Alright, we are in Ruth chapter 3. We're going to focus today on verses 8 through 13 in Ruth chapter 3. The title of this sermon is that you must have a Redeemer. You must have a Redeemer. Here in the book of Ruth we have a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ in the person of Boaz. He's the kinsman, Redeemer. He's the near relative to Elimelech. This would be Naomi's husband. And so he is the one, according to the Old Testament law, that can deliver Naomi, her family, Ruth, and all of them out of the situation that they're in. Not only that, but Boaz is going to be a forefather, an ancestor in the line of Christ himself. And so this is a, the book of Ruth is a remarkable book. There are elements of this Redeemer concept in both Ruth chapter 3 and chapter 4. So I'm just gonna go ahead, I'm gonna read Ruth 3 and 4, and then we'll come back and focus on verses 8 through 13 of chapter 3. Ruth chapter 3, verse 1. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor. But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.' And she replied, all that you say I will do." So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight, the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman laid his feet. He said, who are you? She answered, I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer. And he said, May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first, and that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a Redeemer. Yet there is a Redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if He will redeem you, good, let Him do it. But if He is not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning. So she laid his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another, and he said, let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. And he said, bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out. So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, How did you fare, my daughter? Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law. She replied, Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today. Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. Behold, the Redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, turn aside friend, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, sit down here. So they sat down. Then he said to the Redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it, and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it, but if you will not, tell me that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you." And he said, I will redeem it. And Boaz said, the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance. And the Redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it. Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging to confirm a transaction. The one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the Redeemer said to Boaz, buy it for yourself, he drew off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilian and to Malam. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Malam, I have bought to be my wife to perpetuate the name of the dead and his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day. Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem. And may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman. So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went into her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a Redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him. And Naomi took the child, and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, A son has been born to Naomi. They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez. Perez fathered Hezron. Hezron fathered Ram. Ram fathered Aminadab. Aminadab fathered Nashan. Nashan fathered Salman. Salman fathered Boaz. Boaz fathered Obed. Obed fathered Jesse. And Jesse fathered David. So here in this section of Ruth, the Lord Jesus Christ as our Redeemer is beautifully foreshadowed in Boaz. So we're gonna focus on verses 8 through 13 where we learn that the one in need must seek for the redemption. That's the way that it worked in the Old Testament law, that the one in need must seek for the redemption. They must go, they must seek it from the Redeemer. You can be sitting here under the preaching of the Word of God for maybe 24 years, maybe you've been here as long as Pastor Randall has been here longer, and you've heard the preaching of the Word of God, do you have a Redeemer? It's not a matter of whether or not you are a member of this church. It's not a matter so much of whether or not you've been baptized. The question is, do you really have a Redeemer? Have you been redeemed by Jesus Christ? Has He paid the debt of your sin? That is the big question that faces everyone. And there needs to come a time when you face that fact and when you seek Christ for that forgiveness. If it happens, it's because of the grace of God. But nevertheless, you must repent and believe the gospel. Pastor Randall told a version of this story, I think on a Wednesday night, telling the backstory of one of the hymns. I came across it last night. It's in the illustrations of D.L. Moody. D.L. Moody was a great preacher from the 1800s, same time as Spurgeon started Moody Bible Institute, among other things, and this is his version of that story. He says, there's a very good story told of the open air preacher, Roland Hill, and Lady Anne Erskine. You have seen it perhaps in print. He says, I'd like to tell it to you. While he was open air preaching in a park in London to a large assembly, she was passing by in her carriage. She said to her footman when she saw Roland Hill in the midst of the people, who is that man? That is Roland Hill, my lady. She had heard a good deal about the man, and she thought she would like to see him. So she directed her coachman to drive near the platform. When the carriage came near, he saw the insignia of nobility on the carriage, and he