Grace in Galatians (Part 193) – STOP Boasting In Anything That Can Be Taken From You

https://youtu.be/VOu2u0o6CHo?si=6TQVmftdiRTTjgrK

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Galatians 6:14 NIV“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.”

Galatians 6:14 TPT“May I never boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, for through him I have died, and the world has died to me.”

Supporting scriptures:

Philippians 3:7-8 TPT“Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap.”

Galatians 2:20 AMPC“I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Romans 6:6 TPT“Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deeply submerged in his death? Now we are no longer living as slaves to sin.”

1 John 2:15-16 TPT“Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world or in loving the things of the world. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible.”

1 Corinthians 1:18 TPT“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Colossians 2:14 TPT“Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation.”

Hebrews 6:19 TPT“We have this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24 ERV“This is what the Lord says: ‘A wise man should not brag about how wise he is. A strong man should not brag about how strong he is. A rich man should not brag about how rich he is. If someone wants to brag, then let him brag about this: Let him brag that he learned to know me.'”

Setting the Stage:

Friday, we closed out Galatians 6:13. We spent two days on that verse, and we saw how the Apostle Paul was pulling back the curtain on the Judaizers. He exposed them for who they were and their motives. Today, in verse 14, he turns the camera around. He stops talking about THEM and starts talking about HIM.

Galatians 6:14 NIV says, “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.” Three movements. The cross is Paul’s only boast. The world has been crucified to him. He has been crucified to the world. Two crucifixions at the same cross. I call this “mutual crucifixion.” And every believer who finally understands it get to enjoy the freedom of God’s amazing grace. Let’s get into it.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. You Have To Get To The Point Where Your Life Is All About Jesus.

Picture Paul taking the pen from his scribe to write the last lines of this letter himself. Right after he calls out the Judaizers, he writes, “May I never boast except in the cross.” Read that. Never. Not in his credentials. Not in his missionary journeys. Not in the churches he planted. The man who could have boasted in more than almost anyone alive (at the time) said, “I refuse to boast in any of it.” Why? Because Paul had reached a place where his whole life was about ONE Person. JESUS. Not Jesus and his resume. Not Jesus and his ministry. Just Jesus. And that is the place every believer should aspire to get to.

How this applies to you:

— Whatever you boast in (brag about) is what you are leaning on. Meaning, this is your focus.

— Paul had every reason to brag, and he refused to do it. Philippians 3:7-8 TPT says, “Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord!” Read that line. He took every trophy off the shelf and threw it on the garbage heap. Prior to getting born again, he was a rising star amongst the Jewish religious elite, but after he got born again, the power of the cross spoiled all of that. Everything he had done to that point, he pretty much gave up for the cause of Christ. And not only was he willing to give up his previous identity, but he was willing to give up the rest of his life as well. 

— I gave my life to Christ on August 27, 1995. I can identify with the zeal, passion, fervor, and energy that the Apostle Paul put into his conversion. Once I realized I was born again, I was willing to do anything the Lord led me to do. My transformation was somewhat radical. I used to be a Mason, and the Lord told me to walk away from it. I went to the lodge to tell the people there that I would no longer be practicing Masonry. I had hundreds of CDs of music, and the Lord told me (at least for that season) that I needed to stop listening to it, so I threw it all in the trash. I can give you other examples, but my point was that I was willing to do whatever the Lord wanted me to do to become who he called me to be. But there are two parts to what the Apostle Paul was talking about:

1. His radical transformation and how he had to pretty much denounce everything he had been working on. I already did that.

2. He had to make sure Jesus was the singular focus of the rest of his life.

I can tell you that I’m working on that, just like most of us are. I have to catch myself from time to time if I allow pride to get into my heart and have to recalibrate myself so that Jesus is both the center and circumference of my existence.

— I want you to imagine somebody handing Paul a microphone in a stadium and saying, “Tell us what makes you great.” Paul takes the mic, and he says one word. “Jesus.” No resume. No story. One word answer. Because by that point in his walk, Paul’s whole life was about ONE Person, and there was nothing else in the universe worth talking about.

— I know people boast about a lot of things today, but in God’s Kingdom, anything you can lose is too small to boast in.

