February 5, 2006  •  Pastor Randy Smith

Three weeks ago we began a study focusing on the priority of love. Without love, said the Apostle Paul, we are nothing. Love is essential to the Christian faith, both vertically in our relationship with God, and horizontally in our relationship with others. So with this fact established, I ask you two essential questions that each of us must answer correctly. How can you demonstrate the greatest love for God and others?

You demonstrate the greatest love for God by obeying His commandments. Jesus said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me" (Jn. 14:21). The test of your love for God is the degree to which you are willing to follow His commandments as they are revealed in the Holy Scriptures. I believe that answer is self-evident for the Christian.

But how can we demonstrate the greatest love for others? By obeying their commandments? No, because their commandments might not always be right, and moreover, there is only one Lawgiver in God whom we are to always submit to as our ultimate authority. Obeying others as an end to itself, or especially, obeying others at the expense of disobeying God is idolatry.

So how can we demonstrate the greatest love for others without violating our greatest love for God? The answer is the same as before. We demonstrate the greatest love for other people by obeying God’s commandments.

All of what has been commanded by God has a direct effect on our relations with others (Rom. 13:8-10). If we obey God by not stealing, not lying and not grumbling, others will receive the direct benefit of that obedience. If we obey God by forgiving others and treating them with kind deeds, others will receive the direct benefit of that obedience. If my wife wants a better husband in me, she should pray that I grow in my love for God, which will directly affect my love for her.

If we obey God, He receives great glory. And through our obedience to God we will demonstrate the greatest love possible to others. John summarized this in his second epistle. "And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments" (2 Jn. 1:6a).

So now that we have established this point regarding love and obedience, I ask you two additional questions specifically regarding the commandments of God. Is it right or is it wrong to be jealous? And, the second question, is it right or is it wrong to boast?

Last week we learned that jealousy is a sin. We learned that "love…is not jealous" (1 Cor. 13:4). When we have a "spirit of dissatisfaction or opposition to the prosperity or happiness of other people" (Jonathan Edwards), I’d say we are acting very unloving. Jealousy–our self-focus, discontent and ungrateful attitude that distrusts God’s goodness and sovereignty, dishonors the Lord and destroys human relationships.

Yet we have a problem. What do we do with all the verses that teach us that God is a jealous God (Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Dt. 4:25; 5:9; 6:15; 32:16, 21)? Will we dare to say that God is unloving?

Absolutely not! On the contrary, if God were not jealous for His glory, we would have to conclude that He is unloving. Since He is the supreme Being in the universe, God would commit idolatry if He ascribed greater glory and honor to any other than Himself. Far from being a power-monger, we should see God’s jealousy to guard His honor as a clear indication of His love. We know that we always find our greatest happiness when God is at the center of our lives. We should be thankful that He wants to be number one! Don’t be deceived. He shows Himself most loving, not when He makes a big deal about us, but when He allows us to make a big deal about Him.

And when we share this zeal for God’s glory, we too demonstrate righteous jealousy that is loving. For example, when the Corinthian church was being led astray from their purity and devotion to Jesus, Paul said, "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin" (2 Cor. 11:2).

Here is the difference. Jealousy for our own glory is sinful and unloving (Rom. 13:12-14; 1 Cor. 3:1-3; Jas. 3:13-18), but jealousy for the glory of God (cf. Ex. 11:29; 1 Ki. 19:10; Jn. 2:17), a characteristic of all the biblical greats, demonstrates love both for God and others. Augustine, the great theologian went so far to say, "He that is not jealous is not in love."

Let’s turn to the second question. What about boasting or bragging? According 1 Corinthians 13, our list continues in verse 4 by saying that "love does not brag." I ask you, is it loving to boast?

In one sense we have to answer, no. According to verse 4, boasting is clearly opposed to love.

Yet in another sense the answer is, yes. If we are boasting in God we are acting in love. Every time we praise the Lord, we are boasting in Him. Every time we witness to an unbeliever, we are boasting in Him. I’d say both of those actions of boasting when it pertains to God’s glory and not our own are very loving!

Both righteous and unrighteous boasting come together in Jeremiah 9. "Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches (unrighteous boasting); but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things (righteous boasting),’ declares the Lord" (Jer. 9:23-24).

This morning as we zero in on the fourth attribute of love, we will examine the nature of unrighteous boasting. This is the sinful form of boasting that focuses on self and does great harm to God’s glory and other people. This form of boasting, something we all naturally practice and all naturally despise in others, is unloving.

As in the past weeks, we will look at the definition, the example and the remedy of unrighteous boasting.

1. THE DEFINITION OF BOASTING

My time is very limited, so let’s begin right away with a definition of boasting.

The Greek word translated "boast" is perpereuomai. The term is found nowhere else in the Bible. In Greek literature of the day, the word was used to describe the pompous windbag. Literally it means "to talk conceitedly."

