The title of my message tonight
is Love's Commitment. Love's Commitment. Now there's
no doubt in any mind of any child of God of the commitment of the
Lord Jesus Christ to His people. There can be no doubt. There were those in Scripture
in John chapter 2 whom the Lord would not commit Himself to where
He knew what was in man. But our Lord committed Himself
to His people, came and died in their room instead, and lives
for them now at the right hand of the Father every living to
make intercession for them. Our Lord committed His gospel
to His people. He committed, He entrusted His
gospel to His people. The Word of God speaks a great
deal about commitment It generally refers to committing something
that we deem as ours to the Lord. Generally speaking, that's the
theme that runs through the scripture concerning the believer's life.
Look at Psalm 37. In Psalm 37, in verse 5, it says, commit thy
way unto the Lord. Trust also in him and he shall
bring it to pass. Commit thy way. What is our way? Our way is Jesus Christ. Our
way is life in Him. Commit it to Him. Give it to
Him. Trust Him with it. Look over
at Proverbs chapter 16. Proverbs chapter 16 and verse
3 says, Commit thy works unto the Lord. and thy thoughts shall
be established." Commit thy works to the Lord and thy thoughts
shall be established. Paul said what we just sung a
few moments ago. I know whom I have believed and
am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day. This is the truest sense when
we speak of commitment. This is the truest sense in which
we are committed to the Lord. We have because of grace cast
all we are and have upon the Lord. Our desire is to be kept
by Him. That's what we want. That's what
we need, to be kept by Him. And thank God the Word says we
are kept by Him. Because religion has diminished
the word commitment to mean a personal meritorious act of allegiance
born of a decision of free will, The principle of personal commitment
is often avoided by those who hold it salvation, and all its
attendant mercies are of the Lord and Him alone. That's our
problem. We shouldn't avoid the term or
the idea of commitment unto the Lord. We know He's committed
to us. We know we are to commit that which we have unto Him.
We also know this. If we know that we love Christ,
we know that we are committed to Him. We are committed to Him. The believer is committed to
Christ because in love Christ has committed Himself to us.
We love Him because He first loved us. Love is commitment. It is commitment. Now there's
no doubt that the result of love is an act of the will. If you
love someone, you act accordingly. You will do what is necessary
for the well-being of that loved one if you love them, because
that's the result of love. It's always an act of the will. We give because we love. We guard our loved ones because
we love them. We are jealous for their honor
because we love them. The record of the Word of God
is that God loved us. God loved us and because He did,
He sent His Son to die in our room instead. For God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It is
said of Christ repeatedly that He loved us and gave Himself
for us. He loved us and washed us in
His blood. He loved us and laved us. Love
cannot be explained. I've tried to do it. It cannot
be explained. It is, however, demonstrated
in deeds, always. Where there are no deeds, there
is no love. Look at 1 John chapter 3. 1 John
chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 16. It says this, Hereby perceive
we, or understand, or know, grasp the love of God, because He laid
down His life for us. That love prompted a dying deed,
didn't it? That love prompted a dying deed. Verse 17, But whoso hath this
world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his
bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God
in him? My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed, and in truth. That's how love is expressed.
It's always expressed in deeds. Love is demonstrated in commitment. to the one who is loved. Now
this is clearly revealed in our text tonight and beautifully
so in the actions and the words of Ruth toward Naomi. Verse 14
says, ìRuth claimed to Naomi.î Orpah went back to her homeland.
ìRuth claimed to Naomi.î And this is the heart of love commitment.
