Holy Boasting of a Christian

In Romans 15:17–22, Paul speaks about boasting. The question is, can a Christian boast? Can a Christian be proud of anything? The answer is, yes, for all boasting is not sinful. There is a boasting that is holy. Paul is speaking about such holy boasting in this passage.

Boasting about ourselves is sinful. Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ are characterized by being thankless, worthless, hopeless, godless, and boastful. They boast in their achievements, even though they themselves exist only by God’s will and God’s common grace. They do not realize that apart from God, we can do nothing. Sinners boast in their own self-righteousness, although such righteousness is like filthy rags before God (Isa. 64:6). If salvation could be obtained by human efforts, we could boast in ourselves. But Paul says, “It is by grace you have been saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).

The Pharisees were always boasting, as we read: “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get’” (Luke 18:11–12). Another Pharisee, Paul, said, “I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, perfect” (Phil. 3:4–6). To those who boasted about what they would do in the future, James the brother of Jesus said, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:14–15).

Boasting in the Lord

But there is a holy boasting. This boasting is in the Lord. So Paul says, “Consequently I have boasting in Christ Jesus of the things which Christ fully accomplished through me” (v. 17). Elsewhere he stated, “Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:31). He also said, “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” (Gal. 6:14). The psalmist declared, “In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever” (Ps. 44:8).

Paul is boasting in his service to the Lord, which Christ did through him. He is excited about the excellent job he had done in serving Christ. He had great satisfaction and joy as he looked upon the work he had done for God.

Paul performed his priestly service to God excellently by the grace given to him. Let us examine ourselves. How is our service? How are our studies? How is our work life? How is our marriage? How are our children doing—are they serving God or serving the devil? How is our financial life? How is our witnessing to Jesus Christ? Can we say with Paul, “I have boasting in Christ Jesus in all my service to God”? Or are we ashamed of our life? Are we failures? If the latter is true, then I have good news: Repent and begin to do excellently by living by faith in Christ. Live by his grace. He is the vine; we are the branches. We can do all things excellently by Christ who gives strength and wisdom.

Paul glories in his work because in Christ Jesus he has done his missionary task. In other words, he did it in union with Christ, not in his own strength. So in one sense, the church is the body of Christ; we are his hands and feet. Christ builds his church on earth, not through angels but through his holy people who work for him by grace. God is at work in all our good works, as we read in the following scriptures:

• 1 Corinthians 3:9: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
• 2 Corinthians 6:1: “As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.”
• Isaiah 26:12: “LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.”
• Philippians 2:12–13: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
• Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
• John 15:5b: “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:9–10: “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them —yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

Christ works through us. The angel told Cornelius to call Peter from Joppa to come and preach the gospel so that he and his household may be saved. So, in one sense, without us, Christ cannot build his church. Yet also, without him, we are nothing and can do nothing. So we say, “To God be all the glory!” And we also glory in what we do in and through Christ Jesus. We concur with Gideon’s words: “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.”

Christ’s mission in the world is a divine-human enterprise. God saved people from Jerusalem to Illyricum by the grace given to Paul to preach the gospel. Paul worked out what God worked in him by his Holy Spirit. Faith comes by hearing the gospel, which is preached to us by human instruments who are called and sent by God. Isaiah proclaimed, “How beautiful … are the feet of those who bring good news” (Isa. 52:7). From Jerusalem to Illyricum, from South India to California, God needs holy people to do his holy work. Our work, especially that of preaching the gospel, matters for God.

Dr. James Boice speaks about our need to preach the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel.¹

1. We must preach the gospel. This is how God builds the church. We must preach that Jesus Christ, the Son of God became incarnate and lived a sinless life; that he fully obeyed God; that he was crucified for our sins; that he was buried and raised on the third day for our justification; that he justifies all who repent and believe on him; and that outside of him there is no salvation, no hope, and no eternal life, but only eternal judgment.
2. We must preach the whole gospel, as given to us in Paul’s letter to the Romans. We must preach the whole Bible. We must preach not only justification but also sanctification. To the elders of Ephesus Paul said, “I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27). We must preach that Jesus is Lord, and, therefore, he alone is the Savior of his people.
3. We must preach nothing but the gospel. Jesus Christ alone saves, not Jesus and Allah or Jesus and any other god. We must not preach Christianity and cults, or Christianity and Mother Nature, or Christianity and Marxism. We must preach the sufficiency and total authority of the Bible for all aspects of life.

