Living in the Balance of Grace & Faith

At our Gospel Truth Seminars, I always take time before meetings to talk with friends and partners. One of the most common questions I'm asked is "What do I need to do to receive the blessings of God?" It is usually followed by this explanation: "I have been praying, reading my Bible, going to church, and paying my tithes, yet I don't seem to be able to get my prayers answered."

In that question and explanation lies the root of the problem: They have fallen into the trap of linking God's response to their performance. They have not properly understood the balance of grace and faith and their relationship to each other.

By definition, the word grace means unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor. Therefore, the good news is, grace has nothing to do with you. Grace existed before you ever came to be. Another way of saying it is, grace is God's part. Faith is defined as being a positive response to what God has already provided by grace. In other words, faith is your positive response to God's grace, or faith only appropriates what God has already provided for you. Therefore, faith is your part.

Angels: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Written by Sue Bohlin

I was about thirteen years old when I had my first encounter with an angel. I was going upstairs to my room, pulling my entire weight on the handrail, when it suddenly came off in my hand. I fell backwards, head first. Halfway into a terrible fall, I felt a strong hand on my back push me upright. There was nobody there--well, nobody visible!Angel stories are always fascinating, and in this essay I address angels: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good angels are the holy ones, the bad angels are the evil ones, which the Bible calls demons, and the ugly angels are demons disguising themselves as good angels. These ugly angels have deceived many people in a culture that has embraced "angel mania."

The Good Angels

Come To The Table

Written by Jack Hayford

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer..." (Luke 22:14-15)

On the night before He was slain, Jesus opened up the Passover Seder to being more than a religious observance; it became a Communion Table in which He invited His disciples to partake of His fullness and life. It was here that the truth of our salvation, pre-figured in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, would be fulfilled. As He broke the matzo, the unleavened Passover bread, and took the cup with them, He reinterpreted the practice that had been going on for centuries, applying it to Himself. Jesus was becoming the ultimate Pesach Lamb.

Ruth Gleans in the Field

Scripture Passage : Ruth 2:1-23

INTRODUCTION: The first chapter of Ruth demonstrates the great need and lowly condition of both Naomi and Ruth. This chapter begins to give hope and demonstrates the wonderful grace of God. In chapter one, Ruth claims Naomi’s God as her God (Ruth 1:16). In chapter two, Ruth begins to understand what it means to come under the wings of the God of Israel (Ruth 2:12).

1. RUTH GOES TO GLEAN IN THE FIELD (Ruth 2:1-3
   )
1. The Introduction of Boaz (Ruth 2:1
   )
1. A kinsman of Naomi’s husband
2. A mighty man of wealth
2. The Determination of Ruth (Ruth 2:2
   )
1. She determines to glean grain in the field.
2. She is not only loyal to Naomi (Ruth 1:16-18
   ), but she is also willing to work.
3. The law commanded those who harvested a crop to leave the corners of the field so the poor and the stranger could gather the remains to meet their needs (Leviticus 23:22
   ).
3. The Providence of God (Ruth 2:3
   )
1. This passage speaks of “her hap”; this refers to good fortune, luck, happenstance (thus, the word hap).
2. Yet we see God’s working in everything that happened. It was part of God’s providential working in Ruth’s life (Romans 8:28
   ; Proverbs 16:9
   ).
2. BOAZ DISCOVERS THE IDENTITY OF RUTH (Ruth 2:4-7
   )
1. Boaz Checks on the Reapers (Ruth 2:4-5
   ).
1. Boaz’s godly relationship with the reapers (Ruth 2:4
   )
2. Boaz’s curiosity about Ruth (Ruth 2:5
   )
2. The Servant’s Report about Ruth (Ruth 2:6-7
   )
1. She is a Moabite (Ruth 2:6
   ).
2. She asked to glean among the reapers (Ruth 2:7
   ).
3. She has worked from morning with little rest (Ruth 2:7
   ).
3. BOAZ INSISTS SHE GLEAN IN HIS FIELD (Ruth 2:8-9
   )
1. He Requests That She Not Glean in Another Field (Ruth 2:8
   ).
2. He Promises Her Protection and Provision (Ruth 2:9
   ).
1. The young men shall not touch you.
2. Drink water of the vessels they draw.
4. BOAZ EXPRESSES HIS ADMIRATION FOR RUTH (Ruth 2:10-13
   )
1. Ruth Is Amazed at the Grace Shown by Boaz (Ruth 2:10
   ).
1. That he took knowledge of her (cp. John 1:48
   )
2. That he considered one who was a stranger (cp. Ephesians 2:11-13
   )
2. Boaz Tells of His Admiration for Ruth (Ruth 2:11
   ).
1. Her devotion to Naomi
2. Her departure from her family and land
3. Her coming to a strange land
3. Boaz Blesses Ruth (Ruth 2:12
   ).
1. May the Lord recompense her work.
2. May the Lord reward her trust in Him.
3. NOTE: She, as a Gentile, has come to trust in the God of Israel and has placed herself under His care.
4. Ruth Is Overwhelmed with Gratitude (Ruth 2:13
   ).
1. His favor
2. His comfort
3. His friendship
4. Despite her being foreign
5. BOAZ TAKES SPECIAL CARE OF RUTH (Ruth 2:14-17
   )
1. He Provides for Her at Mealtime (Ruth 2:14
   ).
1. Boaz provides the meal.
2. Boaz serves corn to Ruth – “reached her parched corn” means that he reached in and got it for her lest she be too modest to get it for herself.
2. He Provides for Handfuls of Purpose (Ruth 2:15-16
   ).
1. She is to be allowed among the sheaves (Ruth 2:15
   ).
2. She is not to be reproached (Ruth 2:15
   , 16).
3. She is to be left handfuls of purpose (Ruth 2:16
   ).
3. Her Daily Harvest Amounts to an Ephah (Ruth 2:17
   ).
1. She gleans until evening.
2. She beats out the grain.
3. She has an ephah of barley.
4. NOTE: This is an amazing amount for one who is simply gleaning the fields. Though the records vary, it is said to amount to from 30 to 50 pounds of grain.
6. RUTH TELLS NAOMI OF HER GOOD FORTUNE (Ruth 2:18-21
   )
1. Ruth Returns to Naomi (Ruth 2:18
   ).
1. She shows her the bountiful harvest.
2. She gives Naomi the remainder.
3. NOTE: Naomi (the Jew) is now getting her blessings from Ruth (the Gentile). See Acts 15:11
   .
2. Naomi Discovers Ruth’s Benefactor (Ruth 2:19-21
   ).
1. His name is Boaz (Ruth 2:19
   ).
2. He is near of kin (Ruth 2:20
   ).
3. He has offered continued help (Ruth 2:21
   ).
4. Naomi sees God blessing again (Ruth 2:20
   ).
7. RUTH GLEANS UNTIL THE END OF HARVEST (Ruth 2:22-23
   )
1. She Is Encouraged by Naomi (Ruth 2:22
   ).
2. She Continues through the Time of Harvest (Ruth 2:23
   )

CONCLUSION: Grace and provision have been shown to Ruth and to Naomi through Ruth. Boaz (the type of Christ) has been the source of it all. However, full redemption has not yet been made. That comes in the last half of the book. Then, of course, comes the marriage. What a blessed book!

David Reagan and Andrew Ray

http://www.learnthebible.org/sunday-school-outlines/ruth-gleans-in-the-field.html