Ruthís words are a confession of commitment. What she says
to Naomi has become synonymous with a perfect confession of
love and commitment. It's often used in marriage ceremonies,
often quoted. And this relationship between
Naomi and Ruth and Ruth's evident love for her is a picture. of
the believer's love and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what it's a picture of. Remember, the Old Testament are
true stories, true events of history that actually happened,
but they all speak to the person and work of Jesus Christ and
those for whom he accomplished that work. That's what the Old
Testament is about. Now, Ruth's attitude and words
are representative of the believer's understanding and appreciation
of Christ and his gospel. There's a whole lot for us here
tonight, but I'm not going to take a long time to preach, I
don't think, but I'm going to show you that there's a great
deal to understand in what Ruth said to Naomi. The first thing
to notice is that though Ruth's intent is to go with Naomi, no
one would ever question that. It is clearly the desire of her
heart. Her words are not presumptuous words. Her words are not presumptuous
words. Ruth's words do not come across
as obstinate. She bows to the will of Naomi
here, in the very first part of these words she speaks. She does not say, I'm going with
you, and that's all there is to it. That would be a sign of
disrespect and lack of reverence for Naomi. She beseeches Naomi
not to send her away. She beseeches Naomi not to send
her away. Look at that in verse 15. No, verse 16. And Ruth said, Entreat me not
to leave thee. The word entreat there means
don't put something in the way that's going to keep me from
staying with you. Don't bring up arguments that would try to
change my mind. Entreat me not to leave thee. and treat me. And if we look
at the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ, we find that almost every
recipient of His mercy desired the same. They wanted to follow
Him. They wanted to follow Him. Likewise,
everyone who came to Him for mercy attributed sovereignty
to Him. They did not say, you know, you're
there for this, so I've come for healing. That's what you're
there for. That's what most people, that's
the way most people present God nowadays. God is there. You know,
and he's got this plan and what you've got to do is you've got
to latch on to that. You've got to name it and claim
it. That's not what Ruth did. Ruth didn't name it and claim
it. She said, please don't put any more arguments up about me
going away. I want to go with you. I want
to go. She attributed sovereignty to
Naomi. She attributed it to her. Those who desire to follow Christ
have committed to do so and wait His permission. When the leper
came at the bottom of the hill after our Lord had spoken the
Sermon on the Mount, he had heard the doctrine of our Lord and
those that were astonished at what Christ said. And when he
came down, he said, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Blind Bartimaeus said, Lord,
that I may receive my sight. The Syrophoenician woman said,
Lord, my daughter is vexed with the Spirit. Please help me. Please help me." Now if Naomi
had forbid Ruth, there's no doubt that Ruth, because of her reverence
for Naomi, would have turned back. Such is the case with every believer,
with few exceptions. Some whom the Lord delivered
were told to keep quiet about it, and they couldn't. He said,
just don't spread this abroad, just keep quiet about it, and
they spread it abroad everywhere. When Bartimaeus was told to go
his way, after he was made blind, the Lord said, go his way. And
the next phrase says, and he followed Christ. That was his
way. After he met Christ, that was
his way from then on to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer
is committed to following Christ, but at the same time is committed
to do what the Lord wills. It's like that cloud under which
the church moved in the desert. When it stood still, so did they.
Simply stated is this, wherever Christ is, whatever He's doing,
wherever He's going, that's where the believer wants to go. He
wants to be with the Lord Jesus Christ and obey His will. Now
what Naomi saw in Ruth was what our Lord sees in those who love
Him. Naomi saw that Ruth had an unquenchable fire to be by
her side. And that's what our Lord sees
in every one of His children. Note well that all that Ruth
expresses has to do with one thing. If you read this, there's
a lot of things that you can apply here, a lot of ways to
make application. But basically, all of what Ruth
is saying has to do with just one thing, her desire. to be with Naomi. That's it.
She wants to be with Naomi. Wherever Naomi is, whoever Naomi's
people is, whoever Naomi's God is, wherever Naomi dies and wherever
Naomi is buried, that's where she wants to be. That's her plain
desire. Is this not the heart of every
believer? Whatever awaits the believer. We don't know whether
it's good or evil. We don't know whether it's sad
days or golden days. We have no idea what tomorrow
shall bring. We may be happy as we can be
one day and the next day be in total misery and pain and sorrow.
We don't know what the Lord is bringing. This is what we do
know. Whatever is coming, whatever is coming, we won't be with Christ. Whatever is coming. Whatever
awaits the believer is not an issue really. It was not an issue
with Ruth. Ruth didn't know what was in
the promised land. She'd never been there. She didn't think
it was going to necessarily have a great welcome. They only left
that place and that place had a record for people not taking
lightly to people leaving. She didn't know what awaited
her there. She didn't know that the Redeemer was waiting for
her. She had no idea. All she knew was Naomi's going
there, and I won't be with Naomi. That was her total conviction
about the whole matter, her total commitment is, whatever's over
there, I won't be with her. Her primary, even singular desire
is whatever comes, it will be well. Because she'd be with Naomi. And the primary and singular
desire of every believer is whatever comes, it's going to be well,
because I'll be with the Master. As long as I can be with the
Master, everything's all right. Everything's all right. Whither
thou goest, she said, wherever you're going, that's where I'm
going. Where I'm going. And where you
lodge, where you live, where you set up housekeeping, I'm
going to be right there in the front room. For thou lodgest,
I will lodge. Ruth's commitment meant that
she would have new relationships. She said this, Thy people shall
be my people. We might think that's beautiful
poetic language, and it is. The fact is, she was going to
be leaving all her friends, all of her family, because of her
allegiance to Naomi. That's what was really happening.
