Good evening. It's good to see you all and be with you all this evening. And before I begin, I did want to talk about my appreciation for the men who regularly preach and teach from this pulpit. I truly consider it an honor and a privilege to preach from this particular pulpit. It was about A little over a year ago, October of 2017, that our plans to move from California to Louisville became serious. And I remember logging on to good old Sermon Audio and trying to look up some churches in the Louisville area, stumbled across RBC. And of course, you have 1,000 Jim Sebastiao sermons popping up. And I clicked onto the most recent one. I think it was a Sunday school. Reformation Sunday was coming up. So it was a Sunday school on Luther or the reformers. And as I'm sure most of you agree with the fact that you can be really struck by how passionate Pastor Jim can be about the subject matter, that it's very obvious how much he loves what he's talking about. And that struck me and that caught my attention. And a few weeks later, I listened to a Pastor John sermon. And within a few minutes, I also realized he's one of my type of creatures, because he just tells it as it is. He doesn't beat around the bush, just straightforward as can be. And I was really encouraged by that. And then I think all the way in December, a couple months later, I guess, I listened to Sunday School with Pastor Charlie. And it was on how to think about Christmas and Christmas traditions. And I just remember being blown away by that, because I had always had disorganized thoughts about Christmas. But Pastor Charlie, you just organized all of them in a neat bundle for me. And I remember by the end of it thinking to myself, I think I agree with every single word that he said in that Sunday school. And I don't think I've ever said that before. And finally, Pastor Derek, I have to confess, I didn't listen to you. But Sharon did. But Sharon did. She listened to a couple sermons from your Upper Room Discourse series. And that happens to be one of my favorite parts of all scripture. So thank you for edifying my wife. Please turn with me to first Corinthians chapter one. First Corinthians chapter one verses 30 to 31 is where we will be spending our time tonight. I'll be reading from the new American standard translation. And like some of you, I'm not 100%, I have a little bit of congestion, so please forgive me and bear with me as we go forward tonight. But 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30, Paul writes, but by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. so that just as it is written, this is Jeremiah 9 24, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for once again, another day in which we can consecrate our hearts before your word. Father, we pray that you would prepare our hearts specifically to reorient us, to give us due attention to your glory, to the glory of your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we confess and admit that it is so easy to be distracted, to place our affections, our loves on things that are not worthy of them. So Lord, reorient us, get us back to square one. Give us a boast in your name, in the name of your son. In his name we pray. Amen. When we first moved to Louisville, I realized that this is the hometown of the boxer Muhammad Ali. And that's not my favorite sport, and I don't have much knowledge about the history of boxing. But I do know that the way in which he became this international icon this incredible figure in the public, was not just because he was a great boxer. It was because he was full of flamboyant, animated boasting. I am the greatest, right, is the voice that echoes in our minds when we think about him, as he boasted that he was the greatest boxer of all time. Now that is blatantly sinful, self-centered kind of boasting that we see all across this world, as that boasting is simply an outward expression of pride and self. And generally speaking, excuse me, generally speaking, non-believers, while they might, most non-believers, while they might not be as loud and as bold as Ali, they boast in themselves and in their accomplishments, right? And they seek to advance in the world and impress the world so that they can continue to do that, to boast in themselves and in their achievements. Now, pinpointing this kind of sinful boasting in the world isn't that hard. You just have to turn on the television. You just have to go online and you'll see it all over the place. It's everywhere. But what about in the church? What about in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the church at Corinth, at least, the members were boasting in their favorite preachers and teachers. Chapter 1, verse 11, Paul writes, For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. So friends, it's very possible that we can find ourselves in a similar situation. When we are willing to maybe defend our favorite preachers, or defend a theological position, a political perspective, or even a philosophy for child rearing, whatever it is in our lives, while they may be good Christian things that are worthy of lively discussion at times, It is not equivalent to, it is not the same as boasting in who God is and what he has done for us in his son, Jesus Christ. It's not the same thing. And if boasting in our thing, whatever it is, takes up all our energy, consumes all our attention, at the expense of boasting in the greatness of our God, we have to rethink where we are at. We might be on the same path as the Corinthian church. So strong was their earthly boasting, the Corinthians and their boasting, that Paul had to write rhetorical questions in verse 13. Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I think sometimes we need some ridiculous rhetorical questions to give us a proper perspective on what we are really doing. Reformed theology was not crucified for you, was it? Homeschooling. We were not baptized in the name of homeschooling, were we? When you put it that way, it shows that there are some things in our Christian life, good things, good things that are, again, worthy of lively discussion and conviction that do not, however, that do not nearly merit as much affection, as much excitement, as much passion and as much boasting as the Son of God who was crucified for us and in whose name we were baptized in. So, my hope tonight as we dive into the text is that we rightly boast in our God and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of the command found in verse 31, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. We will be breaking down verse 30 to fully understand what about the Lord we are to boast in. The first of five exhortations tonight is to boast in God's grace in election. To boast in God's grace in election. Verse 30 reads, but by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, by his doing. The previous context helps us fully understand the term his doing, or of him, found in the New King James, of him you are in Christ. Previously in verse 26, Paul had told the Corinthians, consider your calling, underscore that, consider your calling. That is the sovereign divine call of God for salvation. Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise, according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. And then three times in the upcoming verses, in verses 27 to 28, the word chosen, pops up three times, as Paul describes God saving the Corinthians, even in their low social status. Verses 27 to 29 reads, but God has chosen the foolish things. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. and the base things of the world, and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." Apparently, Paul had to remind the Corinthians of their humble, lowly state before they were converted. And these guys were the least expected group to grab God's attention. Foolish, weak, despised, nobodies and outcasts of society. We're talking about the orphans. We're talking about the homeless. We're talking about the prostitutes and the drug dealers. We're talking about that crowd. But God chose them. God chose them to make it abundantly clear that salvation does not depend upon any man's ability, but completely on the power of God, completely on his power alone. And in their post-conversion, this congregation needed to remember they did not choose God, but God chose them. So that, verse 29, no man may boast before God. Brothers and sisters in Christ, when was the last time that you uttered the three words, God, why me? Why me of all? Adam's seed in this world, in all of human history, why me? Was it me that I received sovereign grace? For me, at least, that was my initial reaction when I came into contact with the doctrines of grace, when I embraced those doctrines. God, why would you love me to this extent? Why choose me for eternal salvation? Why birth me into a nation where the Bible is accessible? understand? Why did you send me a Christian friend who evangelized me? Why did you give me eyes and ears to believe the gospel of your son, right? And you can fill in the blank, whatever your experience was. Why did you choose me and why did you apply your sovereign love to me of all people? We reformed folk. have the doctrine of election down pat from an interpretive perspective for the most part, but from an experiential perspective, we can sometimes be lacking. We can sometimes be lacking the humility and the overwhelming sense of gratitude by the fact that God has indeed chosen us to be in his kingdom, not somebody else. And that humility and gratitude is the end goal, is it not, of believing such doctrine. I don't do social media anymore. I did in the past. And I remember that when I was on Facebook and all those forums, that I would occasionally just keep track of what my past friends were up to. And I just remember looking at their profiles as they were updated. And I remember thinking to myself, why did this person, similar background as me, maybe same culture as me, went to the same school as me, how did he end up there? Or, we were so close back then, and we seemed to have so much in common, maybe we even went to I think we went to church together, but how did she end up there? And my point is this, when you think of people of your upbringing, similar upbringing, same neighborhood, same university, same, even the same family and the same church, but then you go on to see them completely rejecting the Lord. And it's this feeling of understanding that you were in the exact same circumstances, you were in the exact same environment as people, as these people. And yet you are in the kingdom of God and they are not. And that begs the question, right? What is keeping me from their faith? The answer is only the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. only the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus said in John 6, 44, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Sovereign, unconditional love brought you to Christ, brother and sister. And that is worthy. That is worthy. of our boast. So we boast in God's grace in election, and we also boast in the wisdom of Christ, in the wisdom of Christ. But by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God. He became to us wisdom. With the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the greatest wisdom of all human history appeared. Because he brought wisdom regarding eternal life. And I love this question, right? How can a holy, just God, how can a holy, just God forgive sinners without compromising on justice? Brother Timothy tried to figure it out in the Old Testament, right? We read in 2 Timothy 3 that he wrestled with this question as he read his Old Testament writings. Those books in the Old Testament produced wisdom that led to salvation in Christ. But you see, when Christ came and established his church and brought his final revelation, he brought a wisdom that confirmed the way. of salvation. He confirmed the need for a perfect sacrifice, for a perfect substitute