SR3_FPON9yE

1:20There's lots of potential. In fact, there's a lot of new relationship possibilities and ones that haven't been fouled up yet. So you've got a good thing going there. It's a good time of reconnection. And when you think about a new year and what's ahead, a new school year, what's ahead, it's like a wide open field of possibilities. There's excitement. You can feel it in our town. The town is excited with the students returning. It's a buzz and things on the schedule, getting into the fall routine. There's a general excitement about what the future holds. And it's good to see many students returning. And those of you who are with us for the first time, welcome. Glad you're here.

2:05A lot of possibilities for what this year ahead holds. But I warn you, I warn you: there's a serpent in this little Aggie Land paradise, just like there was a serpent in the original garden. And this serpent will speak to you many times this year and semester. You will frequently encounter temptation from him. And sometimes, this voice will speak as loud as the stadium roar. And at other times, this voice of temptation will whisper to you. The contemplations of your own heart.

3:04And at the very core, fundamental temptation that you are going to face over and over, you will face it today, you will face it tomorrow, you will face it through the years, sometimes more loudly, sometimes more subtly, but it will seek to make you ashamed of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ashamed of the one thing that's absolutely necessary for your well-being. What causes people to be ashamed of being a Christian? Think about it. There's a general people, and I think maybe you've felt it at times. What causes you to be ashamed of being a Christian? I mean, the world can tolerate faith. The world can tolerate good morals. The world can tolerate a lot of things. But there's one thing that the world cannot tolerate, and that is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

4:07It is the cross. You can come up with all kinds of forms of Christianity, but it's when you get to the cross that there's a parting of the ways. That's the one element that you will be tempted and compelled to be ashamed of this year. And why is that? Well, it's because the cross is the Spirit's testimony against the fallen world. It is the Spirit shouting out the wrongness and testifying to what is wrong with the world. And at the same token, the cross is the testimony of the Spirit shouting out everything that is right with the world.

5:04Galatians 5:6:16 says, But I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another. What is the Spirit saying through the cross? Well, he says some things about God, he says some things about ourselves, he says some things about life that we don't want to hear. First of all, the cross says something about God that we don't want to hear. One of the world's mantra is, Don't judge me. In fact, I think that's one of the most popular verses. Don't judge. Don't judge. But against this mindset that scorns being judgmental stands the cross. And the cross testifies that God judges sin. He condemns sinners. That's boldly what Spirit is testifying.

6:08There is also this mindset of inclusiveness. And against this mindset of everything's fine, everything's okay. The tent is big enough for everybody, stands the cross that says there's only one way to heaven, and it is through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a narrow way, few find it. Yeah, the cross smacks in the face of our popular notions of inclusiveness. But the cross also tells us something about ourselves that we don't want to hear. Against our pride stands the cross, testifying that all of us are sinners, and without Christ, we are under the righteous curse of God. Rightfully so.

7:04The cross says that we cannot save ourselves. The cross says you cannot go to heaven outside of Christ. Yes. The cross also testifies against our spirit of independence, doesn't it? Against the spirit of independence of our age stands the cross, testifying, You are dependent upon Jesus Christ. You are dependent upon Him to release you from your sin and from God's righteous curse upon you. You are dependent. You see, the cross has a good way of cutting us down to size. It compels us to bow the knee to Christ.

7:52And all that, the Spirit testifies through the cross. But the cross also tells us something about life that we don't want to hear. Against the mindset that life is about self-assertion, achieving your dreams, making yourself great stands the cross that says, No, the way to life is to crucify your personal ambitions and daily magnify the God who revealed himself in Scripture, and that smacks against a make-your-own kind of world mentality. That you are the master of your fate.

8:42Life is not about doing whatever we want, but doing whatever He wants. And the cross stands as a testimony. It's what God wants that counts. We are dependent upon Him. To Paul, to Paul, the cross was the good news. It testifies not only what's wrong with the world, but it also testifies what all is right in humanity. And it's seen there the person, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is what is right with this world. And that is what heaven is going to be like. And then there, Paul sees everything good.

