The lesson today will be taken
from the Word of God. The Word of God is the source
of all that we believe, all that we hope in, all that we teach. It's our rule of faith and practice.
We look no further for what, when men have come to call a
self-help library. We don't need one of them. All
we need is in this book. And I would say to you, beware
of quoting theologians to prove a point of doctrine. If you're
going to quote something, quote the Word of God. Somebody told
one of our visiting preachers one time, he said, Didn't believe
that. He said, well, I kind of think
we ought to take what the Lord said over John Gill, don't you? These men were just men. And
though they're helpful at times, they're not prophets and they're
not apostles. They're just men. Our lesson
this morning will be taken from Ruth chapter 2 and verse 20. The subject set apart by the
Holy Ghost in this passage is about the kinsman redeemer. Let's read verses 18 through
20. And she took it up, that is the
flower that she beat out of what she had gleaned, and went into
the city and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. a little over six gallons of
flour, more or less, depending on whose measurement you want
to look at. And she brought forth and gave
to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. In other
words, she took what she needed and gave the rest to her mother-in-law.
And her mother-in-law said unto her, where hast thou gleaned
today? Six gallons of flour was a lot
for somebody to have went out in the field and picked up. Where
you been gleaning? And where brought us that? Blessed be he that did take knowledge
of thee. She told him, she told her mother-in-law
where she'd been gleaning. And she said, oh, blessed be
he that did take knowledge of thee.
And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought and
said, the man's name with whom I have wrought today is Boaz. And Naomi said unto her, daughter-in-law,
blessed be he of the Lord who hath not left off his kindness
to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, the
man is near a kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. Now you may wonder why we're
looking at the book of Ruth. And I told you at the beginning
of our study that the book of Ruth is a book of redemption. We're looking at this because
the Bible is a book of redemption. The word redemption means to
buy back. It means to purchase again. It has to do with restoration. And to restore one who has suffered
great loss, you redeem them. And this redemption being a type
or symbol of the redemption of Christ is nowhere in the Word
of God set forth with even a hint of being universal. This concerned
Naomi and her kinsmen, her immediate family. Paul tells us in Romans
3, 21 and 22 that the righteousness of God is now manifested in Christ
and was witnessed by the law and the prophets. is being witnessed
here in the book of Ruth, being set before us. In verse 24, he
said, we're justified freely by His grace, now listen, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That's in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission of sins, that are
past. There's no hope for you if all
God does is remove your past sins, because you're going to
keep on sinning. When he talks about past sins
here, he's not talking about your past sins, he's talking
about Old Testament saints. God set forth Christ in the Old
Testament And those saints, by faith, look forward to the redemption
that's in Christ. God set him forth as a propitiation
to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins. How
do I know that? Because of what he says in the
very next verse. In the very next verse he said,
but now. Same thing now, that it was then
except Christ has come, and more clearly manifest that redemption. Old Testament believers were
forgiven by faith in Christ. In Romans 16 and verse 25, Paul
said, Now to him that is of power to establish you according to
my gospel. Now there was no New Testament
yet. According to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ. according to the revelation of
the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now
is made manifest. Now watch this. And by the scriptures
of the prophets. The apostles have not written
yet. By the scriptures of the prophets,
according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known
to all nations for the obedience of faith. They went through the
Old Testament and they said, this is talking about Christ.
He's the lamb. He's the scapegoat. It's all about Christ. And the
book of Ruth is not just the story of a Gentile woman down
and out who came into wealth through
marriage. It's the story of redemption
by way of a kinsman redeemer which points us to Christ. Now, if you care to research
the particulars yourself, you can find the stipulations or
qualifications, if you will, in Leviticus chapter 25, verses
25 through 28. That had to do with the Jew. And then in verses 47 through
48 of Leviticus 25, he deals with the stranger or the Gentiles. The right to redeem and the right
to be redeemed is a matter of provision given to us in the
law of God. It appears in the law of God. Redemption is one of the main
principles of the doctrine of Christ. And an error here, you
make an error here, it's fatal to the soul. To be saved, one must be redeemed. By his own blood, it says he
entered into the holy place once. to obtain eternal redemption
for us. Redemption was the first of all
these principles and was illustrated first in Genesis chapter 3, way
back yonder at the beginning of the Bible, at the fall of
man. The Lord came to our sinful parents in the garden and killed
a lamb and put the innocent victim's blood on the altar and clothed
their naked bodies with the skin. And then he wrote this in the
law. He's telling them about the law
and what it means. And he said, the life of the
flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you upon the altar
to make an atonement for your souls. There is no atonement
apart from blood. The blood of Christ. For it is the blood that maketh
atonement for the soul. Leviticus 17, 11. Redemption was set before Cain,
but he didn't like it. The way Christ is set before
men today, there's no other way. No other way. It requires the
death of a substitute. No other way to be saved. Cain
didn't like it. He came to worship God and he
didn't bring a lamb. To him it was an awful thing. He slit the throat of a lamb
and catch its blood and dissect it and put it on an altar. He
didn't want any part of that. So he brought, of his garden,
he brought carrots. Who knows? Tomatoes, whatever. He brought all these things.
