The One Who Boasts in the Cross of Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:11-18)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” Through Jesus Christ, may the great grace of God be upon all of you today. What do you think is a blessing? The blessing God has given is different from the blessing you’re thinking of. You cannot raise up the world with the blessings you know of. Satan is currently taking you into the “blessings” that are actually lies.
If you have received grace, it means you’ve come out of this false blessing, and the sign of those who have received grace is that they have come into the correct blessing. Because of your prayers, we have come back from the El Salvador mission camp well. I heard it was an extremely dangerous region, but I was able to see the work of God that worked in advance, sending His heavenly armies.
Elijah was surrounded by 180,000 Aram soldiers, but he confessed, “Those who are with us are greater than those who are with them.” As evidence of this, around 3 months ago, there was a new president in El Salvador who imprisoned about 40,000 gang members. From the very moment we began praying about this in May, God began to work like that. If it is truly God’s will and truly the way that He has prepared for us, we believe He will work in this way.
The people there were extremely nice and gentle, and the region where we were had beautiful nature as well. There was also an incredible number of people who practiced witchcraft and were sick and needed healing from demon-possession. In fact, there was a region nearby that was so famous that even people from other nations would come here to receive healing and even do secret abortions there under the government’s nose.
Any time a pastor would try to come and set up a church there, they did not know the spiritual world, so they had to leave. Witchcraft means that people are possessed by demons, and there’s the actual work of evil spirits going on. Regardless of whether someone is a pastor or not, they need to know the spiritual mystery in order to overcome this environment, but they did not so they had to leave, and I believe this is a nation to which we must continue our missions.
1. The one who boasts in the flesh
1) Circumcision
We will finish the book of Galatians today. The field of the churches 2000 years ago is the same as the field of the churches today. There are people inside the church who say there is something more we need in the church in addition to the words of Jesus Christ, and back then, there were people who said, “You need to be circumcised.” When people emphasize things like this, there’s a reason why.
(1) Become the God of Abraham and descendants (Gen. 17:7)
The Israelite people were circumcised as a promise to show the covenant between God and Abraham.
(2) Possess the land of Canaan (Gen. 17:8)
And secondly, the covenant to give them the land of Canaan. Those words are true, but because they did not understand what it meant for Jesus Christ to come, they still emphasized the circumcision. Once they believe in Jesus Christ, they now become children of God and God promised to give them the entire world as their enterprise through Jesus Christ, but they didn’t understand this, so they must emphasize the circumcision.
If you do not know what Jesus Christ has done, you will constantly emphasize something else. The law is the Word of God, but you will always be emphasizing Jesus Christ, plus the actions of the law. If you knew and believed Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law Himself, you would not have to emphasize that. Jesus Christ Himself is power, and when you call upon the name of Jesus Christ, you will receive power. But if you don’t know that, you will always emphasize, “I need Jesus, but I also need power.” That’s why Jesus Christ is constantly being weakened. We must have “only Jesus Christ” in order to solve the problems this world cannot solve. The moment we say, “Jesus Christ is correct, but other things are also correct,” we cannot solve the problems of the world.
There’s nothing that can solve the problems of America, it doesn’t matter how many churches there are. Only the church that understands the reason why it must be only Jesus Christ can America’s problems be solved. The shooting that happened in Chicago, even though there were so many churches in the region, there was not one that gave them the accurate gospel. Because these people are going to church without knowing the answer of only Jesus Christ, even as they go to church, they do not know the answer.
Then the harm of that will enter into your children. There’s no guarantee that this will not happen. During the age of Noah, the sons of God married the daughters of men, and that’s when the disasters of the flood came upon them all. Only Noah, who held onto the blood covenant, blocked that disaster. It is in your hands whether you will save this field or leave it be.
(3) Every male shall be circumcised (Gen. 17:10)
What determines whether the churches of Galatia are able to save the entire region of Macedonia or not? It is whether or not they concluded, Only the gospel.” Because they did not understand the conclusion of “only Christ,” there were so many people inside their churches who emphasized, “You need Jesus Christ, but you also need to be circumcised,” and they bragged about how many people were circumcised. Through God’s Word, God is revealing the inner state of their heart.
2) Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh (Gal. 6:12)
(1) Trying to compel you to be circumcised (Gal. 6:12)
These are the people who are boasting of their own fame or glory through the acts of people.
(2) To avoid being persecuted
(3) Do not personally keep the law
If these people talked about Jesus Christ, they would be persecuted by the Jews in the region, so they talked about Jesus and circumcision. Even those who are emphasizing the law cannot keep this law themselves. They use their keeping of the law to boast of themselves. They’re only boasting of themselves; there’s no glory of Jesus Christ because they’re not giving the gospel.
3) Boast in the flesh (Gal. 6:13)
(1) Physical result of being circumcised
(2) Self achievement
Some think of religion for their own benefit. Whether it’s in the past or today, there are still people who use religion as a way to reveal and elevate themselves, to gain power and to pull people towards them. If you truly evangelize, you will only reveal the works of God and you will only boast of Jesus Christ, but because something else has gone inside them, they boast of something else.
(3) Live as enemies of the cross (Phil. 3:18)
Phil 3:18 says these people live as enemies of the cross, and if people become like this, their church will rot away. The church is the light and salt of this world. “I must save this rotting earth,” but they cannot do that.
2. The one who boasts in the cross
1) Cross – Christ
When Paul looks at these people who boast and impress people by the means of their flesh, he said, “I only boast of Jesus Christ.” Paul was a Roman citizen, born in Rome. He was someone who was very well-learned in all of the Old Testament, and he was a future leader who was trained under the greatest intellectuals of the age, and he used to boast of that. But for some reason, there was always something stuck in his heart.
Just like today, there are people who have an American citizenship, they graduated from the greatest colleges, they got the greatest jobs at the greatest companies, they have a house and a car, there is nothing they lack. However, they have mental illnesses they cannot solve. No matter how much they boast of physical words, they cannot solve the conflicts, the envy, and the fear that is inside of them. There are also people who received a scar from their family while they were young, so they keep packaging themselves to hide their scar. In reality, they’re not really boasting of themselves; they only do that to cover up their inferiority complex and their scars. That’s because they do not understand what Jesus Christ has done on the cross.
(1) The world has been crucified to me (Gal. 6:14)
(2) I am crucified to the world (Gal. 6:14)
Paul claims, “The cross of Jesus Christ was me being crucified to the world.” It is the incident that crucified the sin and curses of the world on the cross. I have died on the cross of Jesus Christ to the point where sin has no bearing on me, and I have also been crucified to the world. If I’m dead on the cross with Christ, then I am now living with Christ and the world is irrelevant to me and I’m only connected with Christ.
(3) Never boast except in the cross (Gal. 6:14)
“Now there’s nothing for me to boast of beyond the cross.” He’s someone who has experienced this. The problem that you and I have is that we boast of incorrect things. Because we boast of the same things King Solomon did, your physical, personal, and family problems cannot be solved. You have been called as the light and salt of the world, but you are boasting of the incorrect things. Instead of boasting of Jesus Christ, you boast of yourselves and how many members attend your church. Instead of boasting about Jesus Christ, you boast about what kind of person your pastor is.
You cannot solve the problems of America with that kind of blessing, and you will not be able to solve the problems of the future. Even the president cannot solve all the shootings that are happening. Only the one who confesses, “I have nothing to boast of beyond the cross of Jesus Christ,” has no problems. You cannot change what you brag about by legalistically saying, “This is what I have to brag about now,” but the value of Christ must truly come into your heart. Now it doesn’t even matter whether you’re circumcised or not, it is not a problem. What is important is that I have become a new creation through Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means you’re now a new creation. The “me” that used to live centered on myself and the physical things I see has been crucified on the cross and now I live, centered on Christ.