9:39To Paul, it was the good news. Galatians 3.13, Paul said, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Paul saw through the cross comes the blessing upon everyone who has faith in Jesus Christ. It's good news.

10:20And in Galatians 2.19, Paul says, For through the law I died to the law, so I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. It is there at the cross that God's love is expressed for you and for me.

10:52It's good news. And so as Paul closes his letter, he comes back to this central element of the gospel. And he is emphasizing his personal attention to it, this central element of the cross. He sums it up. And as we've been making our way through Galatians, if you are just joining us, we're at the tail end of it. And Paul, in our text this morning, brings things back to this central element. Look at what he says in verse 11. See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

11:33I believe that this statement applies to the whole letter, not just the ending, like he did in many other letters. He would sign, he would write the final salutation in his own hand as an indication of the whole letter's authenticity, but he would sometimes use a writer, an immanuensis. But I think in this particular statement here, He's talking about the whole letter. He has written the whole letter. Regardless, and there are some who think it's just the ending. Regardless, what Paul is doing here is he is emphasizing his personal attention to what he sees as most important.

12:23And that about boasting. Boasting, the kinds of boasting that there is in the world, and the one boasting that stands above them all. So he's going to go on to describe two kinds of boasting: the boasting of the flesh and the boasting of the spirit. And so that's what we want to look at today: the boasting of the flesh and the boasting of the spirit. First of all, stands the boast of the flesh. The boasting of the flesh. Look at verse 12. Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. So, beginning in verse 12, there are three realities about how the flesh boasts or how it operates that we need to understand in order to understand this boasting of the flesh. First of all, it's important to note that the flesh has. An agenda. The flesh, that earthly disposition, has an agenda. And you and I are all very much familiar with this fleshly agenda. Look what it says in verse 12: that agenda, those who desire to make a good showing, it's a good showing. That's what the flesh wants to do. Your flesh, it wants to make a good showing, a fine appearance. Your flesh wants to stand well in the public eye, to make a good impression on others, to put on a good show.

14:10You ever heard that expression? Well, that's show business. Well, that's what this is talking about. Like being in show business, Christian show business. Living for the praise of man in a Christian setting. And friends, I want to exhort you in the strongest way to avoid all forms of Christian show business. It's easy to get caught up in it, but it's desiring the applause from people. That's what a show is. It's all arranged on the platform or on the stage in order to gain the applause of the audience.

14:53And so for those people in Galatia, the Judaizers, they Had turned church life into a stage performance. With one group compelling another group to conform to the Mosaic requirements, notice they were compelling. Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you. They are compelling you. They are exerting pressure to get you to conform to what they think you ought to do. They are urging, they are pressing, they are wanting to fit you into that good outward show in the theatrical performance.

15:40And that requirement, specific requirement, was to be circumcised. That was the outward ritual, the outward token that would amount to a confession that the law of Moses was superior to the law of Christ. It was much like, remember when we first started studying Galatians, I showed you the big picture image of the emperor courtyard to Augustus. It was this high on the hill, and what they would do is they would come and they would require a token, a tribute to be made to the emperor, and that was. Basically, be saying that the emperor is higher or is to be esteemed higher than all other gods. That was the emperor worship. Very prolific in the early days of the church.

16:47Well, these Judaizers were doing something very similar. They were compelling believers to be circumcised as a token to the Jews and basically saying that the cross was not enough. See, Paul had no problem with circumcision itself in certain situations, but not as an expression of law-keeping righteousness to earn one's salvation or sanctification. No, it was faith. It was faith alone, faith in what God had done. Be the basis of salvation in an ongoing relationship, growing in his grace and likeness. But it's evident, as you look at this, that the Judaizers here had an agenda. They didn't really love the Galatian believers, they loved themselves. And they wanted to use the Christians there at. Galatia, who were turning to Christ, they wanted to use them in their theatrical performance to make a good show to their audience, the Jews. But look at their reason. Look back at their reason. Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. You see, the flesh has an agenda, but it's an agenda that avoids the cross. It's an agenda that wants to look good, but to circumvent the very crux of Christianity.

