Is “God Helps Those Who Help Themselves” Biblical?
• Not only is “God helps those who helps themselves” not in the Bible, it’s not
• The Gospel is the power of God unleashed into the lives of those who believe. One of the ways that the biblical Gospel transforms us is by destroying the
The Gospel Purifies our Boasting
• It may seem strange to us that Paul’s mind would go immediately to boasting, but this is a major
• Ephesians 2:8-9 | For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
• Philippians 3:4-8 | If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
• 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 | 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
• 1 Corinthians 4:7 | For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
• From beginning to end,
Humility is the Key to Genuine Faith
• In the Parable of the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14), Jesus sets the tone for how we understand true faith.
• True faith begins with spiritual
• If we come to God with any kind of self-sufficiency, any kind of sense that I just need a little bit of Him, that I have good within me that gets me somewhere with Him, then we don’t
• Human beings are prone towards
Our Only Boast is Jesus
• The biblical Gospel actually
• 2 Corinthians 10:17 | “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
• Galatians 6:14 | But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
• Boasting in the Lord is biblical
• The Gospel
• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 | Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
• Warren Wiersbe >> If salvation is through the Law, then men can boast; but the principle of faith makes it impossible for men to boast. The swimmer, when he is saved from drowning, does not brag because he trusted the lifeguard. What else could he do? When a believing sinner is justified by faith, he cannot boast of his faith, but he can boast in a wonderful Savior.
Is Pride Trying to Creep in Your Life?
• According to writer, Jaquelle Ferris at The Gospel Coalition, pride sometimes shows up as:
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>> Fear simultaneously reveals our lack of trust and our poisonous self-reliance. We fear because we don’t have faith in the Lord, are enormously preoccupied with ourselves, and lack self-control.
•>> we [often] deceive ourselves into thinking we’re better than we are, and deserve better than we have. We think we deserve God’s mercy. We think we deserve people’s praise. We think we deserve love, success, comfort, accolades. We certainly don’t think we deserve suffering, heartbreak, or discipline.
•>> Our proud hearts say that we’re good, that we should get what we want, and if we don’t, that we’re justified in our ingratitude. If we’re somehow uncomfortable or inconvenienced, we can complain. It’s our right. Humility, meanwhile, recognizes that God is good and gives us what we need, so we have no reason to be ungrateful.
•>> Pride is self-worship and self-preservation at all costs—and people-pleasing is the direct result. Some think people-pleasing is a positive trait because they’re so clearly concerned with serving others. But that’s nothing more than a sneaky sheepskin we put over a wolfish habit. People-pleasing is all about self-satisfaction—fearing man more than God—and seeking the fleeting happiness that comes from man’s approval.
•>> Pride deceives us into thinking we can “do life” on our own—we’re capable, independent, unstoppable, self-reliant. We think that we don’t need God every hour, that we don’t need his help, grace, mercy, courage, and hope. So, surely, we don’t need to pray.
•>> When you’re proud, you elevate your status, forgetting the mercy God has shown you. You think you’re better than everyone else, so you easily find fault with others. Pride produces a hypocritical spirit.
•>> Rebellion against God manifests itself in resistance to God’s Word and God-ordained [authorities in your life]. It’s the reflex of a prideful heart.
• Proverbs 16:18 | Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
• Proverbs 29:23 | One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.