According to a story in the Grand Rapids Press, the owner of a small foreign car had begun to irritate his friends by bragging incessantly about his gas mileage. So they decided on a way to get some humour out of his tireless boasting, as well as bring it to an end. Every day, one of them would sneak into the parking lot where the man kept his car and pour a few gallons of gas into the tank. Soon he was recording absolute phenomenal mileage and boasting of getting as much as 90 miles pergallon. It was even more fun to watch his reaction when they stopped refilling the tank. The poor fellow couldn't figure out what had happened to his car.

Paul the apostle in our text spoke about our salvation as entirely the work of grace, leaving no room for boasting. Israel were set aside due to their present rejection of Christ and the grafting in of the gentiles that followed through faith. Gentile believers are cautioned not to boast about the favour they now have, but rather be thankful and humble, lest their rejoicing and unguarded attitude lead to their fall. The exhortation from this text should be taken seriously by every standing believer today.

There are many reasons we should avoid the euphoria of thinking we have already arrived, and boasting ourselves against those who have fallen from the faith. One of the reasons we should never boast is because we are saved by grace through faith and not by our own works. We equally should remember that the story of those who fell could be our story if we become careless and prayerless. The doctrine of eternal unconditional security does not have a place since God is no respecter of persons; those who sin against Him will face the wrath of His judgment as their former walk with Him in times past will no longer count.