This evening we're going to take
a look at the book of Ruth chapter 1, and
we're going to look at verses 14, 15, 16, and 17 again. And I want to read these verses
one more time for us. And may the Lord be pleased to
speak into our heart. And they lifted up their voice,
and they wept, and they wept again. This is Naomi, the mother-in-law,
and her two daughter-in-laws. They're weeping together, weeping
over the fact that they were part in company. Orpha kissed
her mother-in-law, kissed her goodbye, but Ruth, She would
not let go. She claimed unto her, unto Naomi,
and she said, behold, thy sister-in-law has gone back unto her people,
her people were people of idolatry, religious but lost, unto her
gods. Return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Naomi is encouraging Ruth
to go back like Orpah did, and Ruth said, don't be against me
and treat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after
thee. For whether thou goest, that's
where I'm going. And where you lodge, where you
live, where you put down roots, that's where I'm going to live.
That's where I'll live. And thy people, the people of
God, The people of Israel, thy people shall be my people. And thy God, my God, mine. And where you die, I'll die,
and there I'll be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also. If aught anything but death, death do
we part. death do we part. And when she
saw that she was steadfastly minded, that is Naomi perceived
the steadfastness of Ruth being minded to go with her, she left
speaking off. She left trying to discourage
her from going back to Bethlehem. Bethlehem's a house of bread.
Bethlehem is the hometown of David. David was born there. Naomi was the great grandmother
of King David. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the
greater David, why was he born in Bethlehem of Judah? To fulfill
all Scripture. To fulfill all Scripture. Now
last week we studied verse 6 down through verse 14. And today we
pick up with verse 14. Remember at first, Orpha and
Ruth heard that Naomi was going back to Bethlehem because God
had visited them and giving them bread. You remember verse 6? Then she arose with her daughters-in-law,
after her husband had died, after her two sons had died, that she
might return from the country of Moab. For she heard in the
country of Moab how the Lord had visited his people, giving
them bread. the bread from heaven, upon the discouragement of Naomi
telling both of them to go home and return to their family, to
their God, and to remarry, to remarry and start over. Orpha
did just that. She left upon the word and discouragement
of her own mother-in-law. It says in verse 14 there, Orpha
kissed her mother-in-law, Kissed her goodbye, but Ruth would not
leave. Orpha counted the cost of following the God of Naomi,
the God that Naomi worshipped and said in her heart, the cost
was too great. I'm going back to my own people,
going back to the house of my dad, my mother, my gods. Orpha had affection for Naomi,
no doubt. but no real faith, no real interest
in the true and living God. She remained religious. She went
back to her gods, but she was lost, wasn't she? She was lost
in the religion. Ruth, on the other hand, she
heard the same words from Naomi that Orpah did, that there was
bread in Bethlehem, She heard the same words of discouragement
from Naomi. You go back home to your people,
to your gods. But Ruth had more than just a
mere emotional attachment unto Naomi. Ruth was granted faith
in the true living God, the faith of God's elect believing the
gospel, and a true interest and love in and faith in the true
living God. the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, the God of Jacob. You remember the story when Moses
met on the mountain that burning bush that was not consumed? And
we know that is Christ, the living God. And Moses asked the question,
when they asked me, who sent you? What should I tell them? Remember, I am that I am the
eternal God. And then he said, I am the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the true
and living God, the true and living God. The only difference
between Orpah and Ruth was the distinguishing sovereign grace
of God. Here we see another example,
just like Jacob and Esau. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. The same thing is said of these two girls. God loved
one and passed the other by. Ruth was not a better woman than
Orpha, was she? They were both sinners. Both
were fallen guilty sinners. Ruth was not more righteous than
Orpah. Both by nature were pagan idolaters. It was grace alone, sovereign
mercy, sovereign electing love. That's what made the difference.
