Faith Over Pride: The Exclusion of Boasting

Devotional

Day 1: Pride as the Root of Sin

Pride is the root of all sin, manifesting as boasting and self-exaltation. It leads us to suppress the truth of God, elevating ourselves above His authority. This prideful nature is inherent in all of us, distorting our relationships and alienating us from God. Pride is not just an attitude but a condition of the heart that affects every aspect of our lives. It blinds us to our need for God and makes us believe that we can be self-sufficient. This self-deception is dangerous because it distances us from the grace and truth that God offers. [01:55]

"For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor." (Galatians 6:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you find yourself elevating your own abilities or achievements above God's authority? How can you begin to acknowledge His sovereignty today?

Day 2: The Law and Its Role in Boasting

When the law is understood as a set of rules to earn righteousness, it fuels pride and boasting. It becomes a means of self-exaltation rather than a path to humility before God. The law of faith, however, excludes boasting by shifting the focus from our works to Christ's finished work. The law was never meant to be a ladder to climb to God but a mirror to show us our need for a Savior. By trying to earn righteousness through the law, we miss the point of grace and the gift of salvation that comes through faith. [22:09]

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:20, ESV)

Reflection: How have you been using your own efforts to try to earn God's favor? What would it look like to rest in the finished work of Christ instead?

Day 3: Christ's Accomplishments in Salvation

In His death, Christ upheld God's glory, absorbed His wrath, paid our ransom, and vindicated His righteousness. This salvation is entirely the work of God, leaving no room for human boasting. It is a testament to God's love and grace, accomplished without our participation. Christ's work on the cross is the ultimate demonstration of God's justice and mercy, providing a way for us to be reconciled to Him. This act of love calls us to respond in faith and gratitude, recognizing that our salvation is a gift we could never earn. [13:27]

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on the significance of Christ's accomplishments for your life. How does understanding His work on the cross change the way you view your relationship with God?

Day 4: Faith as the Means of Salvation

Faith, not works, is the means by which we connect with God's salvation. It acknowledges our inability to save ourselves and relies wholly on Christ's finished work. This faith excludes boasting because it is not about what we do but about what Christ has done for us. Faith is a humble admission of our need for God and a trust in His provision. It shifts our focus from our own efforts to the sufficiency of Christ, allowing us to experience the fullness of His grace. [19:44]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you deepen your trust in Christ's finished work today? How can you let go of the need to prove yourself through your own efforts?

Day 5: The Exclusion of Boasting Through Faith

The entire purpose of redemption is to solve the problem of boasting and pride. If we choose a way to get connected to salvation that supports boasting, we undercut the entire purpose of redemption. Faith is the means by which boasting is excluded, as it relies entirely on God's grace. By embracing faith, we acknowledge that our salvation is not something we can achieve on our own, but a gift from God. This understanding humbles us and transforms our lives, leading us to live in gratitude and service to others. [18:52]

"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:31, ESV)

Reflection: How can you shift your focus from self-exaltation to boasting in the Lord? What practical steps can you take to live out this truth in your daily life?

Sermon Summary

In our exploration of Romans 3:27-31, we delve into the profound issue of boasting and its roots in human pride. Boasting, as Paul discusses, is not merely an external act but the outward manifestation of an internal condition—pride. Pride is the root of all sin and misery, alienating us from God and distorting our relationships with others. It leads us to suppress the truth of God, elevating ourselves above His authority. This prideful nature is inherent in all of us, and it manifests in various ways, whether through moral superiority or religious piety.

The law, when understood as a set of rules to earn righteousness, only fuels this pride. It becomes a means of self-exaltation rather than a path to humility before God. However, the law of faith, as Paul describes, excludes boasting. It shifts the focus from our works to the finished work of Christ. God, in His great love, sent Jesus to die for us, accomplishing four significant things: upholding God's glory, absorbing His wrath, paying our ransom, and vindicating His righteousness. This salvation is entirely the work of God, leaving no room for human boasting.

The critical question then becomes: How do we participate in this salvation without boasting? The answer lies in faith. Faith, not works, is the means by which we connect with God's salvation. It is a faith that acknowledges our inability to save ourselves and relies wholly on Christ's finished work. This faith excludes boasting because it is not about what we do but about what Christ has done for us. As we embrace this faith, we find our pride dismantled and our lives transformed by the grace of God.

Key Takeaways

1. The Nature of Pride: Pride is the root of all sin, manifesting as boasting and self-exaltation. It leads us to suppress the truth of God, elevating ourselves above His authority. This prideful nature is inherent in all of us, distorting our relationships and alienating us from God. [01:55]
2. The Law and Boasting: When the law is understood as a set of rules to earn righteousness, it fuels pride and boasting. It becomes a means of self-exaltation rather than a path to humility before God. The law of faith, however, excludes boasting by shifting the focus from our works to Christ's finished work. [22:09]
3. Christ's Accomplishments: In His death, Christ upheld God's glory, absorbed His wrath, paid our ransom, and vindicated His righteousness. This salvation is entirely the work of God, leaving no room for human boasting. It is a testament to God's love and grace, accomplished without our participation. [13:27]
4. Faith as the Means of Salvation: Faith, not works, is the means by which we connect with God's salvation. It acknowledges our inability to save ourselves and relies wholly on Christ's finished work. This faith excludes boasting because it is not about what we do but about what Christ has done for us. [19:44]
5. The Exclusion of Boasting: The entire purpose of redemption is to solve the problem of boasting and pride. If we choose a way to get connected to salvation that supports boasting, we undercut the entire purpose of redemption. Faith is the means by which boasting is excluded, as it relies entirely on God's grace. [18:52]
** [18:52]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:21] - Understanding the Law
[00:58] - The Issue of Boasting
[02:13] - Pride and Suppression of Truth
[03:56] - The Truth We Suppress
[05:10] - The Folly of Pride
[06:08] - Pride's Alternative Worship
[07:11] - Denying God's Knowledge
[08:24] - Morality and Religious Pride
[09:16] - The Absence of Godly Fear
[10:08] - The Nature of Human Pride
[11:26] - God's Wrath Against Pride
[12:13] - God's Answer to Pride
[13:27] - Christ's Accomplishments
[15:13] - Participating in Salvation
[17:24] - The Role of Faith
[19:44] - Excluding Boasting Through Faith

