Why Paul is Proud of His Work (Romans 15 14-21)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:06.400 Let's turn in God's word, if you have your bibles, or simply turn 2 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:14.589 your attention to Romans, Chapter Fifteen, Romans fifteen, verses seventeen through twenty 3 00:00:14.710 --> 00:00:27.379 one. Here Paul addresses his ministry and characterizes both it and, in the 4 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:32.179 context of that, the things that he's been saying in Romans. Let's hear 5 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:40.250 God's word again Romans fifteen, beginning at verse seventeen. In Christ Jesus, 6 00:00:40.369 --> 00:00:44.729 then I have reason to be proud of my work for God, for I 7 00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:49.130 will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, 8 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:55.039 to bring the gentiles to obedience, by word and deed, by the power 9 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:58.759 of the signs and wonders, by the power of the spirit of God, 10 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:04.230 so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illucrium, I have fulfilled 11 00:01:04.390 --> 00:01:08.629 the Ministry of the Gospel of Christ. And thus I make it my ambition 12 00:01:08.829 --> 00:01:14.150 to preach the Gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I 13 00:01:14.390 --> 00:01:18.859 build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written. Those who have 14 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:23.819 never been told of him will see and those who have never heard will understand. 15 00:01:26.099 --> 00:01:47.319 This is God's word to him. He may be seated was. Paul 16 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:53.359 closes his letter here, he takes time to address how he has been speaking 17 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:57.799 to them. He takes time to characterize the things he's been saying, his 18 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:04.150 motivations for saying them, the reasons why he's doing what he does and what 19 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:10.909 he has done. Paul is writing to the Romans and he is addressing this 20 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:15.939 particular thing that his ministry to them is in part of this larger context of 21 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:22.740 his ministry to the gentiles. Right Paul says that something has happened in the 22 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:27.699 world, a dramatic thing has happened in the world, and he is a 23 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:30.370 part of it. They are a part of it. He'll go on to 24 00:02:30.409 --> 00:02:35.210 say, the reason I haven't come to see you yet is because this thing 25 00:02:35.289 --> 00:02:39.689 has been happening. God has been doing this work. I've been going out 26 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:44.479 into the world, and going out in this way is to fulfill a prophecy 27 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:49.319 that we read in the very last verse of this passage, Verse Twenty One. 28 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:53.080 Those who have never been told of him will see, those who have 29 00:02:53.240 --> 00:03:00.629 never heard will understand. Throughout the Old Testament there are these promises that through 30 00:03:00.830 --> 00:03:06.669 Abraham, all the families in the world would be blessed, that through Israel, 31 00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:12.830 the gentile nations would be brought into the family of God. They are 32 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:16.819 all of these people for a long, long time that have not heard of 33 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:22.099 the word of God, that have been out worshiping what? Rocks and trees 34 00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:30.770 and various other silly things, themselves, probably chief and foremost. So this 35 00:03:30.889 --> 00:03:32.889 is what's been going on. Sure they know God, they know his law, 36 00:03:34.129 --> 00:03:37.330 they have a sense of their accountability for him, to him, but 37 00:03:37.490 --> 00:03:45.560 forgiveness, salvation, knowledge of Christ, these things are foreign, unknown. 38 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:51.520 But God has sent this apostle, a cent one. He's sent him out 39 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:57.990 into the world to preach the Gospel. So pulls addressing this context. He's 40 00:03:58.069 --> 00:04:00.669 saying I am a part of something, we are a part of something that 41 00:04:00.830 --> 00:04:06.590 God is doing here, and he says that he's proud of it. This 42 00:04:06.750 --> 00:04:13.539 is how he characterizes his ministry. He speaks very boldly about this. He 43 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:16.980 says, I'm proud of I'm proud of what has been going on. This 44 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:21.699 is in verse seventeen. I have reason to be proud of my work for 45 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:28.689 God. I want to consider that in particular this morning, that aspect of 46 00:04:28.889 --> 00:04:32.649 pride. Many other things we might focus on, but for today, for 47 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:40.000 this morning, this one Paul's pride. Now we usually think of pride is 48 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:46.000 a bad