The variety of biblical translations help us identify its meaning. NASB — "Love does not brag." NIV — "(Love) does not boast." YLT — "Love doth not vaunt itself." NKJV — "Love does not parade itself."

When we speak of boasting, we are talking about a desire to, as Spurgeon said, parade our accomplishments as a public spectacle for others. Boasting seeks to gain recognition for or draw attention to oneself. It is self-centered and is the outward form of the inner condition of pride (John Piper).

Jealousy, from last week, wants what others have, whereas boasting seeks to make others jealous of what we have. Jealousy puts others down, whereas boasting seeks to build oneself up.

Since boasting is so self-centered, it is opposed to the sacrificial agape love spoken of in 1 Corinthians 13. Boasting reveals a greater love for self than others. Furthermore, boasting often needs to depreciate others to achieve its intended outcome in the exaltation of self. No wonder C. S. Lewis called boasting "the utmost evil" (included in "sin lists — Rom. 1:30; 2 Ti. 3:2).

2. THE EXAMPLE OF BOASTING

We don’t need to look far in the world to find many examples of boasting as we move to our second point.

We live in the land of "vain-glory" as Pilgrim’s Progress put it. From athletics to academics to advertising, everyone is seeking to promote his or her own glory. They feel it necessary to make themselves known, to toot their horn so others can compliment their importance, see their successes and overlook their failures.

One organization reports that there are over 100 books in print whose title includes the phrase "That Changed the World." The most recent is "Gunpowder: The History of the Explosive That Changed the World." Other titles: "Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World." "El Nino: The Weather Phenomenon That Changed the World." "Model T Ford: The Car That Changed the World." "The Pill: A Biography of the Drug That Changed the World." "The Twist: The Story of the Song and Dance That Changed the World." "Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World."

It is almost impossible to imagine a world without boasting.

A doctor, an engineer, and a politician were arguing as to which profession was older. "Well," argued the doctor, "Without a physician mankind could not have survived, so I am sure that mine is the oldest profession." "No," said the engineer, "before life began there was complete chaos, and it took an engineer to create some semblance of order from this chaos. So engineering is older." "But," chirped the triumphant politician, "Who created the chaos?"

The world is filled with boasting about one’s superiority and the Bible testifies to that fact. It also reveals the tragic results of boasting.

Goliath taunted the armies of the living God, boasting about his ability to defeat the Israelites. A stone off the slingshot of a young boy named David silenced the man forever (1 Sam. 17).

Nebuchadnezzar boasted about Babylon, the city he built by his power and for the glory of his majesty. While the word was still in his mouth, the Lord spoke from heaven. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled until he acknowledged the sovereignty of God (Dan. 4).

Peter boasted about his ability to remain faithful to the Lord. Jesus replied, "Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me" (Lk. 22).

The rich man boasted about the security in his wealth. To which God said, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared" (Lk. 12; cf. Psm. 49:6; Pro. 27:1).

And of course we must include the king of boasting, Satan. He boasted, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." As a result, he was forever cast out of heaven to the "recesses of the pit" as the Scripture declares (Isa. 14; cf. Dan. 7:8, 11, 20).

Example after example in the Bible shows that boasting results in devastating consequences.

Therefore the Bible is replete with warnings against boasting. Psalm 10:3a — "For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire." Psalm 5:5a — "The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes." James 4:16 — "But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil." Galatians 5:26a — "Let us not become boastful."

Yet boasting comes so natural for us. James speaks of "the tongue is a small part of the body, (yet one that) boasts of great things" (Jas. 3:5). John speaks of the world as "the boastful pride of life" (1 Jn. 2:16). Each of us has that innate tendency of the flesh to exalt ourselves because each of us struggles with the inner sin of pride, which desires to receive admiration and preeminence.

There are various ways we boast. Laying aside the obvious ways we boast, some ways are undetected and subtle. For example:

Always needing to share a better story. Have you ever noticed how in a conversation someone’s mind is ticking as they conger a story that tops yours? "That’s great, but yesterday, I…" "You think that’s a big fish, last year…"

Someone put it very well. "If you're in a social situation, and women are talking to each other, and one woman says, ‘I was hit by a car today,’ all the other women will say, ‘You're kidding! What happened? Where? Are you all right? In the same situation with males, one male says, ‘I was hit by a car today,’ I guarantee you that there will be another male in the group who will say, ‘Wait till I tell you what happened to me.’"

Or how about the "know-it-all? His response to everything you say — "I know that." He often makes you feel there is no sense in continuing the conversation!

We can indirectly boast about our status or possessions or accomplishments. "Oh she has trouble accomplishing that task, but for me..." "Did I tell you…". "If you came to the game last night, you would have been really impressed the way I…". This is the one who always has the ability to bring the conversation back to himself.

Sometimes we indirectly boast through self-pity and self-belittlement in the hope we will be corrected and exalted. "Nobody loves me." "My spiritual life is a sham." "I can’t do anything well." It has been said, "Boasting is pride in the heart of the strong, but pity is pride in the heart of the weak."

