I Will Boast in the Cross

Main Point: There is nothing in us to boast in, but Christ and His cross are worthy of boast.

Intro:

Take a look around at many churches in America and we will see a lot of pride. That pride may be thinly veiled in humility, but if we look at the actions of many American congregations, we can see self glorification is at the center of their actions.

Buildings

Budget size

Baptisms

Giving

These are all examples of ways churches boast in themselves

Tension: If we are supposed to be humble, why does the American church look so boastful?

Text:

This was Important to Paul

V11

Paul typically dictated his letters

In this case, Paul draws attention to the fact that he wrote this letter

The large letter were a sign that he wrote either the entire letter or at least this part himself

They Feared Persecution

v 12

The judaizers wanted to make a good showing

they were worried about their reputation

what others thought of them

so they were using the Galatian believers

at the end though, there main driving factor was the desire to not be persecutued

When we talk about persecution of the Church, we usually talk about what’s happening in places like China, the middle east, under communism and in ancient Rome

what we forget is that at first, persecution was by the Jews

It was the jews who first tried to end Christianity (Acts 4)

Seeing Christianity as a heretical, the Jews tried wipe it out

Paul recognized that the judaizers were requiring the gentile believers to be circumcised so the Jews would not persecute them

One of the biggest reasons people compromise is to avoid persecution

They Used the Galatians to Build Their Reputation

v13

Paul’s next statement is eye opening to the way he views the judaizers

He calls them hypocrites

They don’t keep the law, but required the Galatian Christians to

Again, it’s telling to understand the motivation behind this is complete selfishness

“That they may boast in your flesh”

That they can brag about the work they did in the Galatians

You can almost hear “And we circumciesed hundreds of them”

Many churches today have the same purpose

To brag about the numbers they have

How many in attendance

how much they give

How many baptisms

Paul Boasts so Jesus Will be Praised

v14-16

In human eyes, Paul was a man worthy of boasting

Paul was a pharisee, this is analogous to holding a masters degree or a phd today

Paul had reasons to boast, but instead he says “far be it from me”

His only boast is in the cross of Christ

culturally the cross was nothing to boast about, but instead was looked down up

to die by crucifixion was an embarrassment

Alexamenous worships his God

But this is what Paul chooses to boast in

Why? Because nothing we can do is worth anything

V15

There is no difference between circumcision and uncircumcision

To a Jew this would be foolishness

To take the sign of the covenant with Abraham, the covenant with Israel and claim it is of not value would be foolishness

But Paul wasn’t saying there is no value in circumcision, only that there is no saving power in circumcision

It would be like me saying there is no difference between baptism and un-baptised

It’s not that there is no value in baptism, but that there is no saving power in baptism

Luther was lecturing and at the end he was asked, “Do we really bring nothing to the table” He responded “No. We bring our sin”

Takeaway: How does the answer to our question change the way we live

We Must Only Boast in Christ

Don’t Give in to Avoid Persecution

What form of persecution are you more likely to give in too?

Some fear the world and thus soften the gospel

Others fear the judgement of other believers

Don’t think too highly of yourself

All churches, and church members are prone to pride

Our church is…

the most welcoming

the most spiritual

the best theology

the