who would suffer the wrath of God in our place, a perfect atonement, and it could only be accomplished by him, the son of the living God. And he shed his blood to satisfy the just wrath of God that sinners may be justified without justice being compromised. that Romans 3.26 may be possible, that God would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. In other words, he did not bring preliminary wisdom or preparatory wisdom. He brought final wisdom regarding salvation, regarding eternal life in the kingdom of God. But not only did his life, death, and resurrection, all his work provide wisdom for salvation, His work provided wisdom for the Christian life. Can you imagine doing marriage, Christian marriage, without Ephesians chapter five? Without the example that is portrayed in Ephesians chapter five. Sharon and I, we had premarital counseling, and I remember having all these book recommendations, and I don't remember any of them, but I do remember Ephesians chapter five. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. Can you imagine sustaining a vibrant, healthy, robust Christian marriage without that logic, without that wisdom found in that verse and the rest of Ephesians chapter 5? be hard-pressed. Or can you imagine any ministry in the church or in the home without knowing the words about servanthood found in Matthew 20? Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be who? Your servant. Your servant, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, right, but to serve. Wisdom from Christ to live this Christian walk. When we come to Christ, not only are our sins wiped away, but we have been given the mind of Christ. We have wisdom from heaven available to us in the scriptures as we see how his work on the cross, his love for the church applies to every area of the Christian walk. He became wisdom from God. And next, he became righteousness, righteousness from God. Our third boast tonight is in the imputed righteousness of Christ, the imputed righteousness of Christ. In my past evangelism efforts, I've tried to use a common analogy to help the non-believer who I'm speaking with and trying to help this non-believer envision their situation before God. To help them envision what it's like to stand before God and what the gospel offers in that situation. And the analogy goes like this. Imagine yourself facing God as the judge, so you're in a courtroom. and the verdict comes out that there is an eternal penalty to pay. But let's say somebody from the jury says, for some reason, I will take that penalty in your stead. I will take that penalty for you, my friend. And I just kind of ended it there. I ended it there. And I said, all right, that's the gist of the gospel. Somebody, obviously the person from the jury represents Christ. He's coming in to save you and take the penalty for you. But I paused one day and thought about that analogy and realized it's a little subpar and even incomplete. Let's just follow through with that analogy. Okay, somebody takes the penalty and you're let go, you're let back into society. But what do you have to do every time you fill out a job application? Your history's still there. Your crime is still there. You have to check off the boxes that will disqualify you from many jobs, from many opportunities. So now, these days, I've adjusted the analogy a bit, a bit this way. The analogy goes, imagine yourself facing God. Again, as the judge, you're in his courtroom, and you're going to receive his verdict for all of eternity. But as you open the courtroom doors, you see an attorney there waiting for you, waiting to be beside you. You have a mediator, so to speak. You have somebody who's going to vouch for you in the courtroom of God. And as you look into your attorney's face, all fear is cast out. Because you know what he's going to say when you walk into that courtroom. He's gonna say, I have already paid the penalty for this individual. But not only that, the perfect life of obedience that I have lived, please credit to his account. So that if you are, again, let go into society, you actually have a chance now. You have a chance now to get a job because your history has been replaced by the history of one who lived a perfect life, that is, of the Lord Jesus Christ. For you have been declared righteous on the basis of another's righteousness. You have, in other words, been justified. And beloved, isn't it amazing that this is not an analogy for us? It's a reality for us. that in the courtroom of God, we indeed have his son ready to vouch for us and say that not only did he die the perfect death, but he lived the perfect life in our place. That is our Savior. We will be clothed in His righteousness. We won't be underdressed, if you will, on Judgment Day. We'll be clothed in His righteousness. As Galatians 3, 27 states, for all of you who are baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ. A couple months ago, me and some brothers went to the prison. chapel to preach, and that was the exact text that I used, Galatians 3 27. And as I preached that text in that context, the weight of this truth really hit me afresh. It doesn't matter what you did, whether it be for five years, 20 years, 40 years, 50 years, it doesn't matter what crime you commit, if you are in Christ, if you come to Christ, you're justified. That is the offer of the gospel. It can wipe out that this criminal in the Kentucky State Reformatory, even though he may be imprisoned in his cell, will be justified in the courtroom of God. And that's the amazing salvation that we have. the kind of righteousness that makes salvation possible for us. What an amazing salvation that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the list continues. And the list continues. He became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification. Our fourth boast is in the sanctification accomplished by Christ. we ought to praise God that Jesus is not only interested in saving us, but cleaning us up and sanctifying us. That as Ephesians 5 states, he gave himself up for us so that he might sanctify us, set us apart from sin and the world and all that the devil is up to. Having cleansed us, the text goes on to say, having cleansed us by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. At the point of conversion by his spirit, Jesus set us apart. He sanctified us. He set us apart from this world with all of its immorality, with all its wickedness, with all of its lies, and He continues to sanctify us. He continues to set us apart through the means of His Spirit and the Word of God. And most specifically, He sanctifies us by revealing Himself to us in His written Word, in the Scripture. 