Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

INTRODUCTIONThe early church father John Chrysostom once said that the apostle Paul went through a “blizzard of troubles.” This passage, this text, is one of the places where we learn something of them. But, if truth be told, we are probably just learning a fraction of them.Paul’s adversaries at Corinth were apparently arguing that Paul could not be from God—look at how much trouble he was in, all the time. The man was a controversy magnet, and this was upsetting to that breed of Christian that wants to stay well away from all controversy magnets. But Paul’s reply that the troubles did not negate his ministry. Rather, his long endurance through those troubles confirmed his ministry.THE TEXT“Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged” (2 Cor. 6:3–18).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTPaul here works through a litany of his troubles. He is careful not to give offense in anything (v. 3). He is of course talking about unnecessary offense. In the original, there are 28 descriptive comments. As Kent Hughes points out in his commentary, the first 18 are prefaced with the word in, the following 3 by the word through, and the last 7 by the word as. Not only so, the first round tends to come in triplets. First we see general troubles—afflictions, necessities, and distresses (v. 4). The second triplet was made up of troubles from others—stripes, imprisonments, and riots (v. 5). Remember that Paul went through riotous tumults in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, and Jerusalem (Acts 13:50; 14:5,19; 16:22; 18:12; 19:23; 21:27). That man knew his riots. Then there was the triplet of troubles he went through that might be called self-sacrificial—labors, watching, and fasting (v. 5).How could he endure all this? Paul then gives us a list of the inner graces that made it possible for him to maintain his steady equilibrium, despite all the commotion around him. In the middle of this list he mentions the Holy Spirit Himself by name. So Paul does what he does BY pureness, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, and by genuine love (v. 6). He does it BY the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness on the right and on the left (v. 7). The word armor here would be better rendered as weapons—for the right hand and left. He does what he does BY honor and dishonor, BY evil report and good (v. 8a).For the last seven, Paul gives us a series of paradoxes, all of them ending on an upward note of triumph. AS deceivers, but actually true (v. 8). As unknown, but actually well known. AS dying, and yet look at us live. AS punished, but actually not killed (v. 9). AS sorrowful, but always rejoicing, and AS poor, while actually enriching many others, and AS possessing nothing while at the same time owning everything (v. 10).Paul then speaks straight to the Corinthians—our mouth is open, and our heart is enlarged (v. 11). They were not restricted in Paul and company, but rather were constricted in their own attitudes (v. 12). The kink in the hose was in them, not in Paul. Paul pleads with them as with his own children—be enlarged in heart, just as Paul is (v. 13). This is something we can imitate the apostle in.THE GRACE OF CONTROVERSYThere are those who believe the ministry to be an indoor job with no heavy lifting. There was an old Southern joke that said that a hot sun and a slow mule had been responsible for many a call to the ministry. This has always been a lure. There were men in the first century who confounded gain with godliness (1 Tim. 6:5). And remember what Paul warned against just a few chapters before—“For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.” (2 Cor. 2:17, NKJV). And when there is constant trouble, it disrupts marketing. It discourages sales. It makes it hard to be friends with the world, and to monetize that friendship. That’s why Demas had to leave Paul’s company to take a new position (2 Tim. 4:10).BEDROCK JOYNotice that biblical joy is not a frothy bubble gum kind of joy. It is not happy happy joy joy. It is not superficial sentiment. Paul says “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (v. 10). This shows us that when Paul tells us elsewhere that we are to rejoice all the time (Phil. 4:4), he is not urging into a masochistic glee. The soil in your life may grow some plants that have thorns, but down underneath it all must be the bedrock of joy.LARGENESS OF HEARTPaul concludes this section by urging expansiveness of heart upon the Corinthians. He tells them that it was because of his largeness of heart that made tell them about all the troubles he had gone through. His mouth was open because his heart was enormous. He spoke because he loved. “I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.” (Psalm 119:32).When King Solomon pleased the Lord by asking for wisdom instead of other things, what did God do for him? “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore” (1 Kings 4:29).Fussers don’t have this largeness of heart. They fuss right and they fuss left. They fuss about their meals, they fuss about the traffic, they fuss about the sermons, they fuss about the lack of things to grumble about. Because this had happened at Corinth, the saints there had fallen prey to certain agitators who wanted to circulate complaints. So Paul opened his heart wide, and poured everything out. And it was at that moment that he told them the problem was in their own twisted, constricted hearts. Open up, Paul says. Imitate him as he imitates Christ. Join him and his company of great hearts. It sounds inspiring, but what is the cost? It means going and walking with Paul as he works through his blizzard of troubles.

