SUNDAY (LIVE) - October 4, 2026 | UNASHAMED: Romans 3:27-31 - No Boasting - Open Elders Meeting

Oct 04, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Rule-Keeping Fuels Arrogance, Not Righteousness

Legalism breeds pride like gasoline fuels fire. The Pharisees’ meticulous law-keeping birthed contempt, not holiness, as they compared themselves to others. Jesus’ parable of the self-congratulating Pharisee reveals how rule-based faith distorts hearts into judgmental scorecards. Boasting grows where grace shrinks. God opposes the proud not because He dislikes strength, but because pride blocks the pipeline of His unearned favor. True righteousness begins when we stop counting merits and start confessing needs. [37:17]

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:10–13, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your spiritual discipline subtly become a measuring stick for others? How might confessing “I need mercy” today dismantle comparison?

Day 2: Broken Prayers in the Back Row

The tax collector’s choked plea—“be merciful to me”—echoes in every soul weary of performing. Standing far off, he embodied the shame that keeps us from lifting our eyes. Yet Jesus called this raw admission the gateway to justification. God’s economy honors cracked voices over polished speeches. Humility isn’t self-loathing; it’s stopping the charade of having it together. The back row of the soul is where grace rebuilds. [39:51]

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” (Luke 18:13–14, ESV)

Reflection: What mask of “togetherness” do you need to lay down today? How would approaching God as the tax collector did shift your spiritual posture?

Day 3: Digging Holes for Holiness

Ancient Israel buried waste not because God obsesses over dirt, but to remember He walked among them. The Deuteronomy 23 law wasn’t about excrement—it was about preparing space for sacred presence. Legalism fixates on the rule; faith asks, “What relationship does this protect?” Every divine command—even the odd ones—invites us into communion. Holiness isn’t rule-enforcement; it’s making room for God in life’s messiest corners. [59:04]

“You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp.” (Deuteronomy 23:12–14, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you reduced faith to a checklist? How might seeing God’s commands as relational invitations change your daily rhythms?

Day 4: Grace Fuels Fearless Abundance

Legacy addicts don’t become sober preachers by willpower. Grace turns “I should be dead” into “Why not me?” stories. When Paul declared “I can do all things through Christ,” he wasn’t boasting—he was marveling at grace’s reckless math. Unlike rule-keeping’s scarcity, grace multiplies courage: more givers, fewer scorekeepers. The same power that resurrected Christ now fuels ordinary people to live uncalculated lives. [01:05:19]

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, ESV)

Reflection: What “impossible” thing does grace empower you to attempt? Where is God inviting you to trade self-protection for Spirit-led risk?

Day 5: Trading Weary Striving for Soul Rest

Jesus’ invitation to the exhausted—“Come to me”—isn’t a spiritual spa day. It’s a demolition of the meritocracy that equates worth with output. Sabbath rest isn’t inactivity; it’s breathing in the reality that our hiding place is Christ, not performance. The law shouts “Do more!” Grace whispers “It’s done.” True rest begins when we stop earning what’s already been given. [01:09:33]

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28–29, ESV)

Reflection: What exhaustion are you carrying from trying to earn love? How might receiving Christ’s “easy yoke” lighten your load today?

Sermon Summary

Paul brings Romans 3 to a sharp point: justification by faith alone stops boasting, makes salvation identical for Jew and Gentile, and upholds the law. The law of unintended consequences shows how rules that look good can still produce something ugly, and the law can produce prideful, boastful, judgmental people. Jesus puts that problem on display in the Pharisee who thanks God that he is not like other men, while the tax collector simply cries out, “Be merciful to me, a sinner.” The tax collector goes home justified because faith comes empty-handed, while pride comes holding up its list.

Legalism exchanges freedom in Christ for a list of do’s and don’ts. Legalism then looks at its own list instead of looking to the Lord, decides its list is better than everybody else’s, and uses that list to judge everybody around it. Grace cuts that whole thing off at the root because grace leaves nobody room to shine a halo. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and grace is way better than fairness.

