One of the important characteristics needed to belong to the kingdom of God is humility. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The apostle Paul and the apostle Peter both taught that we are clothe ourselves with humility (Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 5:5). Paul also said that in humility we would count others more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). One of the goals of the gospel is to cause all people to be humble before the Lord and with each other. Please consider that as you study the scriptures you will see that an overriding problem for humanity is the problem of pride. God never proclaims that the problem people have is that they are too humble and they need to think more highly of themselves. Rather, God regularly teaches that the problem is pride and people need to stop thinking so highly about themselves and so much about themselves.
In Romans 3, the apostle Paul has cut to the heart of the problem, proclaiming that there is no one who is righteous. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. But God put forward Jesus as the propitiation through the shedding of his blood to demonstrate his own righteousness. The solution to our sin problem could not come from us because we are worthy of God’s wrath and judgment. The solution to our sin problem had to come from God himself, sacrificing his Son, so that we are justified by grace through his redemption (cf. Romans 3:24). Now after proclaiming the saving power of Christ’s blood, I want us to notice what point Paul must make next. Open your copies of God’s word to Romans 3:27-31.
No Boasting (Romans 3:27-31)
Look at the question the apostle Paul asks in Romans 3:27. “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded” (Romans 3:27 ESV). The human condition seems to be bent on pointing to what we do as a means of our pride. We elevate ourselves based on what we do or do not do. What Paul shows is that whatever you want to point to, that boasting is completely excluded by the gospel. For the Jewish people, they wanted to point to the works of the law. They said that were circumcised, followed the food laws, kept the Sabbaths and feast days, and were given the Law of Moses. Therefore, they pointed to these things as their boast before God. But they were still guilty of sin so they could not boast before God. Further, the law of faith does not allow for boasting. There is no boasting when we have to point what God has done for us because we were not righteous. What could we possibly proclaim about ourselves? “Look at us! We were not righteous and God had to rescue us and redeem us through the death of his Son!” Where is my pride in this? As Paul says here is verse 27, our boasting is excluded. The gospel is intended to break us from looking at ourselves for our righteousness. Listen to what the apostle Paul said to the Corinthian church.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV)
Why did God use things that are not significant by the world’s standards as the means to reconcile the world? Notice that Paul says that God chose the low and despised things so that no one would boast in his presence. Listen to verse 30. “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus…” God did these things so that no one would look at themselves. God did this so that no one would come before God with pride. God did this so that if there is any boasting, it would only be in the Lord, and not in ourselves.
Transactional God
A way for us to look at this problem is to see that we look at God in a transactional way. Jesus understood that this would be our problem. Listen to how Jesus explained this idea in a story he told to the crowds:
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt. 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14 ESV)
Please notice that Luke tells us what Jesus needs address. Jesus is addressing those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. What is the description of the person that trusts in himself that he is righteous? The Pharisee is looking at himself and what he has done. But here is what the Pharisee missed. Fasting twice a week, giving the tithe for all you receive, and not being like the adulterers, unjust, or a tax collector does not justify a person before God. You can say that you are not as bad as your neighbors. You can think that you are not wicked like the people you see on tv. You can do the things that God tells you to do. But these things alone do not justify us before God. This is why the tax collector is shown in contrast. What does he understand? He understands that I have nowhere to go and nothing to do if God is not merciful to me. God must be merciful to the sinner. No amounting of fasting, praying, or tithing is going to change our condition before God. God must show mercy first.
