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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Galatians, chapter six. Galatians, chapter six, we saw 
last time in our study, as the letter draws to a close, the 
apostle Paul summarizes the entire contents in the few remaining 
verses. Again, he sets up the antithesis 
between the flesh and the spirit. by the particular proponents 
of flesh and spirit. The proponents of the flesh are 
the Judaizers, those who had plagued the church and told them 
that belief in Christ was good, but they also needed to be circumcised 
in order to gain their acceptance with God. The proponent of the 
spirit, of course, is the apostle Paul, and he sets forth before 
us what they boast in and what he boasts in. Well, I'll just 
pick up reading in Galatians 6 at verse 1. Brethren, if a 
man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore 
such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you 
also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and 
so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself 
to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let 
each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing 
in himself alone and not in another, for each one shall bear his own 
load. Let him who has taught the word share in all good things 
with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not 
mocked. For whatever a man sows, that 
he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh 
will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the spirit 
will of the spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary 
while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do 
not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, 
let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household 
of faith. See with what large letters I 
have written to you with my own hand. As many as desire to make 
a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be 
circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the 
cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised 
keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised, that 
they may boast in your flesh. 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. For in Christ Jesus, neither 
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. And as many as walk according 
to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel 
of God. From now on, let no one trouble 
me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, 
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for the scripture. Thank you for the word of God. 
Give us eyes to see and hearts to receive your truth and cause 
our boasting to be aligned with the Apostle Paul. May we not 
boast in our performance. May we not boast in our accomplishments, 
but may we both solely and alone in the glory of Christ. We thank 
you, Father, for him. We thank you for his work on 
behalf of sinners and God help us to appreciate Help us to value 
highly. Help us to prize the gospel of 
free and sovereign grace. And we ask in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, as I said, as the 
letter draws to a close, Paul picks up pen and writes with 
his own hand. He probably used an amanuensis, 
a secretary of some sort, to actually end the epistle, though 
it is his words. Here he takes up the pen. He 
says, see with what large letters I have written to you with my 
own hand. And in these following few verses, he summarizes everything 
he has said up to this particular point. One commentator, Ronald 
Fung, says, Before concluding his letter, Paul returns once 
more to the antithesis of cross and circumcision, setting them 
forth this time as representing respectively the true and the 
false ground of boasting, and thus carrying a stage further 
his polemic against the Judaizers and their way of legal observance. John Calvin said, where a man's 
highest good exists, there is his glory. Where a man's highest 
good exists, there is his glory. You see a stark contrast between 
the Judaizers and between the Apostle Paul with reference to 
this glory or this boasting or this rejoicing in a particular 
thing. Tonight, we're only going to 
consider verses 14 and 15 under the main heading of the object 
of Paul's boasting, the cross of Christ. And as we unpack these 
verses, I want to look at four things. First, again, the contrast 
between the Judaizers and the Apostle. Secondly, the object 
of Paul's boasting. Thirdly, the effect of the cross 
on the life of the apostle. And then fourthly, the theological 
summary of verse 15. The theological summary of verse 
fifteen. So those four points, the contrast, 
the object, the effect, and the summary in verses fourteen and 
fifteen. Note first, the contrast. We saw this a few weeks ago when 
we looked at Galatians six, eleven to thirteen. Remember what the 
Judaizers boasted in, remember what gave them happiness, what 
caused them to rejoice. In many ways, it's a very sick 
and a very demented sort of a thing, but this is true of men outside 
of Jesus Christ. Remember, their focus was to 
make a good showing in the flesh. Verse 12a, as many as desire 
to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you 
to be circumcised. Remember what the Judaizers' 
externals and appearances meant everything. The outward was most 
important. That was crucial. They certainly 
were the types of people that Jesus condemns in Matthew 6, 
1 to 4. These were the trumpet sounders. 
