Our Only Boast

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:14-16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As Christians, we naturally possess the same mindset as the world around us. We think there is something that we can do to attain salvation. We think there is something we must do.

Many of us think of the Christian Faith as a mere set of morals. If we live up to these moral standards, we think that we are deserving of salvation. If we largely follow these principles (recognizing that we can never do so perfectly), we think that we are entitled to God’s blessings.

The measure of these standards is different from person to person. For some, it’s embodied in the Ten Commandments. For others, the standard is love. And for still more, the standard is simply “do no harm.” But, whatever the standard may be, it’s in this way that we seek to attain salvation.

Many of us also depend upon ritual and ceremony. Even though Scripture tells us that we are saved through baptism, we view this not as a sacrament nor as a means of grace. We view it as our contribution to our salvation. And the same can be said of other practices of the church.

However, it all comes down to one thing. It comes down to us and the things we’ve done. And, for this reason, we boast in ourselves.

If we rightly understand the gospel, this cannot be. We realize that we can do nothing to contribute to our salvation in any way. And, for this reason, we cannot boast in ourselves.

The only thing we contribute to our salvation is our need to be saved. We are helpless. We are weak. We are incapable.

As Paul says, in the above passage, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision count for anything. The only thing that counts is a new creation. So, far be it from us to boast in ourselves.

Our salvation was accomplished by Christ alone. It was accomplished only in the cross of Christ. In him we are crucified to the world and the world is crucified to us. So, he alone is our reason to boast. And he is where peace and mercy are found.