18:44They didn't want to be persecuted. They didn't want to be pressed hard. They didn't want to be expelled. They didn't want to be driven out. They didn't want to come under the frown. Hey, guys, let's just acquiesce. They didn't want to be cut off because of the cross of Jesus. And so, what they were doing, they were reducing Christianity to an outward display of cultural conformity rather than spiritual conformity to Christ, which is basically what the law of Christ is: conformity to Him.

19:27But they were making it a display of cultural conformity. Conformity simply. This was their main goal, so that they wouldn't have to stand for the cross of Christ. They were intolerant of the cross. You see, the flesh has an agenda, and it's an agenda that avoids the cross. But there's a second thing you need to understand about the flesh. The flesh cannot, or the flesh can tolerate its own hypocrisy. The flesh isn't about consistency. Look at verse 13. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the law themselves. So the flesh has an agenda to make a good showing that avoids the cross, and it has absolutely no problem in not keeping the law, even though they're advocating it should be kept. You see, it wasn't a matter of internal consistency.

20:42Paul makes it very clear that these individuals, they were not keeping the whole law themselves. They were bickers and choosers. They themselves were king. They would choose what principle of Scripture they would obey. And which ones they wouldn't. No, it was not Christ that was king. It wasn't even consistency, Christian show business, looking good. It was not a standard of anything else but what served their best interest, even if that best interest was in a religious setting.

21:30You see, the religions of men, even those that go under the name Christian, can easily fall into this way. I mean, the religions of men are basically various ways that the flesh seeks to affirm itself before God. You see, if I can convince others that I'm holy, then I can convince myself that I'm in a good place. If I can convince all you all that I'm a swell guy, guess what? I can think about myself. I'm a swell guy.

22:10There's a third thing you need to understand about the flesh. The flesh affirms itself when others comply with its dictates. The flesh affirms itself when others comply with its dictates. Look at back at verse 13: for those who are circumcised. Do not even keep the law themselves, but, and here it is, they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. They want to boast in your flesh. They want to boast in something that belongs to you, the property of your flesh. That's literally what we're talking about here. They want to boast. Now, what does it mean to boast?

22:55To pride oneself. To have an inner confidence, an inward rejoicing. That's what pride or boasting breaks down here. It's satisfaction, that inward satisfaction. They desire for you to be circumcised so that they may be satisfied in themselves, so they would inwardly rejoice over the circumcision that you have gone undergone. See, circumcising others was their means of gaining a confident standing in life. And that's what boasting means: to have an attitude of confidence. An attitude of confidence. What is the basis of your attitude of confidence before God? What is it that you inwardly boast about? What is your confiding assurance? Assurance that you are in good standing with God? Is it something that you have done?

24:08Or is it something that He has done? You see, we feel good about ourselves when we get others to comply with our expectations. It's a convert-based kind of confidence. You see, the problem in Galatia is that their inward rejoicing was due to persuading others to some sort of outward compliance or a nice appearance which they deemed appropriate for the occasion, not the cross. That's the point. Their confident standing was in something other than the cross. And so, to summarize, the boast of the flesh is about this smug satisfaction in oneself before God or some kind of inward confidence that is based upon something other than the cross. That's the boast of the flesh.

25:18But the antithesis to that is the boast of the Spirit. The boast of the Spirit. Look at verse 14. But may it never be. That I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. The boast of the Spirit is the cross. Notice what Paul says: I, I, and that's that put in the very place of entry, but I, as for me, in contrast with those who are ashamed of the cross, stands Paul as for me.