thing. Right, pride comes before a fall. He who's sinless, 49 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.160 let him cast the first stone, and so on. We know, 50 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:54.949 though, however, that it doesn't always have to be bad, and sometimes 51 00:04:55.430 --> 00:04:59.350 we see it in our lives. We feel proud of maybe our children, 52 00:04:59.670 --> 00:05:06.220 of something that has happened. But then we shy away from it because we're 53 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:12.420 scared of pride, and to some degree rightly so. But here in our 54 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:16.660 passage, Paul doesn't really give he doesn't seem embarrassed about his pride at all. 55 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:21.370 Right, he says he has reason for it. He feels solid in 56 00:05:21.529 --> 00:05:30.649 this. He's solidly proud. Why is that? Well, what we see 57 00:05:30.689 --> 00:05:33.810 is that there are two kinds of pride, kind of like two kinds of 58 00:05:33.889 --> 00:05:40.040 anger. There's good kinds and bad kinds, holy anger and sinful anger, 59 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:45.279 holy pride and sinful pride. Well, it's this kind of Holy Pride that 60 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:49.230 Paul has here, a pride that flows out of his faith in God through 61 00:05:49.389 --> 00:05:55.629 Christ. I want to consider that this morning and in considering Paul's pride, 62 00:05:55.629 --> 00:06:00.990 I think that will come to have reason for our own pride, a good 63 00:06:01.230 --> 00:06:06.620 pride, a confidence, a boasting in Christ that says. I'm not ashamed 64 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:12.500 of the Gospel. But first, bad pride. Let's get this straight. 65 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:16.180 There are two kinds of pride, as I say, good pride and bad 66 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:20.490 pride. Remember, even in this book, Paul's addressed to the addressed to 67 00:06:20.569 --> 00:06:26.730 this in Romans Three, Chapter Twenty seven, Paul asked this question. Then, 68 00:06:26.850 --> 00:06:30.569 what becomes of our boasting? Then? What becomes of our boasting? 69 00:06:30.810 --> 00:06:34.839 Now that's obviously a question that's following on the tale of something. What is 70 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:39.920 what is he talking about? Well, he's talking about this. He's had 71 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:45.519 this long discussion which essentially says this. Every single person on the planet, 72 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:50.029 you me, everyone except for Jesus, is a slightly different birth story. 73 00:06:50.709 --> 00:06:57.629 Every one of us who has been born in Adam is under a curse, 74 00:06:58.269 --> 00:07:01.899 a fall, a sinful condition. Even the heroes of the faith, Paul 75 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:08.660 says, Abraham David, these men too. We are all born into a 76 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:13.339 sinful state. We're all born accountable to the law of God, we're all 77 00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:20.129 Um. We all find ourselves in a state of lacking righteousness, of doing 78 00:07:20.410 --> 00:07:27.569 evil, even creating it, and all kinds of other things. He says 79 00:07:27.610 --> 00:07:30.279 that, you know, when we compare ourselves to other men, we might 80 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:34.959 find some reason to be proud, but when we stand before a most holy 81 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:42.519 God who is perfectly righteous and who judges all men in all hearts, in 82 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:47.430 to the most minute detail, we know how far we fall short of the 83 00:07:47.629 --> 00:07:51.709 glory of God. Paul ends up concluding no one is righteous. No, 84 00:07:53.350 --> 00:07:58.430 not one. And this is true. You know, if people are asked, 85 00:07:58.430 --> 00:08:03.819 are you an honest person, most people will say well, yeah, 86 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:07.939 of course, but if you ask them, are you an absolutely honest person, 87 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:13.730 people will immediately start well, you know, there are times when I 88 00:08:13.810 --> 00:08:18.089 don't know if I can say quite that this is true of how we ought 89 00:08:18.129 --> 00:08:24.649 to think of our standing before God. God, who is perfect and holy 90 00:08:24.769 --> 00:08:28.720 in all things, requires that of people that are to be with him and 91 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.759 near him and all things. And so when we think about how close we 92 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:41.399 are coming to the standard of perfect righteousness, of perfect holiness, of the 93 00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:48.669 things that are unfitting for life with God and the Kingdom of Heaven, we 94 00:08:48.789 --> 00:08:54.669 see that we fall shortless the argument and Paul Develops us throughout the first chapters 95 00:08:54.789 --> 00:08:58.980 that I'd encourage you to go back and read that again and again and again. 