Boast Only in Knowing God: Kindness, Judgment, Righteousness

Devotional

Day 1: When Wisdom Fails to Save

Jeremiah’s warning strips away confidence in human intellect. Judah’s leaders had knowledge but lacked obedience, proving education cannot rescue souls from divine judgment. Human wisdom excels in practical matters yet remains powerless against sin’s consequences. God’s people often mistake information about Him for true relationship. The foundation of salvation isn’t academic theology but intimate knowledge of the One who holds eternity. Boasting in human understanding is like building on sand when the storm comes. [27:07]

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom...’”
(Jeremiah 9:23, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you substituted head knowledge about God for heart transformation? What practical step can you take today to move from knowing facts to knowing His presence?

Day 2: Muscle Can’t Stop Judgment

Judah trusted fortified cities and military alliances, but Babylon’s invasion exposed their weakness. Physical strength and political power become irrelevant when God acts. Human might—whether personal stamina, financial leverage, or social influence—crumbles before divine sovereignty. The preacher’s football field story illustrates how earthly confidence delays obedience. True security lies not in what we can control but in surrendering to the One who controls history. [28:04]

“Neither let the mighty man boast in his might...”
(Jeremiah 9:23, ESV)

Reflection: What “fortified city” in your life (reputation, savings account, relationships) are you relying on instead of God? How might releasing that false security deepen your trust in Him?

Day 3: Riches Can’t Buy Forgiveness

Judah’s wealth became a tool of oppression and false comfort. The sermon’s blunt truth—“Riches may supply influence but cannot purchase forgiveness”—echoes Christ’s question about gaining the world while losing one’s soul. Material abundance often distracts from eternal poverty. The story of the hesitant witness at the football field reveals how earthly attachments can paralyze spiritual obedience. True wealth is knowing the God who paid our debt Himself. [29:25]

“Let not the rich man boast in his riches...”
(Jeremiah 9:23, ESV)

Reflection: What possession, status, or financial goal currently competes with your pursuit of God? How would living as an eternal investor rather than a temporal accumulator change your choices today?

Day 4: Boasting in the God Who Judges Rightly

Human courts fail, but divine justice never errs. The preacher’s example of the mistrial contrasts with God’s perfect discernment of motives and actions. Judah learned that God’s judgment on their sin wasn’t cruelty but cleansing. His justice works in tandem with mercy—the cross proves He judges sin while providing salvation. To glory in His judgment is to trust His holy love even when circumstances seem unfair. [47:25]

“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
(Genesis 18:25, ESV)

Reflection: When have you struggled to trust God’s justice in difficult circumstances? How does Christ’s cross assure you that He judges rightly and redeems mercifully?

Day 5: The Righteousness That Never Gets It Wrong

God’s righteousness isn’t a static attribute but active faithfulness. Job’s suffering, Joseph’s betrayal, and Paul’s thorn all reveal His perfect orchestration of details. The sermon’s declaration—“He’s right when I’m up, right when I’m down”—anchors hope in divine consistency. Boasting here means resting in His track record, not demanding explanations. Like Abraham ascending Moriah, we obey because we know the One giving the command. [57:52]

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
(2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

Reflection: What current situation feels “wrong” to you? How might embracing God’s active righteousness—rather than seeking resolution—deepen your dependence on His perfect ways?

Sermon Summary

Jeremiah places Judah on the edge of Babylonian judgment, spiritually corrupt, full of lies, and yet still proud because Jerusalem had the temple and the name of God. God strips away the things people naturally want to point at: what they know, what they can do, and what they have. Wisdom may give skill, might may give influence, and riches may bring comfort, but none of them can save a sinner, overturn God’s judgment, purchase forgiveness, or secure eternal life.

God does not leave Judah with nothing to glory in. God says, “Let him that glorieth glory in this,” that he understandeth and knoweth Him. The text draws a hard line between knowing about God and knowing God. Judah had priests, sacrifices, law, history, and plenty of information, but their lives showed that they did not truly know the God they claimed to worship. Christ brings sinners beyond religious information into a real knowledge of the Lord who saves, forgives, loves, moves, and keeps His own.

God identifies Himself as the Lord who actively exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. Lovingkindness means that God stays loyal to His promises and shows mercy to people who do not deserve it. Christ died while sinners were yet sinners, took their penalty and failures at Calvary, and made forgiveness possible. God’s people cannot glory in their own faithfulness, consistency, or obedience, because every one of them knows something about disobedience and unbelief. God’s mercies remain new every morning because great is His faithfulness.

God’s judgment does not contradict His lovingkindness. God never compromises what is right in order to look loving. Human judgment gets skewed by missing facts, hidden motives, emotions, relationships, and plain error, but God never has a hung jury and never declares a mistrial. God sees every bit of the evidence, cannot be manipulated, and always does right.

God’s righteousness means that He always does what is right. Abraham could obey without having every answer because God was right. Joseph could look back on the pit, slavery, and prison and say that God meant evil for good. Job could refuse to charge God foolishly, and Paul could glory in infirmities because God’s grace was sufficient. God’s sovereign hand may remain hard to understand, but everything He does is right. The only boast that will stand is this: “I know Him.”

