MPC 4th June 2006.June 4 - Romans 5 - "Nothing Can I Boast In"
Phil Campbell MPC 4th June 2006.
We have a natural distaste, I think, for anything that has a hint of boasting about it.
I mean, it's unseemly, isn't it? It's un-Australian, to either in words or in actions, brag about your success.
There's nothing quite so boring as the conversation where the other person wants to load you up with details of their own successes or talents or intelligence or ability. Nothing quite so boring as boasting. Or so unpleasant as people who revel in their success in a way that crosses that invisible line. Of boasting.
And so Todd Russell and Brant Webb, for example, the rescued Beaconsfield miners, are walking a fine line... as they live the celebrity lifestyle in New York, while 43 of their colleagues face redundancy back at home.
More definitely crossing the line, I think, is John Symond, the head of Aussie Home Loans. Who you'll know from the adds where his famous line is, "Aussie Home Loans - we'll save you." John Symond pitches for the business of the struggling Aussie Home Buyer. And apparently he's getting quite a bit of it. Because John Symond is currently the talk of the town in Sydney, because he's buying a half million dollar painting to hang in his new thirty million dollar mansion.
A report I was reading in the paper says John Symond was in an upmarket Sydney restaurant recently... when he spotted a friend at another table. And sent him over a bottle of wine. Grange Hermitage. Valued at around $700.
I mean, it's generous. But at the same time it's what you'd call a bit pretentious, isn't it? It's showing off. And very close to the sort of boasting that people find distasteful.
On that note, I want to take a very careful step into our passage today. Because in spite of the fact that it's not obvious at first glance, it's actually a passage about boasting.
In fact, you mightn't have noticed it, but boasting is one of the key threads that's been tying Romans together so far.
It's probably because boasting is considered so unseemly that our NIV translation has actually chosen another word for what in the Greek is very clearly exactly the word for boasting. It's the same word that's been used in chapter 2 and chapter 4 already. And in Paul's original Greek it's used three times here in the first 11 verses of chapter 5. Where the NIV very politely replaces it with the word rejoice.
Now, in a way, it's a similar word. That doesn't carry quite the same baggage. But if we want to understand the thread of what Paul's on about, it's helpful to not lose the original word.
Take a look. And mentally replace the word rejoice in verses 2 and 3. With the word boast. I'm going to read right from verse 1 so it won't break the sentences.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also boast in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
And it's exactly the same in verse 11. "Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
The point is, what looks to be a passage about rejoicing, is actually in the end a passage about boasting. And the fact that we Christians, in spite of all appearances, actually do have something to boast about.
Except not in quite the ways you might think.
So to get the drift of what Paul's saying, I want to take a moment to look back with you at what he's already been saying. About the sort of boasting that's not okay.
Turn back a page or two to Romans chapter 2. And a section you might remember. It starts at verse 17; where Paul is facing off with his Jewish opponents. Jews who are proud of their Jewish heritage. Jews who look with disdain at the Gentile world. And claim superior status because they've got the Old Testament law. And you've got exactly the same Greek word we've just seen in chapter 5; to boast or to brag. And can you see what they're boasting about? Verse 17.
Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth - you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
They're the ultimate hypocrites. They're boasting about their relationship with God; they're looking down their noses at the rest of the world because they've got God's law. They're proud of their knowledge of the truth; teachers of the world. Who haven't got around to teaching themselves.
Verse 23 sums it up. "You who brag about the law, you who boast about it, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?" And the answer is, yes you do.
The Jews think they've got a relationship with God they can boast about. Because they've got the Old Testament law.
Flip to chapter 4. And pick up the same thread. Because the point is, they've actually got nothing to boast about at all. And neither did Abraham. Their forefather.
And you saw it with Garnet last week. Verse 1 in chapter 4. "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?" What did Abraham discover about this whole matter of boasting?
Well, says Paul, if Abraham was actually put right with God by works of the law, then I guess he had something to boast about. But of course, the point is if you know your Old Testament, Abraham was chosen out of the gentile world not because he kept the Jewish law. Because the law hadn't even been given by then.
Because the whole thing was a gift. And not a wage. We'll read from verse 2 to 4 and pick up the thread.
If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
In other words, Abraham was put right with God as a gift. Not because he earned it. If he'd earned it, if he'd worked for it, then he'd have something to boast about. He'd be able to buy a mansion along "spiritual millionaires row." He'd be able to go on all the talk shows. And talk about the great job he's done impressing God.
The point is, being put right with God is a gift from God. So the Jew's boasting in their law and in their superior knowledge and their superior spirituality is all just hot air. They've missed the point. It's all just an absolutely undeserved gift.
Which is what Paul goes on the expand in the second half of chapter 5. From verse 12 to 21. The Jews have totally misunderstood the point of their law. All it ever did was highlight the problem of sin. Which brings death. They need to focus on the gift instead. Which brings life.
I don't know if you've ever seen that stuff you can put on your teeth; you use a drop or two and you rub it on your teeth. And then you look in the mirror, and all the plaque on your teeth is suddenly visible. In bright red. Now the plaque's been there all the time. Just that you can't see it. Put on a few drops of Nyal Plaque Discloser and your problem is abundantly clear. Like fangs dripping with blood.
Verse 12 to 21, that's the point. Forget about the law. Think about the gift.