2 Corinthians 3, 18, one of my favorite verses regarding sanctification, but it says, but we all with unveiled face, unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord Jesus are being transformed, being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. How do we behold the glory of Christ? the very Word of God that you have in your hands. We have it there, and I know that we're supposed to say that all the Bible is exciting in a sense, but there is a uniqueness. There is a uniqueness to the nature of the gospel. There is a uniqueness even to the final book of the scriptures, the book of Revelation, in the sense that we see Jesus unrestricted unhindered way that we don't in any other part of the scripture amen we see him clearly almost as if face-to-face he is unveiled before our eyes and as a result we are sanctified This connects back to what we just said earlier about Christian wisdom and how the gospel gives us Christian wisdom to live this way. As we see Jesus dealing with his disciples, as we see Jesus dying on the cross out of sacrificial love, there's so many applications to how we live in practical day-to-day life. In this treasure chest, really, that we have in the scripture, we get to expose ourselves, our very minds, our very hearts, to the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so if you're not convinced that Christ is serious about your sanctification, you need to pause and think about all the ways, all the meticulous ways in which he has revealed himself intentionally in his word. in so many ways. And unlike so many so-called pastors and shepherds of our nation and of our day who just want a signed card or just want a walk up the aisle and get their numbers up, the Lord Jesus Christ cares about your growth and holiness. He is the true Good Shepherd. He cares about your growth in sanctification. His sanctifying love is worthy of our boast. And finally, we boast in his redemption, in his redemption. He became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Before coming to Christ, the Corinthian church in particular had owed a lot of debt to God, a lot of debt to God. Their pasts were covered with immorality as the city of Corinth was, in a sense, a Las Vegas of that region, especially known for its debauchery and licentiousness. And Paul lists these sins in chapter 6, verses 9 through 11. You don't have to turn there, but I'll read the list off. He says there in chapter 6, verse 9, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. Such were some of us. Such were some of us. But it goes on to say, but you were washed. You were sanctified and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a side note, if God can save a homosexual 2,000 years ago, he can still do it today. Amen? Every once in a while, we need to be a bit more honest about our sin than we usually are, just as the Word of God is honest about our sin. And this is what I mean. We, you, all of us, we're not generic sinners. We're not generic sinners. In your past life, you had particular vices You had particular tastes. You had particular temptations. You had particular places you went to and people you were with. Particular sins, and it was a specific debt that you owed to God as a result of those sins. And Jesus redeemed you from those particular sins. So every once in a while, I think we need to be a bit more honest and realize we're not just sinner A, B, C, and D. We have a specific list that we owe, that put us in debt before God. And Jesus redeemed us, cleansed us, and washed us from them all, from them all. He redeemed us by taking on the full divine wrath of God to bring us into his kingdom. We can boast in the Lord Jesus Christ because he redeemed us for all eternity. Before we close, I have a couple words of encouragement on the matter of rightly boasting in our God and his son, the Lord Jesus. Because every aspect of the Christian life is interconnected with another aspect of the Christian life. Therefore, it's not surprising that our boasting, our ability to boast in our God's power to save, it is related to our evangelistic witness. And here's what I mean. Paul wrote in Romans 1, verse 16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel." Why? Why, Paul? For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. As Paul went through the streets of the ancient world, facing opposition, facing ridicule, facing persecution, what kept him unashamed of the message that he was given? What kept him unashamed and bold in proclaiming Christ? Answer, reminding himself just how powerful God was. Reminding himself just how powerful God was in his life and in the life of others. In other words, he boasted in God's ability to save souls in Christ. Now, you have to think of it the other way. Now, if you maintain evangelistic boldness, that way, the inverse is going to be true as well. So you ask the question, how do you become ashamed of the gospel? Not unashamed, but how do you become ashamed and embarrassed of the gospel? Stop boasting. Forget and disbelieve that there is power in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Get bored with God. Become numb to the reality that we believe in a thrice holy God. And you'll stop witnessing. Your zeal to witness will dwindle just as your remembrance of the gospel's power