These were the ones that paraded themselves. These were the ones 
that displayed their religious accomplishment. Secondly, they 
wanted to avoid the persecution associated with the cross. Notice 
in 12b, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross 
of Christ. One of the motivations behind 
false religion is to take the easy way out. If there's persecution 
associated with the cross, well, then we'll go this way. We want 
the flesh appeased. We want the flesh pampered. We 
want the flesh coddled. These Judaizers were men who 
were not men of commitment, but rather men of accommodation. 
And whatever it would take to secure their place in society, 
they would certainly engage in that. And then thirdly, we saw 
that they focused on or they boasted in the flesh. Verse 13 
B. Verse 13 reads, For not even 
those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have 
you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. Again, numbers. We had 15 converts. We had proselytes. Specifically, they boast in the 
flesh of circumcision. We got 15 men or 20 men or 30 
men to submit to circumcision. I mean, it's really sort of a 
sick way to rejoice. But again, it's tied up with 
our works, our law, our merit, our doing, rather than the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Now, remember that the Apostle 
Paul had been a very religiously accomplished man. We saw that 
a few weeks ago in our study in Philippians 3. Remember that 
statement, if anyone had confidence in the flesh, I more so? Well, 
why, Paul? Well, I'm of the stock of Israel, 
I'm of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised the eighth day, concerning 
the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church. 
Paul understood what it was to have a great religious resume. This man understood what it was 
like to accomplish things in terms of Torah, in terms of God's 
law. Remember that the Apostle Paul 
had undergone a thoroughgoing religious revolution on the road 
to Damascus. At one time, he would have glory. At one time, he would have rejoiced 
in. At one time, he would have boasted in his accomplishment. But having met the risen and 
ascended Lord on that road to Damascus, everything changed 
for the Apostle Paul. What things were gain to me, 
now I count as loss. All things that are gain to me, 
I currently right now count as loss for the excellence of the 
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. And then that moves us 
in to consider, secondly, the object of his boasting. Verse 
14. But God forbid that I should 
boast. I don't want to be like these 
Judaizers. I don't want to boast about flesh. 
I don't want to boast about numbers. I don't want to boast in religious 
accomplishments. or in law-keeping or in merit. 
I don't want to boast in the fact that I'm of the stock of 
Israel, circumcised the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin. 
I don't want to boast about the fact that concerning the law, 
I'm a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, I'm a persecutor 
of the church. That doesn't matter anymore to 
me. That's not the ground of my boasting. That's not the object 
of my boasting. That's not wherein I Find my 
joy. Something happened in terms of 
Paul's life. We call it conversion, regeneration. He alludes to it in verse 15 
as new creation. God saved him, called him out 
of darkness into marvelous light. And now the only thing that mattered 
with the apostle Paul was the cross. The cross was everything 
to him. The cross was most important. 
The cross was the very object of his boasting. It's a wonderful 
statement. God forbid that I should boast 
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, Ronald Fung 
said cross in this verse echoes the use of the same word in verse 
12 and has the same significance as it does there, representing 
the atoning death of Christ. as that which opens the way of 
justification by faith apart from works of the law. For those 
of you who are in Christ, this ought to be your glory. This 
ought to be your boasting. This ought to be your chief and 
highest joy. Not in my good church, though 
I hope you like the church. Not in my Bible reading, though 
I hope you like Bible reading. Not in good sermons on sermonaudio.com 
or a podcast. Though I hope you make use of 
those particular things, what you ought to glory and what ought 
to be most important in your lives is the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. John Gill said it this way. He 
gloried in him. He gloried in Christ as crucified 
and in his cross, not in the wood of the cross. Paul wasn't 
a papist. He didn't have a little piece 
of the cross. that he kept in his pocket and rubbed it for 
good luck. He's not treating the cross as 
some holy horseshoe or some holy rabbit's foot. Paul is treating 
the cross as representative of the atoning work of Jesus Christ, 
the Lord, on behalf of guilty, vile, helpless sinners. So Gil 
said he gloried in him as crucified and in his cross, not in the 
wood of the cross, but in the effects of his crucifixion, in 