Would you see faith strengthened in the little ones among us? Then shout your loud amens go God. Would you see churches planted? Then sing aloud to the Lord. Would you see godless politicians bend their knee to Christ? Then raise your voice to the God who hears and acts. He fulfills his promises and every one of those promises in Christ is yes and amen.

There are still kingdoms to be subdued, promises to obtain, and lion’s mouths to be stopped. And all of it will come about through daily, practical obedience; not by hearing only, but by doing the word.

You’re raising up never-dying souls. You’re showing them what God is like, day after day through your words, attitude, and demeanor. Our heavenly Father rejoices over us with loud singing. So rejoice over them with loud singing. He has compassion on us so do likewise. He disciplines us so discipline them. Our Father makes his face shine upon us. So turn your face toward them and bless them abundantly.

THE TEXTFor when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him (Heb. 6:13–7:10).

Text: Galatians 1:10–24

INTRODUCTIONWhen the gospel is stated in its bare outlines, it is the kind of thing that takes the breath away. It leaves us stupefied. If we hear the preacher declaring the unvarnished truth, we look heavenward in amazement. You can’t be serious. But in the cross, that moment of glorious exchange, an exchange of sin and righteousness, we see that wisdom of God is terrifying in its mere goodness.THE TEXT“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again . . .” (2 Corinthians 5:14–6:2).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTWe are bound by the love of Christ because of a determination we have made—which is that if one died for all, then all have died (v. 14). And the reason He died for all was so that they could stop living toward themselves, but rather toward the one who died for them and rose again (v. 15). This is why we don’t look at anyone on an earthly level alone anymore—we used to know Christ on that level, but not anymore (v. 16). If someone is in Christ, absolutely everything is transformed, new for old (v. 17) This is all from God, who reconciled us in Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (v. 18). That is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, refusing to impute their trespasses to them, and giving us the charge to tell them that this is now the case (v. 19). So we are ambassadors, as though God Himself were speaking through us—be reconciled to God (v. 20). For God made the sinless one to be sin for us, so that He could make us, the sinful ones, to be the righteousness of God in Him (v. 21). So then, this is the basis of the gospel appeal. As co-workers of God, we plead with sinners not to receive the grace of God in vain (6:1). Paul then states the invitation, using the words of the LXX, quoting Is. 49:9. God says that He has heard us in the time accepted, and has comforted us in the day of salvation—and that day of salvation is now (v. 2).THROUGH NEW EYESIf we know the gospel, then we have to look at the world differently. Paul absolutely refused to look at anyone in the old way anymore, and this was because he could not look at Christ in the old way anymore— now that Christ had risen. C.S. Lewis put his finger on the direct implication of this:“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, help each other to one or other of these destinations” (The Weight of Glory).When you are dealing with someone who is being tedious, meditate on the glory that is coming for them, and which will swallow them up. And remember, such an exercise is the very best way for you to mortify the ways in which you are being tedious.THE GROUND OF APPEALNote that God objectively reconciled the world to Himself through Christ. The thing is done. We are therefore not pleading with the world to reconcile themselves to God. The plea is that the world has been reconciled, and so therefore be reconciled. To be stiff-necked and rebellious is to be the recipients of grace in vain (6:1). The vanity is on our end, not the Lord’s—His purposes always come to pass. But it is a heartbreak when residents of a saved world insist on their own damnation.AUDACIOUS IMPUTATIONHow does God do this? How is this tremendous thing accomplished. Look first at v. 14. One died for all, and therefore all were dead. To grasp this, we have to comprehend the true nature of Christ’s substitutionary death. There are two kinds of substitution. One you see in a basketball game, where one player goes in for another, and that second player goes to the bench. That is one kind of substitution, and it is not the kind of substitution that Christ provides for us.The second kind of substitution is covenantal or representative substitution. This happens when we elect a congressman, for example, and he goes to Washington to represent our interests. When he votes, we voted. When he is caught up in scandal, we are humiliated. When he does right, we are gratified.Christ died for all as the representative head of the new human race. Just as when Adam sinned, we sinned (because Adam was our federal representative), so also when Christ died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When He rose, we rose. When He ascended, we ascended. Because of this, all our sins were imputed to Him. Because of this, all His righteousness was imputed to us.So Christ was never a sinner (1 Pet. 2:22; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 1 Jn. 3:5; cf. Rom. 5:19; 8:3; John 8:46), but He would knew no sin was made sin (through God’s imputation of our sin to Him). And because of the death that was reckoned there, it became possible for life to reckoned in the other direction (v. 15)—for righteousness to be imputed to us (v. 21).BUT DO NOT MISS THE INVITATIONSo then, when should we act upon this truth? The answer is plain. We should act on it as soon as we hear about it. Look at the calendar. Is it today? Now is the moment. Now is the day of salvation. Look to Christ, and Christ will look toward you.