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Romans 3:27-31
- Romans 1:18-21
- Romans 4:2

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Observation Questions:

According to Romans 3:27-31, what is the relationship between the law of faith and boasting? How does this differ from the law of works? [00:21]
In Romans 1:18-21, what truth do people suppress, and how is this related to pride? [03:02]
How does Romans 4:2 illustrate the concept of boasting in relation to Abraham's justification? [01:34]
What are the four accomplishments of Christ mentioned in the sermon, and how do they relate to the exclusion of boasting? [13:27]

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Interpretation Questions:

How does the sermon describe the impact of pride on our relationship with God and others? What are some examples given? [10:51]
In what ways does the law of works support boasting, and how does the law of faith exclude it? [22:09]
How does the sermon explain the significance of Christ's accomplishments in relation to God's glory and human pride? [13:27]
What does the sermon suggest is the purpose of redemption in terms of boasting and pride? [18:52]

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Application Questions:

Reflect on a time when pride led you to suppress the truth of God in your life. How did it affect your relationship with God and others? [03:02]
The sermon emphasizes faith as the means of salvation. How can you cultivate a deeper reliance on faith rather than works in your daily life? [19:44]
Consider the ways in which you might use religious practices as a means of boasting. How can you shift your focus to humility before God? [08:57]
How can you actively dismantle pride in your life and embrace the grace of God more fully? What practical steps can you take this week? [10:51]
The sermon highlights the exclusion of boasting as a key purpose of redemption. How can you ensure that your approach to salvation reflects this purpose? [18:52]
Identify an area in your life where you struggle with self-exaltation. What specific actions can you take to redirect your focus to Christ's finished work? [06:30]
How can you encourage others in your community to embrace faith over works, and what role can you play in fostering a culture of humility? [19:44]

Sermon Clips

Why boasting is the external form of the internal condition of Pride. Pride's on the inside, boasting is pride coming out, and pride, the root of boasting, is the root of all the sins and all the miseries of the world, including everything we saw from chapter 1 verse 18 to chapter 3:20. [00:06:40]

First, we know the truth. The point of chapter one is everybody has access to the truth in one way or the other, and apart from Grace, our response to that is not to humble ourselves under the truth and conform ourselves to the truth and respond in worship and gratitude for the truth but to put ourselves up over the truth and to suppress it. [00:03:02]

Pride doesn't like a glorious great God that we have to constantly render worship toward instead of getting worship from, and pride doesn't like to be a basket case or a welfare case or a little child that has to be dependent on a totally all-supplying God. We will be self-sufficient, thank you. [00:04:34]

Morality can become a vehicle of Pride, an expression of Pride, putting yourself up while you're putting the evils of others down. Or the religious person in verse 17 of chapter 2, if you bear the name Jew and rely upon the law and boast in God, and then he goes on to warn them against hypocrisy. [00:07:39]

We are a proud, arrogant people. This is Who We Are by Nature. We didn't do anything to get this way. I was born an arrogant person. This I inherited. I am morally corrupt. I love me more than I love you by Nature. That's a sickness unto death, and worst of all, it has alienated us from God. [00:10:03]

God in the great love with which he loved us sent Jesus Christ his son into the world to suffer and die in the place of Sinners, and in doing that accomplish four things. And what's remarkable about these four things is that all of them are performed by the father and by the son in a covenant of redemption. [00:12:32]

Jesus In Dying For the Glory of God upheld the value of the glory of God in the universe, which you and I in our pride have so belittled and Dishonored. He lifted it up, he held it up. He restored, he repaired the injury which we have done to That Glory by Dying For the Glory of God. [00:13:14]

He absorbed the wrath of God upon himself and thus to use the big word from verse 25, propitiated God. That is, he appeased God, absorbed all the Wrath, all the condemnation that was appointed for us and deflected it from us. [00:13:50]

God Vindicated the righteousness of God in the death of his son. His glory upheld, his wrath removed, a ransom paid, his righteousness Vindicated, and you haven't even been unseen yet. That's a great Salvation. And it leaves one burning question: how shall I participate? [00:14:44]

If you choose a way to get connected that supports boasting rather than eliminates boasting, we undercut the entire purpose of redemption. The whole thing is to solve the problem of boasting. The whole thing is to solve the problem of Pride. If you design a way to get saved that enables you to boast in the getting saved, you push it out at the front door and you bring it in at the back door. [00:18:23]

Boasting is not excluded by a law of works. So law of works I think means understand the law of the Old Testament as a list of laws to perform to get right with God. If you understand the law that way, it will never put away boasting; it will support boasting. [00:22:14]

Conceive of a law as the law of faith, meaning this law points toward justification, getting right with God by faith alone apart from works of the law. This is light and Truth god-centered preaching to help you see Christ clearly and treasure him truly. [00:24:03]

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Faith Over Pride: The Exclusion of Boasting

Devotional

Day 1: Pride as the Root of Sin

Day 2: The Law and Its Role in Boasting

Day 3: Christ's Accomplishments in Salvation

Day 4: Faith as the Means of Salvation

Day 5: The Exclusion of Boasting Through Faith

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Faith Over Pride: The Exclusion of Boasting

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