Justification by faith alone also makes salvation identical. God saves the circumcised and uncircumcised the same way, through faith, so no Gentile has to become Jewish before coming to Christ. Faith does not make a person climb toward God through performance, rules, or religious credentials. Christ receives sinners exactly where they are and makes them right with God by His grace.

The law itself is not thrown away. The law had a goal: God wanted to dwell with His people in harmony, fellowship, and wholeness. Israel’s rules, sacrifices, gatherings, and even the practical laws of camp life were meant to make room for a holy God to walk among His people. Jesus fulfills that goal because those who believe are now hidden with Christ in God. Christ becomes the clean space that makes access to God possible, and the Holy Spirit makes believers His temple.

Faith does more than law ever could. The law asks, “What is the least I have to do?” while faith says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Grace makes people fearless, humble, free from shame, glad when others are blessed, generous with what they have received, and able to see suffering without assuming God is punishing them. Grace creates a new economy where people stop trying to earn what can only be given, and the dividend is rest for the soul.

Key Takeaways

1. Grace leaves no room for boasting Justification by faith alone puts every person in the same place: needy, undeserving, and received by mercy. Pride does not merely make a person unpleasant; it places that person in opposition to God Himself. Humility is not self-hatred, but the settled awareness that every good thing is grace. [48:25]
2. Legalism turns lists into ladders Legalism begins when a person trades dependence on Christ for manageable rules. The list then becomes a measuring stick for comparing, competing, and condemning others. Grace frees the conscience from trying to prove holiness through a better list. [41:32]
3. Christ makes access to God possible The law pointed toward fellowship with God, but sacrifices could only provide temporary clean space. Christ becomes the believer’s righteousness, covering sinners and bringing them into God’s presence. Those hidden in Christ do not approach God on the strength of personal performance. [60:44]
4. Faith goes beyond bare minimums The law can be reduced to loopholes and minimum requirements, but faith transforms the heart. Faith believes that Christ strengthens weak people for more than mere rule-keeping. Grace does not create lazy Christians; it creates people who are free to love, give, endure, and obey. [63:45]
5. Grace gives rest to exhausted souls Grace ends the exhausting project of trying to earn what can only be given. Christ invites weary people to stop carrying the weight of self-justification. His rest does not deny sin or failure; it declares that His mercy is greater than both.

## [69:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:14] - The Law of Unintended Consequences
[34:45] - Romans 3 and Justification by Faith
[36:44] - Why Law-Keeping Produces Boasting
[39:51] - The Tax Collector Goes Home Justified
[41:32] - How Legalism Builds a Better List
[46:23] - Pride Brings Conflict and God’s Opposition
[51:48] - One Salvation for Jew and Gentile
[53:50] - Faith Upholds the Law
[56:54] - The Goal of God’s Law
[60:44] - Hidden With Christ in God
[62:42] - Faith Is More Powerful Than Law
[64:59] - The Intended Consequences of Grace
[69:12] - Grace and Rest for the Soul
[73:59] - Communion and Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 3:27-31
“Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” [35:21]

Luke 18:9-14
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 'Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get." But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” [37:10]

1 Peter 5:5
“Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [48:18]

Observation questions

In Romans 3:27–31, what three results of justification by faith does Paul highlight: boasting, the salvation of Jews and Gentiles, and the law? [36:23]
In Luke 18:9–14, what differences can the group observe between the Pharisee’s posture and prayer and the tax collector’s posture and prayer? [37:53]
What steps turn a desire to obey God into legalism—beginning with a list and ending in judging others? [41:26]
According to Romans 3:31, faith does not overthrow the law. What goal of the law is illustrated by the rules that allowed God to dwell among His people in the camp? [58:20]

Interpretation questions

Why does justification by faith leave no room for boasting, even when a person has made genuinely wise or obedient choices? [40:26]
The Pharisee could name visible religious practices, while the tax collector came asking for mercy. What does this contrast reveal about the difference between self-justification and faith?
Paul says God justifies both the circumcised and uncircumcised through faith. Why would this truth have been so important for unity in the early church, and what does it say about religious credentials today? [52:59]
How can faith uphold the law by accomplishing its deeper goal—fellowship with God and a transformed people—rather than merely keeping external requirements? [01:00:43]

