While the Lord loves to stop human boasting, as John Pepper explained in a sermon on Romans

chapter 11, verses 17 to 22, the sermon was titled, Continue in the Kindness of God and

preached in February of 2004.

Here's a short clip of what John Pepper said about how we escape the trap of human boasting.

We have to believe that in the kindness of God and in eternal life and in justification

and in his working, everything together for good, the ultimate essential good of the gospel

is God Himself.

And the ultimate thing for which we believe Him is that He will be for us an all-satisfying

treasure.

It amazes me.

It amazes me about my own life and it amazes me about churches that we can preach the

gospel and not think about what makes it good news ultimately.

We use words like forgiveness of sins or justification or salvation or reconciliation or

propitiation or atonement or ransom.

None of those is the end point that makes salvation good news.

Why do you want to be forgiven?

Because it feels good not to be guilty or to escape hell.

Those are both true and desirable.

But that's not what makes it good news.

What makes forgiveness good news is that it gets out of the way everything that keeps

you from enjoying God.

Because the only ultimate joy that fully satisfies is God.

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