Take a deep breath and remember that God has not changed. His Word and Kingdom have not changed. The blood of Christ has not changed. And your work of faith has not changed. Obey right where you are. The scenery changes as you go farther up and farther in. But the call to go farther up and farther in, nothing has changed about that.

It is through these steady, cheerful, and sacrificial blessings that true friendships are built. And here is the abiding principle of friendship, no matter the season of life: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13).

INTRODUCTIONThis book is truly a Divine Comedy. It is no tragedy, although it seems initially to be so. This story has a happy ending. A wedding, a baby, and a genealogy. What could be more thrilling?THE TEXTThen went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's: And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance... (Ruth 4).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTBoaz sets about to make good on his vow (3:13) to ensure that Ruth & Naomi would not be left bereft of a kinsman redeemer; it would either be the nearer kinsman, or else Boaz would fulfill the duty (v1). Boaz meets the man at the gate of Bethlehem and hails him as “such a one” (v1), assembles a council of ten elders (v2, Cf. Pro. 31:23), appraises the nameless kinsman of the opportunity to buy Elimelech’s parcel (v3). Boaz informs the man that if he doesn’t want to buy it, then Boaz will, but––to our disappointment––the man agrees to buy it (v4). However, Boaz has another card to play, the man must also marry Ruth the Moabitess and raise up a son in Elimelech’s stead (v5).The kinsman balks at this out of fear of marring his own inheritance (v6). So, the customary transfer of duty was performed by removing his shoe & giving it to Boaz (vv7-8, Cf. Deu. 25:9-10). Boaz then announces to the council & all the people that he had purchased all that was Elimelech’s, and his sons (v9), including marrying Ruth with the incumbent duty to raise up the name of the dead (v10). Both the elders and the people add their witness and a three-fold blessing: 1) that Ruth would be like the  matriarchs Rachel & Leah––building a mighty house of many sons, 2) that both Boaz and his offspring might be mighty & famous (v11); and 3) that the house of Boaz might  be like the house of Pharez, begotten from Tamar’s righteous act of faith (v12, Cf. Gen 38).Boaz takes Ruth, and the Lord grants conception of a son (v13). Bethlehem’s women bless the Lord for this gift to Naomi, for this son––who would be famous––would be unto Naomi as a resurrection, a comfort all her days, a blessing from the faithful loyalty of her daughter-in-law who turned out to be better than seven sons (vv14-15). Naomi’s bosom is now filled with a son (v16), and the womenfolk take it upon themselves to name the boy Obed: the serving one (v17). This servant-son would be the grandfather of mighty David (v17b). The text concludes with a vital genealogy, tracing ten generations from Pharez unto King David (vv18-22).THE NAMELESS & SHOELESSThe names of the characters in this story are integral to the story. The story opens with a Elimelech (God is King), acting as if God isn’t king. His two sons are “sickly” & “pining”. Naomi (pleasantness) attempts to rename herself Mara (bitter). Boaz’s name implies strength & virility. But the near kinsman is left deliberately nameless. Boaz calls him, “Hey so-and-so.” This isn’t Boaz having a moment of forgetfulness. The Narrator is driving something home.As the law in Deuteronomy instructed, the man who refused to fulfill this duty to his perished brother would henceforth be known as the “one without a shoe.” But in Ruth’s story, this man insists that he can’t