And you see that all the way through the scripture. Many of
you have experienced that in your own family. I've got eight,
nine, 10 brothers and sisters. None of them have an interest
in the gospel. Why not? Why me? Why not them? Well, I just got lucky. No, no,
no, my friend. It's the sovereign mercy and
grace of God. He will have mercy on whom he
will have mercy, and he will have compassion on whom he will
have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth nor of him that runneth, but it's God that shows mercy.
was chosen by God in an eternal covenant of grace and given to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Orpha was justly left to her
own fallen, guilty, depraved will. She had a heart of unbelief,
born in unbelief, died in unbelief. Orpha did what she wanted to
do, to go back to her former gods, her religion, her idolatry,
and she turned her back on the God who is God. In fact, if you
really think about it, she never really left her pagan god, did
she? She never really left those pagan
gods. Ruth did also just exactly what she wanted to do because
God put it in her heart to serve the true and living God. He's
made himself to her altogether lovely. You remember Psalm 110,
thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. In the
beauty of holiness from the womb of the morning thou hast to do
of thy youth. To you who believe he's altogether
lovely, to you who believe he is precious, isn't he? He's precious
to those who believe. How does the Lord irresistibly
draw us to himself? He makes himself altogether lovely. He makes himself so lovely that
we say in our heart, I must have him and him alone. Now here's a lesson from this
story for us to be reminded of. It is the sovereign grace of
God, the sovereign mercy of God alone that has made us to differ
from those who remain lost and dead in their sin. How do you
count for a difference between those who are blessed to believe,
to hear and believe the gospel, those who are granted faith,
please God to preaching to save them that believe, God gave them
faith, While others, many others, are very religious and yet lost,
have no interest in the true and living God. When you start
talking to religious people, who are lost religious people,
and start talking about the sovereignty of God and salvation, that's
some kind of foreign language. They say, what are you talking
about? God loves only certain people and passes by others justly
and leave them in their own sin? Absolutely. Absolutely. His love is sovereign love, like
His mercy is sovereign mercy, sovereign grace. You remember
Paul asked that question in 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Who makes you to differ
from another? Who made you to differ? What
do you have that you didn't receive as the gift of God? And if you
received it, why would you glory as if you somehow have earned
God's favor or earned God's mercy, earned his grace, well, merit
and mercy is nothing but works, right? That's all it is. It's not grace. It begins, it
starts to be, and it is works. God's purpose is the purpose
of God according to election. He gives that to us so plainly
in Jacob and Esau. The children being not yet born,
neither having none any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand. It was said unto her that
the elder shall serve the younger. Esau was first born. Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. You know, and the mystery of
that, the mystery of that is this. Why would God love Jacob? Jacob
was a cheat and a scoundrel. Why would God love Jacob? The reason for God loving Jacob
was not found in Jacob. His name means supplanter. Remember,
God changed his name from Jacob to Israel, one who has found
favor with God. Multitudes have heard the good
news of salvation accomplished and finished through the Lord
Jesus Christ and him crucified. But all that have heard have
not believed the gospel, have they? Why not? Why not? Because they're depraved,
dead, guilty, vile sinner, who have no interest in the true
and living God, unless God gives them a new heart to believe the
gospel. Through the perishing, we read
in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, To those who were perishing, the
gospel of the sovereign, effectual grace of God is foolishness. It's pure foolishness, nonsense. But to those who were saved by
the grace of God in Christ, Christ crucified is the power and wisdom
of God unto salvation. That's why Paul said, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God. unto salvation. Most people, when you talk to
religious lost men and talk about the effectual atoning work of
the Lord Jesus Christ, that again is something that they've never
heard of. The effectual atonement of Christ?
You mean to tell me the Lord Jesus Christ only died for his
elect? Well, that doesn't seem fair.
