For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. 

                                                                                                       2 Corinthians 10:12 

Tragically, it would seem that much of this world is living with a false sense of security. What this means is that there exists people who are not right with God and they either do not care or they are trusting in religious ritual as the means by which God will accept them or they view themselves as “good” people, believing that their “goodness” will result in God’s approval.

First, there are those who simply do not acknowledge God or care about Him. These people are often counting on the reality that there is no God and that all of the spiritual rhetoric coming from Christians is merely their opinion and not based on reality. These people are described in the following passage:

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

                                                                                                     1 Corinthians 1:18 

Secondly, are those who rely on religion as the means by which they believe (wrongly) that God will accept them. Jesus opposed this philosophy when He said the following:

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

                                                                                                                        John 3:3 

Unless we go through a spiritual transformation in which we place our trust in Jesus alone (being born again), we will not see the kingdom of God. Religion is man’s way of trying to access God. The cross is God’s design for the salvation of everyone who will believe.

And there are those who are the subject of today’s passage. These people believe themselves to be “good” people because they are “comparing themselves with themselves.”

In order to fully understand what Paul is declaring, let’s consider the final statement he makes in this passage: 

But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

                                                                                                   2 Corinthians 10:17-18 

Our spiritual security is not whether we believe we are deserving of God’s approval rather spiritual security comes when we know that He does approve us. But this approval is not gained by the works that we do rather it is gained on the basis of what Jesus did for us on the cross (Titus 3:5). When we compare ourselves to others as the basis of feeling good about our lives, we deceive ourselves and are “without understanding.”

There will always be people in this world in which we can compare ourselves and come away believing (falsely) that we are right with God. We may believe that fascist dictators, terrorists, and career criminals are worse than are we but this is entirely false. It is quite offensive to some to suggest that all of us are equally in need of a Savior because all of us have broken every law of God but that is exactly what is our spiritual reality (James 2:10). Only when we come to realize our spiritual need can we receive God’s provision of salvation (John 3:18).

So Paul says, “But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord.” This is actually a quote from the Old Testament. Consider the following:

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me…”

                                                                                                            Jeremiah 9:23-24a 

Christians can boast but our boasting is in only one thing: that we understand and know God. And that is what separates authentic Christians from those who pretend to be or honestly believe themselves to be because of religious motion. Knowing God through a relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to know that we are eternally secure. And it is this relationship that causes us to live for Him rather than to just live for ourselves, as the rest of the world is accustomed in doing. Worldly wisdom, physical strength, and material wealth are not what we are to place our priority rather we are to build our lives around Jesus Christ. Consider John’s words:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  

                                                                                                                 1 John 2:15-16 

Going after the trends and popular leanings of the world will only lead to spiritual death. Even as we believe ourselves to be secure (because of wealth and physical security), we can actually possess everything that the world has to offer and have nothing that really matters in the end (Luke 9:25). So John declares how we know that we will live forever: 

The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

                                                                                                                     1 John 2:17 

If we are living in complete trust in what Jesus has done for us on the cross, enjoying the spiritual life that this faith brings, and living in the power of the Spirit of God, we can know that we are pleasing to God and that we will be accepted by Him when we stand before Him at the end of this life (Matthew 10:32).

Are living in the victory that is yours in Jesus Christ or are you living under a false sense of security? Why not settle the issue of who you are living for today!