96 00:09:00.340 --> 00:09:03.539 Well then, that's why he comes to this question. Well then, 97 00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:09.580 what becomes of our boasting? And then he answers it is excluded. There 98 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:13.570 is no boasting. None of us can stand before God and say, well, 99 00:09:13.649 --> 00:09:16.570 yes, I've done quite well in this life. As you can see, 100 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:20.529 I have a bank account. Who what does that mean to someone who 101 00:09:20.529 --> 00:09:26.360 owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who provided every single coin in that 102 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:30.000 account? We stand before God and say, well, look at these friends 103 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:33.279 I have or this power I've achieved. and He who, who can turn 104 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:37.909 a King's heart in his hand like water in a faucet, just moving it 105 00:09:39.110 --> 00:09:43.190 this where that way? It doesn't impress him. He is the one who 106 00:09:43.350 --> 00:09:48.549 gives all things, he is the one to whom we are dependent on everything, 107 00:09:48.909 --> 00:09:54.100 and he is the one to whom we commit our sins, or against 108 00:09:54.139 --> 00:10:01.299 whom we sin over and over and over and over again. Paul says and 109 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:03.820 three, twenty seven. Then what becomes of our boasting? And he answers 110 00:10:03.940 --> 00:10:09.409 the obvious answer. It is excluded. We have no boasting, we have 111 00:10:09.690 --> 00:10:13.129 no pride aid and anyone who thinks he has something to boast on, anyone 112 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:20.370 who has pride, has nothing, has nothing at all. James says this 113 00:10:20.570 --> 00:10:24.759 clearly as well. He says, as it as it is. You boast 114 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:31.080 in your arrogance, and all such boasting is evil. Arrogance, of course, 115 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:35.269 is sort of an unsubstantiated pride. To be arrogant is to sort of 116 00:10:35.350 --> 00:10:41.509 be prideful without warrant, to think that you're something that you're not. James 117 00:10:41.549 --> 00:10:46.509 says in concern. In concern and I think in considering this bad kind of 118 00:10:46.629 --> 00:10:56.700 pride, you boast in your arrogance and all such boasting is evil. So 119 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:01.460 we see that the danger evil of pride is the dangers of evil. Pride 120 00:11:01.539 --> 00:11:05.250 is twofold. For one, as James says, it's an evil in and 121 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:11.929 of itself. It's foolish to it places our confidence in a weak thing. 122 00:11:11.850 --> 00:11:16.049 Think of all the Times in the Old Testament where God talks about trusting and 123 00:11:16.450 --> 00:11:22.240 boasting and the chariots of Pharaoh, for example, the horses of Egypt, 124 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:31.039 when God can destroy those things. As we see, an exodus is Farah 125 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:39.669 pursues Moses. He can destroy empires overnight. Pride therefore leads us to destruction. 126 00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:46.419 It makes us fools. It elevates our opinions about ourselves without reason. 127 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:54.500 Jesus says in Mark Seven Twenty One and twenty two. From within, out 128 00:11:54.580 --> 00:12:01.139 of the heart of man, come evil thoughts. Let he lists some Jesus 129 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:09.049 says, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, 130 00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:20.919 deceit, sensuality, evil, slander, pride, foolishness, all these evil 131 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:28.679 things come from within and they defile a person. What does it mean to 132 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:35.029 be defiled? Let's kind of Old Testament, sacrificial language. It's something that 133 00:12:35.190 --> 00:12:41.669 excludes us from holiness. It makes us unfit to be in the glorious presence 134 00:12:41.789 --> 00:12:50.299 of God. To be defiled means to become something that is disgusting, unworthy 135 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:56.740 of being nearer good things. And that's what comes from within us. And 136 00:12:56.019 --> 00:13:03.610 Pride is most certainly among them. And if that weren't bad enough, evil 137 00:13:03.769 --> 00:13:09.850 pride does worse. It not only defiles, making us unclean, unworthy of 138 00:13:09.970 --> 00:13:15.879 God, worthy of his judgment, but pride also has this worsening effect of 139 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:20.879 keeping us from seeking forgiveness and salvation from the God who can provide it. 140 00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:26.120 You see what I'm saying. Not only is it a sin in itself that 141 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:33.629 needs forgiveness, but pride keeps us from seeking forgiveness. I draw this a 142 00:13:33.830 --> 00:13:41.700 point from psalm what psalm ten verse. For in the pride of his face 143 00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:46.299 the wicked does not seek God. All his thoughts are there is no god. 144 00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:52.860 That's how the wicked, prideful mind works, the psalmness says, in 145 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:58.250 the pride of his face, in confidence and who he is, why would 146 00:13:58.250 --> 00:14:03.529 he seek God? I can clean myself, I can live the way I 147 00:14:03.809 --> 00:14:07.370 want to, I can go my own way, take my own paths. 