BOASTING
We typically think of boasting as something we do with our mouth, but here are many other ways to boast. With respect to religion, all religious activity is a form of boasting. This is true whether it is done in public or in private. The Biblical principle against public displays of religious behavior is found in these scriptures:

Matthew 6:1-6  “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 23:1-10 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. 4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.

Romans 2:12-29  All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely upon the law and boast of your relation to God

COMMENTARY: Understanding of this verse begins with the definition of “Jew.” The default definition for everyone, of course, is an ethnic Jew. But God is only interested in the condition of the heart — not of the flesh. See Circumcision for more about what it means to be a spiritual Jew. Also see Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Christians and Gentiles.

Understanding of verse 17 also hinges on a proper understanding of the law which is discussed in STUDENTS OF THE LAW.

With the proper understanding “Jew” and “law”, verse 17 can be reinterpreted like this:

“But if you call yourself a Jew or a Christian and rely upon your religious traditions (i.e. laws) and boast of your relation to God…”

What we see in this verse now is that boasting in our relationship to God is directly connected to the external religious labels (i.e. Jew or Christian) we assign to ourselves and the laws (i.e. Jewish traditions and Christian traditions) to which we voluntarily submit.

With this interpretation, we see that any public display of religious labels (e.g. Jew, Christian, Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Evangelical, etc.) and any practice of a religious tradition (e.g. circumcision, baptism, going to church, observing the Sabbath, communion, tithing, etc.) qualifies as boasting. With this operational definition of boasting, it is impossible for anyone who identifies with a religious tradition to avoid boasting.

Even public prayer, carrying a Bible in public, going to conferences, identifying yourself as the author of a religious writing, and reporting (many put a religious spin on reporting by calling it “testifying”) on what God has said to you or done for you are ways of boasting about your relation to God. They are examples of the kinds of behaviors discussed in Matthew 6:1-6  and Matthew 23:1-10.

It will be hard for religious people to accept that the very act of calling themselves a Jew or a Christian is a boast. It is a public statement that says they have a good relationship with God and know his will as it says in verse 18 and following. These self-ascribed titles and proclamations are only useful in defining relationships with other people. They are meaningless to God because he knows the condition of everyone’s heart.

People who understand that God knows the condition of their hearts have no need to make public statements with their voice or actions about their relationship to God. They have no need to be seen as godly. They know that God’s name/character is written in their hearts because they understand the Third Commandment. Because they know that God knows their hearts, they are under no pressure to communicate their relationship with him to others.  They avoid boasting about their relationship with God because they know that God will witness that truth to others by his spirit without any help from them.

18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed in the law, 19 and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth– 21 you then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 25 Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. 29 He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God.