Application questions

What “list” is most tempting to use as proof of being a serious Christian—church habits, parenting choices, entertainment, politics, food, appearance, generosity, or something else? How can that list become a way of looking down on others? [41:45]
When has comparison shown up in the heart as a quiet version of the Pharisee’s prayer: “At least I am not like that person”? What would it look like to replace that comparison with the tax collector’s humility?
God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Is there a relationship, disagreement, or recurring conflict where pride may be making peace difficult? What would humble grace look like in one next conversation? [48:23]
Christ is the believer’s righteousness and makes access to God possible. When shame, failure, or the feeling of “not being good enough” keeps someone from praying, what practical reminder of grace can help them come to God anyway? [01:01:08]
Where is there a temptation to ask, “What is the least I have to do?” in following Christ? What might trusting Christ’s strength look like instead of settling for bare-minimum obedience? [01:03:49]
Grace makes it possible to celebrate God’s goodness to other people instead of competing with them. Whose blessing, gift, opportunity, or success is difficult to celebrate right now, and how could gratitude or encouragement reshape that response? [01:07:05]
What burden of trying to earn God’s acceptance has been exhausting the soul lately? What would it mean this week to receive the rest that comes from trusting what Christ has given rather than trying to prove worthiness? [01:09:33]

Sermon Clips

46s

#BreakFreeFromLegalism

“And here's the way I've seen it work out. It's a couple steps. Legalism, law. It's number one, we exchange our freedom in Christ, a life of faith for a list of do's and don'ts. I can't do that. I won't do this. I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna wear that. I'm not gonna look like whatever it is. Then number two, we begin to look at our list and not the Lord's. I don't have to pray about this because I just look at my list. My list guides me. God doesn't guide me. Number three, we begin to believe that because my list is better than their list, I'm a better Christian than they are.”

30s

#PurposeInSuffering

“It gives me a perspective on suffering. I know God's not punishing me. I know that because the punishment that I deserve was taken by Jesus Christ. And then I realized that God can use it, that it's it's productive, that God can even take what the enemy wants to use for evil and turn it for good. I'm not being punished. God, how are you gonna use this in my life to grow me and change me into your image? That's the way I look at difficulty. That heart's not bad.”

32s

#TempleOfTheHolySpirit

“I don't need that now. Why? Because every person in here that has believed in Jesus Christ, you have become the very temple of the Holy Spirit. I don't need to go somewhere and get recharged. The Bible says I can simply pray every morning and say, Jesus, today fill me with your spirit and empower me this day to do the good works that you prepared in advance for me. I can just pray because I'm now the very temple of the Holy Spirit. Everything that the law, the goal of the law has been fulfilled by justification, by faith alone.”

31s

#GraceMakesGivers

“I become a giver. Grace makes you a giver because you just realize, I've got so much. Anyone in here really good at gardening? What happens in September? You got too much zucchini. Right? Like, bags and bags of zucchini. Someone please take this. Or too many tomatoes or whatever is like, I can't use all this juice to give it away. That's what happens when you really let grace saturate your soul. You're like, I've been given too much. How can I not be a conduit of God's goodness?”

40s

#GodsGraceOverPride

“Anybody in here wanting God to oppose you? You know, I just want God's opposition to me. No way. I do not want God's opposition. I get enough opposition right now from our culture. You know why? Because I'm a white, heterosexual, Christian male. I'm like the worst kind of person right now according to our culture. I don't want God's opposition. I want God's favor and his goodness, and it comes through humility. I want grace, Boasting, pride, arrogance, entitlements are the antithesis of God's grace. And you get it when you're humble.”

42s

#CelebrateOthers

“You compliment instead of compete. We know it's grace you compliment. You just say to people, man, you're so good at that. Man, I'm amazed at how God has gift... Man, I love how you do this. You can compliment. You know why? Because you realize life is not a zero sum game. You know what a zero sum game is? There's only this much of the pie. If he gets half of it, there's only half left. That's a zero sum game. So if he gets some, that means they're less for me. Grace says there's no such thing that the riches of God are beyond this universe. God's got more and more and more grace. If he gets some, there's still plenty left over that it's not a zero sum game. So I can compliment and be amazed at how God is using other people.”

