Courtship or Dating, Part 4: Purpose and Purity

Introductory Observations of what God blessed in Ruth and Boaz's relationship:

1. Parental honor (Ruth 3:5-6, 17; God blesses Ruth's honoring of her only parental figure left)
2. Purposed towards marriage (3:9-10; note: no positive portrayal in Scripture of recreational relationships)
3. Pre-eminence of the LORD and His blessing (3:10)
4. Personal character attracts the godly (3:11; focus first on being the right person, not finding the right person)
5. Principles of God's Word govern relationship (3:12-13, 4:1-10)
6. Purity till marriage (4:13; saving its blessings till the covenant commitment)

The Responsibility of Parents as Believers

• In God's Law, the father was held responsible for the purity of a daughter living in his house (Dt. 22:20-21)
• fathers teach children: guard your heart (Prov. 4:20-23) and eyes (4:25-27) and ears (5:1-4) and steps (5:5-14)
• both father and mother's wisdom and teaching is to protect from impurity and its consequences (6:20-33)
• a mother to her son on what to look for in a wife (Prov. 31; Naomi also counsels Ruth as ‘my daughter')

The Responsibility of Other Believers

• Titus 2 models older believers instructing the younger of the same gender in purity, self-control, conduct, etc.
• The whole church should honor marriage (Heb 13:4) and hold its own accountable to God's standard (1 Cor 5)

The Responsibility of the Single Believer

• Follow the above Scriptures and flee as far and fast as you can from youthful lusts, with godly believers in your life for accountability (2 Tim. 2:22) so you can be more useful and pleasing to the Lord (v. 21)
• Some focus on ‘abstinence' but Christians should focus on purity