asked who that noble lady was. Upon being told, he said, Stop, my friends. I have something to sell. The idea of a preacher suddenly becoming an auctioneer made the people wonder, and in the midst of dead silence, he said, I have more than a title to sell. I have more than a crown of Europe to sell. It is the soul of Lady Anna Erskine. Is there anyone here who bids for it? Yes, I hear a bid. Satan. Satan, what will you give? I will give pleasure. Honor? Riches. Yes, I will give the whole world for her soul. Do you hear another bid? Is there any other bid? Do I hear another bid? I thought so. I hear another bid. The Lord Jesus Christ, what will you give for this soul? I'll give peace, joy, comfort that the world knows not of. Yes, I will give eternal life. Lady Anurski, you have heard two bidders for your soul. Which one will you accept? She ordered the door of her carriage to be opened. She came weeping out of it, and on the spot, she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. Creative open-air preacher. Maybe Cody will try that, I don't know. But he, and this is what Moody says, he, the great and mighty Savior, is bitter for your soul tonight. He offers you riches of comfort, joy, peace, and eternal life hereafter, while Satan offers you what he can't even give. Poor lost soul, which will you have? He will ransom your soul if you but put your burden upon Him." And then he goes on to say, 21 years ago, I made up my mind that Jesus Christ would have my soul. I've never regretted the step. No man has ever felt sorry for coming to Him. When we accept Him, we must like Him. Your sins may rise up as a mountain, but the Son of Man can purge you of all evil and take you right into the palaces of heaven if you will bow the knee. And so that's the challenge to you today. If you had this bidding war going on, I mean really, which one would you rather? Jesus Christ laid down his life for your soul. So what we learn here in Ruth chapter 3 and verses 8 through 13, the one in need must seek redemption. Now let's go back for a minute to Deuteronomy 25 so we can look at this law, what the law of God says about this kinsman redeemer. In Deuteronomy chapter 25 verses 7 through 10, here's what the law said. You have a situation, this is called lover at marriage in this situation. Not exactly talking about kinsmen and redeemer, we'll talk more about that in a second, but the law of lover at marriage is the main thing that's being dealt with right here in Ruth 3. And you got a situation where a man dies, there's been no children by this marriage, and this widow is left, and the question is, what do we do for the widow, and how do we continue his name? So the law of God provided the answer for that in Deuteronomy 25 verse 7. If the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, which is what would happen, let me go back verse 5. If brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go into her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, my husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. And if he persists, saying, I do not wish to take her, then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal off his foot, and spit in his face. It's pretty direct. And she shall answer and say, so shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, the house of him who had his sandal pulled off. So quite an insult. This guy was not willing to provide In this situation, if he's able to provide and not willing to provide, that is the level of insult that it was in that culture. So here you've got this situation going on in Ruth chapter 3 and what's happening here, in the law it says that the widow is the one who is calling for the man to do his job and lever at marriage. The one in need must seek it out. And I just want to say in verses 8 and 9, we go back to Ruth chapter 3 verse 8, read it again. Ruth 3 verse 8. Nothing, let me just say it because this is the culture we live in, we're a bunch of perverts. We automatically assume that something immoral is going on here. Nothing immoral is going on here. This entire scene is being done discreetly, quietly in the middle of the night, in order to avoid that charge to begin with. And the reference here to spreading the wing over his servant is a common metaphor in that culture for a request for marriage. On the hem of the garment of a Jewish person you've got the Jewish, the tassel that was hanging there. The blue and white thread that's there and it's all there and it's meant to remind the man of God, the people, the Jewish people that of the law of God. Literally, in the law it's commanded that it be done so that they be reminded that they are to obey the law of God constantly. Every time they look down and see that tassel, they are reminded that they are to keep the law of God. It's there on the hem of the garment. Rabbis taught that the tassel should be knotted in a specific way, and then they combined it together with this numeric value for the Hebrew term for tassel. All that totals up to 613, and there are 613 commandments in the law of God. And so in that way, it was thought that's why they did that, and that it was how they were reminded when they looked at it to think of the law of God. But the hem was also associated with the authority of the wearer. And that's why you've got that story in 1 Samuel 24 where you've got David sneaking in there with Saul. He's asleep. David sneaks in. What's he do? He cuts off the corner of the robe, of his garment. And the reason why he does that is he's basically showing him, look, I'm, first of all, I'm touching your authority, I didn't take your life, but I'm even kind of sort of questioning what's going on here with your authority. And so that is going, he didn't do it to insult them, but he does that to make a point. So the practicing of proposing using this method of a garment spread over someone was used in the Middle Eastern nations as recently as the 1800s. And so you've