148 00:14:07.769 --> 00:14:13.399 You know what, there is no god, the foolish, prideful person says. 149 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.600 So, you see, the the terrible thing that pride does to us. 150 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:22.519 It it comes in and it it causes us to see it is a 151 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:26.470 sin in itself. It causes us to commit sins, and then it hardens 152 00:14:26.549 --> 00:14:30.669 our hearts against the very thing that can forgive us, the very one who 153 00:14:30.750 --> 00:14:39.620 can forgive us. So pride. In this devilish, evil sense we ought 154 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:45.539 to avoid and to put it in a very understated way, when we see 155 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:50.179 pride approaching in our hearts, we ought to flee from it, run from 156 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:52.490 it, and when we find it near, we ought to put it to 157 00:14:52.610 --> 00:15:00.970 death, not play with it, not coax it, not lift it up 158 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:07.960 in any way. That is evil. Pride, bad pride, wicked pride. 159 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:16.120 But not all pride is evil, not all pride is wicked, because 160 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:22.669 there is a kind of boasting and confidence in the right things. Think of 161 00:15:22.750 --> 00:15:28.669 another example. I gave anger earlier. But think of love. Love we 162 00:15:28.830 --> 00:15:31.830 usually think of as a good thing, but it can be bad. This 163 00:15:31.990 --> 00:15:35.110 is sort of the same kind of thing. Right, we can take our 164 00:15:35.190 --> 00:15:37.740 love and if we pour it out on things that are lovely, that are 165 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:43.620 deserving of love, that are properly ordered, that are according to the will 166 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:46.419 of God, well, that's wonderful, right. But what happens if we 167 00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:54.009 go and love evil? What if we love an idol? Well, now 168 00:15:54.169 --> 00:15:58.929 love isn't good at all. Right, love is destroyed, love is being 169 00:16:00.129 --> 00:16:04.720 taken over and and turned for wickedness. Pride is kind of like this. 170 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:10.840 If our boasting, in our strength and our confidence, are are standing up 171 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:15.679 straight as in our own strength, in our ways, in our authority and 172 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:18.120 the things that we want to do, in the ways that we want to 173 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:23.590 do them, it's foolishness. It brings about wickedness and sin. But if 174 00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:29.149 our pride is in the Lord, if our confidence is in the Gospel and 175 00:16:29.389 --> 00:16:33.779 his salvation and in Jesus, who comes to us to give us these things. 176 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:40.100 Well, there's nothing wrong with that, nothing at all. You should 177 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:48.250 be prideful, you must be prideful, you must boast in Jesus and what 178 00:16:48.450 --> 00:16:52.809 he has come to do. And that's what Paul says here. He says 179 00:16:52.929 --> 00:17:00.769 I have reason to boast or I have reason to be proud. Now this 180 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:06.440 next phrase of my work for God. Other translations put that as pertaining to 181 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:11.720 the things of God. I have reason to I've reason to be proud concerning 182 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:17.789 or pertaining to the things of God. There's a reason that those are translated 183 00:17:18.509 --> 00:17:22.869 differently. Both are fine, but the point is is if the reason I 184 00:17:22.990 --> 00:17:26.789 bring this up is that we have to be careful with this translation my work 185 00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:30.740 for God, that we emphasize the for good part and not the my work 186 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:34.819 part. Now, Paul is most definitely involved in this process. He is 187 00:17:34.940 --> 00:17:38.460 the one getting beatings, he's the one going to jail, he is the 188 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:44.569 one getting mocked and attacked and scorned. He is the one who's traveling, 189 00:17:44.609 --> 00:17:48.369 as he says, all over the world and preaching the Gospel. Paul is 190 00:17:48.650 --> 00:17:53.410 very much involved, but that's not Paul's emphasis here. Paul sees himself in 191 00:17:53.490 --> 00:17:57.599 the picture, but he wants us to understand that it's God working through him. 192 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:03.640 He's not the primary object of our faith. It's God whom the preacher 193 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:11.279 is pointing to. So although Paul most certainly is boasting in God's work in 194 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:17.269 him, his emphasis is on God, not himself. Notice how he puts 195 00:18:17.309 --> 00:18:19.549 this, not just there but in many places in this these few verses. 