Galatians 6:11-14. “Boasting” in Christ or the flesh?

Galatians 6:11-14. “Boasting” in Christ or the flesh?

What do you boast about? What do you fill social media with? What do you talk about? What do you boast about?

We are nearing the end of our series in Galatians, - do a recap (who is Paul and the team and where is Galatia?) – intro gospel, correcting false teaching, life by faith in the promise of Jesus Christ, how to live together as a new people, do good, and teat others as Christ has done as you walk in the power of the Holy Spirt.

Paul now writes with his own hand, with large letters. What did he not write the whole letter? Likely he would dictate his letters and have one of the others write it down. Paul adds a personal touch, as I talked about many Sundays before, Paul is very invested in the Galatians and deeply wants them to know Jesus deeply, and walk in the Spirt and bless one another and keep sharing the good news with others. That they might enjoy Jesus, and make him known for others to enjoy to.

Paul turns back to warring, and Paul has been doing that in many places in the letter, teaching, warning rebuking, the warnings to encourage the beliers to keep trusting in Jesus, and not them self or them self and their deeds for right standing with God, and I thing 3-4 times ask them to have a right understanding about how mature or immature they are, - Paul encouraged them to have a right understanding, Paul also warns about falling in to sin, the traps of the flesh. To treat each other with generously and help one another.

Paul points out what false teachers sometimes are known for, they do things for show, making a good showing in the flesh, and why, so they will not be persecuted, for believing in Christ cross. They show in their own body and in there talk that they are good Jews, so other would think they don’t believe in Jesus Christ and they will escape trouble and persecution. They are willing to teach false and act like the don’t believe in Jesus’s cross. (Before we get to offended, do we do that? We keep our core beliefs to our self, we say we go to church, or we are Christians, we duck our heads when like us in this country is called fundamentalist and old fashion and not intelligent, it is strange world where all kinds of causes, are plastered an social media, veagns, people that own a tesla, people that run, have dogs, gender politics, it seems like to me sometimes that others that have bad and false news are blasting it out there / on mission to convert other to what they do or support, - but sometimes the ones with the best news are not speaking).

When was the last time I was persecute/ore ridiculed for my faith? (Not asking you to be jearks) But if we have the only truly good news, let share it with people, that they to might hear, and may come to Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.

That leads us to the next part, boasting but in what? Others deeds in the flesh?

Or Paul holding on to the good news about Jesus writes as he will do in others letters the core of the good news: I will boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ alone. Noting ells. Not what others do, not what he does, no in Crist cross alone. (It that want I do? List all the things I do for God, or boast in the gifts God has given? The blessings the hard times? What do I boast about? That I look like a good person on the outside? That others like me? The list of all the things I have done? What?

I get off trach walking in my flesh when I look to how much I can do, reading studying, helping, but falling with walking in the spirt? As Jesus said apart form me you can do nothing, like Paul pointing to the cross of Christ, in my life if Jesus did not die on the cross, I would have no hope I would still be lost and owe God a huge unpayable debt, all the sin /bad things I did against God and all God created, the pain I caused others, the pain that others caused me, there is no way to pay my debt) This is where the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord as Paul writes comes in.

Paul has been clear in the first part of the letter that no one can make them self-right in God eyes, righteous. Not even if we could do all the law OT outwardly, because the law was pointing to our need for God to do it, and Jesus came and lived the perfect life, and instead of not suffering he chooses suffering and death on the cross. In Jesus Christ work we can be made right with God and adopted into his family, what does the cross do, well Jesus Christ suffers for others sin, to make a way for us to be recoinlid to God, As Paul has written a few times, our sin was nailed to the cross, we have been crucified with Jesus Christ, and we can live by walking in the Spirt instead of the flesh. The world has nothing to offer, because Jesus’ cross it the our sins taken care off is the best news.

The cross was not the end, no Jesus rose again as he had said he would proving that all the statements that he had made was true, and Paul rightly calls him, Lord (master) (God saves) (Messiah – the anointed one the savior, the suffering servant, the everlasting God from Isaiah).

Jesus Christ and his life, death on the cross, shows what John writes in the beginning of his gospel that Jesus is God, and we see they early disciples worship him as God after the resurrection.

Then the cross shows God willing to come and suffer, to make a way back to him.

The gospel of this world is that you are good, just follow your passions your heart….. No….

People a lot worse that most think, we are bad not good, - we don’t need to get more reasons to praise our self, no instead God gives the cross, to remind us how bad we really are… That instrument of death and torture, many beliers walk with today, as reminders about? How good people are? Or how great God is?

When do you really need good news the most? When you failed when you messed up, when you sinned, that is when we can look to the Cross of Christ, the good news is that God knew, and so did Jesus about 2000 years ago, all the sin shame pain and guit you were going to cause others, and when Jesus died and suffered to give God glory, and make away for us to come back to God, Jesus knew what he was buying. Jesus is not surprised or (God does not drive and ambulance). Jesus knew who and what he died for.

That is the gospel, not that you were good and did good works and made God love you. But that God showed His love for us as God send his son, - to make a way for us to be washed from all our sin, shame, the wrath we deserve from God, and to break satan’s hold on us, we can now walk in the Holy Spirt doing the works that God has laid out for us to walk in before the world began.

Do you believe this? Do you by the Spirt live it out? Do we share it with others that they also will get this gift? Is our only boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ?

If you are new, the cross of Christ is available for you. You might ask what does it cost, if is free for you, but will cost you all your life, in return you get eternal life with Jesus Christ now. What do I do, do as Paul writes in the end, I give up all the world has and want only to follow Jesus, turn back from your own way, repent, and ask God to forgive you, and that you want to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. Pray, ask God to do let you believe in Jesus Christ, and live for him, and you will get the Holy Spirt as a gift to be able to live the life God has for you in Christ Jesus.