BRAGGING

WHAT IS BRAGGING?

1 Corinthians 4:7 . . . What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 . . . Don’t take pride in following a particular leader. Everything belongs to you: Paul and Apollos and Peter; the whole world and life and death; the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Romans 11:18 . . . You must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. Remember, you are just a branch, not the root.

Bragging is an indication that we do not have a true understanding of ourselves and of God. It tries to put us on a pedestal higher than others around us.

Judges 9:38 . . . Then Zebul turned on him triumphantly. “Now where is that big mouth of yours?” he demanded. “Wasn’t it you that said, ‘Who is Abimelech, and why should we be his servants?’ The men you mocked are right outside the city! Go out and fight them!”

Jeremiah 46:17 . . . There they will say, “Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is a loudmouth who missed his opportunity!”

Psalm 75:5 . . . Don’t lift your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with rebellious arrogance.

Bragging is obnoxious and ego-centric talk about oneself. It reveals a big head and a big mouth. But in reality, a big mouth is usually an indication of a small mind and a lack of self-confidence.

Psalm 94:4 . . . Hear their arrogance! How these evildoers boast!

James 3:14 . . . If you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie.

James 4:16 . . . Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

Bragging is a sin because it reveals selfish pride. It seeks to make us look more important than others, or even more important than God. But a telescope that magnifies when turned outward also minimizes when turned inward.

WHAT OFTEN RESULTS FROM BRAGGING? WHY SHOULDN’T WE BRAG?

Psalm 10:3 . . . They brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.

Bragging is an affront to God. While it puts us up, it puts others and God down.

Proverbs 27:1 . . . Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.

1 Kings 20:11 . . . The king of Israel sent back this answer: “A warrior still dressing for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”

James 4:13-16 . . . Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog-it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

Braggarts often have an unrealistic view of the future-an overconfidence in their ability to control what lies ahead. There are many uncertainties about the future that only God knows. The day we know more than God is the day we can brag about our unlimited knowledge. But, of course, that day will never come.

Matthew 6:2-4 . . . When you give a gift to someone in need, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do-blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone, don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

Luke 18:9-14 . . . Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.” But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.

God longs to be the one to reward and honor us as opposed to our boasting of ourselves. A great trophy presented to ourselves isn’t much of a trophy? But a great trophy presented by our peers is a wonderful reward. Even more, a trophy presented by the Lord is unsurpassed.

Genesis 37:6-11 . . . “Listen to this dream,” he announced. “We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before it!” “So you are going to be our king, are you?” his brothers taunted. And they hated him all the more for his dream and what he had said.

Bragging can cause jealousy and often alienates people.

WHY IS OUR HUMAN MERIT NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT REGARDING SALVATION AND ETERNITY?

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 . . . This precious treasure-this light and power that now shine within us-is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.

Ephesians 2:8-10 . . . God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece.

Galatians 6:14 . . . As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead.

Philippians 3:8-9 . . . Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Romans 3:27 . . . Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith.

Our salvation is a gift from God that we accept by faith. We didn’t earn one bit of it nor did we deserve one bit of it. So we have nothing to brag about.

CAN WE BRAG ABOUT GOD? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WE HAVE TO BOAST ABOUT GOD?

Psalm 34:2 . . . I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are discouraged take heart.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 . . . This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

1 Corinthians 1:27-31 . . . Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. As the Scriptures say, “The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done.”

It is our duty to magnify and glorify God and his holy name. This is really not bragging, for it is giving God is rightful place as the King of all creation. What a privilege it is to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and to befriend the Creator of the universe.

WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE TO BRAG ABOUT OTHERS?

Proverbs 27:2 . . . Don’t praise yourself; let others do it!

Proverbs 31:28-31 . . . Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done.

2 Corinthians 7:4, 14 . . . I have the highest confidence in you, and my pride in you is great. You have greatly encouraged me; you have made me happy despite all our troubles. . . . I had told him how proud I was of you-and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true!

2 Corinthians 8:24 . . . Show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

2 Thessalonians 1:4 . . . We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.

It is good for us to magnify God’s work in another person’s life. God deserves our highest praise.

PROMISE FROM GOD:

2 Corinthians 3:4-5 . . . We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves.

Our only power and success come from God.

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