196 00:18:21.789 --> 00:18:26.109 So just a few details from the text. Verse Seventeen, in Christ Jesus, 197 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:30.819 then I have reason to be proud. See, he's not standing up 198 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:36.220 before them talking just about his work in my strength, in my character and 199 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:40.740 the amazing things that I have done. He says in Christ who is working 200 00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:45.210 in me, I have reason to be proud. And then he emphasizes this 201 00:18:45.410 --> 00:18:48.170 and clarifies even more. In verse eighteen, he says, for I will 202 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:56.480 not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, namely 203 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:02.680 to bring the gentiles to obedience by word, indeed by the power of signs 204 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:07.640 and wonders, by the power of the spirit of God. These things, 205 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:12.950 even these miraculous, miraculous things that Paul is doing, he says it's not 206 00:19:14.269 --> 00:19:19.589 me, this power is not sort of in me, it is the work 207 00:19:19.869 --> 00:19:25.980 of the spirit of God. God is at work, God is doing these 208 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:32.660 things, God is bringing the gentiles to obedience. In that he is the 209 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:36.740 Ministry of the Gospel of Christ as being fulfilled. And so then verse twenty. 210 00:19:37.259 --> 00:19:42.210 Therefore, and thus I make it my ambition to preach the Gospel. 211 00:19:44.769 --> 00:19:48.490 That's what his focuses and this all ties into how he began the book. 212 00:19:48.329 --> 00:19:53.559 The ending is very much like the beginning, for the Gospel is the power 213 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:59.200 of God unto salvation for those who believe, and of this he says, 214 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.759 I am not ashamed. It's just another way of saying I am proud of 215 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.950 this. I'll stand up for this, I will straighten my spine and go 216 00:20:10.190 --> 00:20:17.589 into the world and suffer all kinds of things because of Jesus, because Jesus 217 00:20:17.670 --> 00:20:23.539 has come into the world to save sinners like Paul, Paul who persecuted the 218 00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:32.059 Church, Paul who was full of prideful zeal, Paul who hungered after his 219 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:37.650 own righteousness and not the righteousness of God. That Paul was saved, and 220 00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:44.450 through the salvation of that man, God did the work of saving many other 221 00:20:44.569 --> 00:20:51.880 men, including us, who have heard the word of God written by the 222 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:59.599 Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the powerful spirit of God. That's why Paul 223 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.240 looks us in the eye and says, I am not ashamed and I'm going 224 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:11.269 to tell you this over and over and over again. That is why I'm 225 00:21:11.390 --> 00:21:15.269 here, he says to the Romans, and that's what God says to us 226 00:21:15.349 --> 00:21:19.660 to day, the Apostle Paul, by the power of the spirit of God, 227 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:26.740 it writes these words, the spirit speaks them to our hearts and says 228 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:41.930 believe, be confident, have pride in what God is doing. The rest 229 00:21:41.970 --> 00:21:48.319 of the New Testament is very helpful here and to get a sense of Paul, 230 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:55.079 how far Paul will go. And in saying these things, he speaks 231 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:02.109 not he never speaks of his own pride in his own work. It's always 232 00:22:02.230 --> 00:22:07.950 qualified by what God is doing in him and through him. The other way 233 00:22:07.990 --> 00:22:15.029 Paul boasts, isn't talking about Ush, the the products of the work of 234 00:22:15.190 --> 00:22:18.940 God, the gentiles being brought to obedience. So, for example, in 235 00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:23.579 First Corinthians thirty one, he says, I protest, brothers, by my 236 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:29.900 pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus, Our Lord, I 237 00:22:30.130 --> 00:22:36.210 die every day. Or First Thessalonians two hundred nineteen, where he says, 238 00:22:36.730 --> 00:22:41.089 for what is our hope, or joy or crown of boasting? What an 239 00:22:41.130 --> 00:22:47.240 amazing phrase that is. Crown of boasting. What is our hope, our 240 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:51.680 joy, our crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus as at his coming, 241 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:56.960 is it not you? You are my crown, he says. You are 242 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:02.430 my joy, you are the thing that, when I stand before the Lord, 243 00:23:02.549 --> 00:23:07.269 I'll say, look at this, look at what you have done, 244 00:23:07.950 --> 00:23:11.109 look at how you have accomplished the things that you have promised to do. 245 00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:17.819 Paul's not going to stand before the Lord God and say look at all that 246 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:22.980 I have done and accept all these gentiles as the proof of my great righteousness, 247 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:27.369 as the proof of my obedience. No, Paul will