the peace, pardon, righteousness, life, salvation and eternal glory, 
which come through the death of the cross. He gloried in Christ 
as his wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. The atonement was everything 
for the Apostle Paul. That great transaction where 
God the Son comes into this world, lives in obedience to the law, 
always fulfills the demands of God's holy law, and then renders 
himself up as a sacrifice and as a substitute on behalf of 
all the elect, and he pays their debt. He cries, it is finished, 
and he secures the salvation of all those whom the Father 
had given him. What else can we glory? What 
else is there to boast in? What else is there to rejoice 
in, Christian, but this fact and this reality? I think this 
verse really speaks to those of us who oftentimes struggle 
with depression or melancholy. We always have a reason to glory. We always have a reason to rejoice. We always have a reason for a 
holy jig before the Lord. Now, metaphorically or literally, 
if you so choose. We ought to be a very thrilled 
people in light of the cross of the Lord Jesus Paul highlights 
the cross as the means by which God has secured the salvation 
of his people. Verse four of chapter one. Grace, verse three, grace to 
you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this 
present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, 
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. He gave Himself at 
the cross. He gave Himself in that transaction. He gave Himself as our surety 
and as the mediator of a better covenant. He gave Himself to 
secure for Himself a people. He delivers us from this present 
evil age according to the will of our God and Father. In chapter 
two, when the apostle is highlighting that we're not justified by words, 
he says in two sixteen, knowing that a man is not justified by 
the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we 
have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by 
faith in Christ. and not by the works of the law, 
for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. It 
is solely by grace, it is through faith in this beloved Lord who 
rendered up this sacrifice at Calvary on behalf of His people. Chapter 3, verse 10, for as many 
as are of the works of the law are under the curse. Next time 
you feel yourself especially holy, if you're not a Christian, 
I want you to come to verse 10. This is your lot under the law 
of God. This is your lot before the holy 
God. As many as are of the works of 
the law are under the curse for it is written. Curse it is everyone 
who does not continue in all things which are written in the 
book of the law to do that, but that no one is justified by the 
law and the sight of God is evident for the judge shall live by faith. 
Yet the law is not a faith, but the man who does them shall live 
by them. Chapter four, verse four, notice 
in chapter four, verse four, but when the fullness of the 
time had come, God sent forth his son born of a woman born 
under the law to do a specific task to redeem those under the 
law. How does he do this? Through 
his perfect life of obedience, through his sacrificial and substitutionary 
death on Calvary and through his resurrection. You see why, 
when we get to Galatians 6, 14, you are not to be surprised by 
the apostle statement. You are not to go, wow, that's 
completely novel. That's amazing. When he says, 
God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, we should reflect upon the rest of the epistle. 
In fact, the entirety of Paul's writings, in fact, the entirety 
of Genesis to Revelation and say this is the consistent expression 
of God's people. We boast in Christ. We boast 
in the Lord. We boast in his cross. We boast 
in his accomplishments. We boast in the power of the 
cross. Does Jesus make man savable? Does Jesus help men save themselves? No, in Matthew chapter 1, the 
angelic announcement is, you shall call his name Jesus, for 
it is he who will save his people from their sins. Paul glories 
in the power of the cross of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 7, 25, 
it says that Jesus is able to save to the uttermost all who 
draw near unto God through him. He saves completely. He saves 
perfectly. He saves splendidly. From first 
to last, salvation is up the Lord, and it finds its place 
of accomplishment at the cross. He glories in the cross. He boasts 
of the wisdom of the cross. For Paul, the cross was everything. So don't be surprised by Galatians 
6.14. Be surprised if you glory in 
or if you boast in anything other than the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. While the Judaizers are boasting 
in externals, while the Judaizers are boasting in circumcision, 
while the Judaizers are boasting in their religious accomplishments, 
the apostle says, God forbid that I should boast except in 
this one thing, in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, 
thirdly, the effect of the cross. God forbid that I should boast 
