“My dad is bigger than your dad.” “I’ve got Nintendo 64 and you don’t.” “I scored more points than you.” Any of these phrases sound familiar? Maybe you’ve heard them from the mouths of your kids. Or maybe you have uttered a phrase like that sometime in your life. It seems that childhood is full of boasting. Boasting about the size of your dad, the number and quality of your toys, and even athletic or academic skills.
Boasting isn’t something that just kids do. Today is a day of boasting for many adults. For fans, players, coaches, and owners associated with the NFL this is a day of boasting – that is if your team or favorite player is involved in the big game. Only two teams have made it – only one team will claim victory later on this evening. With only hours to go before this big game there is much boasting taking place. Boasting by the players in their own talents and abilities, in the strength and teamwork of their respective teams. Boasting by the coaches of the wonderful organization they are a part of, the dedication of their players, and perhaps in their own abilities to lead their team to the summit of the professional football season. There is also boasting by fans of each one of these teams. All of these groups are boasting right now – boasting that they are participating in this game, boasting about the greatness of their teams. A few hours from now there will be only one team that is boasting as champions, the other will go home disappointed that despite all their boasting their team failed to win the championship.
Perhaps this boasting is something you are fed up with. Maybe this boasting is something you don’t even pay any attention to. You’ve probably reached the conclusion that all this boasting is somewhat silly. After all once the game is over only one team really will have any reason to boast. Finally once next season begins even their boasting in a championship is only a thing of the past. If they want to continue to boast they will have to defend that championship or their boasting will come to an end.
This kind of boasting may be pointless and useless. Certainly this kind of boasting isn’t lasting. As Christians the Apostle Paul encourages us to boast. He encourages us to – Boast in the Lord. Our boasting is something far superior to the boasting about the strength of our fathers or our favorite football teams. Our boasting has far more significance than the quantity or quality of our toys. Our boasting has more meaning than some statistics from a sports contest or classroom quiz. Paul encourages us to boast in the Lord because of his choice. We are exhorted to boast in the Lord because of what he has accomplished in us.
When Paul encourages us to boast he makes it very clear that our boasting isn’t about anything we have done. In the text he reminds his listeners in Corinth of the facts. He reminds them that not many of them were wise by human standards, not many were influential, not many were of noble birth. Why does Paul remind the Corinthians about this? He wants them to understand and appreciate God’s great gift of his grace. He reminds them that in God’s eyes it doesn’t matter what job they might hold, or who their parents are, or how many people they know, or how much money they have. He reminds them of these facts because it’s hard to appreciate God’s grace unless they really understood their situation. Their situation and every human being’s situation is the same by birth. In God’s eyes all people are equals – they have all sinned. They all deserve eternal punishment. The same is true of all of us who are here this morning. None us by nature have anything to offer to God.
Paul also reminds them that God has called them to be his own. Paul reminds the Corinthians of another reality - the reality that God brought them to faith. God didn’t bring them to faith because of some great strategic advantage that they would serve for him. God didn’t choose people like a politician who is making a run for office might choose people to associate with and keep in his company. That’s not how God works. He has called you not on the basis of what you can offer him, but out of his love he has called you on the basis of what he can offer to you.
God chose to offer you salvation through the cross. He chose to use an object that portrays weakness. Crucifixion displayed helplessness and weakness because the person who hung there couldn’t get himself down. The cross is also a despised object. Only criminals hung on the cross, the dregs, the castaways, the misfits of society. The cross is also a lowly thing. Only the basest, the worst of criminals hung on the cross to pay for their crimes by their own death. Whoever was placed on a cross was hung there because of an awful crime.
The message of the cross is a message of foolishness to this world. To think that our salvation would be given away as a free gift with no strings attached – now that’s foolish. After all haven’t we all been taught that nothing in life is free? If you want something you have to work for it. It makes good sense that the greatest thing of all, the thing that we all want most would require some effort of our own, doesn’t it? Sure it does, to our sinful nature.
The truth of the matter is that none of us have done enough. We have all sinned and fallen short of what God demands. That’s why God’s solution that seems like foolishness to the world is such wisdom – now our salvation is no longer dependent upon us. If it were than none of us could ever be sure that we had done enough. There would always be questions about whether or not we might have slipped up, or if we failed to act when we should have, or if we had done everything necessary. Instead our hope, our comfort, our certainty rest on Jesus – the one who has done it all, that’s the wonderful message of the cross.