stand before the 248 00:23:27.569 --> 00:23:33.930 Lord on the Day of Judgment, with all of the gentiles professing their faith, 249 00:23:34.529 --> 00:23:41.920 really raised up in this resurrected glory, and he will say you have 250 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:45.960 done this work, Oh God. Those who have never been told of him 251 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:51.880 will see, those who have never heard of him will understand. That's not 252 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:55.440 Paul writing his, you know, big goal for life and then going out 253 00:23:55.480 --> 00:24:00.230 and accomplishing it. That's God riding his goal and saying I will accomplish this. 254 00:24:02.750 --> 00:24:08.309 Paul's in some ways just to long for the ride. He's excited, 255 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:18.019 he's boasting, he's confident, he is ready. I wish that I could 256 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:22.660 read all of this, these passages that I want to point out to you 257 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:26.450 now, in Second Corinthians. I'll simply encourage you to go there some time 258 00:24:26.529 --> 00:24:30.730 in the near future and look at them for yourself. But Paul says some 259 00:24:32.089 --> 00:24:37.529 striking things about his boasting that I want to be mentioned before we begin to 260 00:24:37.609 --> 00:24:41.920 wrap up. He talks about he will. First of all, he's in 261 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:47.720 this difficult situation where there are these Super Apostles, that's Paul's word, these 262 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:52.640 Super Apostles, and these men are going around and they're very flashy. They're 263 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:57.069 there, are they? They're super confident. They are telling everyone how important 264 00:24:57.109 --> 00:25:03.190 they are. They're establishing their platform, they're establishing their brand, they are 265 00:25:03.589 --> 00:25:07.420 pushing themselves out into the world and saying, are you deserve to listen to 266 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:11.059 me? You ought to listen to me. This Paul Guy, look at 267 00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:17.299 him. What is he worth? What is he doing? He struggles around, 268 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:19.220 he says he's going to go minister to all the gentiles and then he 269 00:25:19.299 --> 00:25:23.529 sits in jail for a couple of years. Listen, come talk to me, 270 00:25:23.769 --> 00:25:29.650 come to my conference, I've got something to tell you. So these 271 00:25:29.730 --> 00:25:33.569 people going around and they're making fun of him. They're saying, listen to 272 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:40.599 his speech, his abilities are not even when compared to what I have. 273 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:45.920 I actually think they were probably a lot more subtle than that. You probably 274 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:52.990 would go kind of jerk. Is that if? But in all their subtlety, 275 00:25:52.069 --> 00:25:56.630 this is what they were saying, this is what they were establishing, 276 00:25:56.670 --> 00:26:00.230 and Paul's now in this situation where the Corinthians and other people are saying, 277 00:26:00.230 --> 00:26:03.150 well, what if we think of this guy? There's a lot of other 278 00:26:03.190 --> 00:26:07.460 people saying we shouldn't really listen to him, and they're honestly pretty impressive. 279 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:12.579 They get big crowds, they have lots of money, they're and on and 280 00:26:12.700 --> 00:26:19.529 on. And so Paul addresses this issue. He addresses his boasting, his 281 00:26:19.809 --> 00:26:26.049 pride, his confidence and and where where that is and and where it's not. 282 00:26:27.569 --> 00:26:30.769 He says at the beginning of Verse Eleven, I wish you would bear 283 00:26:30.890 --> 00:26:36.400 with me in a little foolishness. Do Bear with me, for I feel 284 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:41.880 a divine jealousy for you, since I have betrothed you to one husband to 285 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:47.710 present you as a pure Vir Virgin to Christ, but I am afraid that, 286 00:26:47.829 --> 00:26:51.789 as the desserpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be a 287 00:26:51.789 --> 00:26:56.390 led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. You see his concern. 288 00:26:57.390 --> 00:27:02.859 He loves these people and he says, if you're bear with me, 289 00:27:02.900 --> 00:27:06.539 I'm going to say some kind of crazy things, I'm going to say some 290 00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:11.059 foolish things, but bear with me because my feeling for you is very intense 291 00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:15.930 and I am really worried the justice. Eve was deceived, you too will 292 00:27:15.970 --> 00:27:22.130 be. And he goes on to say, he says in Verse Five. 293 00:27:22.289 --> 00:27:29.170 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these superimpostles, 294 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:34.400 even if I am unskilled in speaking, which he wasn't terrible at, 295 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:40.119 by the way. Read the New Testament. But anyway, even if I 296 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:45.869 am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge. Indeed, in 297 00:27:47.069 --> 00:27:52.509 every way. We have made this plain to you in all things. Sometimes 298 00:27:52.950 --> 00:28:00.299 in preachers their temptations to be flashy. Paul doesn't succumb to that temptation. 