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, by whom 
the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. It's 
a grand statement, isn't it? It's a glorious truth. As I said, 
Paul on the road to Damascus experienced a revolution in terms 
of his religious life. God the Lord saved him, Christ 
came to him, Christ delivered him, he called him out of darkness 
into marvelous light, set his hand upon him, sent him out as 
the apostle to the Gentiles. He attaches all of the saving 
efficacy to the cross of the Lord Jesus. Here, having explained 
the fact that this is the object of his boasting, he then says 
this great statement, by whom the world has been crucified 
to me and I to the world. Now, certainly included in this 
is the pleasures of the world, right? That's been crucified 
to me. Those things at one time that 
pleased me, that delighted me, that caused me great joy, these 
things are now crucified to me. Go back to Galatians 5, 19 to 
21. You get a description of the 
works of the flesh. Those things that are base and 
carnal and associated with life in the world. Paul says, the 
works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, 
uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, 
jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, 
heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which 
I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, 
that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom 
of God. So the pleasures of this world, 
that's not to say Paul enjoyed each and every one of these things, 
but by way of a general principle, through whom the world has been 
crucified to me, through whom the pleasures of this world, 
those things that I once trafficked in, those things that I once 
delighted in, those things that I once enjoyed, those have been 
crucified to me. They've taken on a different 
character. They're not something that allure me anymore. So he's 
delivered from the pleasures of the world, but he's also delivered 
from the power of the world. We've seen that in Galatians 
chapter one. He gave himself, why? That he 
might deliver us from this present evil age. The cross work of Christ 
is such that it's delivering us, that it delivers us from 
the power of the present age. But you know, we also ought to 
consider another thing with reference to this idea of the world. It's 
easy for us to define the world in terms of verses 19 to 21 in 
Galatians 5, isn't it? Lawless self-indulgence is how 
we oftentimes view the world. We say, oh, that's worldly. And 
oftentimes we mean lawless self-indulgence. These sorts of things, sexual 
sin and idolatry and greed and drunkenness and revelries. But 
isn't a self-righteous approach to the God of heaven and earth 
worldly, too? Isn't lawful self-righteousness, 
in an attempt to garner favor with God, as much opposed to 
the God of heaven and earth as are this list of the works of 
the flesh? We ought to consider that. We 
look at people, we know that person's a worldling, that person's 
very religious. Well, if that person's very religious 
outside of Jesus Christ, he's going to the same hell as the 
worldling that we have condemned. The cross has been the means 
by which Paul's religious accomplishments, Paul's religious merit, Paul's 
religious doings has been crucified. Those things no longer allure 
him. Calvin describes it this way. 
He says, what is the meaning of the world? It is unquestionably 
contrasted with the new creature. Whatever is opposed to the spiritual 
kingdom of Christ is the world. Whether it's I'm going to go 
to church because I think I have acceptance with God or I'm going 
to go out and do whatever because I don't care about acceptance 
with God. One way of acceptance with God is by grace alone, through 
faith alone, and Christ alone. Anything contrary to that is 
in opposition to Christ and to his word. Calvin's on, I think. We're right on. He says, but 
what is the meaning of the world? It is unquestionably contrasted 
with the new creature. Whatever is opposed to the spiritual 
kingdom of Christ is the world because it belongs to the old 
man. Or in a word, the world is the object and aim of the 
old man. So, while Paul is speaking here, 
rejoicing and in glorying in the cross of Christ, he says, 
by whom or by which the world has been crucified to me. There 
is that subjective experience of the apostle Paul, where in 
the world, whether it be the works of the flesh or whether 
it be religious accomplishments, all of that has been crucified 
to me subjectively. But I think the apostle is moving 
in another direction as well, talking about the objective benefit 
of Christ's death. He's talking about Isaiah 65. Behold, I make a new heavens 
and a new earth. The old world has passed away 
in Christ Jesus. Do you realize the powers of 
the age to come have already come through the finished work 
of our Lord Jesus? What does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 
5, 17? He says, Therefore, if anyone 
is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. 