2) The one who became a new creation (Gal. 6:15)
(1) It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
That’s what it means in John 19:30, “It is finished,” all the laws and traditions and circumcision and feasts and sacrifices of the Old Testament have been finished. No longer ask about your sins because the problems of your past, present, and future have been solved at once. Then what about the sins you continue to commit? You can just change those now, there’s no reason to go to hell for them. My new life is that I’ve died on the cross with Christ and now the spirit of Christ lives within me. I have been born anew. You have to know the “you” that is born anew in order to enjoy the blessings God has given to you.
(2) Christ is the master in me (Gal. 2:20)
Let’s say there was a child who had no parents and they were adopted, and now their family has changed. This child’s status has changed from one without parents to one with parents, so now they must live a new life, and as much as the parents have power, they can benefit the child. But what happens if this orphan was now adopted, but he still thinks in the ways he lived while on the streets? Then he loses all the physical blessings.
(3) New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
The fact that you’re a new creation means that now, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, is living within you, taking complete responsibility for your life. Are there any of you who are suffering because of scars of your past? Do you have any enemies? Once you receive God’s grace to understand what the word “Christ” means, you’ll let go of all those things. Why did you get that scar? You got a scar because you didn’t believe in the power of God, and you were only trying to endure on your own, and then you got scarred. That scar cannot be solved just by going to church. The scar you received from when you were five years old with your parents is still with you, making you act five years old in that aspect.
So when you think about that scar, you act as if you’re still five years old, and the other adults around you will say, “What’s wrong with them? They’re thinking like they’re five.” Do you remember when you failed? You were so sure of yourself but you failed, and that’s why you entered into despair. Do you have an inferiority complex? How can you solve something like that? Can you solve it by going to church? Can you solve it by praying diligently? Can it be solved by transcendental meditation? Can it be solved by giving a lot of offering? It will not be solved. What must you do to solve this?
Apostle Paul says, “I boast of my weaknesses.” What does it mean that he boasts of his past failures and his inferiority complex? It means now, those things are irrelevant to him. “Because of those things, I was able to know Christ. Now, I’m no longer myself but the Holy Spirit of Christ living within me is the new ‘me.’” Why is it that I believe in Jesus Christ, but I still have mental issues? Are there any mental patients in your family? Or do you still have the same problems that are not being solved? Nothing you do can solve that. What must you know?
3) Holy Spirit
(1) Boast of my weaknesses (2 Cor. 11:30)
(2) With (Gal. 6:1)
Once you truly understand the words that the One Who has all authority in heaven and on earth is with me forever, you will be freed from those problems. Because those problems will no longer be able to bring you down, because the One Who has all authority in heaven and on earth is with me, but there are some people who still don’t understand. They say, “Pastor, those words are irrelevant because I still have these problems and they need to go away quickly.” That problem must not go away, that problem must become irrelevant to you. A religious life is begging and praying and serving just to get rid of your problems.
While Apostle Paul was on this earth, the problems of this earth were still there, but those problems were irrelevant to him, why? Because he actually believed in and enjoyed the fact that God was with him, those problems were irrelevant. Because he knows that mystery, he had no choice but to rejoice in the gospel. May you quickly escape from your religious life. It is not about being centered on yourself, trying to solve your own problems, the problems must become irrelevant to you, but there are some people who still don’t understand. “Pastor, I still have this problem, how can you say it’s irrelevant to me?”
Shall I give you one example? If a child trusts in her father, she doesn’t have to worry about the problems in her life. That child doesn’t have any money and she doesn’t even have a car to go to school, but she never worries about that. When they think about it personally not having money or not being able to go to school, it’s not a problem, but because that child trusts in her father, it’s not a problem for them, but we don’t believe in this simple gospel. Because we don’t understand it, the problems of the world continue. We must understand these words to boast of nothing other than the cross of the gospel.
Being centered on yourself is still being stuck in the sin of Genesis 3. You’re always worried about your business failing, and you relay that into your life. Because of that, even after receiving the gospel, you’re not able to enjoy the gospel, but that’s irrelevant to you now. My Master is Christ, Christ is the one controlling my business. If I fail, then I simply fail. That doesn’t mean you’ll never fail. The one who knows, enjoys, and boasts of this gospel. Without a doubt, God will not leave that business alone, because God must work upon your business to proclaim this gospel, but there’s no businessperson who proclaims only this gospel. There are many elites, but there are no elites who boast of only the gospel of Christ. Even at the church, they keep boasting of their elite-ness.