Maybe to you it doesn't seem fair. But the Lord Jesus Christ
died for those people given to him in the covenant. As I said
to you many years, over the many years I've been here, there's
no one in hell for whom Christ died. Now, if he put away the
sin of all, the sins of all men that ever lived in this world,
and yet some of them perish, well then his blood atonement's
got nothing to do with those who are saved or who are lost. But his blood atonement effectively
secured, I lay down my life for the sheep. Call his name Jesus,
he shall save his people from their sin. So this book teaches
what we call a definite atonement, particular redemption for God's
elect. Ruth was one for whom Christ
died. Ruth is one for whom the Lord
Jesus Christ chose in that eternal covenant of grace. Ophrah was
left to her own justly left to her own willful religious idolatry
and bondage. You see, it's the sovereign grace
of God alone that makes us to differ. One of my favorite scriptures,
and I think probably one of my favorite in all the Word of God,
the apostle Paul in prison writing back to young Timothy and tells
him don't be ashamed of me nor of the gospel because it's God
who saved us and he called us notice he saved us and then he
called us when did he save us long before he called us long
before he called us he saved us and called us not according
to our works but according to his own purpose and grace given
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. So it's not by
works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to
His mercy, He saved us. So again, we see in the story
here of Ruth and Orpha and Naomi, we see the sovereign intervention
and the working of God's eternal purpose being done. And we're
gonna see a good example of how the providence of God works in
the lives of God's people. When they go back to Bethlehem
of Judah, they go there in the time of the barley harvest, and
it just so happens that Ruth, when she went out to glean in
a field, it just so happened that she happened to glean in
the field of one Boaz who was a near kinsman to Elimelech. The scripture says over there,
if you want to turn and look at it, it says that verse three in chapter
two, as she went and came and gleaned in the field after the
reaper and her hap, or we would say, or perhaps, or it happened,
that she was in the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who
was a kindred of the Limelech. Now, people will say, well, she
just had good luck. I mean, it just, you know, it's by the sovereign grace of
God that she happened upon that field. So let us never forget
that faith is a sovereign gift of God, right? For by grace are
ye saved through faith, and that in all of yourselves is the gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We only believe according to
the working of God's mighty power. Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. Faith is not something that blooms
in this heart naturally. What blooms in this heart naturally?
Rebellion, unbelief, When faith is granted and given, that's
the product of life, regeneration. The product and the fruit of
regeneration is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Without faith,
it's impossible to please God. A man without faith is a man
without salvation, because a man without faith is a man without
Christ. Christ is the Savior. And faith comes by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by Christ the word. He gives us ears to hear. That's
why he said to those disciples when he gave that parable of
the sower, blessed are your ears, they hear, your eyes for they
see. It's God who has made us to differ.
Now, let's look at Ruth's confession in verse 16 and verse 17. Her confession and commitment
of faith is a beautiful picture. of the believer's faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul said, I know whom I have
believed, and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. Knowledge, confidence,
and committal. That's a good definition for
faith. Now, the first thing we see in verse 16, she said, entreat
me not to leave thee, or to return from following thee, for wherever
you go, that's where I'm going." Sounds pretty convincing, doesn't
it? Wherever you go, it doesn't matter where you go, but wherever
you go, I'm going with you. You have the true living God,
you have the truth, and that's where I'm going. Where you go,
I'll go. Our steps, the steps of God's
people are ordered and ordained of the Lord. accident that you
happened in here one day, God brought you here to hear the
gospel. We read in Psalm 37, the steps of man, God's people
are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. The
Lord has turned our way to his way. He has changed our walk,
our way, our will, that we should walk in the newness of life,
the newness of life. Paul writes this, be ye therefore
followers of God, Ephesians 5 verse 1, be ye therefore followers
of God as dear children, walk in love as Christ also loved
us and have given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for sweet smelling savor. Walk in love as Christ has loved
us. We walk by faith, not by sight. This I say then, walk in the
spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Paul writes
this to the Colossians, as you have therefore received Christ
Jesus the Lord, walk in him. Live in him. Go that way, following
the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, my sheep, hear my voice.
I know them and they, and they, what's that word? They follow him, don't they?
They follow him wherever he goes. He's a good shepherd. He's got
the food. He has life. He has salvation.
We follow him. Second thing, she said, where
you lodge and where you live, that's where I'm going to live.
I'm going to live right there. I'm going to stay right there.
I'm going to stay right there. This is every believer's ambition
to dwell with the Lord. Let me read this to you. This is familiar, you don't need
to turn, but Psalm 27. Psalm 27, one thing have I desired
of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty
of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. That's one thing
have I desired, that I might dwell in His house, that I might
dwell with Him, the true and living God. I remember years
and years ago, There's an old brother in the church there in
Ashland. He moved, actually moved from California. He moved all
the way from California. His name was John Fleming. You
remember John and Esther Fleming. He moved all the way from California
to Ashland, Kentucky to sit under the ministry of Pastor Mahan.