Behold, all things have become new. The world, the old system, 
the old manner, the old things have passed. It's been crucified. It's gone. It's dead. I'm a new 
creature in Christ Jesus. This is borne out by what he 
says in verse 15. For in Christ Jesus, neither 
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. Paul is looking beyond the subjective 
experience of how he relates to the world and how the world 
relates to him. He's thinking in larger covenantal 
categories that in the finished work of the Lord Jesus, the New 
Age is gone. The new world order is upon us, 
not in the political sense of George Herbert Bush, but in the 
religious sense, the covenantal sense of Christ having affected 
the finished work of God most high on behalf of his people. 
He ushers us into this new creation. We already possess it. It's not 
yet fully realized, but we are new creatures in Christ Jesus, 
having passed from the old into the new. He moves from the categories 
of subjective experience, or in bold rather, subjective experience 
to objective reality in Christ. Brethren, we've got to think 
in terms of what God in Christ is doing. Colossians 1, 15 to 
20, the Apostle highlights this new creation. Notice in Colossians 
1, 15, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn 
over all creation. For by him all things were created 
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 
All things were created through him and for him. And he is before 
all things, and in him all things consist. And he is the head of 
the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn 
from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. 
Now certainly Jesus was present in creation. The old creation, 
by him all things were made. John 1, 1 to 3. The beginning 
was the word, the word was with God, the word was God. By him 
all things were made. Nothing came into being apart 
from him. I think Paul here is speaking of new creation. I think 
Paul is highlighting the Lord of creation. He is speaking of 
Jesus and his redemptive power at the right hand of God most 
high, where he rules and reigns over all things for the church. 
You see, back in Galatians, when he says, by whom the world has 
been crucified to me. Yes, the pleasures of it are 
dead. Yes, the power of it is dead. But yes, the covenantal 
transformation. We have moved from the old to 
the new. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. That's why he 
can say, verse 50, it doesn't matter whether you're circumcised 
or uncircumcised. What matters is a new creation. 
What matters is the redemptive power and work of Christ on the 
cross. What matters is what God is doing in terms of bringing 
his people and bringing his salvation to bear upon his people. thinking 
in blessed, big, huge, massive terms. But it's not only the 
world that has been crucified to him, but it is also the fact 
that he has been crucified to the world. Again, that subjective 
mindset. His old religious friends probably 
looked at him as a weird guy now. They probably looked at 
him as a sectarian. They probably looked at him as 
an enemy of Judaism. They looked at him as a heretic. 
They looked at him as an unorthodox man. Certainly, the world at 
a different appearance, a different view of the apostle Paul. What 
else is he saying? I'm dead to the world. The old 
world. Done. It's over. How was that 
affected again, that same cross of Jesus Galatians 2, 19 Galatians 
chapter 2, verse 19, he says, for I, through the law, died 
to the law that I might live to God. That law has a killing 
effect. Outside of Christ, the law is 
absolutely crucial to be preached. We need to preach the Ten Commandments. 
We need to preach it in all of its killing power. We need to 
pray the Spirit of God to use the law to show men their sin, 
to show men their transgression and their depravity. He says, 
I, through the law, died to the law that I might live. to cry that I might live to God. 
Then he highlights or details or explains the statement of 
verse 20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer 
I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now 
live in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of 
God. Notice who loved me and gave 
himself for me. There's the cross. Everything 
is tied up with the cross. The cross of Christ marks the 
end of the old world and ushers in the new. Again, I'm not talking 
about the physical. Oh, wow, you know, there's still 
McDonald's in this new world. Yes, absolutely. There's an already 
possession in terms of spiritual reality. We are new creatures 
in Christ Jesus. Paul can say in Ephesians chapter 
two that we are seated in the heavenly places in Christ. How 
do you explain that apart from understanding Paul's emphasis 
in terms of covenantal transformation? We have moved from this one into 
this one. We are new creatures in Christ 
Jesus. It is no longer I who live, but 
Christ lives in me. Again, he's not saying I lay 
on the couch and I just let God sanctify me. This is a justification 
passage. He is talking about the decisive 
transaction that has occurred in terms of God saving his soul. 