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Key Takeaways

1. Know God, not merely facts Religious information can fill a mind while leaving a heart untouched. Judah had the temple, the law, sacrifices, and priests, but still did not know the Lord in a way that changed how they lived. A saving knowledge of God is more than being able to say the right things about Him. It is knowing the One who forgives, corrects, keeps, and reigns. [32:38]
2. Wealth, wisdom, and strength will fail Human wisdom cannot overturn God’s judgment, human strength cannot fight Him off, and human riches cannot buy forgiveness. Those things may be useful in this life, but they are poor foundations for eternity. The heart always wants something visible to boast in, but God tears down every false confidence. God alone is worthy of glory. [29:56]
3. God’s lovingkindness outlasts repeated failure God does not abandon His people every time they stumble into the same sinful patterns. Christ met sinners while they were still sinners, bore their penalty, and made forgiveness real through His blood. God’s mercy does not excuse disobedience, but it proves that His faithfulness is greater than human inconsistency. The child of God can glory in His faithfulness, not personal performance. [38:43]
4. God’s judgment is never crooked Human courts may miss evidence, misunderstand motives, or reach the wrong conclusion. God never lacks facts, never gets manipulated, and never calls wrong right. His judgment against Judah was not a failure of love but an expression of perfect justice. God’s people can rest because the Judge of all the earth shall do right. [47:25]
5. God is right when answers are absent Abraham, Joseph, Job, and Paul all faced circumstances that made little sense in the moment. Each life bore witness that God was still right, even when pain remained and explanations did not come. Sovereignty does not mean every hard thing becomes easy, but it means no hard thing escapes God’s righteous hand. Faith rests in the God who has never been wrong.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[23:30] - Something Worth Boasting About
[25:34] - Judah’s Corruption and Coming Judgment
[27:07] - Do Not Glory in Wisdom
[28:04] - Do Not Glory in Might
[29:03] - Do Not Glory in Riches
[30:48] - Glory in Knowing God
[35:43] - The God Who Exercises Lovingkindness
[44:02] - The God Who Exercises Judgment
[50:46] - The God Who Exercises Righteousness
[58:25] - God Alone Is Worthy of Glory
[62:19] - Do You Know Him?
[70:10] - Rejoicing in Salvation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Jeremiah 9:23–24
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” [23:46]

Romans 5:8
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” [38:43]

Genesis 18:25
“Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” [47:37]

Lamentations 3:22–23
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” [43:12]

Observation questions

In Jeremiah 9:23–24, what are the three things God tells people not to glory in, and what is the one thing He tells them to glory in? [30:13]
What did Judah have that gave them much information about God, yet what showed that they did not truly know Him? [32:07]
According to Jeremiah 9:24, what three things does the Lord actively exercise in the earth? [36:10]
What does Romans 5:8 say about the condition people were in when Christ died for them? [38:43]

Interpretation questions

Why would wisdom, strength, and riches be tempting things for a person to trust in, even though none of them can save a sinner or remove God’s judgment? [27:37]
What is the difference between knowing facts about God and personally knowing God in a way that changes a person’s life? [33:13]
How do God’s lovingkindness and God’s judgment fit together without contradicting one another? [44:46]
Genesis 18:25 calls God “the Judge of all the earth.” How should that truth shape a believer’s response when people seem to get away with wrong or when a situation appears unfair? [49:22]

Application questions

When you think about what gives you security or makes you feel significant, are you most tempted to point to what you know, what you can do, or what you have? How can that false confidence be replaced with glorying in knowing the Lord? [29:56]
Is there an area where you have gathered a great deal of religious information but need a deeper walk of obedience, trust, and fellowship with God? What would taking one step toward Him look like this week? [32:26]
God’s lovingkindness is shown in Christ dying for sinners and in His mercy toward His people after repeated failure. Where do you need to stop boasting in your own consistency and instead thank God for His faithfulness? [43:32]
Is there a repeated sin, pattern of unbelief, or act of disobedience that you have been discouraged about? How does God’s promise of fresh mercies each morning give you reason to repent and keep coming back to Him? [41:13]
When you see injustice around you, do you tend to become bitter, fearful, or quick to make final judgments about others? What would it look like to trust that God sees every fact and will always judge rightly? [47:46]
Is there a painful circumstance, unanswered prayer, or confusing season in your life where you do not have an explanation? How can you honestly bring your questions to God while still resting in the truth that He is right? [57:29]
Can you say with confidence, “I know Him”? If that answer feels uncertain, what question, doubt, or need should you bring before God and a trusted believer this week? [01:02:54]

Sermon Clips

51s

#GodIsTheJustJudge

“But let me say this, in the courtroom of God, there's never a hung jury. There's never a mistrial. never gets his judgments wrong. The Bible says in Genesis eighteen twenty five, shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And the answer is yes. You see, nobody can hide evidence from him. Nobody can deceive him. Nobody can manipulate god. Nobody can buy his favor, and nobody can convince him that wrong is right and right is wrong. Every judgment that god makes, every verdict that god renders is just.”

60s

#GodWorksForGood

“Joseph spent years in a pit and in slavery and eventually in prison. His circumstances looked terribly wrong, yet Joseph looked back over his life and he told his brothers this. You thought evil against me. But god meant it for good. You know what Joseph's saying? God was just right. We 're have a we're gonna have a good time here in a minute. When I was in prison, he was right. When I was in slavery, he was right. When I didn't understand and I didn't know he was right. Why? Because that's the god that I serve. He's just always right.”

62s

#GloryInGodsCharacter

“Maybe for too long, you've had confidence in the wrong things. Things. Maybe you've gloried in things that wouldn't help, won't save, will not offer security or protection. Maybe you think you're a smart fella. Maybe you think you're strong. Maybe you a lot of money. But god says, if you're gonna glory or boast in something, if you're gonna be prideful about anything, be prideful or boast or glory in the fact that I exercise loving kindness, that I exercise judgment, and that I exercise righteousness.”

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Carolyn Baptist church Dalton GA This sermon · AI assistant

What distinguishes knowing God from knowing about Him

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