got this statement that she makes here. She says in verse 9, She's saying, take your garment and spread it over me, and therefore take me as wife, because you are the one in the lover at marriage who's the near kinsman, I'm asking you to take care of me and to take care of my needs. To take care of me personally, but also to buy back the property that was Naomi's husband's property. And so all that's wrapped up in this, and it all had to do with the one who is in need going to the one who could meet that need. Listen, you have a need. If you're outside of Christ, you have a need. Your sin is the need. It's not an issue of whether or not you're a widow or married or anything like that. It's not an issue of whether or not you've got property or anything like that in the law of God, but your great need before God is your sin has to be dealt with. Someone has to come along and deal with your sin and you need to go to the Redeemer to do that. And we'll make all those connections at the end of this, but just know right now that your great need is that you've broken the law of God. You've broken it, you've lied, you've stolen, you've taken God's name in vain. All of those things are great violations of the law of God and you have a great debt to God because of it. Someone must pay that debt and the only one that can pay that debt is Jesus Christ. You must go to Him. Now notice in verse 9 that Ruth does not call herself a Moabite. That's been the primary term for Ruth throughout the book. But here in verse 9, she calls herself servant. She is, like we said last week, she has now completely identified herself with the people of God. She's not a Moabite in her own eyes anymore. She's saying, look, I'm a part of the people of God. I'm your servant. And she says, just spread your wing over me. I think this is intentional. You go back to Ruth 2, verse 12, and it says there what Boaz had said to her. This is intentional. I think what she's saying is, yes, I agree with that. I'm looking to the Lord to do that, but God uses means and I'm asking you to do that and to be God's protection in my life and to do that thing. And so now, in verses 10 and 11, when you look at verse 10, it says, he said, may you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You've made this last kindness greater than the first, and that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. In verse 10, he says to her, you have done something here really unusual. He recognizes her age. You're much younger than I am. He says it would normally be the case that you would go after a younger man. He thanks her for that, but there's something else going on there. I believe what's going on here in verse 10 is that she's doing what the law required. The law required that she go to the kinsmen to provide. That's what the law said. The law of God said if you had that situation, even though she was a Moabite, she's been brought into the people of God, now she's trying to honor the law of God. That's what a convert does. Someone who comes to faith in Christ seeks to obey the word of God. She didn't do what would come naturally to her as a Moabite. She wouldn't do what would come naturally to her as a young woman and go look for a young man. But instead, she places the priority on doing what God wants. That's, by the way, while we're talking about marriage, that's always the way. So let me say to the young people in the room, look at what God has commanded regarding marriage to determine who you're going to marry. That's really what she's doing. And she's going to Boaz, following the Word of God. What does God's Word say? Very clearly, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians that you don't get unequally yoked together with an unbeliever. So it should never even be a thought in your mind. There's no such thing as evangelistic dating. There's certainly no such thing as evangelistic marriage. Just talk to people. Talk to people who have done it. Or maybe when they got married they were both unbelievers but later on one becomes a believer and the other doesn't, right? And then go and talk to them and see what they say about it. What do they say about it? Is it good or is it bad? Is it easy to do or is there a lot of tension? Talk to anybody who's been in that situation, and there's a lot of tension. Honor God with the way that you date. You know, there was this whole courtship thing that was going on for a while. However you want to, whatever you want to call it, honor God by seeking to obey his word. And that's always better. That's always better for the people of God. When you are a child of God, she was a Moabite, she has come to the people of God, now she's even living by the standard of the law of God over her life. That's what you should be doing as a Christian. You profess to know Christ. So don't do things that dishonor God in the way that you're dating and all that kind of stuff. This culture right now is downright weird. It's downright weird what's going on in what's so-called hookup culture. It's perverted, it's sick, and the child of God doesn't have anything to do with that. And there are serious discussions that people are having about whether or not this should be done. Are you serious? You have a Bible, read it. So, yes, this former pagan is honoring the law of God. The other thing that's going on here, and it's interesting that he says it the way that he says it, in verse 11, he says, For all my fellow townsmen, know that you are a worthy woman. Some translations have this virtuous woman. I think that's definitely included here in the text. But there's something even more going on when you look at the term for virtuous, or mighty, worthy. There's all kinds of different translations. In the Hebrew, you could translate this mighty. And the reason is because of how it's used elsewhere. The term translated worthy or virtuous in the King James is the word for might, and it's used 85 times to describe