And then in Galatians three verse. Thirteen, we've already read 
up to that point, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of 
the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed 
is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham 
might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might 
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. This is how Paul 
died to the world. It was by the power of God Most 
High, through the cross of Jesus Christ, saving him. So you see, 
there's lots to boast in with reference to the cross. I suspect 
I lost some people. Please forgive me. These larger 
categories at times tend to encourage me in the sense that I think 
we need to get a grip on the fact that the Bible is huge. Yes, our individual salvation 
is there. We ought not to minimize that. 
It's a beautiful thing to consider. God save me. But it's good to 
think in corporate terms. God is reconciling the world 
to itself. God is ushering in a new age. God is doing something amazing. Though at times imperceptible, 
though at times very small, though at times with the naked eye. 
It's almost like that man who throws the seed into the ground, 
doesn't think or expect anything will happen. And then he comes 
out the next morning and he sees this tree. Or that woman who 
puts a little bit of leaven into that lump. What happens? It pervasively 
influences the whole. Or those mustard seeds that a 
man plants, the smallest of all the seeds. Well, what happens 
once they grow? They get huge and the birds of 
the air find their rest therein. Yes, think of your personal salvation. Think of the effect of the cross 
in your life. Think of the fact that now you 
are dead to the world and now you are alive to Christ. And 
now the world has a different view of you. That's all good 
to be sure. But brethren, get something of the view of the 
macro, the huge, the massive, the big, the glorious, the fat. God is in the business of building 
a kingdom. God is in the business of building 
a church. Remember the vision of Daniel. 
He sees this huge image, this foe, this formidable foe constructed 
of various materials. And then he sees this tiny stone. This little stone that comes 
and brings this image down. And then what happens? That stone 
starts to move through history and that stone starts to grow 
and it becomes this massive mountain. What's he describing? He tells 
us in Daniel two, in the days of these kings, you have the 
Roman Empire and all of its power and pomp and glory and a babe 
in a manger. You had a little baby laying 
in a feed trough, as our brother reminded us a couple of weeks 
ago. He's that stone that brings down the image, that garners 
his people and builds a massive kingdom that is glorious and 
wondrous and amazing. Brethren, think of your personal 
salvation. But think that Christ is building 
a church from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. 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. And that brings 
us forthly to that theological summary. Verse 15, for in Christ 
Jesus, for, this is an explanation. This again indicates something 
of that larger picture, that we're moving in sort of covenantal 
categories. For in Christ Jesus, neither 
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. That's what's important. How 
is this new creation affected? Again, it's by the purpose of 
God. Transacted in the cross of Jesus Christ, affected by 
the power of the Holy Spirit, brought to pass according to 
his immutable decree. That's what matters. The Judaizers 
have come and said you need to be circumcised. God doesn't care 
one whit about your circumcision. God cares about the purpose, 
the plan that he has set in motion to save his people from their 
sins through Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's what matters. How 
does this silence the Judaizers? We want you to be circumcised. 
Paul says it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you're circumcised. 
It doesn't matter if you're uncircumcised. What an offense. The Judaizers 
got a hold of this letter. They probably said, well, that's 
it. Paul's off his rocker. He's nuts. He says that circumcision 
doesn't matter. Uncircumcision doesn't matter. 
As if God will accept some uncircumcised dog into his precious Holy Kingdom. Paul says it doesn't matter. 
What matters is a new creation. What matters is the dawn of the 
new age. And again, new age, not in the sense of crystals, 
not in the sense of a new world order politically effective. 