We are even guilty of boasting within the church over spiritual matters: trying to be a spiritual show-off in public prayer, displaying or using our gifts for self-advancement, wanting to always share the biblical answer.

3. THE REMEDY FOR BOASTING

We need to quickly move to the remedy for boasting. I’m presenting it in two steps: Remember who you are and remember who God is.

Remember who you are

First, remember who you are.

The world has bent over backwards to brainwash our society about self-esteem. Such a worldly doctrine opposes Christian growth and specifically promotes, rather than deters, boasting.

From Genesis to Revelation, there is nothing in Scripture that testifies to the goodness of humanity. In Romans 3, we read, "There is none who does good, there is not even one." (Rom. 3:12). We hear godly people like Paul say, "Wretched man that I am" (Rom. 7:24a). Or Job who said, "I abhor myself!" (Job 42:6 — KJV) and "I am vile" (Job 40:4 - KJV). Or Isaiah who said, "Woe is me! For I am ruined" (Isa. 6:5). In reading Jonathans Edwards this week on humility, he frequently used words like "despicable" and "exceedingly polluted" and "nothingness" and "vileness" to describe humanity.

Is it my intention to lead you to despair with this terminology? Absolutely not! But when we rightly measure ourselves, as we should, with the grandeur and awesomeness and majesty of God, this is the conclusion we will naturally draw. And my friends, when we draw this conclusion, we will cease boasting in ourselves because we will arrive at true humility. Not self-hate, but a sober analysis of who we truly are.

I like the person who said, "The one sole thing in myself in which I glory is that I see nothing in which I can glory." If any human has a reason to boast, it was Jesus being God in the flesh and we know He made Himself nothing (Phil. 2:6-8). Yet we have nothing and we have the tendency to boast so often.

William Plumer in Vital Godliness: A Treatise on Experimental and Practical Piety said, In practical piety, there is no greater mistake than the persuasion that if we are pleased with ourselves — that God is also pleased with us. Vain-glory, self-delight and pride — blind, bewilder, and intoxicate! On the other hand--shame for our own vileness, sorrow for our shortcomings, self-loathing for undeniable turpitude of our soul —are profitable. Men must either part with their pride and good opinion of themselves--or they must part with the hope of a blessed eternity. You must either take your place in the dust before God — or be cast down to hell."

When we boast, we are giving glory to ourselves that we do not deserve. We are taking credit for gifts that have been given us by God (Pr. 25:14; Isa. 10:15; 1 Cor. 4:7; Jas. 1:17). Even our salvation has been worked in such a way to eliminate boasting. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9; cf. Rom. 3:27; 4:2; Gal. 4:19). Spurgeon said, "Grace puts its hand on the boasting mouth, and shuts it once for all."

Paul needed to set the record straight with this boastful Corinthian church. He humbled them by saying, "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God" (1 Cor. 1:26-29).

John Piper said, "The glory-loving, self-exalting, attention-seeking, whining, pouting, self-pitying me has to die!"

Remember who God is

Remembering who we are will eliminate unrighteous boasting. And remembering who God is will promote righteous boasting.

We are wired to boast. And we will always boast over that which we feel is most special. Therefore we need to get ourselves off the pedestal and acknowledge the supreme greatness of God. Then and only then will boast only in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17; cf. Psm. 20:7; 34:2; 44:8) and not in ourselves because we understand how much His greatness surpasses ours. Ask yourself this question as you go through life — who do you want to get the glory? Yourself or God? And where do you want to receive your rewards? Boast in self and you will receive praise from man on earth. Boast in God and you will have eternal treasures waiting for you in heaven (Mt. 6:1-6).

My friends, to some degree, we all struggle with this sin.

Many are traveling to Florida this time of the year. A story is told of a turtle who wanted to spend the winter in Florida, but he knew he could never walk that far. He convinced a couple of geese to help him, each taking one end of a piece of rope, while he clamped his vise-like jaws in the center. The flight went fine until someone on the ground looked up in admiration and asked, "Who in the world thought of that?" Unable to resist the chance to take credit, the turtle opened his mouth to shout, "I did…" (Leadership, v. 17, n. 2).

Pride goes before the fall (Pr. 16:18)! We must repent of unrighteous boasting lest we too suffer the consequences.

So how can we demonstrate the maximum love for our Lord and the maximum love for others? The answer is one and the same: Obeying the commandments of God. And God has commanded us not to boast. "Love does not boast" (1 Cor. 13:4). None of us feel loved when others parade their accomplishments, because boasting reveals a self-focus. Yet when we understand the greatness of God over ourselves we will naturally boast in Him through our words which are evidenced by our actions. Through our obedience, we will show the greatest love for Him and the greatest love for others. As the Psalmist said, "My soul will make its boast in the Lord; the humble will hear it and rejoice" (Psm. 34:2).