And if you run your eye down the verses from verse 15 to 17, you'll see the gift mentioned there over and over again. Five times in three verses.
Adam, the first man, set the course for the rest of humanity. sin. And death. His sin overflowed on the rest of us.
But the gift... overflows even more.
Verse 15. "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, (Adam), how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!"
Verse 16. Same again. "Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification."
Where Adam's sin produced a whole line of sinners, where Adam's decision to play God and run things his own way produced a whole line of us who by nature do the same, where Adam brought God's condemnation... Jesus Christ brings the reverse. Only moreso. In his death He takes the final penalty for sin. And in his resurrection brings the physical promise and proof that sin and death don't have the last word.
And it's not what we have to do. It's what he has done for us. Which is why it's a gift. Verse 17. "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ."
Which is why he goes on to say in verse 20, the law the Jews want to boast about was only added to highlight the problem. The law was only added "so that the trespass might increase." The law was only added to draw the line clearly that people keep stepping over.
And the sin it revealed only brought death. Whereas grace, God's generousity, God's gift... brings life.
Which takes us back to the opening verses of chapter 5, and the question, what have I got to boast about?
Over the years, it's estimated that the famous American preacher Billy Graham has preached to over 200 million people. You may have heard him. He's now 87 years old, and he apparently said at the time that his crusade in New Orleans a couple of months back was going to be his last. Except now he's changed his mind, and is planning one more.
You might remember when Billy was in Australia back in 1979. He was interviewed by Mike Willesee on TV, and it caused something of a stir.
Because after a few introductory questions, Mike Willessee says to Billy Graham, "Dr Graham, do you think you'll be going to heaven?"
And he was taken aback at the answer... Billy Graham said to him straight away without a moment's hesitation, "I don't just think I'm going to heaven, Mike. I know I'm going to heaven." Which sounded very much like boasting, didn't it? But then he added this. He said, "And it's not cause I'm Billy Graham and I've preached to a few people in my time. And it's not because I'm a good man. God knows... I'm a sinner." He said, "The point is, I know what my future holds... because I'm trusting Jesus. And he's promised it. For me... and anyone else who wants to trust him."
You know, it hit the headlines. Because nobody actually bothered to listen to the second bit of what he said. And all they heard was what they took to be a boasting American preacher. When what he was really doing was boasting about Jesus.
Exactly as Paul's doing back in verses 1 to 11. Boasting about the giver of the gift. And not about his own performance at all.
Come back and read it again, from verse 1. And see if you can see the point.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our lord Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
It's not that we've done anything to be put right with God. We have peace with God through our lord Jesus Christ. By putting our faith in him - and not the law and not preaching to thousands of people and not anything else. And so we boast in the hope we have of God's glory. Not our own.
And you'll notice then in the passage, there are two "not only that's." One in verse 3, "not only so, we also boast in our sufferings". And verse 11. "not only so, we also boast in God through our lord Jesus Christ."
Can you see at every point, none of this is about the sort of boasting the Jews were doing. Or that we do. When we talk endlessly about ourselves and our own achievements.
It's all about our weakness. And even our sufferings. It's boasting about the grace of God in his mercy to us. And at no point about me me me.
We boast in our sufferings, verse 3, because we know they'll produce perseverance and character and hope... and our hope won't be disappointed. Not because of our own good performance. Not because we've got the Jewish laws and don't mow the lawn on the sabbath. But because God, verse 5, but because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the holy spirit. Who he's given us. As a gift.
Which we needed, in verse 6, because we were powerless when Christ died for us. We were unGodly. Not righteous.
You know, I've met the sort of people who say, yeah, I'd like to sort things out with God... and I will, when I clean up my act a bit. And they mean it. Sincerely. They've got this kind of point of view that they know things are wrong in their lives. And they know God's out there somewhere. And they think the way to go is to clean up their act to the point where God's going to accept them.
Which is the direct opposite of the gift we're talking about.
Which verse 8 sums up like this. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
And because of that, verse 9, since we've been justified by his blood, since we've been counted righteous through his death for us, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! How much more can you be free from any concern about the final judgement.
Which is exactly Billy Graham's point.
No fear of the future judgement. Absolutely confident. Not because he's boasting of his own good track record. But because he's received the gift; he's been reconciled with God. By God. And so it's a boast in God. Which is what Paul says in verse 11.
"Not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
You know, it's a funny thing, given the tone of what Paul's saying here. That his boasting isn't actually boasting at all. That his boasting is the exact opposite of the sort of boasting that's so off putting.
Because there's no pride in it at all.
So it's funny how Christians so often get typecast as being people who think we're better than everybody else. That people see a confidence in us when it comes to the future and they think it's a confidence in ourselves. When it's not. It's a confidence in the gift. It's a confidence in Jesus.
Can I urge you on the one hand, to enjoy that confidence. Even in suffering. Because it's a confidence that carries a very real hope.
But on the other hand, take care that it doesn't turn into a subtle arrogance. Which can look very much like the Jews. And becomes that way maybe when we decide it's our job to tell everyone else they're wrong, and we're right. You might have notice something of that tone in the letters to the editor page in the Courier Mail when Christians write in - as they have a few times in the last few weeks. And so often that's the tone. Take care... that the world sees very clearly... that our only boast is not ourselves. But Jesus Christ.