And an interesting back story to that is in 1954, When they had the first Sovereign
Grace Conference in Ashland in 1954, John Fleming with four
of his friends drove a 1935 Chevy or something like that all the
way from Los Angeles, California to Ashland, Kentucky, 3,000 miles. That was a trip back in those
days to hear the gospel of the sovereign grace of God. And old
John went back home and started preaching it. And then we got
to his retirement years, he came back to Ashland. But I said all
that to say this, Brother John, he would, one of his hobbies,
he would take a piece of paper and he'd write out a scripture
verse on a piece of paper and print it out, he'd print it out.
And one of the scriptures he gave me was this, I've never
forgotten it, Isaiah 57, 15, for thus saith the high and lofty
one that inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in a high
and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble
spirit to revive the spirit of the humble, to revive The heart
of the contrite one. The Lord has nighed them of a
broken heart, save as such as be of a contrite spirit. The
Lord sent that man all the way from California to Ashton, Kentucky
to give me that verse. I never forgot it. That's been
35 years ago. You see, it really doesn't matter
where I live as long as Christ is there. The gospel is there. It doesn't matter where I worship,
whether here in Ashland, California, as long as the gospel is preached.
You can move to California now, I know two gospel preachers out
there in California. One in Rescue, California, north
of Sacramento, and one all the way down around San Diego, preaching
the gospel of the grace of God. So it doesn't matter where I
worship, if Christ is there, the gospel is there, If the gospel
is preached, it doesn't really matter where people talk about
where is heaven. Christ is heaven. He's heaven. If Christ is there, that's heaven,
that's glory, that's eternal rest and peace in Him. This is
the blessedness of being one with Him. As Paul writes, when
the Lord comes back, And he raises us up with a new
body. And then he says, so shall we
ever be with the Lord. Think about that. I mean, behold
him face to face. Behold him face to face. I had
a dear friend and brother that passed away last Wednesday, a
week ago. Many of you know him, Cecil Thornberry. A dear, dear friend of mine for
many years. Faithful, faithful believer.
The Lord called him home after 10 years of battling with cancer. But just think what he's beholding
now. He came here and worked countless hours in the mud, in
the flood mud, shoveling out mud and helping us build the
new house. Faithful, faithful friend. But
think what he's beholding now. and the glories of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then the third thing we see
in verse 16, thy people shall be my people. You see that? Where you go, I'll go. Where
you lodge, I'll lodge. Thy people shall be my people. And thy God, my God. Ruth left
behind, think about this now, she grew up in the land of Moab.
I mean, she left her mom and her dad, her brothers and sisters,
how many she had, I don't know. But she left her family, her
natural family and friends to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who are in love with Christ, those who love and follow the
Lord Jesus Christ have no conflicting rival relationship with Him. and His people, we're following
Him. We're following Him and Him alone. We follow the Lord wherever He
goes. Thy people shall be my people.
Let me read this to you. If any man, our Lord said, if
any man come after me and hate not his father and his mother
and his wife, his children, his brothers and sisters, yea, his
own life, He cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his
cross to come after me cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be
of you that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple. That's commitment. That's commitment
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing the gospel not only
causes us to sever old relationships with the ungodly, it causes us
to forge new and loving, lasting relationships with the family
of God. Our Lord said, a new commandment I give unto you,
that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also
love one another. By this shall all men know that
you are my disciples if you love one another. We are so in love
with him. Now, when he says, except you
hate your father and mother, Now, what is that saying? Here's
what he's teaching us. We're so in love with the Lord
Jesus Christ and following Him, that it appears like we don't
love anybody else. Now, we don't hate our father
and mother. That would be contrary to the Lord said, love your mother
and father and honor and respect them. But in comparison to the
way we love the Lord Jesus Christ, it appears that we care nothing
for our fleshly father and mother. were so in love with Christ and
following him. Does that make sense? Here's the fourth thing. She
says, thy God shall be my God. Ruth left her former religious
idolatry for the true and living God. If we are to follow Christ,
we must abandon Now think with me. If we're to follow the Lord
Jesus Christ and the true gospel of God's grace, which are abandoned,