people in the Old Testament. Sometimes it's also used to describe God, but many times to describe people. It's often used for the word valiant in the context of a warrior. So there's an example of that in 1 Kings 14 too. And most often it's used in combination with another term to come up with a term Mighty Man of Valor. Now, we understand men are men, women are women, we know what is a man, what is a woman, right? All that kind of stuff here. So we're not trying to confuse roles, but what is thought is that when we're talking about Mighty Man of Valor, in that case you're talking about a special class of warrior. And so, when it's applied to a woman, and it is occasionally applied to a woman in the Old Testament, as it is here in the case of Ruth, it's saying a little bit more than just virtuous. That's included. A virtuous person was a mighty person. So she is a virtuous person, but she also has some degree of strength. There is some degree of strength. I think we gotta be careful right now, the way people are talking about patriarchy and things like that, not to go beyond what is written. Yes, we should look at what's written, not to go beyond what's written, and I'm not saying that Ruth was some sort of Amazon, but I am saying that there is a strength here. And even when you're looking at the Proverbs 31 woman, you are looking at someone who is exhibiting some degree of strength. So go back to Proverbs 31, Proverbs chapter 31, verse 10. If you're getting nervous about the way I'm talking right now, I'm going to wrap this, tie it all together here in a second. But Proverbs 31, it begins the description. It uses the same term. It's translated the ESV excellent. An excellent wife who can find she is far more precious than jewels. And as you go down through here, you see a woman who's like a businesswoman. who's like conducting business out of her home and stuff like this. This isn't exactly what some right now in like the reformed world are saying a woman should be because she's also actually conducting business within her home. We have to be honest about what the text says. So what am I trying to get at? What I'm trying to say is look, there are rules. The scripture is very clear about what the roles are. Women can't preach, right? They can't pastor churches, they can't be in leadership in churches, that sort of thing. But let's not go so far as to say that women can't do anything. Because some of that is also being said right now, that they can't be involved in ministries, that they can't be involved in some businesses and things like that. Proverbs 31 would disagree with you on that. And some various examples of women in these, throughout the Word of God, Old and New Testament, kind of point to a different thing. We need to be willing to recognize that women can do more than just what they do in the home. Yes, that's got to be done. but they can also do other things as well and to do it with some degree of might. We've faced this in the abolitionist world. There's a whole debate that goes on in the abolitionist world. Can a woman go to an abortion clinic and stand out in front of the abortion clinic and call women to repent? Can they go out there? Can they stand out there and organize a ministry to try to reach women that way that are thinking about abortion? There are some people that are saying no. And what I'm saying is we have stuff like this in the Scripture, and examples from this in the Scripture. You got bold women of God who stand up and do incredible things. Let's not say that they can't do anything. And let's, where they can do something, let's encourage them to do something. And so we gotta be careful with that and then we can all decide what that means and whether or not I need to be fired after that. But that is what we have here with the term virtuous, mighty, that kind of thing. Now Boaz is also seeking to honor the law of God because you look at verse 12, he says, it's true that I'm a redeemer. It's true. Now, he's an older guy, this young attractive woman wants to marry him. You know, what do most guys do in this situation? Yes, let's take care of this, let's be done with it. But instead, he does something different. And he says, let's follow what God's Word says here. There is a Redeemer nearer than I. He's saying, yes, there's a Redeemer, but there's someone that's closer. And if he wants to take on this responsibility according to the law of God, he should be the one that does it. And that's everything that unfolds in chapter four at the gate with him talking to this guy, hey, will you take on this responsibility? No, he won't take it on, but he does seek to honor the law of God in that as well. In order for the relatives, he had to be qualified and he had to be willing in order to take on this role. All of this concern for the law of God, both on the part of Ruth and on the part of Boaz, is really unusual during this time period of the book of Judges. Because when you read the book of Judges, it seems like everybody forgot that there was a law of God. But here you are in the middle of that culture, in this very quiet, rural scene, right, in Bethlehem, at a threshing floor, and you've got some people here that care about the law of God, and even when it comes to their love life, they want to make sure that it lines up with what God has commanded. What a contrast with the rest of the Book of Judges. And let me just say, shouldn't that be what the church does in the middle of a godless culture? Shouldn't that be what a church does? Rather than acquiesce and compromise to the culture and embrace the bad thinking about even most churches about the authority of the word of God, shouldn't there be people that are concerned about the day-to-day life, how they take the word of God and apply it to their life right now? That's what we should be doing right now in this culture. In this culture, we should be leading our families according to the word of God. We