299 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:06.900 He's not trying to be fancy. He says, we've made it plain to 300 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:11.259 you. That's been our big goal, so that you can understand it. 301 00:28:11.890 --> 00:28:15.490 Then he goes on. He says, did I commit a sin in humbling 302 00:28:15.609 --> 00:28:21.490 myself so that you might be exalted? Is that what I'm to be accused 303 00:28:21.529 --> 00:28:26.009 of? Because I preached the God, but God's Gospel to you free of 304 00:28:26.210 --> 00:28:33.079 charge. I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve 305 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:38.119 you. He says. This is verse nine of Secod Corinthians Eleven. And 306 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:41.869 when I was with you and was in need, I didn't burden anyone, 307 00:28:42.470 --> 00:28:47.509 for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. He goes on to 308 00:28:48.230 --> 00:28:56.019 he goes on from there. He then starts talking as a fool, and 309 00:28:56.259 --> 00:29:02.779 not. Let's see verse Twenty One, he says, but whatever anyone else 310 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:07.380 dares to boast of, I am speaking as a fool. I dare to 311 00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:11.490 boast of that. Okay, so he started taking on a personality. Says, 312 00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:15.490 okay, let's play that game. Let's talk about boasting in things, 313 00:29:15.730 --> 00:29:21.410 in humanly things. I'll be a fool for a second. That's what he 314 00:29:21.450 --> 00:29:25.039 says in Verse Twenty Two. ARE THEY HEBREWS? So Am I. ARE 315 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:29.200 THEY ISRAELITES? So Am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So Am 316 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:33.480 I. Are they servants of Christ? I'm a better one. I am 317 00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:37.480 talking like a madman. Remember, he's keeps sort of reminding them here what 318 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:44.430 I'm saying. With far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings 319 00:29:44.470 --> 00:29:48.829 and often near death. Now you start to feel the weight of his argument. 320 00:29:48.869 --> 00:29:52.509 Here he's saying everything that they're doing doesn't begin to compare with what I've 321 00:29:52.549 --> 00:29:56.900 suffered and what I've gone through. Five Times I received at the hands of 322 00:29:56.980 --> 00:30:02.099 the Jews and forty lashes, left least one. Three times I was beaten 323 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:06.740 with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked a night 324 00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:11.809 in a day I was adrift at Sea on Frequent Journeys and danger from rivers 325 00:30:11.849 --> 00:30:15.930 or danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from dentiles, 326 00:30:17.170 --> 00:30:21.640 danger in the city, danger in the Wilderness, danger at sea, danger 327 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:26.400 from false brothers, in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, 328 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:33.039 in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And 329 00:30:33.160 --> 00:30:38.069 apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety 330 00:30:38.589 --> 00:30:45.190 for all the churches. Who is weak and I am not weak who is 331 00:30:45.269 --> 00:30:52.259 made to fall, and I am not indignant. It's like you want to 332 00:30:52.339 --> 00:30:56.980 play that game. We can play that game, he says, but I 333 00:30:57.059 --> 00:31:03.059 want you understand that game is foolishness, because he gontinues on. If I 334 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:10.250 must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The 335 00:31:10.410 --> 00:31:14.730 God and father of the Lord, Jesus, he who blessed US forever forever, 336 00:31:14.890 --> 00:31:19.599 knows that I'm not lying. Then, in skipping down chapter twelve, 337 00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:23.599 verse eleven, now he says I've been a fool. You forced me to 338 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:27.839 it, for I ought to have been commended by you, for I was 339 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:33.269 not at all inferior to these superior apostles, even though I am nothing. 340 00:31:33.869 --> 00:31:37.549 You see the difficult pastoral challenge he has. On the one hand, he 341 00:31:37.630 --> 00:31:41.230 has to say these guys, don't pay attention to them. I'm way better 342 00:31:41.309 --> 00:31:45.509 than this. He has to say that because they're teaching bad things. He 343 00:31:47.180 --> 00:31:52.940 has to stand confidently and say listen to me, but he can't do so 344 00:31:52.220 --> 00:31:59.259 in a way that points to himself. How do you manage that? That's 345 00:31:59.299 --> 00:32:05.849 a very difficult pastoral challenge, and he accomplishes it by saying, let me 346 00:32:06.130 --> 00:32:12.369 boast in my weakness. He says. The signs of a true apostle were 347 00:32:12.450 --> 00:32:17.000 performed among you. Pay attention to them, but nevertheless, let our boasting 348 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:32.470 finally be in Christ, he says. He says in he says in Verse 349 00:32:32.509 --> 00:32:37.430 Nine of Chapter Twelve. