BLOG: Christian Advantages



WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Christian Advantages the Unbeliever Doesn’t Have – From Lesson #9 of The Book of Ruth

This week we are jumping back into chapter 3 of the Book of Ruth.  Here, Naomi tells Ruth to do the strangest thing: go find Boaz sleeping, uncover his feet and lay down at his feet.  What?  So weird, right?  No, this is Hebrew-speak for asking a potential kinsman redeemer (husband) if he would consider providing her with protection and provision according to tradition and God’s Word.

We know where Naomi came up with this idea (Leviticus 25:1-55) but how did she know if and when it was right to act on it?  Why did Ruth decide to do it?

Today when we think about life and the decisions we are faced with making, we go at it with an attitude that says making blind decisions based on the unknown is just the way it has to be.  But that IS NOT Christian faith.  Christian faith is making decisions based on a logical sequence.  You can read my blog on this topic here: Part 8 – The 5 Step Process to Logically Determine the Will of God for Your Life.

Active faith + initiative based on His Word is knowing the will of God.

How to know the will of God for your life review…

  1. Determine what God is already doing right now in your life (i.e. providence.)  Make a list of the evidence you see.  God is typically already at work before you formulate the need to understand or change the situation.
  2. Know what God says about what is happening (found in the Bible).
  3. Take initiative based on the above.  This is where we find opportunities.  We step out boldly to act as a living sacrifice (Romans 12).
  4. Testing (processing #1 & #2 logically + stepping out in initiative = discerning the will of God).

Pastor John Piper gives a brilliant breakdown of Romans 12:1-2 (discerning the will of God).

“To prove what is the will of God means that, “I detect it.  I discern it.  This is the way to go and I am going there.  I like it”.  He is not saying, “I want you to know the will of God and snub your nose at it.”  So it is not just, “know the will of God!”  It is know it and approve it.

 …”in penetrating through to the will of God’s command as it applies to the things where he didn’t make it explicit [what kind of house to choose] is you have got to have a new mind shaped by the rest of Scripture* so that when you come to those decisions there is a readiness to see and do the will.”  John Piper

Christians have insight that the unbeliever doesn’t have.

The common secular way to come to a decision often starts by weighing out experience and logic.  This often starts with making a list of pros and cons.  A Christian could do that, but he or she would be leaving out what God says about the situation.  The Word of God is an additional test; a fine tuning, if you will.  So, for a Christian, we have to stay immersed in the Word so that our mind is informed, and by that, our decision is an informed one.  This is the insight the Christian has that the unbeliever doesn’t have.

Christians have provision and protection that the unbeliever doesn’t have.

Ruth knows that all of the provision she has experienced in chapters 1 & 2 is from God; flowing through Boaz.  That’s how God always does it.   Provision and protection flows through His people to His people, the family of God.  God still directs us today to be among His people in a local fellowship for our provision and protection.  This is never promised to the unbeliever.

Ruth is committed to the will and purposes of God.  There were plenty of other ways to get a man in her previous culture but she chose to follow God’s ways to find a man fit by God.  She is courageous.  By obeying Naomi and going to lay at Boaz’s feet, she was saying, “I am here for God’s protections and provision and I am inclined to believe that it may come from you, Boaz, since you qualify as a kinsman redeemer”.  She is not saying that he is “the one”.  Ruth is saying that she has seen the providence (#1) of the situation where God has led her from Moab to Boaz’s field where he generously blessed her; acting in accord with what God said (#2) would happen years ago (Leviticus).  Then Naomi took the initiative (#3) to tell Ruth to seize the opportunity and act.  Ruth did just that.

Ruth was not acting reckless, immoral, inappropriate or man-hunting.  This is not a sexual encounter and Boaz is not drunk, as some might suggest.  This is a bold move by a single woman in pursuit of God’s will over her life based on His promises.

How is it that society evolved over the centuries to tell us that women should be pursued for whatever relational end is desired?  If Christian marriage is about preserving one’s purity, being an example of Christ and his church and, finally, producing more worshipers for God, shouldn’t there be two intelligent participating minds following a logical sequence to ascertain the will of God in it all?

We need to stop teaching our young Christian men and women to follow society’s fluctuating whims of ‘normal’ and start teaching them to gain insight by following the logical sequence of faith; like Ruth and Boaz.

The logical sequence of faith is where we see golden opportunities and real exciting times in the life of a Christian.  Being committed to Christ isn’t dull.  It’s exhilarating to know you are in the exact spot that God wants you to receive just the right blessings He has for you.


Check back next week in Views From The Pew to learn another kingdom lesson from this amazing book.

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The Book Of Ruth Series – A summation and commentary on the teachings of Pastor Steve Wilson
Part 1 – Resisting Bitternes – Companion blog to 5/21/17: “Repent or Run?
Part 2 – Informing Your Grief – Companion blog to 5/28/17: “Grief”
Part 3 – 6 Depression Defeating Steps For Christians – Companion blog to 6/4/17: “Depression
Part 4 – God’s Grace – Understanding The Flow – Companion blog to 8/13/17:  “Grace”
Part 5 – God’s Orders Falling Out Through Secondary Causes – Companion blog to 8/20/17: “Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places
Part 6 – Buying Back Lost Opportunities – Companion blog to 8/27/17: “Why We’re All Single
Part 7 – Repelling Chaos With Little Things That Matter – Companion blog to 9/3/17: “More Than You Need
Part 8 – The 5 Step Process to Logically Determine the Will of God for Your Life – Companion blog to 9/10/17: “The Logic of Faith