fulfill his duty so as to not mar his own inheritance. He tries to maintain his name, and as such his name is forgotten. He is left nameless & shoeless. He is forgotten, as it were, while the son which came from Boaz is blessed with fame.The nearer kinsman had a lawful claim, and both Naomi & Ruth & the land & name of Elimelech are bound up in this claim; Boaz cannot fulfill his vow until this nameless kinsman renounces his claim. The claim on Ruth must be nullified before she is free to marry Boaz. But once this obstacle is removed, nothing is left in the way. The wedding bells can peal.UNTIL THE TENTH GENERATIONIn Deuteronomy 23:2-3 we have two parallel laws that shed light on the story of Ruth: “A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD. An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever.”The mention of Pharez, the son born from Judah & Tamar’s union, brings this into the foreground. Pharez would seem to be a bastard son; but in Tamar’s faith, God’s blessing flows even to bastard sons. Pharez’s tribe grew to greatness in Israel (Num. 26:21), and the Bethlehemites pray that Boaz & Ruth’s house would likewise become a great host.As you count up the generations here in this genealogy, you find ten generations. In other words, any objections to David’s right to be a king are moot. The generational distance from both Pharez and the Moabites unkindness sufficed to ensure that God had now raised up for Himself a king after His own heart. God, like the ten generations from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to Abraham, was bringing about a new unveiling of His covenant glory. Ruth begins with God as King, and ends with God raising up a son to be a King over His people.Boaz points us to Christ, the bridegroom of the Church, who was restless until He removed every obstacle to our redemption. Obed points us to Christ, a servant-son to the widow, being her resurrection & life. And the book’s final word , David, points us to Christ, a great King who would rule with God’s people with truth & grace. By themselves they are incomplete portraits of Christ, but in Christ all the types and shadows come together in glorious array.A SON OF GREAT RENOWNBalaam had proclaimed in his curses over Israel, which turned into blessings, that God would raise up a Heavenly King in Israel who would crush Moab. Now, a Moabitess, by faith, becomes the matriarch of that King. Boaz’s name indeed became famous, his name being assigned to one of the pillars of the temple. David, of course, becomes arguably the central character of the rest of OT history.But of course, the name of great renown which is in view here, is the name at which every knee must one day bow. The name is Jesus, the son of David. This story of Ruth tells us of a babe born in Bethlehem, in order that many centuries later we might not be surprised when God once more providentially causes a Son predestined for great renown to be born in that Little Town of Bethlehem.This whole story of Ruth teaches us more than just lessons of duty, loyalty, obedience, and virtue. It teaches us that God’s hand is behind all things. Not only that, but the purpose behind all His mysterious movings is in order to raise up a Son of Great Renown. You must receive this name as yours. Don’t try to rename yourself, according to your circumstances. Don’t care about your own name so much that you end up nameless. Instead, receive the name of great David’s greater Son.This divine novella ends in wedding bells, and leaves us with the name of a great king. But the whole of history is heading to a final day when the wedding bells will once more peal louder than ever, and the name of the King of kings shall be upon the lips of all who are His.