It happened in the jungle one day. A lion with a big ego went around asking the other animals who the king of the jungle was. “Who’s the king of jungle?,” the lion roared at a monkey. “Why…you are, Mr. Lion,” said the monkey with fear in his voice. The lion went on and found a zebra. “Who’s the king of jungle?,” he snarled. “There is no doubt about it…you are Mr. Lion,” said the zebra. Seeing a turtle crossing his path the lion bellowed, “Who’s the king of the jungle?” Scared out of his shell the turtle said, “You are Mr. Lion. You are the king of the jungle.” Then the lion came upon an elephant. Once again he roared out the question, “Who’s the king of jungle?” The elephant used his trunk to grab the lion by his tail. He spun him around over his hand several times, dunked him in a mud hole, and slammed him into a large tree. Dazed and dirty the lion said, “Just because you didn’t know the correct answer was no reason to get upset.”
Aren’t we often like that lion. In spite of the evidence to the contrary we are still filled with thoughts of how great and important we are. From an early age we brag about what we can do that other children can’t. We may brag about the toys that we have. “I have a Game Boy and you don’t!” We may even bring our family into the bragging. “My dad is bigger than your dad!” When we become working adults we may think that it is our skills and our efforts that keep the company running. We believe that if it weren’t for us things would fall apart at the office. We may not say it out loud but when we reflect on our successes in life a smug smile appears on our face we think of how great we are. Those of us who are parents may even compare our children to the children of other parents we know. “Well you know…my son knew his letters, numbers, and colors before all the other kids in the neighborhood.” With the passion for sports that most of us have we love to brag about whose team is the best. Tonight there will be some football players bragging about being the best in the league. “We’re number one!” will be their claim.
Through the Word of God for our sermon this morning we will have every last bubble of pride within us popped. We will be reminded that we have only one Person about whom we can rightfully boast. Listen again to the second Scripture lesson for this Sunday. (Read text.) Let’s take the Apostle Paul’s encouragement in that last verse that I read for the theme of our sermon. He tells us,
“BOAST IN THE LORD”
I. Because he chose us who had no reason to boast
II. Because he has given us so much to boast about
Before the Apostle Paul got into the heart of his letter to the Christians at Corinth he reviewed some of the basic truths of the faith. He wanted the Corinthians to remember how they were brought to faith. It was all God’s doing. They had been told the unbelievable news that through the death of a Jew named Jesus their sins were forgiven. That message that brought them to believe in Jesus was delivered by an unimpressive man named Paul. What seemed like utter foolishness to the wise people of that age made the Corinthian Christians wise about salvation. They were living proof that God’s plan of salvation can’t be “figured out” and logically understood. Since they did nothing for their salvation they had nothing to brag about except God’s grace to them. Indeed, God took them from people who had no reason to boast on their own and gave them so much to boast about. If they were going to do any boasting it could only be boasting in the LORD.
I.
Paul began by reminding the Corinthians of what they were when God called them to faith. “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” Why would a pastor speak this way to his congregation? Imagine if I stood in front of you this morning and said, “You people at Abiding Word were a bunch of losers before you joined this congregation. Nobody here was successful in business, most of you weren’t that bright, none of you came from a good family.” That sure doesn’t seem like the right thing to say to a congregation of Christians. Although Paul’s words could be misunderstood he wrote what he wrote for a reason. The Corinthian Christians seem to have been boasting about how smart they were to be followers of Jesus. Sinful pride had descended like a fog over their church. It caused them to fight among themselves and to lose sight of their mission. Paul knew that they needed a reminder about how far God had brought them. That wake up call would put their pride back in place. They had nothing to offer God when he called them to faith. If they were going to brag about someone who is great God was their only choice. He chose them when they had no reason to boast.
For the Corinthians and all other Christians the truth is that a person has nothing to boast about on his or her own. Although true in every area of life that is especially true when it comes to salvation. The Apostle Paul went on to write, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” God’s way of saving people is contrary to every reasonable plan we humans might come up with. He chooses to save creatures who have nothing to offer him. That truth brings home the point once again that apart from God no one has anything to boast about.
But God has a reason for choosing those who have nothing to offer him. That way the bragging mouths of people are silenced. If salvation was the responsibility of the individual then everyone in heaven would be able to take credit for being smarter than those who don’t make it. Or they could claim to be more holy than others and less stubborn than the pitiful people who end up in hell. That would make heaven into hell.
God’s reason for making salvation his responsibility goes back to the first sinful act that entered his perfect creation. It was pride that caused Satan and his evil angels to rebel against God. And it was pride that led Adam and Eve to follow the Devil’s wicked lead. So if salvation were in any way part of the sinner’s doing then pride would still have room to exercise its evil power over him or her. But as it is God chooses those who have absolutely no reason to boast so that “no one may boast before him.”