26:00Paul is boasting his boast, or he is, he embodies this very boast of the Spirit, as for me. May it never be. This is a strong statement of revulsion. It's almost like this. If I was to emphasize it, as for me, in no way would I ever want to possibly even think about boasting before God or having any semblance of confidence before Him except in the cross. That's how strong Paul is making this statement. May it absolutely never be that I would boast in anything except the cross. The cross.

26:47May I not boast in anything whatsoever except this one thing, the cross. Now, this is an interesting statement. It's quite a large statement. It is interesting to note what Paul excluded as his reason for confidence before God. The cross. Obviously, he's not, his boast before God isn't anything in himself. And boy, he lived up to the standards. Hebrew of Hebrews. Circumcised the eighth day. Great accomplishment. So, in all of that, he's like, even the marks that he had on his body, I'm not boasting in anything pre-conversion, post-conversion. I'm not boasting in anything in myself. That's not included. He's saying, may it never be that I would boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus.

27:54But there's more than just the exclusion includes more than just Paul. Think about this. There's a lot of other things that Christ did. But Paul is not boasting in any of those. I want to be careful here, but let's be very honest with the text. I would not boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. What about his teaching ministry? What about his abilities to do miracles? What about his goodness, his benevolence? What about the resurrection? No, Paul is saying, I boast in nothing. My confidence before God is in none of these. It's in the cross of Jesus. It's in the sacrifice of Jesus. It's not even in his resurrection. Though you can't separate the two, Paul is emphasizing something very profound, and at the very heart of Christianity, and at the very heart of anybody who is going to be in step with the Spirit and know what it's like to really live. It's to boast in the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Paul is saying.

29:12The cross. Paul's confidence before God was based solely on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And so will be anyone who truly comes to him. The boast of the Spirit is the cross through which the world was crucified to his people. Notice that something happened to Paul. Two things happened to Paul through the cross of Jesus. Number one, the world was crucified to Paul. Look back, verse 14. May it never be that I would boast except. In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me. Through the cross, the world has been crucified to me. The world. He's speaking of everything that a world can offer without God.

30:18Everything the world holds, grants or promises. Friends, as you think about a new year and what your pursuits in life are going to be this year, think about the world is going to hold out a whole lot. But look at what Paul says: through which the cross, the world has been crucified to me. Crucified. What is he saying here? You know, to sentence someone to crucify, to be crucified, was to deem them a horrific criminal. I think that's something we've sometimes lose sight of.

31:11That when a person was sentenced to crucifixion, they were deemed a horrific criminal. So when Paul is saying, the world has Been crucified to me, he is saying the world has been deemed a horrific criminal in my eyes. The world, with all of its values, with all of its pursuits, with all of its sparkle, became like a monstrous criminal to Paul. And why is that? Well, the world deemed Jesus to be a horrific criminal. There isn't love between the flesh and the spirit.

32:06The world deemed Jesus to be a horrific criminal. It scorned the heavenly truth that he proclaimed. Do you want a part of a world like that? It pursued his perfect innocence to the grave. No room for innocence. It hunted his godly virtue to extinction. This was the world. This is what it said about Jesus. It hounded him from place to place until it ultimately pushed him out. There was no room in the world for Jesus. What part do we have in such a world?

32:56It was a world of elites that schemed, they purgured themselves. They bribed scoundrels. They got scoundrels. They deceived the crowds. They slandered the embodiment of good. They partnered with evil. They even murdered the king of glory. This was the world of Paul's day. This is the world of the flesh. And all to protect their own interests. They didn't want God interfering with their temporal luxuries or their pleasures or their pursuits. They didn't want God to be God over them. This is the world that crucified Jesus. Don't be part of it.

33:43It wanted no part with him. The world had no place for Jesus because they had no place for his father. They had no place for his mission. They had no place for his way of life. And so it repaid all of his goodness with evil. And this is how the flesh will ultimately deal with the spirit. We may not all experience these things to this level. But when push comes to shove, this is the hostility that the flesh has. And whether it's as loud as a stadium roar or a subtle whisper in your voice or in your ear, this is how the flesh. Deals with the things of the spirit. It wants to push them out.

