No Reason to Boast

Was there ever a time in your life when someone helped you in such a big way that you couldn’t pretend you’d contributed anything?

Like they came in and did it all. You really didn’t do anything. They did it all?

Now, here’s the question:

Did you brag afterward about how impressively you allowed yourself to be rescued?

No, probably not.

Because when you know you didn’t earn it, there’s nothing to boast about.

That’s what the Apostle Paul is talking about in today’s verses in the Book of Romans.

Paul has just finished telling us: justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. And Paul knows what his audience is thinking, especially his Jewish listeners who valued the Law, the commandments, and the traditions.

They’re thinking: “So… if salvation isn’t about the Law, and it isn’t about ancestry, and it isn’t about the works we do… do we still get credit for anything? Do we have anything to brag about?” And it’s not just the

And Paul says, “No. Absolutely not. Not even a little.”

This passage is humbling. And it’s also about unity.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

It’s about the freeing realization that salvation is not something we achieve, it’s something we receive.

And when you receive it, you can’t boast about yourself anymore. You can only boast in the God who rescued you.

Let’s get into it.

Romans 3:27–28 NKJV

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

I. Faith Eliminates Boasting

Paul begins with a direct question that every religious person asks sooner or later.

Paul’s answer is very simple: “Where is boasting? It’s excluded.”

And that word excluded is strong. The word Paul used means “shut out,” “locked out,” “refused entry.” The doors are barred. Boasting isn’t allowed into the gospel because there’s nothing to boast about.

Paul says faith excludes boasting. Why? Because boasting is only possible when you’ve achieved something on your own. But faith says, “I didn’t achieve anything. Christ achieved everything.”

If we could get right with God through being good, or keeping the ten commandments, we might have reason to boast; but the principle of faith makes boasting impossible.” 

That’s the whole issue. Works give you room to brag. Faith takes the room away.

Paul even uses the word in verse 28—“we conclude.” It means “we’ve done the math,” “we’ve reached a firm, reasoned conviction.”

Here’s the conclusion:

We are justified by faith, not by performance.

And when you realize that, it changes how you see yourself.

You stop trying to earn God’s approval.

You stop comparing yourself with others.

You stop building your identity on your religious résumé.

Faith eliminates boasting. It eliminates pride.

Because faith eliminates the illusion that we saved ourselves.

Faith does something else. Let’s look at verses 29-30.

Romans 3:29–30 NKJV

29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

II. Faith Unifies All People Under One God

Paul now addresses another question, one that was important to Jewish believers of his day.

Remember—Jew and Gentile did not live in the same religious world. Jews had the covenants, the promises, the prophets, the Scriptures. Gentiles had idols, immorality, and a thousand different gods.

So the Jewish believers were wondering: “Is God really offering equal access to everyone? Doesn’t our history put us in a different category?”

Paul says: “There is only one God. And if there is only one God, then He must save all people the same way—by faith.”

God deals with everyone on the same basis. The same faith that justifies Jews also justifies Gentiles.

Just because you were born into a good, religious, church-going family, you’re no better than anyone else when it comes to being right with God.

You’ve heard the saying, “everyone puts their pants on the same way.” Just because you’re rich or famous, you’re still just a human being like everybody else.

Nobody gets special treatment from God when it comes to salvation. Everyone comes to Him the same way.

There aren’t two doors into the kingdom—one for rule-keepers and one for everyone else. There isn’t a “premium” salvation for those with a religious background and a “discount” salvation for those who don’t.

There is one God.

There is one Savior.

There is one cross.

There is one gospel.

And there is one way in: faith.

Here’s what that means in our world today:

The gospel puts everyone on the same level.

It doesn’t matter where you grew up.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done.

It doesn’t matter how religious or unreligious you are.

It doesn’t matter whether your past is shiny or messy.

The gospel unifies us because it humbles us.

Faith destroys spiritual superiority.

And if there’s one thing the church needs in our divided, angry, tribal culture—it’s humility and unity grounded in the gospel.

And then lastly…

Romans 3:31 NKJV

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

III. Faith Doesn’t Cancel the Law — It Fulfills It

This is where Paul knows people will push back.

“If we’re justified by faith… does that make the Law meaningless? Does grace make obedience optional?”

So he ends the chapter with a strong and necessary correction.

“Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”

Paul uses his strongest phrase here: mē genoito—“Absolutely not!” “No way!” “Don’t even think that!”

Faith does not destroy the Law.

Faith does not contradict the Law.

Faith fulfills the purpose of the Law.

“The law shows people they have failed… forcing them to seek righteousness as a free gift. So the law serves the gospel.” 

The Law reveals our sin.

Grace forgives our sin.

The Spirit empowers us to live in obedience.

So, far from making the Law meaningless, faith finally makes the Law achievable—not perfectly, not flawlessly—but genuinely, through the Spirit who lives in us.

Obedience doesn’t save us.

Obedience flows from the One who has saved us.

Grace doesn’t lower the bar.

Grace changes the heart.

So, What This Means for Us Today

Let me give you three ways this passage speaks directly into our lives.

1. Stop boasting—in anything but Jesus.

Boasting is a sign we’ve forgotten grace.

If the gospel is true, the only thing left to brag about is the One who saved us.

2. Treat every person as equally in need of, and equally welcomed by, the gospel.

No one has a head start.

No one gets in through a back door.

No one is too far.

No one is too broken.

Faith puts everyone on equal footing at the foot of the cross.

3. Obey God out of gratitude, not performance.

Faith doesn’t make obedience irrelevant.

It makes obedience joyful.

Obedience becomes worship, not a paycheck.

The Gospel Leaves No Room for Pride

When salvation is received by faith and not earned by effort, we have no reason to boast.

The gospel leaves no room for boasting—because the gospel leaves all the glory with Christ.