And I'm just sure back in the day that those things were outstanding. They were beautiful. But when
the Lord looked, He had no regard to it. No regard. Redemption is God's provision,
and it's according to His demands. His demands. His stipulations. Let me quickly give you several
things that I know about this kinsman redemption. First of
all, redemption has to do with the people of God, God's elect. The strangers who sojourned among
them, it says, were to be their bondmen forever. submitted themselves to the ordinance
of God, were circumcised, whatever the law required of them, then
they were treated as bondsmen. Redemption is particular redemption. The good shepherd, it says, giveth
his life for the sheep. And over and over in Leviticus,
he talks about the stranger who sojourned among them. It's not
talking about the strangers who stayed strangers. It's not talking
about the nations who went on living in their filth and in
their wickedness. He's talking about strangers
who sojourned among them. They identified themselves with
them. Alluding to the Gentiles, which
would be redeemed more clearly in the New Testament. And God
hasn't elect people out of every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue
under heaven. And these are the true Jews.
Redemption is only given to the world as their election is made
known by faith. There's no other way for you
to apply redemption to the world except as God's elect are found
in the world. and it's by faith in Christ and
their union with him. When Boaz redeemed Ruth, he did
not redeem the twelve tribes of Israel, let alone all the
ungodly nations of the world. His redemption was only concerning
a limeleck in his seat. That was it. Redemption set forth
in the law as particular. It describes the object of redemption
And it tells us that the object of redemption, it tells us their
condition. They were poor. They were without
help. And it also tells us in order
to redeem, there must be a kinship. There must be a kinship. Boaz
was near of kin unto them. Naomi found hope in that Boaz
was a kinsman. He's our next of kin, he said. And Jesus Christ came into this
world as a representative man. He's the firstborn, it says,
of many brethren. Not the firstborn of all men.
He's the firstborn of many brethren. In Ephesians 1.5 it says, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself according to the good pleasure of his will, his incarnation
manifested his kinship. He's bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh. When the fullness of the time
was come, Paul said over in Galatians, God sent forth his son. Now watch
this. Made of a woman. Made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law. That they might
receive the adoption of sons, and because ye are sons, God
has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying
Abba Father. So that's the first thing I know
about. This thing of redemption is particular, and it requires
a near kinsman. The second thing I want you to
see is the right given to the Redeemer. Now what needs to be redeemed
under the law is both the people and their possessions. When one
that is able redeems, what happens? And here's a point I bet you
never thought about. God demands the eviction of the
possessor and dissolves all his rights of ownership and authority
over the redeemed. Think about that. What is redeemed now comes under
the authority of the redeemer. It's his. He owns it. He manages it. It falls under
his authority. Listen to Paul. He said, no,
you're not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey.
His servants you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto
death or obedience unto righteousness. But God be thanked you were the
servants of sin. But ye have obeyed from the heart
that form of doctrine which was delivered you, being then made
free from sin, free from its authority, free from its power,
free from its dictation. Being then made free from sin,
you become the servants of righteousness. The third thing I see in this
redemption is the ability to redeem. If a man is going to
redeem, he has to have the ability. Being a near kinsman did not
mean that he was able to redeem. That qualified him as a redeemer,
but another thing is required of him. He must have the ability. Willingness is one thing, and
that's commendable. But willingness without the ability
is just, I hope, I hope, I hope. That's all that is. I'll give you an example. I'm
your near kinsman in Adams. We're all brothers, brethren. He's our father. But I don't
have the wherewithal to redeem. I can tell you about redemption,
but I can't redeem. I don't have the price. I don't
have the ability. What Naomi lost was a lot. They were wealthy people whose
intention in leaving was to protect their fortune. They didn't want
to lose their fortune. They didn't want to stay in Israel.
and lose everything that they'd worked for. And to redeem, in
order to redeem Ruth, she must redeem Naomi, and that was no
small matter. To redeem a fallen sinner, the
redeemer must satisfy God. That's who has to be satisfied.
