Don’t Listen to the Saul of Your Flesh!

8/27 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 19; 1 Corinthians 1; Lamentations 4; Psalm 35

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8/27 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 19; 1 Corinthians 1; Lamentations 4; Psalm 35

1 Corinthians 1:31

“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

BOASTING

Here, the apostle quotes Jeremiah 9:23. In the previous verse, Paul tells us why our boast must be in the Lord: that we are only in Christ because of God’s grace, and therefore, Christ is all wisdom to us, all righteousness, all redemption, and all sanctification. We have nothing to boast about as far as our service to God is concerned; or really, we have no boast at all in anything we think, say, or do. We could not have holy thoughts were it not for God, in Christ, giving us understanding through His Word. There would be no power in our words whatsoever except that the Holy Spirit effectively empowers our speech, as well as work in the one who hears. At best, our actions and activity would be of temporary benefit to self, or to our fellow human being were it not for the presence of Christ provoking our inmost heart to cling to His atoning sacrifice, cleansing blood, and resurrection power. Yet understanding all this, we still hear of, or actually witness, boasts to the detriment of Christ. Men in their frailty boast in the huge numbers of people in their churches, outreaches, or ministries. Men boast of their deeds of daring do, almost to the exclusion of Christ. Our strategies for winning the lost, for moving a congregation, or for meeting some cross-cultural ministry needs betrays our tendency to boast in our flesh and not in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alone. I am certainly not exempt from this tendency. I need to be reminded daily, and often several times daily, for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble; that our boasting must be to glory in Christ’s person and work and nothing else (Gal 6:14). This is why I read the Scripture portions daily; why I write a devotional daily: because, like King Saul desiring that all his servants “should kill David” (1 Sam 19:1), our flesh desires to kill the truth of the exaltation and glory due Christ’s person and work. If we consciously boast in the Lord daily, there will be power to humble us in the thoughts we think, the words we speak, and the deeds we do. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

My soul must boast in Christ alone
But my flesh hates God’s grace;
For Christ alone did He atone
My life of sin and waste.