Paul boasts in his work for God. But that is not all. He boasts in Christ Jesus himself. He boasts in God, who gave him grace. He boasts in the Holy Spirit who indwells, empowers, teaches, and guides him. He does not boast in anything he has done without Christ, but only in what Christ has fully accomplished in saving sinners through him.

Jesus Christ is the one who works. He said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17). The Protestant work ethic comes from the Bible. Just look at the countries where the Reformation gospel went. Their people worked hard and achieved. And many of these countries are declining now because they rejected the gospel that brought about Western civilization.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is a worker. He always works. What have you done with your life? Time is going. Are you proud of what you have done so far?

Signs and Wonders

Christ worked through Paul by Paul’s words and deeds—his doctrine and life—and his ministry was powerful. As an apostle of Christ, he performed signs and wonders. “Signs and wonders” is a phrase rooted in the authentication of the ministry of Moses at the time of the Exodus. The magicians of Egypt were no match for the God of Moses. Signs and wonders also authenticated the deity of Jesus Christ and his message. Signs and wonders also authenticated the office and message of Christ’s apostles. So we read, “The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade” (Acts 5:12). We also read, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul” (Acts 19:11). Paul says, “The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Cor. 12:12).

The gospel of the Scriptures today needs no such authentication. The signs and wonders performed by Jesus Christ and his apostles have already authenticated the gospel. So modern sign-seekers will be disappointed. We read, “So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” (John 6:30). “Do something,” in other words. Jesus said, “‘A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’ Jesus then left them and went away” (Matt. 16:4).

God has given us the greatest certified sign— the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So we read, “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Peter told Cornelius and his household, “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen” (Acts 10:39–40).

God is not going to satisfy our modern sign-seeking lust. Throughout his gospel, John reports the signs and wonders Christ performed, including raising up of Lazarus from the tomb after four days. John concludes his gospel: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Elsewhere he writes, “We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son” (1 John 5:9).

God is not pleading with us to believe in him and be saved. The preaching of the gospel is a declaration of war by King Jesus to all wicked sinners who are under the wrath of God (Psalm 2). This king, who has received all authority in heaven and on earth, purposes to gain glory by totally defeating all his enemies. Yet he also purposes to save all who repent, believe in him, and totally surrender to his Lordship. Thus, he will display his glory, both in the destruction of the wicked, and in saving those who will surrender to him and confess, “Jesus is Lord.” So we read, “The Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth’” (Rom. 9:17). The psalmist declares, “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples” (Ps. 77:14).

Jesus Christ commands! He never begs or pleads. A true minister will not beg or plead: we command all to repent and believe in Christ and to love one another. Paul declared, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31). On the day of Pentecost, Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). To the Philippian jailer who asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31). John writes, “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23).

The choice is between eternal life and eternal death. Therefore, choose life! No creatures, whether angels or humans, can successfully resist God the Creator. In the end, God’s eternal purpose shall be fulfilled. So Jesus said, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matt. 25:46).

Don’t expect God to perform a miracle for you to induce you to believe. It will not happen. God is sovereign. He always does what he pleases. Yes, he performs miracles. Even today he heals the sick, and he may raise the dead. Paul writes, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor. 12:11). He does what he wills. Lazarus, who was raised from the dead, died again. He was buried, and he is still buried.

But the greater miracle is not physical healing or being raised from the dead. It is the miracle of God saving a sinner by raising him up spiritually. Paul says, “All of us also lived among [the wicked] at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath [dead in trespasses and sins]. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:3–5). Then he writes, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). That is the miracle of new creation—not that you just said, “Jesus is Lord,” but he also made you alive and gave you a new heart, a new mind, and a new disposition. (PGM) He put the Holy Spirit in you. “Therefore,” Paul says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17). He also states, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation” (Gal. 6:15).

This is what Christ accomplished through the ministry of Paul, and this is what God has done to us. We are God’s miracles. In us, God has displayed his splendor. It is his purpose to bring us to glory: “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10). New creations we are. We are being brought to glory that we may shine like the brightness of the sun.

Even now, we boast in the Lord, in what Christ has done through us. He will give us a crown of life, a crown of glory, and a crown of righteousness. What are we going to do with the crowns in heaven? “They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being’” (Rev. 4:10–11).

What about miracles today? The Bible speaks about counterfeit miracles performed by the agents of Satan.²Jesus himself said, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible” (Matt. 24:24). Paul writes, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9). John tells us, “They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14).

I challenge those who claim to perform miracles, to raise those who die in their own churches. So-called modern miracle workers are agents of Satan who deceive people who hate to study the Bible. Those who are looking for health and wealth and fame, listen! Jesus has not promised these things to his disciples. Rather, he promised persecution, trials, and even death. In fact, he demands that we deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him.