And it was the same in the case of Boaz. He had to satisfy God. God's the one making the requirements
even under the law and redemption. You have to satisfy God. Not
about what you think or what you... Well, I think this ought
to work. Well, it don't matter what you
think. It matters what God says. Men take liberty here, and they
get creative in their ideas of what it takes to satisfy God. But I'll tell you what it takes
to satisfy Him. The death of His Son. The death of a substitute. That's
what it takes. The death of a man, a mere man,
can never satisfy God. That's why he'll die forever
in hell. He'll suffer forever because
he can't satisfy God. All of his sufferings throughout
eternity will not satisfy God. Only one can satisfy God. He's going to have to satisfy
God. It takes the death of the Son
of Man. It takes the representative life
of the God-man mediator. It takes a perfect redemption.
Those redeemed in Christ, He presents to His Father holy,
unblameable, and unreprovable. When He's finished His work,
not even God can find anything in you to reprove. Is that what
they're saying? That's how we appear before God
in this redeemed state. Actually, the scripture said,
by one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. We look to Christ. In him, Paul
said, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you're
complete in him. who is the head of all principality
and power. And the reason why some cannot
and will not rejoice in the redemption of Christ is because they cannot
comprehend the ability of Christ to do the work and to comprehend
the sufficiency of his death. If you ever see the sufficiency
of his death, you'll rest in it. You will rejoice in it. Paul said in Ephesians 1, 6 and
7, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Where do we have it? In Christ. In Christ. Preach that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures, and the scriptures declare a
full and sufficient redemption to the satisfaction of God. He
shall see the travail of his soul. Whose soul? His son. And shall be satisfied. Fourthly, redemption is a public
matter. When Boaz redeemed Ruth, he went
to the gate of the city, and brought his intention to the
elders who sat there. The redemption accomplished by
Christ was not done in a corner. That's what Paul said. It wasn't
done in a corner. It was a public matter. He didn't
die in a back alley. He died of a public crucifixion. In Acts chapter 4, verse 27,
it said, Against thy holy child Jesus,
whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, he names them, both Herod
and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and all the people of Israel
were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy
counsel determined before to be done.
The gospel is a public declaration, a public matter. It has to do with the accomplished
redemption of Christ. And then lastly, redemption calls
for a willing redeemer. Listen to what Naomi said, Blessed
be he of the Lord. He's blessed of the Lord, who
hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. Redemption is a provision both
for the dead and the living. What the dead hath lost is restored in redemption. What
the living received is given to them based on the redemption
of what was lost. And this redemption must be accomplished
by a willing redeemer. Love, mercy, grace, Kindness
and compassion are the only motives. That's the only motive. Nobody forced Christ to die. He died willingly. Listen to these scriptures. He
loved us and gave himself for us. God commendeth His love for us
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And then Paul said in the book
of Hebrews, in the volume of the book it's written of me,
I come to do thy will, O God. He was willing. He was willing. Of his own will, it says, begat
he us with the word of truth. And again, Paul said, by the
which will we're sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. He's willing. He's a willing
Savior. Now let me see if I can sum up what
I've said so far. Redemption presupposes a great
loss and a great need. And the sinner's need is both
sad and desperate. His condition is utter helplessness,
poverty, impotence to change his circumstance. He's stuck
where he's at, and he can't do anything about it. Redemption
is something accomplished entirely outside of himself. Is that right? That's where we get all messed
up, isn't it? That's where all of our doubts
and fears come from is when we start trying to mix what we did
with what He did. Redemption is something accomplished
outside yourself. It was accomplished before you
were born. It was purposed before He made the world. And Naomi's condition is a picture
of every sinner's condition before God. And only Christ can meet
the requirements necessary to redeem chosen sinners. That's
what he's showing us here in this book of Ruth. There's requirements. There was a nearer kinsman than
Boaz, but he couldn't redeem. Boaz could. And Boaz was willing. I think the reason the first
Redeemer didn't redeem is because he wasn't willing. He had to
take Ruth to be his bride, and he didn't want a Gentile bride. Actually, seven things reveal
Christ to be the perfect Redeemer. I'll just state these in close.
He must be one set apart by God to do the work. It's clearly
stated in the Word of God, the requirements for a Redeemer. Secondly, he must be a near kinsman. Thirdly, he must himself be debt
free. It says of our Lord, he was holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Huh? He must be
able to redeem. He must be able to pay the debt,
restore what was lost. And the rightful Redeemer must
be willing to redeem. There's nothing in the law of
God to force any man to redeem any other man or any other woman. He must be willing. The rightful
Redeemer must execute or accomplish a particular effectual redemption. He's not going to redeem everybody
and everything. He's going to redeem a particular
person and their loss. And lastly, the rightful Redeemer
must raise up a seed unto the dead. Jesus Christ has met every
requirement of God to redeem His own and redeem them He did
and even now is raising up a seed to the dead. Is He not? Oh, may the Lord be pleased as
He was with Ruth. to make us come seeing that kinsman
redeemer and lie down at his feet.