Series: The Justified
Message: Boasting
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Japhet De Oliveira
Live Wonder: Jessyka Albert
Live Adventure: Jessyka Albert
Live Purpose: Becky De Oliveira
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 5:1-11 in The Message (MSG). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: My wife, Becky, and I record the Daily Walk podcast every day, and I can’t wait to hear what she thinks of this paraphrase rendition of the passage. Eugene H. Peterson was fully aware of the tensions that some translators faced with one word in this passage. It is the tricky Greek word kauchaomai which means “to boast.” Earlier in the week, when we read the passage in the ESV, this word was translated as “rejoice,” with a little reference to a footnote indicating that the word “boast” could be used instead. Yesterday in the NLT, the word was translated as “confidently,” and today in the MSG, it is paraphrased as “shout our praise.”
It’s a good attempt at addressing the issue that can be summed up in this question: Can we boast or can we not boast? Personally, I would have just kept the word “boast.” I like the intentionality of contrast that Paul uses. He could have picked a different word, but Paul—as we have discovered so far—chose every word carefully. Each word is used with a very specific intention. He cautions us earlier (in Romans 3:27and 4:25) that boasting is to be avoided. It was clearly something Abraham never did, and, since he is the father of our faith, we ought to follow in his footsteps. We should recognize that when it comes to justification, there is nothing we can boast about from our side. It is purely a gift from God. For some personalities who like everything to be neatly woven together (the truth is that all of us like this—but some need it more than others), not boasting is simple. We can check it off our list and say “done.” I will no longer boast.While this would address Paul’s concern, the arrogance of his day, it would not take our faith into a place of absolutely trust in God. It would not take our faith into a relationship. It would instead make faith a tragic, obligation-riddled task.
Paul now uses the exact same word and asks us to boast about our walk with God. In doing this, he is pushing us to think. He is pushing us to be in a relationship with God. This relationship contains nuances and interpretation. It has intelligence, adventure, engagement, and change. The new life described in Romans 5-8, summarised in Romans 5:1-11, and condensed in Romans 5:1-2, requires us to boast of all that God has done for us. Paul encourages us to boast three times:
Boast in hope of the glory of God (Verse 2 )
Boast in our sufferings (Verse 3 )
Boast in God (Verse 11)
Recalibrate: In which areas of your life would you rather be told what to do, and in which areas would you like to be involved in deciding for yourself? What makes the difference?
Respond: Pray for space to hear more from God
Research: What 2–3 stories in the Bible are boasting in or with God?
Remember: “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5, ESV).
Japhet is senior pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado, and was co-founder of the One project. Originally from southeast London, he served in the South England Conference for nine years—as a pastor and later as conference youth director—before moving to the United States in 2006. He is married to Becky and they have two sons, Joshua (18) and Jonah (14).
During bathtime, grab some plastic cups and let your child experiment with pouring water out of the cups. Tell your child that God’s love is poured into our hearts. Show them what a trickle of water looks like and tell them God’s love isn’t like that. Show them what pouring water looks like and say that is what God’s love is like, but, unlike our cup that goes empty, God’s love never runs out.
Go outside and take all kinds of plastic cups and bowls with you. Fill them up with water and empty them out. Experiment to see which cup or bowl pours the fastest. Which one can hold the most water? Which one was the best? Why was it the best? The Bible tells us that God’s love is poured out on us. If it’s hot out, go ahead and pour the water on top of your head! Your cup, even if it is the best cup, will eventually run out of water right? God’s love isn’t like that. God’s love is never ending!
It is said that wise people learn from the mistakes of others, but the fact is that most of us only learn from our own mistakes. We don’t like being told what to do by anyone, and consequently we often have no choice but to learn the hard way. Are there mistakes you’ve made that you regret or do you feel that God works through everything you do to help bring you closer to Him?