“Boasting In The Cross or Seeking The Praise Of Man”
Galatians 6:11-18
Sermon Series: “Choice”
Main Idea: We must choose to boast in the cross of Jesus Christ instead of living for the praise of men.
We cannot do both and we cannot have it both ways. As Paul concludes this letter, he reiterates his main idea of Jesus, not religion, being the only way to God by stating that the object of his boasting is the cross of Christ. Paul had gone from being religious and persecuting Christians because of the cross to being a Christian and being persecuted by the religious because of the cross. He bore the scars (v. 17) to prove that this is the case. In verse 15, he tells us that circumcision is spiritually meaningless, but the ultimate goal is a changed life. This changed life is only produced by the cross of Christ. Religion is hypocritical and useless. Paul said that these Judaizers who were talking so much about circumcision did not even keep the law. He pointed out three ways they were trying for the praise of men:
1. They were putting on a good face.
2. They were doing what they needed to do to avoid persecution.
3. They wanted them to be circumcised as something of a spiritual trophy.
Therefore, stop trying to please men through religion and embrace the cross of Christ, no matter the cost. A cross in itself was an object of scorn, but Jesus turned it into an object of glory because of what He accomplished on it. We are to worship Him and give Him glory because of what He did for us through the cross. We did to the world and receive a new life because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. What did He actually accomplish?