34:36Paul's world deemed Jesus to be a criminal. And so did Paul at one time, by the way. He esteemed the ranks of religious life. He esteemed the favor of men. He esteemed the prestige of worldly accolades. He loved that. But after he met the Lord, to this Hebrew of Hebrews, as he took in who Jesus really was, to him the world became a criminal. Paul no longer wanted anything to do with the world that would treat his Lord Jesus Christ in such a manner.

35:17And so through the cross, the world had been crucified to Christ. I mean, the world had been crucified to Paul. But there's a second thing that happened to Paul. Look back. Not only was the world crucified to me, verse 14, and I to the world. Not only was Paul crucified, the world had been crucified to Paul, but Paul had been crucified to the world. You see, the same feelings that Paul had toward the world, the world had toward Paul.

36:00The two had parted ways in the most strongest of terms. They had been crucified to each other, parted ways. They each deemed the other criminal. At one time, the world enjoyed Paul. But after he met the Lord, he had no stomach for a world that had no place for Christ, and the world had no stomach for him who loved Christ. I think many of you have experienced that as you've come to Christ. Sometimes there is considerable rejection among your former peers or family. But that's what's going on. The flesh cannot boast in the things of the Spirit, and the Spirit does not boast in the things of the flesh.

36:55And so when we come in to the cross, when we come into its jurisdiction and we take in by faith who he was and what happened there, something happens. There is a parting away, there's a parting of ways within us, parting of our flesh, our old self, with our new self. New affections are awakened, and so are new hostilities. Jesus said, Don't think I came to bring peace. I came to bring a sword. You see, this world is the society that fosters this unbelieving mindset that spares no room for Christ.

37:47And as I said before, we may not ever experience such overt hostilities as Paul, but we can be sure that when the fleshly desire collides with godly virtue, the world is going to see Christ is criminal and will oppose him by whatever means necessary. And the temptation that you and I are going to face this year is going to be centered upon the cross of Christ. To be ashamed of the cross, to appease the worldly voices in our lives, which may be as loud as the stadium or as quiet as a whisper.

38:38So, welcome to a new school year. Lots of good things going on. Celebrate. God has great things in store for you and for me. But beware. Beware of the Christians' show business. There's a world out there that can easily tolerate a certain form of Christianity, and it's one that does not involve the cross. And if you're not careful, you'll easily get caught up in it. Because there's a lot of easy things to do and look religious, look and have a good appearance, and totally circumvent the cross.

39:29We have looked at the boast of the flesh. We have looked at the boast of the spirit. Why is all that? So that your confidence before God will be solely based upon Christ's sacrifice for you. That's why. Boasting. Let me ask you, I got a couple more minutes. Don't tune out just yet. But I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. Have you parted ways with the world? Is the world dead to you? And are you dead to the world?

40:05As you think about the year ahead, what kind of world do you want to be advancing in this school year? Do you want a life that is enslaved to making a good show? There is drudgery. Let me tell you something. Audiences are fickle and they change. And if you give yourself to advancing in a world about making a good show, you're enslaved to the audience. Or are you wanting to advance this year in a life of celebrating what God celebrates? Boasting in what the Spirit of God boasts in. That is a much better way of living. Be done with this Christian show business and get on with the real boasting. Get on with a life under the cross of Jesus Christ.

41:10Now that is a life worth living. How do we do this? See the message? Boasting in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do we do this? How do we boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ? Let me tell you something about my big brother. He was about six years older than I was. And growing up, he was somebody I always looked up to. I was so proud of him. I could boast in his physical strength. I remember when I was in sixth grade, and he was a senior in high school, and he was this muscular guy, and all my friends were like, Man, you ever seen Baber's big brother? He's huge. And one day we painted him. All green, and he just went on this rampage like the Hulk, and he jumped on cars, even moving cars, and he was crushing. All my friends were going, Man, we ever seen anything like this before. Wow, can I get your autograph? Just because I was his brother. Okay, a little.

