But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. (Galatians 6:14-15)
Paul finishes off his letter to the Galatians with a reminder that the practice of circumcision does not make one a follower of Christ. What is of primary importance is not the status of a person’s ritual observance, but whether or not he has been born again. Just as in Paul’s day, people today tend to boast about the church and or denomination that they are a part of, losing focus on the main cause why they are even there. Their boasting points to everything that they do as a church or a denomination without ever mentioning the cross or giving glory to God.
If anybody had a good case to boast of his ministry, in my opinion, it would be Paul. And yet, Paul’s emphatic statement in our opening verse is very clear. He is going to boast of one thing only, and that is the cross of Christ! When we begin to boast about ourselves and or a church that we are a part of, we take on selfish and worldly views. As followers of Christ we are to be dead to such worldly views and alive in Christ. As born again followers the only thing we are members of is His body, which is the church, of which He is head.
Sadly, there is a lot of boasting in Christianity today. Many pastors boast about their big ministries and the people they influence. There are those who boast about their bible knowledge or how long they have been serving in the church. When we give testimonies, we need to be careful that we our selves are not the focal point. “Many may boast in the depth of their Bible knowledge and in the excellency of their theological tenets, but those with spiritual discernment are aware that it is dead” (Watchman Nee) It’s not about us, it’s about what Christ has done in us and for us.
The bottom line is that we should never point to a church building, a person, or a ministry and say this is where you go to get saved. No! You point to the cross of Christ! It is there alone where man finds redemption. It is there alone where all our boasting should be directed.
Dale LaFrance (please look up Romans 3:26-28)
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