dwindles. Therefore, it's a small wonder why new converts tend to be the most zealous when it comes to the work of evangelism. Because they are boasting in the fact that my God is great and Jesus has saved me from eternal punishment in hell. How can I not? How can I not proclaim the glories of my Savior? But again, the inverse is going to be true. For some of us, maybe veteran converts who've been converted for a while, been converted for a while, maybe the lack of joyful remembrance and the power of God that would then lead to boasting in the greatness of our God and Savior has led you to be reluctant. to be reluctant to share and witness about Christ. The memory of the gospel's power has maybe started to fade away. It's become something of the past, seems and feels far away. If we are to be faithful heralds of the message of the cross, If we are to be faithful messengers of the gospel, we must have a fresh memory about how great a salvation we have in our God and Savior. That's why it's so important for us, and this is the second word of encouragement, it's so important for us to one, remind ourselves of our testimonies, of how we came to the Lord, and also to pay attention to the testimonies around us, and to be encouraged by them as well. So let me ask you, brothers and sisters, when you share your testimony, is there an enthusiasm? Is there even a boasting in how great God has been to you? And how great the saving work of Christ is to you? Is there that element as you share about how you came to know? And there are special occasions, obviously, in our life. And we have our weddings, and we have our newborn babies, and we have all these events that we prize. Our conversion ought to feel, ought to be, at least in our minds, in a different category. But do you do justice to that reality as you share about what God has done for you? Is the enthusiasm consistent with the importance of this event of your conversion? And we live in an age that produces all kinds of stories, if you will, with entertainment and sports and honestly even politics. There is this idea of creating a narrative, an exciting story that will take you away from the mundane daily grind and give you some drama to feed off of. All those stories in the world pale in comparison to the stories of God's people being converted to know Christ. But let me ask you this. Do you get more excited about the world's stories these days? Do you find more excitement in the world's stories these days than the stories of God's people? The testimonies of God's people, how we came to know the Lord, how we rejoiced in our salvation, our experience of salvation. Those are their stories, friends, that we're going to be talking about for eternity. We're not going to be talking about politics in eternity. We're not going to be talking about football in eternity. We're not. We're going to be talking about the glories of Christ. We're going to be talking about how He came into our lives and transformed them. That is going to be the nature of eternal life. In fact, one of the patterns that I've realized in godly men that I look up to is that even if it's been 20 years or 30 years, it's as if their conversion was yesterday. It's like so fresh, it's so fresh on their minds. And I think that's something that we need to emulate, that we need to follow. And I've been so blessed, just in the months that we've been here, to hear about some of your stories. Darrell Whitely, Pilgrim's Progress, right? Pastor Jim, I know Jesus Christ, superstar, played a role in fascinating ways in which God works, personal ways, specific ways in which God works in someone's life. Let's not lose a sense, that sense of joy and even drama that our God has come into our lives in the power of the gospel. Bottom line question, what are you boasting in today? What are you talking about with excitement these days? What is drawing your attention? What is taking up your affections? What is your boast today? And there are some here, some here who have never, ever boasted in Jesus before. And on the contrary, you have boasted in yourself and your accomplishments and the things that you think are important. If you are that person, you need to know there's only one person who ever walked the face of this planet who deserved to boast in himself. But he chose not to. He humbled. The scripture says he humbled himself. to the form of a slave. And then further humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. Not only a physical death, but a spiritual death at the hands of a living God. He suffered in the place of sinners. He suffered the full, eternal, divine wrath of God. And that Jesus that Jesus is resurrected three days later and is now in heaven today, coronated, not just as Jesus, but the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to him. Turn from your sin and come to him and place all your trust, all your trust in His saving work, in His saving blood, in His saving righteousness. And if you do come to Him, if you do come to Him in repentance and faith in His person and work, you're going to join many in this room who will know what I'm about to say. There's going to be something, if you come to Christ, there will be something within you that will instinctively say, may it never be that I would boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for how simple the gospel is, but how many angles there are to understand the work of your son and your sovereign plan in it all. Lord, we pray that we repeat the prayer that we prayed in the beginning, that you would reorient us, that you would help us to find a home base and rejoice in the salvation that we do have. And for those who are outside of your kingdom, for those who are in rebellion against you still to this day, that you would grant them a heart of repentance and faith that would lead to a life that is full of boasting into the glorious salvation and the glorious God who has come into their lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.