You want to know what he promised? “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them… . Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:9, 12–13).

Paul speaks about what he experienced:

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. (2 Cor. 11:23–26)

Did anyone tell you that when he preached the gospel to you? There is no promise that you will be rich and famous. Satan made it up for you, and you like it.

Paul says that we live in a mortal body. To us, to live is Christ and to die in gain. He told us, “We groan inwardly as we wait for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23). He told us elsewhere that he left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20). His friend from Philippi, Epaphroditus, was so sick that he almost died (Phil. 2:25–27). Timothy was known for his frequent illnesses, so Paul counseled him to stop drinking water and use a little wine (1 Tim. 5:23). And Paul himself asked for healing, but for his own spiritual health, God did not heal him but gave him more grace.

Yes, God heals. Our good health comes from God alone. But there will be a sickness unto death for us. Then we shall be with the Lord. So Paul boasted in Christ Jesus about what Christ accomplished through him. But he also boasted in his weaknesses: “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses… . But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:5; see also v. 9).

Christ worked through him in the power of signs and wonders, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Behind all our good works is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Without God working through us, we could not preach the gospel with power, and no sinner would be saved.

Christ worked through Paul in the Holy Spirit so he was able to be a pioneer missionary in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. And it was his policy to preach only in strategic centers where Christ was not named and not worshiped. For example, he worked for three years in the great city of Ephesus. From this center, the gospel spread to neighboring areas like Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea through the work of those who were saved through his ministry, such as Epaphras (Col. 1:7). He did not preach in every community. He planted and others watered. He laid the foundation and others built upon it—people like Apollos, Timothy, Titus, and local pastors.

The Purpose: Obedience of Gentiles

What was the objective of Christ working in Paul by the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit? The text says eis hupakoên ethnôn— “unto obedience of the Gentiles” (v. 18). It is not enough just to agree with or believe the gospel. God’s purpose is the full surrender of the Gentiles to King Jesus to obey him.

This obedience of the Gentiles was prophesied throughout the Old Testament. In Genesis 49:10 we read, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” The psalmist declared, “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Ps. 2:10–12). This is not begging or pleading; it is commanding: “Kiss the Son.”

Paul accomplished this purpose: “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted” (Rom. 6:17). Jesus Christ works through the apostle so that the Gentiles will obey King Jesus and his will as revealed in the Scriptures, and that both Jewish and Gentile believers will obey God by obeying his delegated authorities.

All those whom Christ liberated from the crushing burden of the iron yoke of the devil must take Christ’s yoke upon themselves. His yoke is easy, light, and liberating. There are no yokeless Christians. There are no antinomians in Christ’s kingdom. Professor Charles Hodge of Princeton said, “The obedience of which Paul speaks is the sincere obedience of the heart and life.”³

Christ works through his ministers, not to produce antinomians, but saints who are like his holy Son, those who conform to Christ’s image. A faith without obedience is dead. It is the devil’s faith (James 2:14–17). We are chosen to be holy and blameless (Eph. 1:4). And we are chosen to obey Jesus Christ. Peter declares, “[You] who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:2).

True believers are miracles of God. I believe God performs miracles today. What are those miracles? They are the miracles of saving dead sinners and making them into saints and sons of God, who obey and love God. We are new creations in Christ. We are given new hearts and the Holy Spirit so that we will eagerly do the holy will of God.

If you obey God’s will as revealed in his word, if you obey God’s delegated authorities, such as parents and pastors and so on, you are a new creation, the work of the triune God. You are a miracle of God.

Conclusion

You have heard the gospel from a God-appointed minister. If you are not a believer in Christ, I say to you, repent today, turn to Christ, and be saved. The Scripture says, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Jesus commands us to surrender to him and obtain rich mercy.

Do not ask for a sign to induce you to believe. Miracles never saved one human being. Jesus alone saves, and he will save you today.

Do not expect health and wealth and power and fame in this life. The world will hate you and persecute you. We all groan now. And we all must sleep in Christ, unless Christ comes again. But in due time, when Christ comes again, we shall receive our full salvation, the redemption of our bodies. Till then, we live by faith and grace, rejoicing even in tribulations with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

¹ James M. Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity: Romans 12–16 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 1855–56.

² Read James M. Boice, Romans, Vol. 3, God and History, Romans 9–11 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 1181–88; and Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, Romans 12–16 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 1927–34, where he deals severely with these frauds.

³ Charles Hodge, A Commentary on Romans (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1989), 440.