“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

But God forbid

“God forbid” literally means, “May it never come to pass.” Paul never wanted to boast about anything but the cross. Anything else was unthinkable to him. Glory in self-accomplishment was both an aversion and a source of worry for him.

that I should boast

In contrast to the legalists’ boast, Paul would not boast about anything except the cross of Christ. He refused to boast about himself or his self-reliance. Paul had much he could brag about in his humanity, but all that was so much manure.

“…have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish [manure], that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:3-11).

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul’s boast is in the cross that gives him eternal salvation. At the heart of the cross is the concept of grace. God gave us salvation based on Christ’s work, not ours.

Paul’s “boast” appears to justify pride, but the word “boast” in this context carries the idea of praise. The cross was an object of shame to the Judaizers, but it was the object of praise to Paul. They glorified in the flesh; Paul glorified in God.

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Principle:

We should never boast in what we do but in what Christ does.

Application:

Religion is based on human performance, while Christianity centers on God’s grace. Religion always rests on self-righteousness, not God’s righteousness that comes from Christ’s cross.

“But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).

The believer does not look for pardon in self but in Christ. If we attempt to find forgiveness through self-effort, we place an obligation on God to forgive us for what we do. If we glory in the cross, we glory in God’s matchless attributes because it took the cross to give us perfect and absolute righteousness.

The cross is the accomplishment of Christ, not us. When God does the work, it is grace. When we do the work, it is works-righteousness. Our innate righteousness is only good relative to other people. The righteousness Christ gives us is relative to God’s absolute righteousness. In other words, God declares us righteous as He is because of the cross.

Legalists put little focus on the cross and more on themselves. To those who are grace-oriented, the cross means everything. We glory in the cross. By rejecting self-righteousness, we maintain a clear view of the cross. When Jesus becomes the center and circumference of our lives, we enter into spirituality as it should be lived.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:8-9).