should be conducting our lives according to the word of God. And out of this, we're gonna see a picture of redemption through all of this in Boaz. So that's what you got going on here. He says, there is a Redeemer nearer than I. Verse 13, remain tonight and in the morning. If he will redeem you, good, let him do it. But if he's not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning. When Naomi hears about all this, she goes, oh, don't worry, he's gonna take care of this. Like today, because she can see what's going on. She's an older lady. She thinks, I think there's a relationship developing here. He's not gonna let this rest. So that's all well and good when it comes to this whole concept of the kinsman-redeemer. A little bit more information on the kinsman-redeemer. We're going to tie this together. The kinsman-redeemer was not only functioning, in this case, in leverant marriage, But he could also buy back land, and that's part of what happens in chapter 4. Part of the kinsman redeemer is that he could repurchase land that a relative sold in time of need. That apparently happened before they all went off to Moab to get relief from the famine. And so what he's going to do in chapter 4 is buy back the land as well as take on his responsibility with leverant marriage. Another part of the kinsman redeemer role is a little more uncomfortable that we don't like to talk about. But in Numbers chapter 35, the kinsman redeemer, the near kinsman, could also be one who is the avenger of blood. So let's say somebody in your family gets murdered. And so what do you do about that? Well, the near kinsman, his responsibility was to get justice for the murdered. and he would go out and get justice for that. Keep that in the back of your mind about this kinsmen redeemer thing. Because most of what we think about with redemption is positive, but there's also this negative aspect that we should keep in the back of our minds. All of this is intended to foreshadow our great Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer. How is Jesus our Redeemer? Here is where it all comes together. Mark chapter 10, verse 45. Jesus paid our ransom when he died on the cross for our sins. The Bible says, for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. That ransom payment that he paid wasn't actual money being changed back and forth like what we're seeing here with the land purchase. But Ephesians 1 verse 7, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. If you are here as an unbeliever, you need to hear this. You owe God a great debt. We've already referred to it. But the payment of that debt is maybe what you've heard about before. You've heard that Jesus died on a cross. Maybe you've seen a cross or something with Jesus on it or not. But that cross isn't just jewelry. He shed his blood to pay for his people. 1 Peter 1, 18 and 19 talks about the value of that payment. It says, knowing that you are ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Jesus was sinless, absolutely sinless. You are sinful. His payment of his blood for your sins, you can't put a value on it. You can't compare it to something that's perishable, like silver or gold. Those things are nothing compared to the blood of Christ that was shed for your sin. So he's paid our ransom, and in the process, he's redeemed us from the curse of the law of God. Galatians 3, verse 13 says, You deserve to die for your sin. The Bible says the soul that sins, it shall die. The wages of sin is death. The law of God demands the death of the sinner. Christ died in your place. We say Christ died for our sins. That means he died on behalf of us. That's what you need is Christ. He is your Redeemer. He is the ultimate fulfillment of this entire concept. So in Galatians chapter four, verse five, it says, to redeem those who are under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. Not only does he pay for your sin, but it goes further than that. You're adopted into the family of God. You are brought in under Christ. He's done that. And when that happens, redemption is framed in the New Testament as a deliverance. A deliverance. In Colossians 1, 13 and 14, He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Your life outside of Christ can be characterized as darkness. You say, well, I don't know. I don't feel like it's dark. I'm doing what I think is right in my own eyes. Everything seems happy in my life, but if you continue, there's a way that seems right to a man, but the end is death. It seems right that you're going that way, but one day you will stand before the God that you have sinned against, and you'll get an account. Unless you've repented and placed your faith in Christ, and in that case, He's delivered you, when you repent and believe, from this domain of darkness, and transferred you into His kingdom. That's where you want to be. Hebrews 2 verses 14 and 15 say, Everyone is afraid to die. Everyone's afraid of it. What do you do? You get sick, you go to the doctor. You get in the car, you buckle your seatbelt. You come up to a red light, you stop. Right, why? Because you don't like the idea of dying. And God has placed eternity in our hearts. There's something in us that says, I don't want to die. We live in fear of it. We do everything we can not to think about it. We block it out of our minds. You don't even like the fact that I'm talking about it right now. But the fact is, you can be delivered from that fear of death. Because Christ not only paid the price for your sins, but He rose from the dead. He conquered death. And so He's delivered us. But once He's delivered you, You gotta know this too about, a lot of churches don't tell you about this. They present the gospel as if it's just an agreement that you sign on the dotted line. Well, if you wanna think about it like that, that it's an agreement that you're agreeing to, you're signing on the dotted line to get your eternal life, make sure you read the fine print. Make sure you read the fine print. He owns us. If he's bought you, he owns you. Most of what's wrong with the church these days is the fact that Christians can't embrace this idea that now I belong. to Christ. And that means I don't have free reign over what I do in my life. This Christianity thing is not just walking to the front of a church to get your get-out-of-hell-free card. It's about complete ownership is what's going on here with redemption, ultimately. And even Ruth understood that. How does she talk to Boaz? She says, I'm your servant. I'm your servant. I belong to you from here on out. And so, that's how we need to approach it, because the Bible speaks of it this way. 