J.A. Matteson
Beloved, in your dealings with people as Christ's ambassador, consider how you speak of those whom you have influenced for Christ. "But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ..." (Gal. 6:14). The object of your boasting reveals much about your understanding of the cross of Christ. What is the nature of your boast with those whom you have impacted? Consider the object of the apostles boast, it was in the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross on behalf of His people. He understood that as Christ was lifted up He would draw all people to Himself, Gentile as well as Jew, that the message of the cross was not exclusive, but freely offered to all with ears to hear, and that by the keeping of the Law no one would be saved. To boast in the cross of Christ is to credit His work alone for all that is praiseworthy in the person who confesses Jesus as Lord, for apart from the work of the Spirit no one can confess Him as Lord. Their conversion and sanctification is the mark of grace in them, the evidence that they are children of promise, that the unseen circumcision of the heart by the Spirit has occurred, that by their confession and possession of genuine faith they have been sealed for the day of redemption. They need not conform to outward cultural norms, be they societal or denominational, to be validated as genuine heirs of grace, for their validation is hidden in Christ and evidenced by their progress in Him according to His Spirt who works mightily in them. It is in this finished work of Christ on the cross, with its effectual power by the Spirit in all who believe, that we greatly rejoice! Therefore, beware of burdening any brother or sister in Christ with dictates established by men which are antithetical to the grace of God. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free, do not be bound again by fabricated yokes of men.
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