In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul says, “I have more to boast of physically than you do,” and it’s not because he was simply holding it back, but it’s because he had nothing to boast about. There’s nothing for me to boast about other than knowing Jesus Christ. Even the president cannot solve the problems of this land. It doesn’t matter how great the president is, they cannot stop the problems of Satan, curses, and disasters. No government official can solve the worsening problems of addiction.
When we went to El Salvador, there were many people practicing witchcraft to heal people’s diseases. They had no other choice because they did not have any hospitals, but even if a church goes in there, they cannot solve it, because the devil knows. The devil said, “I know Jesus and I know about Paul, but who are you?” and he beat up the seven sons of Sceva. The angel that fell to the earth has a personality, and so he goes into our personality, and that’s how he brings about our mental illness and depression, but if you don’t know the source of that issue, you only think about your own pain and suffering. Even if that person doesn’t accept the gospel, if you tell them the reason why they’re suffering that way, they wouldn’t go so far as shooting people. It’s not that they want to, but they’re seized and have no choice but to do it.
There are many churches and many believers and people who boast of physical things, but if there’s even one person who boasts of this correct gospel, it wouldn’t go as far as those disasters. When does that begin? When you confess honestly that you have nothing to boast about except the cross. It doesn’t matter how big the church gets; they’re powerless against Satan. Right now, unbelievers are practicing transcendental meditation but the more you do that, the more evil spirits go into you. But because the churches don’t understand the spiritual mystery, they can’t do anything about it.
Steve Jobs built his entire great industry from the power he got from transcendental meditation, but the churches are not able to understand why or how. Michael Jackson was able to lead all of his great business and music through possession by evil spirits, but the churches are not able to understand that. They know Jesus, but they do not know the Christ. They know the Christ but they do not know the complete and perfect Christ.
What does Christ mean? He is the King who has overcome the authority of Satan. The field is seized by the authority of Satan, but the reason Jesus isn’t going into the field is because you do not know the Christ. Everyone knows Jesus forgives sins, but they don’t know He also overcame the power of Satan, so even though the field is sieved by Satan, they cannot do anything about it. They talk about the death of Jesus but they don’t talk about the resurrection.
The death of Jesus is our death. All the curses and disasters of our sin have died on the cross, and that’s the solution, but because His death is all we talk about, the problems are not solved. We must also testify of the victorious Christ Who overcame the authority of Satan and death through His resurrection. That Christ is alive right now and is living inside of me as my Lord. That’s how we are set free from scars, that’s how even if someone talks about my inferiority complex, it doesn’t matter because I have Someone Who is strong.
Let’s say your family has enough money to live for the rest of your life. Just because you walk outside looking like a homeless person doesn’t mean you feel oppressed because of it, because you have enough money for the rest of your life, and if someone criticizes the way you dress, you wouldn’t care about it at all, because you’re able to say, “Oh, this is my actual state.” It’s the same thing with Jesus. “Yes, I’m weak,” but why are you trying to hide your weakness? You keep trying to hide and cover up your weakness and present yourself in another way because you don’t know the meaning of Christ.
Apostle Paul boasted of his weakness, why? Because the Strong One is with me. If true strength is with you, the more you try to do something to cover up your weakness, the more you’ll be diseased. That’s what you call, covering yourself up. You cover yourself up with false humility, that’s what the churches teach you but that’s not what the Bible teaches you. No matter what problems come, it’s irrelevant. No matter what kind of problems are piling up in your family, it’s irrelevant, but because it’s relevant to you, you’re oppressed by it, so you have nothing to boast about. Why is it irrelevant to you? Because the Lord is with you.
(3) Guidance of Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18)
(4) Working of Holy Spirit (Gal. 6:8)
In Psalm 23, David makes the same confession as Paul, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” He doesn’t say that it was okay because the darkness went away, but he says, “Because the LORD is with me, it’s irrelevant.” This gospel must come into you truly and you must believe it in order for you to escape from your fear, and that’s how you can give this answer to your field. Otherwise, in order to receive a doctorate degree, you have to go into your 30s. You spend a third of your life going to school to get a doctorate degree and then you’re afflicted by a mental illness? What kind of life is that?
