What's There to Boast About?

Galatians 6:14-15
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation."

It is never fun being around a boastful person.  The Judaizers, those who were compelling the new Gentile Christians to be circumcized, were boastful about their good works.  Not only were these legalists boastful, but they were also cowardly.  They had the new Gentile Christians circumcised to avoid persecution.  One commentator explains it this way, 

"There is also another way to consider this. By aligning Christianity with Judaism through emphasizing circumcision and the Law of Moses, men could escape persecution from the Romans. “To advocate circumcision was to align the new movement with Judaism, a religion that had official Roman sanction, and therefore one that avoided persecution. The preachers Paul was opposing may have included the cross in their proclamation, but by adding the necessity of circumcision they avoided persecution.”

But Paul says something profound in response to this.  He says, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."  What Jesus did on the cross for Paul was so powerful, he could never think of boasting in anything  other than it.  When one truly understands the pain and agony Jesus went through to bring about the salvation of our souls, it is hard to imagine anyone bragging anything they have done.  Paul was offended by it because he knew that he was called to empty himself and become a servant.  Rather than being boastful or prideful, Paul was willing to humble and lower himself as he followed in the footsteps of Jesus.  

What counted for Paul was not what he could do for Jesus, but what Jesus had done for him.  His complete life was a response to the grace He was given in Christ.  Therefore, for him to boast in any way about being circumcised or uncircumcised was a complete stain on the gospel.  He repeats this in a different way in Philippians 3:3-8, 

"We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ" 

Friends if we are going to boast, let's boast about what Jesus did for us.  I actually think it could be quite freeing.