42:20I could also boast in his mental capabilities later when he went off to medical school. And I remember having a roommate in college, and he said, You know, my brothers are a bunch of losers. Jail, this, that, but your brother, he's an accomplished medical doctor. I'd be so proud if I had a brother like that. I could also boast in his spiritual leadership. He played a significant role in me coming to Christ. He was the first one among our siblings to embrace Jesus Christ and encourage us to embrace him. I could boast in his goodness. I remember he sent me on a mission trip to Russia and paid all my expenses. And that's where I met Nancy.

43:13I could boast in him in so many ways. Of course, he was not perfect. He had warts like everybody else, but I did know what it was like to have a big brother in whom I could boast. Now, Think about Jesus as our big brother. And that's what the scriptures testify that he is. Galatians 3:26, Paul's already said, For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Hebrews 2:11, we read earlier, for both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are from one Father, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, brothers.

44:03So, what should we not boast in this year? Well, let us not boast in our accomplishments. Of course, that goes without saying. No matter how great they are, no matter how great our accomplishments have been, or no matter how wonderful we dream they could be, you cannot boast in yourself and at the same time boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You're going to have to pick one or the other. Choose this day who you're going to boast in. I love how John Stotz says it. Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.

45:00Yes, friends, let our boasting be in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, the cross. Let our boast be in his death, in the place, in the manner, and the time of his death. Let our boast be there. Look at it. Boasting in the cross. We must boast in the cross, the place of death. But notice we are to boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our. You see that? The word our. It speaks of a personal possession. He belongs to us. If you are in Christ, he is your big brother.

45:42Boast in him. Boasting in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is his cross, our Lord Jesus Christ to boast in. Let me tell you about, we have to think about we are to boast in our Lord. See that? Boast in our Lord. He is Lord. Let me tell you something about this big brother of ours. He is strong. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to him. No one took his life from him. He laid it down on his own accord. And as our Lord, he deserves our respect, he deserves our obedience. Yes. He deserves our worship. He deserves our imitation.

46:39His way is to be our way. Let us boast in the cross of our Lord. Let's boast in the cross of our Lord. He's strong. And yet he went and bore his cross. But look again. Let us boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus. Our Lord Jesus. What was that name given to him? Jesus. Why? Because he would what? Save his people from their sins. So let me tell you about the goodness of this big brother that we have. He is good. He is benevolent. It's not just his lordship that is cause for boasting, but how he used that power and how he used that authority to lay down his life to redeem his people. His was a suffering sacrifice, a substitutionary suffering. So we can boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the one with all authority who uses that authority to save and redeem his people. That we can boast in. Do you see it? You see what Paul is boasting in here?

48:00But let me tell you something else about this big brother of ours. Let me tell you about his wisdom. Let us boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. He is God's anointed king. That's what Christ means. And as such, he is endowed with all knowledge, all wisdom to guide and to govern you and to govern us most effectively. He is smart. He can be trusted. His way is the most admirable of all. Let this law of conformity to Christ govern you.

48:53Imitate him. Yeah, let this year be a year of your greatest jubilee, your greatest celebration. Get on with boasting in what the Spirit of God boasts. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, bow our hearts before you today, recognizing that you are Lord, you are sovereign. You've given us many things. Many good things. But, Father, may we never, ever consider boasting in anything that pertains to a right standing before you except in the cross of Jesus Christ. It is settled, it is secured. Father, because of what he did, because of who he is, he is Lord.

49:59Because he went to the cross, because he is Savior, because he is Christ. He did everything that was necessary, and all that is right in the world and will be right really is found in him. So, Father, let us boast and celebrate him. Father, forgive us where we have sought to put on this Christian show business. Turn our hearts to you more fully this morning. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.