The more elite someone is, the less they talk about their personal problems. People look at this person’s great education and think they must not have a problem. They look at this person’s physical background and think, “They must not have a problem,” but because of those things, these people are not able to reveal their problems to others. That person brings their problems and goes to the church, but because everyone in the church looks at them physically and thinks they’re so great, this elite person has no way to solve their problems. That person is so thirsty in their life, they’re desperate because all of their education, background, and money are not an answer. But if the church doesn’t talk about only Christ and they talk about actions or something else, that person will leave.
We don’t need that in America, that’s already all over America. There are a lot of elites, and we have a lot of skilled people and people doing very nice things. What are they lacking? There is no one who boasts of the cross of Jesus Christ. That must go into you in order for them to come to life. But the churches keep boasting of other things, “This is what we done, or what we have,” instead of boasting of Jesus Christ. “This time, we went on a mission and these are the works we did,” instead of boasting of Jesus, they boast of themselves. I’m sure our church isn’t like that, but it’s because they don’t know the value of the cross of Jesus Christ.
3. The one who has the marks of Jesus
1) Circumcision
(1) Circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2:29)
Apostle Paul says, “These people have received a physical circumcision but I have received an invisible circumcision of the heart,” so now, the circumcision is not about your actions, but it’s about your spirit. Because people keep talking about the physical form, they want to receive compliments from other people.
(2) Not by the written code but by the Spirit (Rom. 2:29)
(3) Not praise from people but from God (Rom 2:29)
Romans 2:29 says to not be complimented by people, but by God.
2) Marks of the flesh
Paul says, “I have received the marks of circumcision on my flesh.” First, he talks about the circumcision of his heart and spirit, but then he says, “I have been a servant of the Lord my whole life. Now the world and I are irrelevant to each other, and I live for only Christ.”
(1) 5 times, forty lashes minus one (2 Cor. 11:24)
For the sake of this gospel, I have received 40 lashes minus one, five times, and I bear the marks of that on my flesh.” Lashing means being whipped by sharp objects tied to the ends of a whip, and he received forty minus one lashes five times.
(2) 3 times beaten with rods (2 Cor. 11:25)
(3) Pelted with stones (2 Cor. 11:25)
He was also beaten three times with rods and pelted with stones, and he still has the marks from that. He says, “Are you guys still boasting of the physical marks of the circumcision? I boast of Jesus.” Paul was not boasting of his own actions, but because of the gospel and because of the Christ, He received those marks on his flesh. So then he says, “May they no longer bother me. May the churches no longer pester people over unnecessary things. Instead, boast about Jesus.” Why do you keep boasting of the things of your past and how you immigrated here? That person is oppressed themselves because they cannot boast of Jesus, and when they face a little problem, they cannot endure it, because in their head, they have Jesus, but their heart hasn’t become gospelized, so they become oppressed.
3) Because of the Gospel
(1) Did I experience physical loss?
Have you ever been at a physical disadvantage because of the gospel? Paul was someone who faced a physical disadvantage because of the gospel, and the one who goes through this well is a leader. In fact, if anything, because he believed in Jesus, he failed physically, because he realized the value of the gospel, those things became irrelevant to him.
(2) Did I fail?
Have you ever failed because of or for the gospel? Have you ever died for the gospel? You’re holding onto the gospel so you don’t die; because you’re always alive, it’s still a problem for you. Have you ever completely let go of your life before Christ? Because you haven’t done that, you hold onto your life persistently. Because businesspeople are holding onto their lives so tightly, Jesus Christ is just a theory to them.
(3) Did I suffer?