Oh, I know the words are beautiful, and the sentiment is beautiful,
and the commitment is true. What these words say is that she's
going away from everything she held as normal and real in her
life. She left behind. Her love for
Naomi would cost her all that she knew of familiar relationships. And all of this, it meant that
she would form new relationships. Thy people, from here on out,
are going to be my people. My people. Now though this is
not always the case and though the believer may not lose his
family or be required to leave them, he must be willing to do
so. The believer must be willing to set up some new friendships. Look at what our Lord said in
Luke chapter 14. Verse 26, Our Lord said, If any
man come after Me, and hate not his father, and his mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own
life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whosoever does not bear his
cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. Those are the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Does that mean you are supposed to hate your mom and
dad? If it comes to be between a choice between them and Christ,
yes. It's that simple. Hopefully it'll
never come to that. You know why a lot of times marriages
between a husband who's a Christian or a wife who's a Christian and
is married to someone who's not? You know what the problem is?
There's an interloper, a third person in the marriage that one
of them loves more than their wife or their husband. And that's
a problem. That's a problem. Our Lord says
the enemies that you accrue in this will not be necessarily
enemies of the world, they'll be enemies of your own household.
People you thought loved you until you come to know the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's liable to cost you everything
you got. Everything. Look at Psalm 45. And hearken, O daughter, and
consider and incline thine ear. Forget also thine own people
and thy father's house. So shall the king greatly desire
thy beauty, for he is the Lord, and worship thou him. Forget also thine own people
and thy father's house. Now some people have used this
to just be really ugly, and you never should. Cults use this
kind of language to separate parents from children. That's
how you can abuse Scripture and rest it to your own destruction.
But what this is simply saying, worship God, it may cost you
your family. It may cost you your family. I remember a true story, Henry
Mahan told of a man who was a member of his church, and his wife hated
the gospel. They had a couple of kids. He
loved his wife, loved his kids. She hated the gospel, and she'd
try to keep him from going to church every Sunday. He'd go
out and hear Brother Mahan and fellowship with those people
and come back home. He wasn't mean to his wife. He loved his
wife, took care of her, loved her, showed her affection, was
romantic toward her. She couldn't stand his Lord.
One day, one Sunday morning, she got up before he did and
fixed his breakfast. She said, if you go to church this morning,
I won't be here when you get back. Neither will the kids. He said, honey, if you'd just
said, won't you stay home with me this morning, I would have. I'd
have been glad to stay home with you this morning. But you drew a line in the sand.
You said, it's Jesus Christ or it's me. It's Christ. And he went to church. And when
he came home, she was gone. Man never saw his wife and his
kid again. Say, I hope I never have to make that. Hope you don't
either. But if you were one of his, you'd
be willing to make that commitment. Because that's what it is. That's
what it is. It's no small thing. I know Christianity
is just sort of this sideline that people talk about, this
attachment to their own wonderful existence whereby they get in
good with God and kind of make sure that heaven is going to
be theirs one of these days. But Christianity is a tough business.
It's not for sissies. It may cost you everything. It
may cost you everything you have. Our Lord said, Seek out godly
companions. Godly companions. To be near Christ ultimately
means natural family. In reality is not a consideration
in the matter of your spiritual life. It's not a consideration.
Look at Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12. And our Lord stretched forth
His hand, in verse 49, toward His disciples, and said, Behold,
my mother and my brethren, for whosoever shall do the will of
my Father which is in heaven, the same as my brother and my
sister and my mother. You're my brethren, my sisters,
and my mothers and dads. That's who you are. That's what
the disciples of Christ are. Ruth not only left her homeland,
she had to get a whole new family. Complete new relationships. She
left all the old relationships behind. Also, Ruth's commitment
to Naomi required her to leave her gods. They did. The deities to whom she prayed
all her life, those she has brought up with when they went to the
temple of their deities and offered up the sacrifices. She was there. It was very important to them
to worship Baal and Baalpeor and Ashtoreth. All these were
very important deities that they worshipped. Worship was required. This is how they was brought
up. This is what 1 and 1 and 2 was to them. It was always
2. Now 1 and 1 is going to become 3. Things are going to change. This woman, Ruth, said to Naomi,
Your God is going to be my God. What does that mean? He's not
the God to go. Your God is going to be my God. Thy God shall be my God. This
is not a small thing. But if she is to be with me,
all me her gods must be abandoned and forsaken. And there is no
other way. This is difficult because if
we are to be with Christ, if we are committed to Him, we must
abandon all our former religion. Not an easy thing to do. We can
no longer worship at the altar of free will or works, or at
the altar of a God who is incapable of running and ruling His universe
and ruling His creatures. If we are committed to Christ,
all rivals to Him must be disallowed, disowned, and discounted. And
to hold on to these who seek to form a mixture is revelation
of want and lack of love for commitment to Christ. Our Lord
says, Come out of her, My people. Come out of her, My people. Look
at 2 Corinthians chapter 4. You are familiar with this. First look at 2 Corinthians chapter
5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17
says this, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away, behold, all things are new. And a lot
of people think, well, if you used to smoke, you don't. If you used
to drink, you don't. That's not what it's talking about. Everything you counted
on, relied upon, believed in, that made you, feel that you
were accepted by God before you met Christ goes out the window,
into the trash pile where it belongs. Now look at chapter
6. Verse 14, Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers? For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? What communeth light with darkness?
