Title: Let's take a business
Content We need to check daily whether our believers' faith is the faith described in the Bible or false faith in the light of the Word. Normally, everyone seems to believe in Jesus and seem to be believers, but when faced with a difficult problem, their true nature is to be revealed. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to beware of false prophets. The characteristic of false prophets is that they are difficult to distinguish because they come in sheep's clothing. What, then, can distinguish a false prophet from a real prophet? It is said that you can tell by looking at the fruit. Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father. It is said that the beautiful fruits spoken of there are those who do the will of the Father. Then, what is the Father's will and what is not the Father's will? First of all, what is not the will of the Lord is that 'we prophesied in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and performed many mighty works in your name.' I did.
Why? That's what we did. In the end, I am only proud of myself that I have done while calling out the name of the Lord. But it is not the will of the Father to brag about my name, but the will of the Father to glorify the Son.
In the text we read today, following Chapter 3, when Ruth met Boaz and asked him to fulfill the responsibility of the person in charge of the business, Boaz said that he had a relative closer than me. That's why you see them doing it. So, after setting up ten city elders as witnesses, he went to the person who was to take over the first inheritance and made them fulfill the responsibility of the person who took over the business. At first, he said that he was willing to fulfill his responsibilities because he thought that he would not be harmed. However, when he was told that he had to buy the land and give it back to him and give birth to a son, he said that he would give up his right because it seemed that this would not be of any benefit to him. The reason for this is, "I cannot soften for myself, lest there be any damage to my inheritance. Take the right to my own, and I will not weaken" (4:6). It was about giving up.
This was the state of faith in Israel at that time. Then, what is the state of faith in the Korean church today, and what is the state of our faith? Outwardly, everyone seems to be a believer, and outwardly it seems that they obey the law, and they seem to like the gospel, but in reality they are not. When will it be revealed? The true nature of human beings is revealed when harm is done to oneself. The first taker seemed to obey the law at first, but later gave up because it would damage his own inheritance. Even now, there are countless people who say they serve God or believe in Jesus. However, when we ask ourselves to sacrifice ourselves, when harm comes to ourselves, both Jesus and God throw me away. This means that even if you believe in Jesus, you believe for yourself. The Bible calls this idolatry.
However, in the Israeli community, such a person is labeled “the house of those who have taken off their shoes” (Deuteronomy 25:10). In Israeli society, 'the house of the one who took off their shoes' does not mean just a person who lives without shoes, but it is a word of great blasphemy, and it refers to a person who is being pointed out in that society and does not even serve as a human being.
The full spirit of the law consists in knowing the meaning of the sacrifice of the Lamb. To know why the lamb without blemish died, and what the meaning of the blood was shed. In other words, it is the fact that we live because of the sacrifice of the Lamb. So now my body does not belong to me, but to the Lamb who was sacrificed for me. Therefore, the attention of the people of Israel should be only on the blood of the Lamb. So, the promised land of Canaan, where they live, must be filled with the spirit of this sacrificed blood. That is what it means to go beyond the religious act of giving relief to the poor in real life and to live in the consciousness that such a poor person is who I am. The fact that these orphans, widows, and strangers were in my past in the past, and that the Lamb of God was sacrificed to save me just as we were saved from slavery in Egypt through God's mercy. It means not only accepting sweetly even the most humble situation in the world, but also living with a willingness to accept sacrifices for others.
Normally, everyone seems to be a believer, as if they know the law and know the gospel, and they appear to be brothers and relatives of faith, but once they start to harm themselves, neither the gospel nor the law are of any use. Everyone says they know the sacrifice of Christ, but when they ask for it, everything is useless.
I confess Jesus Christ as my Savior and cry out 'Lord' whenever I have time to do anything or pray, but when I am miserable, ridiculed, or treated insignificantly because of Jesus, Throwing it all away. True faith and true believers are true brothers and believers in that the blood of Jesus Christ is more precious and they can rejoice over it, even if they are ridiculed and despised because of the gospel. If you confess Jesus as your Lord and complain that you cannot stand being fooled and ridiculed, then you are not professing and believing in Jesus, but believing in yourself. Such a person is referred to in the Bible as one who serves two masters, and in other words an idolater (Exodus 20:4). Also, if Jesus died for me and I want to prosper by looking at it, it is spiritual prostitution and adultery.
Psalm 23 states that the reason the Lord is our Shepherd and leads us in the path of righteousness is for His name's sake (Psalm 23:3). Whether it is at the beginning of the new year or through the Song Gu-Young-Shin service, no one can find anyone who worships with a feeling that it is okay to be sacrificed for others and perish in order to become miserable and humble during this year. Aren't we human beings more earnestly wishing that the world will pass safely without any bad luck? Therefore, even through this worship, we are practicing idolatry, loving ourselves, not just to love Christ.
Then why are you serving two masters like this? It is because they do not know the seriousness of their own sins, and they do not know the wrath of God and the fear of judgment that will come because of their sins. Even in Jesus' parables, like a merchant who found hidden treasure or a pearl of great price, if he found real treasure, he would be happy even if he gave everything he had in exchange for this joy. This joy is the gospel. If you have discovered this good news, the Gospel, you cannot influence yourself no matter what happens around you.
When the first business owner refuses to fulfill his responsibilities, Boaz steps in and fulfills his responsibilities. After all, this is because he discovered the Lord, the God of Goel. It is a form of acknowledging that one is an orphan, a widow, and a stranger. Goel, or goel, refers to a person who avenges a brother or close relative who has grown up in business, reclaims lost property, or passes on a broken line. Therefore, those who do not have a goel on this earth are designated by Jehovah God as their goel. After all, this spirit of Boaz is the spirit of the cross of Jesus Christ.