The new age in terms of covenantal religion. The prophets of old 
told us of this. Isaiah, in chapter 65, is speaking 
about these realities. He's speaking about the time 
of Messiah. He's talking about Jesus. He's preaching Christ 
in the covenantal categories of His age. You take that visionary 
temple of Ezekiel the prophet. You know, is God concerned about 
this rebuilt temple in the city of Jerusalem in a future millennial 
kingdom? No! Ezekiel's preaching Christ 
in the language and in the categories that the people of God understood 
in their age. That visionary temple is about 
Jesus. The prophets foretold it. The 
prophets announced it. We, because of God's good grace, 
are living in this. Praise be to our God. This text looks a lot like five, 
six. Notice in five, six, four in 
Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything 
but faith working through love. There the stress falls on the 
subjective experience. There, the accident lies upon 
the subjective experience of the believer. J. Gresson Machen 
said, Love, according to the New Testament, is not the means 
of salvation, but it is the finest fruit of it. A man is saved by 
faith, not by love, but he is saved by faith in order that 
he may love. That's what 5.6 is. But 6.15 
is more the objective reality. 6.15 is more the objective, real 
truth. Not that subjective isn't. Subjective 
is our appropriation of something. You all understand that. You've 
got to get that. Subjective is when we believe something. Subjective 
is when we believe the gospel. If we use the word faith and 
we said subjective faith, that means my appropriation or your 
appropriation or your belief in the truth. Objective faith 
is the truth that we believe in. You see, so when Paul says, 
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me 
and I to the world, yes, there is subjective experience there. 
The world has lost its allure. The world now looks at me as 
if I'm a pariah. But the objective reality is 
that God in Christ is reconciling the world to himself. God in 
Christ has initiated a new creation. The objective reality is that 
the covenantal transformation has occurred and its pinnacle, 
its focal point, is the cross. And here the same thing is true. 
In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything 
but a new creation. The man who believes the gospel 
is incorporated into a new system of reality. You ever stop and 
think about, yeah, yeah, I'm personally saved. Yes, I'm justified. 
Yes, I'm sanctified. Yes, God is great. Yes, God is 
wonderful. You've been incorporated. You 
have been brought into something far more massive than your mind 
is probably entertained. None of us can even begin to 
touch the glory that God has revealed for us in the scripture. 
We have been incorporated into another reality. And again, not 
some space, weird, odd interpretation with new age and crystals and 
all that sort of thing. Fung says, we have been incorporated 
into a new system of reality, the reality of God's kingdom, 
which is ushered in by God's saving act in the cross of Christ. That's everything for the Apostle 
Paul. On the subjective level, in terms 
of his life, in terms of his view of the world, in terms of 
the world's view of him, but in the objective realm, in terms 
of God's dealings with his people through the finished work of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, there's a lot to boast 
of in the cross. There's a lot to boast of in 
what Christ has accomplished in his work. The regenerating 
power of God in making sinners alive through Jesus Christ is 
the effective power in the new creation, not the works of the 
law done by man for his acceptance with God. That's the stress. 
That's the focus. That's where Paul is coming at 
the end here. Beyond if all he got into was 
his own subjective experience. No, he is giving one final death 
blow to the Judaizers. It's the cross, everything. The 
cross is wondrous. The cross is the basis upon which 
we boast. Well, in conclusion, when we 
look back in chapter five and we see the fruits of the spirit, 
those are the sorts of things that are to be in place in this 
new creation. See, it all kind of flows together. 
We're justified freely by His grace, by faith alone in Jesus 
Christ alone. We have received the power of 
the Spirit that was promised way back when to Abraham. The 
promise of Abraham has come upon the Gentiles so that now Spirit-filled 
believers living in and inhabiting this new creation ought to look 
something like verses 22 to 26. Believers in Christ subjectively 
ought to live like this, justified believers ought to bear the fruits 
of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, 
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. You ask, what does the new creation 
of God look like? It should look like this. It 
should be manifest in the way that we conduct ourselves with 
one another. You see, our justification ultimately 
results in, our justification ultimately leads to, sanctification, 
the power of the Spirit. He is the effective power in 
this new age, and brethren, we ought to seek more of his presence. We ought to seek more of his 
influence so that we can, in fact, conduct ourselves in the 
manner specified by God most high. Well, the object of boasting 
here, verse 14, this is where we'll end. Do you realize everyone 
boasts about something? They do. It's never a question 
of boasting versus no boasting. It's what do you boast in? You might meet people at work. 