Why did God choose to use such a lowly instrument as the cross to win our salvation? Paul tells us in the text, “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.” In his wisdom God chose to use weak and foolish things to display to the world his strength and wisdom. He didn’t want the world to rely on it’s own power, its own ingenuity, its own decisions – he wanted the world to rely on him, no matter how foolish the message may appear, no matter how weak the means may be. God wants us to set aside our human wisdom in matters of faith. He wants us to be as little children who hang on his every word and believe those words with full confidence.
God chose to win salvation for us in this way in order that he might receive full credit. If we are saved than it is not because of anything we have done. Paul makes God’s purpose for using the weak and foolish things of this world to win salvation when he says, “So that no one may boast before him.”
If we are going to boast about being Christians, if we boast about going to heaven then our boasting should be based on the truth. The truth that we have a loving, gracious, and merciful God. Our boasting should be that despite the fact that we are poor, wretched, miserable sinners, our God in his love has brought us to know and love his Son Jesus who has made certain that we will be with him in heaven.
Boast about your Savior to everyone – family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, and strangers. Boast about him whenever and wherever you are. Share that wonderful news of a Savior from sin with everyone. Bring them to know and love their Savior who has done so much for them too. Boast to them about your Savior so that they might join in that boasting with you.
We boast because the Lord chose to use the foolish and weak things of this world to win our salvation. We boast that the Lord has brought us to know Jesus our Savior. We also boast because of the things that he has accomplished in us.
Our Savior has accomplished for us true wisdom. As Paul says, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God.” Christ has become wisdom from God. He accomplished God’s plan of salvation. Jesus who is true God humbled himself and took on human flesh – born in a lowly manger. The Son of God walked on this earth to keep God’s Laws for us. He received as payment for his perfect life a humiliating and a painful death at the hands of sinful men on that cross. He hung there with the sins of the whole world – his perfect life made his sacrifice valid. Because he was also God his sacrifice was sufficient for the sins of the whole world. That is the wisdom from God that he became. This wisdom will not come up empty.
This wisdom endures. If you keep up with technology and computers you are well aware that you have to continually study and increase your wisdom. If you don’t the technological age will pass you by. This kind of wisdom is fleeting. Six months from now you’re wisdom may be obsolete. God’s wisdom, his plan for salvation, is never obsolete. His wisdom continues to forgive sin. His wisdom continues to provide comfort. His wisdom continues to ensure salvation. This wisdom will never be obsolete.
The wisdom that Christ became has made us righteous and holy people. Because our faith rests on Christ, our sins have been placed on him and his perfection has been placed on us. When God looks at us he no longer sees us as filthy sinners. He sees us as perfect, holy, and righteous people. He sees us according to Christ’s life. He sees us as people who have accomplished his requirements. This righteousness and holiness is a wonderful gift that our Savior has given to us.
It is this gift that gives us confidence as we consider standing before God the righteous judge on the Last Day. When we stand before him we no longer need fear because our sins have been erased. They can no longer be used as evidence. There is nothing left to convict us. We have been acquitted of all our sins. We are worthy to enter God’s eternal kingdom of grace.
That is our redemption. Redeemed from the pit of destruction. Bought back from damnation. All of this was made possible through Christ’s suffering and death. That is the only way that it has been made possible. Anything else falls far short. If we put our hope and trust in anything else we are sure to be disappointed.
Our redemption is God’s greatest act of love. Our redemption is where God showed just how much he loves us – he was willing to sacrifice his own Son so that we might be with him in heaven. Who else would have done that for undeserving people? Who else would give up the most precious person in the world for people who by nature were his enemies? In our redemption we truly see God’s love for us. That is why even when things are going awry in our lives we don’t wonder about God’s love for us. Look at the cross and you can see his love plainly. That cross is what gives us reason to press on in the face of hardships, challenges, and trials. God’s love for us shown in and through his Son gives us reason to get out of bed every morning. His love is our reason for giving our lives in service to him. His love gives us a real reason to boast.
We do have every reason to boast. Boast about all the wonderful things the Lord has accomplished in you and through you. Boast that he has made you holy and righteous. Boast that he has made you wise for salvation. Boast that he has won your redemption. Boast not only in words, but boast also as you live lives that reflect that thankfulness in your hearts.
This Sunday you will probably see much boasting. Boasting in a big catch, or a quarterback sack, or an interception, or a touchdown. As you watch this boasting be reminded that your boasting is the best boast of all – you have a God who loves you. You have a God who has saved you. Amen.