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20. I'm quoting from the King James because that's how I memorized it. For you are bought with a price. You are not your own. You are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are yours? No, which are God's. He paid the ransom price. So if you're a Christian, your life is gonna look different. Your life is gonna look like you belong to Christ. Does it? Because if it doesn't look like that, then you need to be concerned about that. And you need to take care of that as soon as possible. Like repent of that as soon as possible. If you're a Christian and you're living like you have title to your life, burn the title. That belongs to Christ. You're not the sun in your own personal solar system. He's delivered you. He owns you. And the church is spoken of this way in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 20, verse 28. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock. This is Paul talking to the elders at Ephesus. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. The church is His. So that means that as elders in a church, leaders in a church, it's not like we just get to decide what we think is a good idea and we do whatever we want to do with it. We have to look to the authority of Christ, who's the head of the church, and say, what do you want to do with it? After all, it's your church. You paid with your blood for that. Pastor Randall hasn't done that, I haven't done that, there's no pastor alive who's ever done that, or has the right to do things, whatever they think is best. They are under authority of Christ because Christ owns the church. 2 Peter 2, verse 1, false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even, and this is what's being labeled as a destructive heresy, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. If you deny that Jesus owns you, that's a destructive heresy. But there's a lot of Christians who will never say that, but they live it. They don't live as if Christ has purchased them. For Ruth, there's no going back. From here on out, she's identified forever with Boaz. There's no going back when you come to faith in Christ. From here on out, you're forever identified with Jesus Christ, if it's real. Stephen Charnock had this to say about the price that Christ paid for redemption, and this is all by way of conclusion. Two quotes here from him. This is in his book, Existence and Attributes of God. To work redemption, God parted with his dearest treasure, and his Son eclipses his choiceless glory. For this, for redemption, God must be made man. Eternity must suffer death. The Lord of angels must weep in a cradle, and the creator of the world must hang like a slave. Unspotted righteousness must be made sin, and unblemished blessedness be made a curse. The pure, spotless Son of God, Jesus Christ, endured all that, paid that price for our redemption. He goes on to say, He did not refuse to strike him, that he might be well pleased with us. He drenched his sword in the blood of his son, that it might not forever be wet with our blood, but that his goodness might triumph forever in our salvation. This is what Christ has done. That's how, I can't think of another way to say it more beautifully than that. We deserve that death. but Christ with his own blood, more precious than silver or gold, laid down that so that we could be, that's the payment that he paid. All of what's happening there in the book of Ruth with Boaz, the payments, things like this for the land and all that, it's just a shadow. People read the book of Ruth and they get wrapped up in the details of it and they go, oh, it's just a nice love story. It's a lot more than that. It's foreshadowing what Christ did in the person of Boaz. He is the big deal in the book of Ruth, ironically. Book of Ruth. Let's talk about Boaz. Boaz is the one who's the Redeemer. He points forward. He pays a price for his beloved. Christ paid a price for his church. And that church, corporately, is made up of individuals, you, right? Christ paid that penalty. The question is, are we acting as if he has ownership in our lives? And that is a key question for us all to consider individually. Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank you for these truths. Sometimes as we look at these foreshadowings, they're hard to understand, hard to make the connections, but it's very clear the redemption is a big part of what we call generally salvation. Forgiveness of sins. A payment has been paid and that payment is very precious. Far more valuable than anything Boaz paid. It's why it's just a foreshadowing. It just speaks to the ultimate payment that would be made for sinners. Help us to be like Ruth, who has turned her back on all that she was before as a Moabite, and help us to see, like Ruth did, that now she's forever connected with her Redeemer. the one who paid the price for her, freed her from poverty, freed her from just widowhood, and brought her into a family with a rich inheritance, so rich that eventually one of her descendants would be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, not just King David, but the Messiah himself. Help us to see what a rich inheritance we have in you, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.