What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he
that believeth with an infidel? Or what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God.
As God has said, I will dwell in them, walk in them, I will
be their God, they shall be My people. Wherefore, come out from
among them. And be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not
the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father
unto you. And ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord God, having therefore these promises. Dearly beloved, let
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit,
perfecting separation in the fear of the Lord. Perfectly separated
from that which opposes God. That's what that means. That's
what it means. You can try to make it mean something
else, but you're going to really have to throw away the previous
words. This starts with the word having, therefore. You're talking
about some promises. What's your promise? I'll be
your God. You'll be my children. Based on what? Get out of her.
Get out of her. You have these promises now,
so get out of her. Get out of her. Also, Ruth's commitment
was for life, where thou diest. I will die. It's a lifetime commitment. Christianity is not a tack-on.
It's not a contingency plan for escaping hell. It is Christ to
death. Christ to death. Love's commitment
is for life. That's for life. Look at Luke
chapter 9 just for a moment. Verse 62, Jesus said, ìNo man,
having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God.î Thatís clear enough, isnít it? Shakespeare, speaking of human
love, says, ìIf love can end,î and Iím paraphrasing here, ìIf
a man can stop loving, then I never loved, and no man ever loved,
and I never writ.î If man can stop love, and he's
talking about human love, which does stop, sad to say, because
our love is so anemic and poor. Love for Christ doesn't stop.
God said, I'll have them fix their heart where they'll never
leave me. Jeremiah, chapter 32, he says, I'll put one mind and
one heart, and then they shall never leave me. God said that
we're not going to ever leave Him. We'll never leave Him. This
passage of Scripture, Where thou diest, I will die, is also a
beautiful representation of the believer's understanding of the
gospel, of what took place on Calvary. Where thou diest, I will die. And then what happened
to you? Where Christ died, you died,
according to Scripture. Where He died, I am crucified
with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me, and the life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. In Christ all are made alive.
We died in Christ. According to Romans chapter 6,
the reason we're baptized out there in that river and we go
under that water and come back out again is to show people that
we died when Christ died. That we actually died. Where
you die, she said, that's where I'll die. She understood the
gospel. He understood the gospel. It's a lifelong commitment of
the believer to glory and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus
Christ because there Christ died and so did we. Paul said, God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Christ by whom
the world is crucified unto me and I am crucified unto the world.
The believer's love and commitment
is to the end. When's that? Whenever it is.
That'll be it. All the way to the end. That's
the believer's commitment in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said
it this way in Philippians chapter 3. He said it this way in Philippians
chapter 3 verse 13. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind. and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Christianity is
for life. Knowing Christ and loving Christ
is a lifetime commitment. And finally, Ruth's commitment
to Naomi was such that she even wanted to be buried with her.
Humanly speaking, this was as far as she could go. all the
way to the natural end of her life. There, she said, wherever
you're buried, just dig a hole big enough for both of us. I'll
be buried right there with you. And if you'll read, and we will
see in our latter studies in chapter 4 of Ruth, you'll find
that she did. She stuck with Naomi all the
way to the end and was buried with her. That's what she wanted.
That was her design. Ruth knew that she could stay
with Naomi no longer than for both of them to end in a common
grave. But her love for her would allow
her no other way. She was committed to Naomi. Ruth's
allegiance to Naomi ended in a common grave plot. That's where
it ended. The believer's love for Christ began in a common
grave. We were buried with Him and rose with Him. We confess
that we were buried with Him in baptism as an answer of a
clear conscience toward God. Look at these words and think
of yourself speaking to the Lord Jesus Christ as one whom He saved
by His grace and mercy. Entreat me not to leave thee,
or return from following after thee. For whither thou goest,
I will go, and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall
be my people, thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die,
and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also, if aught but death should part me and thee. What a beautiful
picture of a child of God's commitment to His Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. If you would like to have a confession
of faith, I wouldn't go to the Philadelphia Confession of Faith
or the Westminster Confession of Faith. I'd go to Ruth, chapter
1, verses 16 and 17. You've got the best confession
of faith anywhere in Scripture. Father, bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name. Amen.