They boast in their boat. Imagine boasting in a boat. They 
boast in their house. They boast in their yard. They 
boast in their family. They boast in their car. They 
have a muscle car. It's amazing. It's all they ever 
talk about. They have pictures of it. They got it on their screensaver. They just are mesmerized by this 
car. Everyone boasts in something. 
Well, the religious realm is no different. Everyone boasts 
in something. Now, you may look with force 
at these particular Judaizers and say, I would never boast 
in the flesh. I would never boast in circumcision. I would never boast in the fact 
that I got 15 people to say a prayer. There's something you boast in. Do you boast in the cross of 
Christ, as does the Apostle Paul? Or is it something else? I think 
the best way to test this is, what would you say on the Day 
of Judgment? God were to say, this is an old question, a proverbial 
question. It's often, you know, bantered 
around in the church and outside of the church, but it's a legit 
one and it's a good one. If you were to die right now 
and you were to stand before God and he were to say, why should 
I let you in to heaven? It's a good place to test what 
you boast in. He said, well, I try to be a 
good person. I try to do the right thing. I know I'm not perfect, 
but I'm a whole lot better than the rest of those wretches. That's your boast. What's it 
going to be on the day of judgment for you? What's it going to be 
when God, the Lord, looks at you? Because whatever you'll 
say on that day is presently your boast now. It is your accomplishments. It is your ability. It is the 
fact that you're not as bad as the rest of the ilk. But for 
those who, by God's grace, have entered into this new creation, 
Those who, by God's grace, have tasted of the powers of the age 
to come, those who, by God's grace, know the presence and 
the power of the Holy Spirit, they realize that on that day 
the only thing they can say is what the hymn writer said, Nothing 
in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Foul I to 
the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. You see, if that's 
the answer on that day of judgment, then your present boast ought 
to reflect it. You ought to rejoice in the cross. You ought to glory in the cross. You ought to delight in the cross. 
We ought not to be strangers of the cross. We ought to be 
students of God's holy word. We ought to be listening to sermons. 
We ought to be a prayerful people. If the glory of our lives is 
the cross of Jesus Christ, it must be reflected in the way 
that we live. It will be effective. It will 
be reflected. Again, go back to Muscle Car 
Man. You can tell by his pictures. 
You can tell by his screensaver. You can tell by where he spends 
his money and where he spends his time what his boast is. The same is true with Christ's 
people. We are in territories of a new 
kingdom, of the kingdom of God. We are participants in the new 
creation. Of course, our time, our efforts, our money, our talents, 
our joy is going to be fixed up in and attached to Him. It's a no-brainer. We were going 
to sing tonight. Why we didn't, I don't know. 
It was my fault when I survey the wondrous cross on which the 
Prince of Glory died, my richest gain. I count the loss and poor 
contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should 
both say in the death of Christ, my God, all the vain things that 
charm me most. I sacrifice them to his blood. And then those words by Calvin, 
where a man's highest good exists. There is His glory. Ask yourselves 
tonight, what do you boast in? What do you glory in? What makes 
you happy? What causes you to rejoice? If 
it's the cross, you're in excellent company. Praise God. If it's 
anything other, believe on the Lord Jesus. Turn from your sin. Turn from your rebellion. Turn 
from your wickedness. Repent and throw yourself upon 
the mercy of God in the Lord Jesus. Well, let us pray. Father, 
thank you for your word and thank you for the Apostle Paul and 
the great things he teaches us concerning your gospel, concerning 
your kingdom, concerning the work of Jesus Christ. Help us 
to say with him, God forbid that I should boast except in the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you would go with 
us now, that you would cause your face to shine upon us, that 
your peace would be our portion, God, and that we would indeed 
glory in our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his name that we 
pray. Amen.