God made his plan of salvation appear foolish, weak, and lowly to the eyes in this world. Then those who receive it and believe it will know that they have no reason to boast before God. Perhaps Paul described it best in Romans 3:27-28. He asked these questions about boasting in connection to salvation, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” If we could keep God’s Commandments perfectly all the time and were given heaven because of our holiness we would have something to brag about. But that is not the case. God chose to declare us “not guilty” of any sins even though we don’t deserve that decision. That is why we can only boast in the LORD. The Apostle Paul’s familiar words in Ephesians 2:8-9 give us further evidence that we have no reason to boast about anything except in the LORD who has had mercy on us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” When we realize that nothing we were, nor are, nor have done caused God to save us we will then realize that we can only boast in the LORD.
Since this is Superbowl Sunday perhaps you will allow me to use an illustration from football to make a point. Let’s suppose your team is playing in the big game today. You are either a Rams fan or a Patriots fan. Then let’s say that your team wins. Of course you will be excited and do a little bragging about how your team is the best in the NFL. But let’s look honestly at that situation. Did you play in any of the preseason games, regular season games, or playoff games? Did your cheering and yelling at the television over the past couple of months help your team win? No. You did absolutely nothing to help your team win the Superbowl. So when you brag about your team being great you are bragging about the strength and efforts of someone else.
Christ won the “Superbowl of salvation” by sending Satan away scoreless. The fact that God loves us is a result of his work. Having forgiveness for our sins, a place in heaven, and a new life to live, are all a result of his work. We enjoy the results of his victory. If we are going to boast about anything we can only boast about how great our Lord Jesus is and how awesome the things are that he has done.
II.
That leads us to the second thought that the Apostle Paul brings out in these verses in our second Scripture lesson. Although we have no reason to boast on our own God has given us many things to boast about. “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” In two verses Paul names a number of things about which we can boast--as we boast in the Lord. Let’s take a few minutes to look at each of them.
Since we are in Christ Jesus we have received God’s wisdom for our salvation. He came up with a plan that the wisest minds on earth could never comprehend. With nothing to gain he decided he would send his Son to take the place of sinners. 2 Corinthians 5:21 describes this, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Friends, if you want to brag about something brag about that. What an awesome God we have and what a great thing he has done for us! We can boast to each other and to all the world about the fact that we are righteous. God looks at us as being completely right in all that we have thought, said, and done because of his grace and mercy.
The Apostle Paul also declared that Jesus is our holiness. That is a way of saying the same thing as righteousness except with a slightly different twist. When we are declared righteous the demands of God’s holy law have been met for us. When we are called holy we have the perfect obedience to that law credited to us. God looks at us as though we lived our entire life in complete harmony with what pleases him. Galatians 4:4-5 describes that part of Jesus’ work for us., “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Yes, we have a lot to boast about. We have been given the perfect life of Jesus. What a great Savior we have!
In addition to our righteousness and holiness the Apostle says that Jesus is our redemption. In the Greek language that word means the ransom price someone pays to buy someone else back from another. Even though we had no value to brag about the price God paid to buy us back from Satan is something to brag about. The life of his Son was the price tag he put on us. In Ephesians 1:7-8 the Apostle Paul boasted about that measure of God’s love, “In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”
Since we have taken the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to boast in the Lord for the theme of our sermon this morning it might be helpful for us to look at the Old Testament reference that Paul used when he wrote his letter.. Remember that he wrote, “Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” Where was the encouragement to boast in the Lord written? It appears as though he was paraphrasing these words from Jeremiah 9:23-24, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD.” Again the truth comes out. If we are going to boast we can only boast in the LORD. We have nothing to boast about except the things he has given us and the things he has done for us. Psalm 44:8 says it well, “In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.” Galatians 6:14 express the same truth, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
“Who’s the king of the jungle?” The lion still thought he was even after the elephant showed him otherwise. This world is full of people like that lion. In spite of the evidence they go on boasting. We have all heard people boast. Young and old alike we want to talk about what we have, what we are, what we can do. From professional athletes to kids playing T-ball we hear boasting. And how often haven’t we foolishly participated in such boasting? What is wrong with a little boasting? When it comes from within a person it is sin. That kind of boasting we don’t need. But we could use a little more boasting about God. May we take the Apostle Paul’s Words to heart. If we are going to boast let’s boast in the LORD. In his great love he chose us who have no reason to boast. In his great mercy he has given us so much to boast about. Amen.