Perhaps somewhat ironically, the Law was never intended to be a place for boasting though Israel used it this way. In verse 31 the apostle Paul says that faith does not nullify the law. Rather, faith upholds the law. God’s law is not so that we would say, “Look at me and what I have done!” God’s law was so we would be humbled by our shortcomings and not filled with pride. God’s law is so that we will say, “Look at God and what he has done!” The problem that Paul is ultimately facing is the problem of looking at God in a transactional way. There is a way of thinking that says, “I did these things and now God must do for me.” Friends, what does God owe you? Please be serious with this question because sometimes we want to quickly answer that God does not owe us anything. But if we are honest, we may see that we have the temptation to make God transactional, that he owes us something because of the things we are doing. What does God owe you in this life? A transactional way of thinking says that I am doing things for God and now he needs to do what I want. Think about how often people look at God in this light. God should be doing what I want and what I ask because I am doing things for him. Please remember that this is exactly how Job’s wife thought about God. When Job is suffering, Job’s wife asks why he continues to hold on to his integrity. He should curse God and die (cf. Job 2:10). Why does Job’s wife say this? She says this because she knows Job’s character. Job is a righteous man who fears God and turns from evil (cf. Job 1:1,8). Do you see the connection? Why fear God, be righteous, and turn from evil if God is not going to do what you want? Job wisely responds that this is foolish talk (cf. Job 2:10). This is not a transactional relationship. The gospel is intended to break such thinking. How many people walk away from a relationship with God because they see God as transactional! They think that what they do for God is to make God do for them. When this does not happen, then they quit on God as if God has let them down. Further, it is pride that says that I do certain things that are to compel God to do certain things for me.
So I will come back to the question. What does God owe you? Do you think your righteousness compels God to do certain things for you? Do you think that you doing various works of obedience that you can now have a certain set of expectations for God and what he will do for you and for the people in your life? When we understand the reality of the gospel then boasting is excluded. When we see that every person stands before God, not as good people, but as people worthy of condemnation, then arrogance is excluded. May I be so bold to say that if there is any air of pride or arrogance or entitlement within us, then we have forgotten the gospel. We have forgotten who we were. We have forgotten what God has done for us. All boasting is excluded.
Responsive To God
The humility of the gospel is what generates our obedience. Sometimes people will read Paul or read Romans and think that his point is to get rid of obedience. He is not. Further, Paul was not dismantling the works of the Law because of the works of the Law were commanded to Israel through the Law of Moses. The people of Israel were not wrong to be circumcised on the eighth day. This was commanded. The people of Israel were not wrong for keeping the Sabbath and the feast days. Those things were commanded by God. The people were not wrong for following the food laws. Those food laws were commanded. These things did separate and show Israel as different from the world. The problem was not that they were seeking to do what God said. The problem was, as Jesus put it, that doing what God asked caused them to be arrogant and look down on others with contempt. To put this into our day and time, the problem is not that we are repenting of our sins, being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, meeting on the first day of the week for worshiping our Savior, partaking of the Lord’s Supper to remember his death and resurrection, or any other activity we do that God has commanded us to do. We must do what God has asked us to do or else we are not disciples of Jesus. We do these things because we have humbled ourselves before him, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Only pride resists what God has told us to do. Humility is amazed by God’s love toward us while we were still sinners and then goes and does what God has told us to do.
But there is another way that we can see our lack of humility. Jesus referenced this in his parable. We look down on others with contempt. We have a real problem with this in our culture today. We look down on others with contempt. The gospel has not taken root within us if we look down on others like the Pharisee did to the tax collector. The gospel has not taken root within us if we look down on others like the Jews looked down on the Gentiles, which is the point in Romans 3:29-30. It is only when we are looking at our relationship with God correctly that we can look at each other correctly.
The Humility of the Gospel
The gospel is to humble us. The gospel does not make us proud. The gospel is to burst our bubble. We aren’t good enough. We are not righteous enough. God expects his love to break our pride, break our transactional thinking, and humbly obey him. Listen to how Paul speaks of himself:
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17 ESV)
Notice that Paul does not speak of the work of Christ merely generically and universally but also personally. Jesus came to save sinners, and I am the foremost. But I received mercy as a display of Christ’s perfect patience to bring all people to himself. This leads him to explode in praise in verse 17. The glory belongs to God. The only thing God owes us what he has promised to us. We do not and cannot put God into our debt. But we trust in the character of God and depend on the word of God because he always does what he says.