— I have learned that any believer who boasts in his own life a believer who eventually get shaken. Bodies break down. Bank accounts shrink. Titles change. Children grow up and move out. Friends come and go. But the cross of Jesus Christ stands forever. The cross does not depreciate.

— The cross is the only boast that cannot be lost, stolen, or taken from you.

— I will close this point with this. Jeremiah 9:23-24 ERV says, “A wise man should not brag about how wise he is. A strong man should not brag about how strong he is. A rich man should not brag about how rich he is. If someone wants to brag, then let him brag about this: Let him brag that he learned to know me.” Notice the priority list. Wisdom. Strength. Riches. That is what the world still brags about today. And God says all three are unworthy of a believer’s boast. Knowing Him is the only worthy boast in the universe. Boast in the cross. Boast in Jesus. Boast in grace!

2. At The Cross, The World Lost Its Grip On You.

Picture the day Paul met Jesus on the Damascus road. He went from Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle in one encounter. And everything changed. The credentials stopped mattering. The applause stopped mattering. The rewards stopped tempting him. Why? Because on that road, Paul saw something the world could not match. He saw the love of God poured out for a sinner he knew he was. And once you have seen the cross with eyes wide open, the world stops being able to compete. That is what Paul means when he says, “the world has been crucified to me.” The cross broke its grip.

How this applies to you:

— 1 John 2:15-16 TPT says, “Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world or in loving the things of the world. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible.” Read that word. Incompatible. You cannot run both operating systems at the same time. One has to die for the other to live. The cross killed your love affair with the world so the love of the Father could flourish. 

— Read the following. Jesus said this. Consider the implications of what Jesus said.

“Then Jesus called the people and his followers to him. He said, ‘Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me and for the Good News will save it.” (Mark 8:34,35 ERV). Jesus was basically saying you can’t have it both ways. If you’re gonna follow him, you got to let go of the life you created. Without it, if you try to hold on to both, you can have neither. If you’re willing to give up the life that you created for the life that He destined for you to have, you will have an amazing life. It will be the life you were going to live. 

— Say this: “The cross broke the world’s grip on me!”

— Colossians 2:14 TPT says, “Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation.” Read those four words. Public display of cancellation. The cross was not a private transaction. It was a public verdict. The world’s claim on you was canceled in front of every spiritual power in existence. The bill was paid. The receipt was nailed up. You walked out a free man.

— I want you to picture a believer who still lets the world set the terms of his life. He chases the world’s applause. He fears the world’s disapproval. He measures his worth by the world’s standards. That is a man the cross has not finished working on. The cross does not just save you. It dethrones the world in your heart. And the believer who refuses to let it dethrone the world is the believer who stays exhausted. They are failing to rest in God’s grace. 

— You can be born again and still be focused on the world, but the Bible calls you carnal.

— I have to be honest with you. There was a season earlier in my life where I was a believer, a soldier, and a Christian leader, but I was still letting the world have a vote on my heart. I was working hard, climbing the ladder, chasing achievement, and reading the room to see whose approval I needed next. The Holy Spirit kept pulling me back. He kept saying, “Son, you are working for an audience I did not invite into your life.” When I finally let the cross silence the world’s vote, my whole walk changed. I started living for One Audience, and I never went back. Now I’m free to do whatever the Holy Spirit leads me to do, whether the world agrees with it or not. 

— You do not have to chase the world. You do not have to impress the world. You do not have to fear the world. The world that crucified your Lord has no authority over you. Walk in that freedom every single day!

3. At The Cross, You Lost Your Grip On The World.

This is where the verse cuts deepest. Paul does not stop at “the world has been crucified to me.” He keeps writing. “And I to the world.” Two crucifixions. Same cross. Mutual death. Here is what this means. The grip cuts both ways. The world cannot pull you in if you have died to it, but you cannot reach back for it either. You cannot keep one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom. And every honest believer will admit this is the harder half of the verse. Letting go of the world’s grip on US is easy. Letting go of OUR grip on the world is where the real surrender happens.

How this applies to you:

— Galatians 2:20 AMPC says, “I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me.” Read it. Crucified WITH Christ. Not next to Him. With Him. Your old life ended at the cross the same day His life ended at the cross. The grave does not give back what the cross took.

