“Where Is Boasting, Then?”
By G. D. Ballou
A NEAR approach to anything like boasting about the affairs of this life is always looked upon by charitable people with a feeling of pity and compassion; and when a man openly brags about the superiority of his worldly possessions or about the smartness of the children, the sense of pity deepens into one of disgust, and nothing bores us more than to be compelled to listen to such boasting. But what shall be said of the spirit of boasting that speaks loudly and boldly of one's own goodness and purity of heart? There are no words capable of justly expressing the mingled emotions that fill intelligent minds when there is such an exhibition of folly and presumption. If it were folly alone, compassion would make allowance, but when the cause of God is abased and the prophets and apostles put entirely in the shade by the claims of sinless purity which we sometimes hear, then forbearance ceases to be a virtue, and mingled emotions of disgust, contempt, and sorrow clamor for expression. There is abundant evidence that in the Bible the people of God are called holy and are said to be sanctified; and the fruits of the Spirit which give evidence that this work of sanctification is being accomplished are named in Gal. 5:22, 23. Among these is meekness, which leads the Christian to place a modest estimate on his own attainments. A small degree of this grace will prevent Christians from presuming to proclaim their own holiness. It is only when this grace is wanting and its place usurped by spiritual pride and self-sufficiency that men and women will be found vain enough307to testify before men that they are perfect. Those who keep the life of Christ before them as a pattern cannot think highly of their own efforts and attainments unless they utterly fail to appreciate the contrast between his life of perfect obedience and their own imperfect and crooked ways. The mistakes which Christians make, and the sins of ignorance they commit, ought to keep them humble. What can be done for an individual who brags of his humility and boasts of his meekness? What is it but self-righteousness that blinds people to their own follies and mistakes? What can be done to relieve the world of these stumbling-blocks over which so many are to-day falling to ruin? Our Saviour recognized the difficulties of the case when, in view of the self-righteous notions of the Pharisees which forbade them sitting at meat with those they considered to be sinners, he sharply reproved them, saying: “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” Matt. 9:12. Jesus could furnish healing for the spiritual maladies of the humble publicans and sinners, but he could do nothing for the self-righteous and complacent Pharisees who felt no need of a Saviour. The sin of spiritual boasting may be made more apparent by noticing some of the plain declarations of Scripture in reference to it, and by these the reader may be kept from this spiritual leprosy. Luke 18:9-14: Jesus spake a parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray; one of these stood up and thanked God that he was not wicked like other men, and that he was not even as bad as the publican who stood near praying, and then he proceeded to tell the Lord how good he was and what laudable deeds he was constantly performing. But the other man would not even look toward heaven and could only say as he smote upon his breast, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus concludes this parable by saying this publican “went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” In Rom. 10:2, 3, Paul, in speaking of his own nation, bears witness that they had “a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” Here was a class who were full of zeal and earnestness and works, “going about to establish their own righteousness;” but they were not in subjection to God's righteousness, hence were strangers to God, because, being full of self-righteousness, they would not humble themselves to learn the will of God. Self-righteousness and a desire to obey God's will cannot abide together in the same heart. Isa. 65:2-7: Here the Lord revealed to Isaiah the true condition of a people who were walking after their own thoughts, though very scrupulous about making sacrifices, and so very pious that they sought inspiration by lingering about the resting-places of the dead; yet they were corrupting themselves by eating swine's flesh and other abominable things, and making themselves odious to God by setting up the claim that they were holier than other people. The Lord said, “These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.” I will “recompense into their bosom, your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers.” This shows how God regards “pious” sinners who claim to be pure and holy above other people. In Numbers 16 is the first account of some who set up their own claim to holiness. If the reader will turn to this chapter he will see what a terrible rebuke God administered to those presumptuous ones. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram told Moses and Aaron that “all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them.” This was a very polite and delicate way of saying that we, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, are just as holy as you, Moses and Aaron. And then they proceeded to find fault with and raise rebellion against those whom God had placed to lead his people. The only answer Moses had was, “To-morrow the Lord will show who are his, and who are holy.” On the morrow, by the destruction of Korah and all his company, the Lord did make manifest who were accepted of him and who were condemned. This awful rebuke ought to be a lesson to those who in these days put forth this blasphemous claim, and thrust themselves forward as leaders of God's people. I am not arguing that there are no holy men on earth to-day, for I believe that, as in past times, every true child of God is by the Lord accounted holy in a certain sense of the term. The point I would make plain is that it is a dangerous thing for men to set up this claim of sinless purity, and that when they do put forth this claim it is evidence that they are unholy in God's sight; for in doing it they rob themselves of the graces of meekness and humility, without which there can be no such thing as acceptance with God. It is the prerogative of him who can read the heart, to show who are his, and who are holy. The redeemed holy ones who stand at last upon Mt. Zion ascribe holiness not to themselves but to God. Their song is “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.” Where, then, is there room for boasting? It is excluded by the law of faith. Rom. 3:27. Whoever has faith, a true intelligent faith, in Jesus, based on a clear conception of the nature of his work, will have no disposition to boast of his own spiritual attainments. His mind and heart will be so full of the character of Christ that there will be no room for self-glorification. He will say with Paul, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” St. Helena, Cal., May 9, 1886.