BOASTING IN THE GOSPEL (10 OF 26)
Scripture: Romans 3:27-31
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Boasting in the Gospel (10 of 26)
Series: Romans:The Gospel of God
Jonathan McLeod
Romans 3:27-31
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded (v. 27).
OUR ''I'' PROBLEM
What is the humanity's greatest problem? Our greatest problem is our ''I'' problem. Augustine and Martin Luther described our ''I'' problem as being curved inward on oneself. The human heart is curved inward-away from God and others. In other words, we are by nature most devoted to ourselves. We're always looking out for number one. We worship the almighty self.
- When we get a family photo taken, our biggest concern is ''How do I look?''
-When a friend dies, we think, ''I hope I'm in the will.''
- When we go shopping for a new car, we think, ''I wonder which car would most impress my neighbours.''
Paul writes, ''All have sinned'' (v. 23). Our ''I'' problem-being curved inward on ourselves-is the root of all sin. (By the way, notice that the middle letter of ''sin'' is ''I.'') We aren't sinners because we sin; we sin because we're sinners. We aren't self-centered people because we think and act in self-centered ways; we think and act in self-centered ways because we're self-centered people.
Because we're curved inward, we are boastful people-though we try to hide our boasting. When a student gets a 95% on an exam, he wants all of his classmates to know. But he doesn't want to be seen as bragging. So he asks his friend, ''How did you do?'', hoping that his friend will ask him how he did. Then he can reveal to everyone in a ''humble'' that he did better than anyone else.
One of the reasons why social media thrives is because we're boastful people. We post something on Facebook hoping people will think, ''She has such a great marriage''; ''He is so talented.'' We fish for compliments (e.g., selfies).
BOASTING ELIMINATED
In verse 27 the question is raised, ''What then about boasting?'' Paul answers, ''It is excluded [i.e., eliminated].'' No one should boast abo ...
Series: Romans:The Gospel of God
Jonathan McLeod
Romans 3:27-31
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded (v. 27).
OUR ''I'' PROBLEM
What is the humanity's greatest problem? Our greatest problem is our ''I'' problem. Augustine and Martin Luther described our ''I'' problem as being curved inward on oneself. The human heart is curved inward-away from God and others. In other words, we are by nature most devoted to ourselves. We're always looking out for number one. We worship the almighty self.
- When we get a family photo taken, our biggest concern is ''How do I look?''
-When a friend dies, we think, ''I hope I'm in the will.''
- When we go shopping for a new car, we think, ''I wonder which car would most impress my neighbours.''
Paul writes, ''All have sinned'' (v. 23). Our ''I'' problem-being curved inward on ourselves-is the root of all sin. (By the way, notice that the middle letter of ''sin'' is ''I.'') We aren't sinners because we sin; we sin because we're sinners. We aren't self-centered people because we think and act in self-centered ways; we think and act in self-centered ways because we're self-centered people.
Because we're curved inward, we are boastful people-though we try to hide our boasting. When a student gets a 95% on an exam, he wants all of his classmates to know. But he doesn't want to be seen as bragging. So he asks his friend, ''How did you do?'', hoping that his friend will ask him how he did. Then he can reveal to everyone in a ''humble'' that he did better than anyone else.
One of the reasons why social media thrives is because we're boastful people. We post something on Facebook hoping people will think, ''She has such a great marriage''; ''He is so talented.'' We fish for compliments (e.g., selfies).
BOASTING ELIMINATED
In verse 27 the question is raised, ''What then about boasting?'' Paul answers, ''It is excluded [i.e., eliminated].'' No one should boast abo ...
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