— If you keep one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom, you will never enjoy God’s true peace.

— Romans 6:6 TPT says, “Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deeply submerged in his death? Now we are no longer living as slaves to sin.” Read those words. Deeply submerged. Not just dipped. Not just sprinkled. Submerged. The cross drowned the old you. The man you used to be does not get to come back to life.

— The cross was not selective; it killed both sides of the old relationship.

— I want you to picture a believer trying to live a double life. He sings on Sunday and chases the world on Monday. He preaches the Kingdom in church and lives the world in his living room. He is exhausted. And he is exhausted because he is trying to do something the cross will not let him do. The cross will not allow you to be half-dead. Either both crucifixions happen, or neither one does.

— The hand that lets go of the world is the same hand that gets to hold on to Jesus. You have to let go so you can lay hold!

— You do not lose anything worth keeping when you let go of the world. Everything the world gave you was temporary anyway. Everything Jesus gives you is eternal. When you let the cross sever both sides of that old relationship, you do not lose your life. You finally find it! And the life you find is the life God planned for you before the foundation of the world!

4. Anchor Your Life To The Cross And You Will Outlast Every Storm.

Here is the practical payoff of this verse. When the cross becomes your only boast, you become unshakeable. If your boast is your job, a layoff will shake you. If your boast is your bank account, a market crash will shake you. If your boast is your reputation, a rumor will shake you. Every earthly boast is contingent upon circumstances. But the cross? The cross is finished, sealed, and eternal. Nothing in this life can undo what Jesus accomplished at Calvary. 

How this applies to you:

— The cross is the one event in the universe that nothing can undo.

— I have lived long enough to watch men and women build their identities on a hundred different things. Wealth, position, family, ministry, reputation, education, and accomplishments. I have also watched every one of those things fail somebody at some point. The only believer who is truly unshakeable is the believer whose boast is anchored to the cross.

— Hebrews 6:19 TPT says we have “this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself.” Read the language. Strong. Unbreakable. The cross is that anchor. You can step out on it with the full weight of your life, and it will not collapse beneath you.

— The storms cannot reach what is anchored to the cross. You must build your life on the ROCK!

— Some of you are walking through a storm right now. A storm in your marriage. A storm in your finances. A storm in your health. A storm in your career. A storm in your family. I want you to hear this from a man who has weathered a few storms of his own. The storm is not bigger than the cross. Anchor your boast there. The storm will lose.

— I have been waiting on God for over 13 years for something specific He promised me. There were stretches where everything around me looked like it was going backward. People I trusted moved on. Doors that should have opened stayed closed. Seasons of obscurity stretched longer than I thought I could bear. But through every one of those years, the cross did not move. Jesus was still my Savior. Grace was still my source. My name was still in the Lamb’s Book of Life. This is what helps my life have the stablity I need for the long haul!

— I will close this point with this. Circumstances will rise and fall. Seasons will come and go. The world will shift around you a thousand times. But the cross stays. Jesus stays. Grace stays. Your salvation stays. And the believer who has learned to boast only in the cross has learned the secret of standing strong when everything else is falling apart. Boast in the cross. Lean on the cross. Anchor to the cross. And let the storm do whatever it has to do, because you will still be standing when it leaves!

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that the cross of Jesus Christ is settled, finished, and eternal, and nothing in this life can undo what You accomplished at Calvary!

I refuse to boast in anything except the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, and I lay every other boast at His feet!

The world has been crucified to me, and the world’s applause, the world’s threats, and the world’s rewards have lost their grip on my life!

I have been crucified to the world, and I refuse to live a double life that reaches back for what the cross already severed!

I am crucified with Christ, and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me!

I am anchored to the one event in the universe that nothing can move, and the storms of life cannot reach what is fastened to the cross!

I refuse to lean on anything that can be lost, taken, or shaken, and I lean my full weight on the finished work of Jesus!

The cross silenced the world’s vote in my life and replaced it with the voice of my Father, and I walk every day in the assurance that I am already His beloved!

When everything around me changes, the cross does not change, and the believer who boasts only in the cross is the believer who can never be moved!

I am living in THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, I am Living THE GRACE LIFE, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!