv. 19-21). They range from all manner of sexual impurity and self-indulgence to thoughts of hostility and accusation. People who are like this are not going to inherit the kingdom (v. 21). The fruit of the Spirit, by way of contrast, is a unified whole of goodness—love, joy, peace, and so on. Or put another way, justice, liberty, and love (vv. 22-23).AND SUCH LIKEScripture frequently gives us lists of virtues and vices. These lists should be taken with that phrase “and such like” kept in the front of our minds. The lists vary in their details, but the aroma coming off all of them is always the same.Christian graces are described by Peter here (2 Pet. 1:5-8). Paul uses the language of fruit here in our text, but he also describes the fruit of the light in Eph. 5:9. And then in Romans 5:3-5, we see the same thing again.Lists of clustered corruptions work the same way. Paul gives us one list in Romans (Rom. 1:29-32). And then he gives another list to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 6:9-10). And we have the list in our text. The lists never map on to one another exactly, but they all have the same kind of thing in common. It is as though a gifted writer was writing a series of articles on seedy dive bars around the country. They would all have the same feel, and the alleys behind them would all smell like urine.This is why James tells us that if we break the law at just one point, we are guilty of breaking all of it (Jas. 2:10). The law of God is not a series of French pane windows, but is rather a plate glass window. It doesn’t matter that much where you put the hole—the window is broken. The law of God is personal, and is as unified as the character of the God it reflects. And lawlessness, the way of the flesh, is the anti-God frame of mind, and so it also is unified in that antipathy.WHAT LIBERTY ISPaul says in our text that we have been set free, we have been set at liberty. Now a popular (and wrongheaded) definition of liberty thinks it means doing as you like, whatever the consequences. But Paul here says that liberty is being set free to do as you ought.Doing as you want is the way of the flesh, and it is characterized by two things. The first is that the flesh grabs at what it wants, and the second is that it accuses others for grabbing for what they want. Now when we grab, we wrong others by taking what is lawfully theirs. And when we have an accusative spirit, we wrong others by not following the scriptural requirements of due process. And what is due process? It is hearing both sides of story (Prov. 18:17). If the story is denied, it is requiring independent confirmation (Dt. 17:6). It is allowing the accused to face his accuser (Dt. 19:16)—no anonymous accusations. And if you are reading about anything on the Internet, all these standards go triple. It is to handle a matter justly, which is an outworking of love, which is how you are use your liberty.TWO WORLDSIn a world ruled by the flesh, as Paul makes very plain here, you cannot have liberty, you cannot have justice, and you cannot have love. As well try to grow orchids above the Colorado tree line. And this is why the plan to achieve greater liberty for Americans by opening the floodgates of porn, by legalizing pot, by telling everybody to give absolute free rein to their feelings, by urging all the drones to live on handouts, and encouraging all narcissists to live inside their own heads, was a plan that was singularly ill-fated. An indulgent society hates liberty, hates justice, and hates love. All the “liberties” they want you to have are liberties that can be indulged in a six by eight prison cell.The way of the Spirit establishes form and freedom together. Form without freedom is despotism and tyranny. Nobody wants that. But freedom without form falls apart. What is the sense of freeing a locomotive from its tracks, putting it in the middle of a marsh, and telling it to go wherever it wants?REFORMATION AND REVIVALAnd this is why the deliverance of our country is not going to happen apart from a great movement of the Spirit. Unless a people are cleansed of their guilt, liberated from their lusts, and empowered to do what is right by their neighbor, they cannot live as a free people. As we are seeing around us, they cannot even value the idea of a free society. They want the slavery, they want the malice, they want the injustice.So go back to the two lists in our text. The works of the flesh are manifest. The fruit of the Spirit, as we all recognize, is equally obvious. Now take the cover off your heart. Which list is more descriptive of what you see in there? If it is a cauldron of seething lusts, as it is in the case of many, turn to Christ. He is the Savior, and He can save to the uttermost.