we must, and we are, and we will, we must abandon every false way. Two can't walk together except
they be agreed. I can't not walk with a man and
have fellowship with a man who hates the God I worship and the
God I love. I'm somewhat isolated, where I stay over here and work
and study and read. But it wasn't always like that
for me. I mean, I worked public works for 30 years. I was out
in the public while I was believing the gospel and trying to preach
the gospel. And we have to deal with people
in our public life, don't we? The plumbers, the carpenters,
The auto mechanic, I gotta have one of those, Jerry. But here's what I'm trying to
say. We're to follow Christ and abandon
every false way and every false gospel and every false god. Though we or an angel from heaven
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached,
let him be." Would it be okay just rub shoulders with those
who hate God and fellowship with those who hate God? That can't
be. Though we or an angel from heaven
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached,
let him be accursed. You cannot embrace the true and
living God and the gospel of God and come over here uncompromising
and say, well, your fault's religion. Well, just as long as you're
sincere, everything will work out OK. No, it won't. No, it won't. I mean, it's the truth of the
gospel that saves. It's not lies. God doesn't use
lies to teach the truth. Salvation involves more than
just a change of new ideas. or changing doctrine from Arminianism
to Calvinism. Salvation in Christ involves
more than just a change of new ideas. It involves a radical
change of masters. Tell me who your Lord is, the
Lordship of Christ. It's no longer self, not anymore. It's no longer my way, my will,
my wishes, my wants. God's will be done. Didn't he
teach us to pray that way? Lord, not my will, thy will be
done. It involves the changing of God's. That's what happens
when God teaches us the truth. We leave behind those old, religious,
false gods and we trust the true and living God. You remember
Paul writes to those Thessalonians where he said, Brethren, knowing
your election is of God, how you turned, how you heard the
Word, not in word only, but in power, and how you were turned
to God from your idols. Now, it doesn't say you turn
from your idols to God. It doesn't say that. And I'm
not just splitting hairs here. We are turned to God from our
idols. God turns us. You remember that
one scripture said, Lord, turn me and I shall be turned. And then the fifth thing in verse
17, she says, where you die, that's where I'm going to die.
And where you're buried, there will I be buried. The Lord do
so to me and more also if ought but death part me and thee."
Boy, she determined, didn't she? I'm going to follow you until
you die or I die. Ruth had a lifelong commitment
to remain in the land of promise, the house of bread, Bethlehem.
She was determined not to go back to the land of Moab. What
if Ruth would have said, Naomi, I'm going to stay with you as
long as you live. And when you die, I'm going back
to my idols. Well, that would just prove she
never did really believe, did she? Ruth made a lifelong commitment
to remain in the land of bread. Even so, likewise, true faith
is continually abiding faith. It's a continuing faith and abiding
faith is to abide in Him. The believer's faith in Christ
perseveres until the end of this life when faith will end in sight. We're going to study in Hebrews
11, these all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them, embraced
them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
this earth. Like Abraham said, he was a sojourner
here, a sojourner just traveling through. It says, for he looked
for a city whose builder and maker is God. We studied about
that city in the Revelation, that new city coming down from
God out of heaven. Look at verse 18, I'll close.
When she saw, Naomi saw that Ruth was steadfastly minded,
She had a new mind, didn't she? To go with her. She said, I'm
not going to tell you anymore. I'm not going to say anything.
When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to leave Moab and
to go with her to Bethlehem, she stopped trying to persuade
her to do otherwise. She also submitted to the will
of God, didn't she? Ruth was steadfastly minded,
that is, the resolve of saving faith, the faith of God's elect.
She could not be persuaded to leave a true and living God. Believers are of the same mind.
They are too steadfastly minded and will not leave the gospel
ministry or the Christ of the gospel. As Peter said, Lord,
to whom shall we go? We believe and we're sure, thou
art the Christ. like the Apostle Paul said, counting
all things lost, that I may win Christ and be found in him. Only let your conversation be
as it becometh the gospel of Christ, Philippians 1, 27, that
whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of
your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, that you
stand fast with one mind, striving together for the faith of the
gospel. That's what saving faith does. It continues in the faith. For it is given unto you in the
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, it's given in
the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to
suffer, to suffer for his sake. Okay.