32s

#GraceChangesEverything

“It shapes my scenery. So if you're a law person and you watch somebody get blessed that you don't think deserves it, what happens in your heart? You're like, oh, that's so unfair. That's so stupid. He... Doesn't God know all these? But if it's grace, here's what happens instead. You're like, wow. God is so good. You bless anymore on like that. Wow. That's amazing. It changes you. You know, good that is for your soul. So good for your soul.”

48s

#LivingInHarmony

“Now you just take all these rules. Everybody has them. Why do we have those kind of rules in our home? So we can live in peace. Right? That's the whole reason. We... You make new rules. You're you're keeping adding rules because you're like, no. How do... Does nine of us or the seven of us or the five of us or how many? How do we live in harmony inside this home? Listen. That was the goal of the law. That God's design is the is the Garden of Eden. It's husband, wife, fruitful, multiply, have kids. Walk and talk with me in the cool of the evening. We're we're here together. We're having fellowship. We're living in harmony. That's always been God's design.”

37s

#GodsPresence

“So why does God have this law? Is it God wants us all to be caphorized and bury our excrement? No. God, in the next verse, says why he has this law. It's verse 14. Because Yahweh your God walks in the midst of your camp. Why is this law there? Because God says, I'm gonna be there, and I'm gonna walk in your camp. And for us to have harmony, and for us to walk, and for us to live together, this is one of the rules that helps us to live together. That's why.”

41s

#JustificationByFaith

“Broader though, you could put it like this. Does a gentile need to become a Jew before they can get saved? Verse 30 would say, God saves the circumcised and the uncircumcised the same way, justification by faith alone or even going forward. Does a Christian need to be kind of Jewish to grow as a believer? Do I need to keep some of those laws and some of that stuff? Do I... Verse 30 would say, You're saved the same way. Okay.”

42s

#GraceAndGenerosity

“And they're acting like the law forces us to divorce our wives. I'm missing the point. Jesus in the woes will say, you count out your spices. Nine for me, for God. Jesus says, you're missing the point. The point of the law is to say, God has blessed you so much. He's been so generous to me. I'm going to be a conduit of that generation, not a con... Of that generosity, not a container of it. It turned them into the wrong kind of people. So you gotta step back and say, like, okay. You got these 613 rules and regulations in the old testament. What's their purpose? What's the goal of the law?”

21s

#AuthenticFaith

“It was a group of people that came into the church there and they said, hey, Jesus is good. He's wonderful. But if you are serious about your faith, get circumcised. We still have that. Hey, if you're serious about your faith, you'll eat like this or you'll dress like this or you'll Sabbath like this. Prove you're a real Christian.”

39s

#GraceOverAddiction

“You put all that into just any kind of statistical model, I'm a freak. I'm an anomaly. I should be dead, dying, or in prison. So what happened? Did I figure the code out? Can I write a book now how I beat addiction in my family? No. You know why? You know why I'm different? God's grace. I have a lot of questions on it, but at the end of the day, I know this. God saved a sinner like me. God has changed my life by his grace. I didn't deserve it. I'm overwhelmed by it, and I want more of it.”

43s

#HumilityOverPride

“The only problem is Jesus did not. You wanna read the longest rebuke Jesus has? It's for Pharisees. It's Matthew 23. And in Matthew 23, Jesus gives seven woes to the Pharisees. Woah. Woah. Woah. Like, it is the harshest rebuke. Now why? Because boasting is bad. Pride is bad. You can do a month of Sundays on messages on pride. Satan falls because of pride. I'm just gonna give you two reasons why boasting and pride are so bad.”

24s

#MarriageByDesign

“That's not the point of the law. The point of marriage is not get rid of your wife if she makes you upset or anything. The point of marriage is the two become one. There's this dough, this intermingling of souls, and the process of that is so healthy for you. It helps you out. If you want him with humility and understanding, man, you get to love your wife in better or worse, rich or poor. That's the purpose of marriage. They're missing it.”

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