BOASTING
No one likes listening to someone brag about all his accomplishments and how “great” he is. Nor does God like it, who gave us everything, including our strength, will, abilities, wisdom, and life itself. That is why salvation is not by our good works: “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). God does not want to listen to us tell Him how great we are. He already knows us and says, “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Man’s way of salvation is to save himself by his good deeds or brownie points and then be praised for it. But God’s way of salvation is only through the merits of His Son, and this way only God receives the praise, and we are thanking Him for it. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:27–28).
It is incredibly hard for some people to let go of their religious efforts in order to only trust Christ for their salvation. Paul said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ” (Philippians 3:7–9). The Bible says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).
There are those who carry around a sort of “spiritual bag” of good deeds that they have done: they give to the poor, they are faithful to their wives, they speak ill of no one, and many other good deeds. Is this wrong? Actually, it is wonderful—except for one thing: it will not forgive any of your sins. A man said to me, “Preacher, I prayed a prayer in my church, and now I have prayed a prayer in your church—you should be happy.” One could ask Christ a thousand times to save him, but if he does not trust Him to do this, he will not go to heaven when he dies: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30–31). Do not believe only about Him or that He exists, but trust Him to save you. In order to do that, you will have to let go of your own goodness to trust Him. Boasting is pride, and it is another sin.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10–14). Both men believed in God; both prayed to Him. But the one boasted of his good deeds to God, while the other recognized he was a sinner (Romans 3:23: we are all sinners). The one asked for nothing, but the other, who Christ declared “justified,” asked for “mercy,” and he was “justified.” I asked God for mercy when I was 23 years old—how about you?
No one likes listening to someone brag about all his accomplishments and how “great” he is. Nor does God like it, who gave us everything, including our strength, will, abilities, wisdom, and life itself. That is why salvation is not by our good works: “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). God does not want to listen to us tell Him how great we are. He already knows us and says, “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Man’s way of salvation is to save himself by his good deeds or brownie points and then be praised for it. But God’s way of salvation is only through the merits of His Son, and this way only God receives the praise, and we are thanking Him for it. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:27–28).
It is incredibly hard for some people to let go of their religious efforts in order to only trust Christ for their salvation. Paul said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ” (Philippians 3:7–9). The Bible says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).
There are those who carry around a sort of “spiritual bag” of good deeds that they have done: they give to the poor, they are faithful to their wives, they speak ill of no one, and many other good deeds. Is this wrong? Actually, it is wonderful—except for one thing: it will not forgive any of your sins. A man said to me, “Preacher, I prayed a prayer in my church, and now I have prayed a prayer in your church—you should be happy.” One could ask Christ a thousand times to save him, but if he does not trust Him to do this, he will not go to heaven when he dies: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30–31). Do not believe only about Him or that He exists, but trust Him to save you. In order to do that, you will have to let go of your own goodness to trust Him. Boasting is pride, and it is another sin.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10–14). Both men believed in God; both prayed to Him. But the one boasted of his good deeds to God, while the other recognized he was a sinner (Romans 3:23: we are all sinners). The one asked for nothing, but the other, who Christ declared “justified,” asked for “mercy,” and he was “justified.” I asked God for mercy when I was 23 years old—how about you?