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient 350 00:32:37.549 --> 00:32:42.230 for you. My power is made perfect and weakness. Therefore, I will 351 00:32:42.269 --> 00:32:45.619 boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses. Make Fun of me, bring 352 00:32:45.660 --> 00:32:50.500 it on, I'll take it, he says, so that the power of 353 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:53.940 Christ may rest on me. For the sake of Christ, then I am 354 00:32:54.220 --> 00:33:00.289 content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities, for when I 355 00:33:00.369 --> 00:33:07.690 am weak, then I am strong. Why is that the case? Why 356 00:33:07.769 --> 00:33:09.769 is it that when Paul is weak, when Paul is in prison, when 357 00:33:09.809 --> 00:33:15.359 Paul's drying up on a beach after a shipwreck, that's when he's strong. 358 00:33:15.880 --> 00:33:19.480 When Paul sitting in an a prison, that's when he is strong? His 359 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:23.960 point is is that it's because in his weakness God is working through him, 360 00:33:24.279 --> 00:33:30.750 and in that God is magnified, exhaust halted. And so that's why Paul 361 00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:40.619 boasts in his work, in his imprisonments and his hardships in his preaching that 362 00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:46.099 isn't as eloquent or wonderful, but is plain and full of wisdom. Nevertheless, 363 00:33:46.980 --> 00:33:51.779 he boasts in it because he knows that it's God at work in him, 364 00:33:52.779 --> 00:34:00.730 the spirit of God. Well, how do we apply what Paul says 365 00:34:00.730 --> 00:34:07.050 here, in in Romans fifteen and in other places in scripture? How do 366 00:34:07.130 --> 00:34:15.079 we apply his confidence to our own situation, in our own hearts? Well, 367 00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:17.679 for one, it gives us a means to test our own or a 368 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:23.909 reason or an opportunity perhaps, to test our own conscience, consciousness, conscience 369 00:34:23.989 --> 00:34:31.590 has to think about our own pride. What are we trusting in? Are 370 00:34:31.670 --> 00:34:37.510 we putting our confidence in our strength and our ability and our ability of speech 371 00:34:37.550 --> 00:34:45.659 or education or leadership or friendship, or the things that we have or the 372 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:49.699 place we came from or the church we belong to, whatever it is is 373 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:55.530 this is this where our confidences or it isn't. Is it in Jesus? 374 00:34:58.530 --> 00:35:01.849 Isn't that just wonderfully simple? This is how we determine these things, is 375 00:35:02.050 --> 00:35:07.519 how we test our hearts. Another thing is it, of course, sets 376 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:14.280 before us this very holy example. We can see how this question about pride 377 00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:23.510 and confidence and boasting connects with how we live our lives. Paul is amazingly 378 00:35:23.789 --> 00:35:30.590 courageous. He's this navy seal of Christian missionaries. He goes into sort of 379 00:35:30.789 --> 00:35:37.579 any situation, no matter what, with this great confidence and courage that it's 380 00:35:37.579 --> 00:35:40.420 all going to turn out okay and the Gospel will be done. Where does 381 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:46.460 that confidence come from? Well, if you like his example, then listen 382 00:35:46.579 --> 00:35:52.449 to his testimony. What does he say? Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, 383 00:35:52.530 --> 00:35:57.610 Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. This is where it comes 384 00:35:57.650 --> 00:36:01.650 from. It always comes from there, it only comes from there. Christ 385 00:36:01.730 --> 00:36:07.000 Jesus, in Christ Jesus, I have reason to be proud. I'm not 386 00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:10.519 going to venture to speak anything except what Christ has accomplished through me. He 387 00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:15.599 keeps coming back again and again and again, and we should as well. 388 00:36:16.119 --> 00:36:22.110 But most importantly, this passage teaches us that God is doing his work, 389 00:36:22.190 --> 00:36:27.710 as we see the apostle of God at work, this one who has been 390 00:36:27.750 --> 00:36:32.019 sent out, called empowered by the spirit. This ought to strengthen our faith 391 00:36:32.739 --> 00:36:39.539 in God, because it is God who is doing the work. We hear 392 00:36:40.260 --> 00:36:45.300 of God, of his salvation that he brings to us in Christ, the 393 00:36:45.420 --> 00:36:51.489 forgiveness of our sins, the newness of life, a chance to boast and 394 00:36:51.690 --> 00:36:58.090 have confidence in pride again, in Jesus. We have the chance to stand 395 00:36:58.170 --> 00:37:04.360 up straight, to look God in the eye and know that we are no 396 00:37:04.599 --> 00:37:09.119 longer fighting, but we're reconciled to him through what Jesus has done on the 397 00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:15.909 Cross. This is Paul's message, it's God's message and we ought to hear 398 00:37:15.989 --> 00:37:22.510 it. And if we doubt it, all we have to look at is 399 00:37:22.590 --> 00:37:29.949 the example of Paul, the salvation of the gentiles, the existence of this 400 00:37:30.139 --> 00:37:39.820 church ourselves. The Gospel is the power of God under salvation for all who 401 00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:47.449 believed. Be Confident in it, be proud of it, do not be 402 00:37:47.530 --> ashamed