Have you ever cried because of the gospel? Have you ever suffered because of the gospel? You may have cried because you did something wrong and were punished for it, but have you ever cried because of the gospel? That’s why Paul is saying, “No longer trouble me. Stop pushing the church around with words that don’t even make sense, because you can’t do world evangelization with that.” It is the incident of the cross that is completely enough. I died on the cross with the Lord, so what is there to boast about, what is there for me to feel inferior about? What is there for you to feel unfair about? You’re dead, but because you keep thinking about your name and your benefit, you feel like you’ve been conned or like you’ve been wronged, but now, there is only the gospel of Christ.
But because people go to church without ever receiving this pure and accurate gospel, they are misunderstanding the gospel. With the Christ they know about, they cannot boast about it. You must have the content that has no choice but to result in evangelism. Let’s say your child is successful, but with your physical successes, you will change your conversation around to boast about it. Even if no one asks you, they talk about themselves, but you turn the story around to talk about your child because you want to brag.
There’s one elder I know, and he used to be the teacher of a former president, and he would always boast, ”Oh, this president was my disciple,” even though he didn’t actually teach him. People have no other choice, if someone likes something, they’re bound to boast about it. I’m not saying that’s bad, I’m not telling you to hold back if you really want to brag about it, but I’m saying there’s nothing in our life worth boasting about. It’s great if there’s someone like that around you, but is that really the thing you are most proud of in your life? It’s true, only when the cross of Jesus Christ and the value and grace of that really comes into your life will you let go of everything else. When the Lord tells you to go, you simply go, and as you go, if you face death, then simply die because you no longer belong to yourself, but you belong to the Lord.
We only boast of Christ. We didn’t do it because we gathered our strength, but we did it by His grace. This is how the problems of the world will be solved, and all the mental illnesses of the world will be solved. But if we keep on avoiding this and keep making excuses for it, it cannot be solved. People come to this church and say, “You keep talking about evangelism and it’s a burden to me,” no matter how much you say things like that, your life cannot be resolved. You must ask before God, “Why is evangelism so burdensome to me?” It’s because I don’t have anything to boast about Jesus Christ. Then you will receive that grace, but if you keep avoiding that and running away, God will find you.
That was Jonah. God continued to follow him to fulfill the work. It doesn’t matter how much you run away; God will find you in the end. While you’re running away, you may say, “I’ve been liberated,” but God will find you in the end and bring you back. God made it so that ultimately, Jonah went to Nineveh and proclaimed the gospel. Will you go there with joy or will you be dragged there like a dog on a leash? The beginning of that is that the cross becomes your reason to boast. No problem is relevant to you because the LORD is with me. The moment you understand what these words mean is the moment these works begin.
If there are 100 people in the church, it means there are 100 people with problems in the church. Whose problems are the most important? The pastor is the first to die because he has to worry about all 100 problems, and that’s why pastoral ministry is hard, but if it goes in with the gospel, it’s irrelevant because God can do it, because God is controlling. The one who enjoys that gospel, that’s why I have no choice but to boast of the gospel.
When we lose our faith a little bit, we go back into our problems, but quickly escape from that again, then we have no choice but to boast about nothing except in the gospel of the cross. May this blessing start with you and be relayed to all of your region.
Conclusion
1.Reason to boast of the cross of Jesus Christ
2. Those who live for the Gospel
3. Those who have the marks of Christ
Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word God has given us today, because you must move in the field with the word you received today. God promises in John that He will answer you when you pray. Let us pray.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer
God, we thank You. We thank You for giving us the grace, for allowing us to know, enjoy, and proclaim only the great grace of the gospel of the cross. May we have victory because of the gospel. May we receive the answers of the things that people boast about in the world for the gospel. May all these physical blessings and worldly success be used as a way to boast of only Christ. Please bless us so we are ones to confess, “There is nothing to boast of in this world except the cross.”
We have returned our material blessings as offering. We pray You will bless this so everywhere it is used, it will spread the light of the gospel to the places the gospel has never been. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. God, we pray You will give your grace and bless Sumin with the Word You have given to her today, and allow her to boast of her citizenship in heaven, and please bless her to be an ambassador of Christ to testify of and brag about this. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God, the multiethnic people, and the remnants who desire to enjoy and testify and boast about the cross of Christ, be from now until forevermore always, amen.