Week 8 - Saturday

No Boasting

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (Romans 3:27-28)

The Jews believed that by obeying the Law they could be right with God. They weren't able to keep all of God's Laws but instead of confessing their sins to God, they invented laws of their own that were easier for them to obey. By keeping their own man-made laws, they then believed they were righteous. One of the biggest lies in the world is that God will accept you because of your good works. A lot of people think that as long as they try to do what is right, God will accept them. It's not hard for people to think they are good. All they have to do is compare themselves to someone more sinful than they are. But God doesn’t save anyone because He thinks they are better than anyone else. In fact the opposite is true. Jesus was often in the company of people that the Jewish religious leaders thought were sinful. As proud as they were, the Pharisees would never have associated with such people and they criticized Jesus for it. Responding to their criticism, Jesus said, “It is not those who are well who need a physician but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). Jesus was showing them the difference between those who are being saved and those who are not. People who know they are sick will usually go see a doctor. Those who think they are well, generally feel no need to go. In the same manner it isn't until a person realizes they aren’t good enough to make it into God's kingdom, that they will come to Christ seeking to be saved. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). However that doesn't mean much to someone who doesn't think they are a sinner or who believes they are good enough the way they are.

The Bible says that every person is a sinner. A person's pride can keep them from admitting that though. Unfortunately that also keeps them from coming to Christ. But whether someone admits it or not, they are still a sinner and there is nothing they can do to save themselves from being condemned by God. It doesn't matter how many good things they do. They are still separated from God by their sins. The way God sees it, no one is any better than anyone else because no one is good enough to meet His standard for righteousness. Everyone falls short. That means no one has any reason to boast. Boasting is excluded. All of a person's good deeds will never save them. Salvation is God's work. The only reason anyone is ever saved is because of what Jesus did. Jesus did it all. He is the one who lived a perfect, sinless life that was pleasing to God. He is the one who died on the cross to pay for our sins. If anyone wants to boast, they should boast about Him.

Readings for today: Luke 18:9-14; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 1:30-31; 2 Cor. 10:17