OUTLINE:

Everything's Backwards and Upside Down!
The things that the world esteems the most are often the same things that are potential handicaps in the spiritual life (eg. intellect, athleticism, beauty, strength/power, business acumen, shrewdness, etc.) (1Co 1:25-31)

"LET HIM WHO BOASTS"
The contrast between humility and arrogance is easy to identify. One only need ask "who" they are boasting in. If credit is funneled away from the Lord God, the giver of all things good, then it is arrogance.

"LET HIM WHO BOASTS"
On the supreme judicial scale of God, righteousness is the only thing with any mass to it. Man is incapable of bestowing righteousness to himself, it is a gift from God, both through imputation at salvation and impartation during sanctification. In all cases, God adds righteousness to His own scales on man's behalf (Pr 16:8-11). Gloria in excelsis Deo ("Glory to God in the highest").

Apostles
We may each be encouraged uniquely by the apostles. Each one of them were justified (made righteous) by grace through faith, not as a result of intellect (or any works of their own). (Ro 3:21-31; Eph 2:8-9).

Righteousness Credited
As was the case with Abraham (Ro 4:3), God gives grace (righteousness) to the humble (those who believe Him). You don't have to possess natural abilities (nothing to boast about) to earn favor with God. The apostles prove this.

Lk 19:10
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Context of Jesus' Ministry
• He was sent to the Jews first
• He came "to seek and to save"
• He addressed His audience in language they would understand and that would resonate with them
• He trained His successors (the apostles) to do the same

Stand Firm in THE Gospel
The presentation of the Gospel will change due to context, but there is only one Gospel, and it came from the very Source of the Good News, Jesus Himself.

"uneducated and untrained"
This was human viewpoint, for these men were obviously much better trained than anyone who judged them. What confounded the Jewish leaders was that the apostles' message was simple, yet bold, the antithesis of their own.

Religion Today
"Pure and undefiled religion" (Jas 1:27) has always been offensive to false religion. It's too simple, too gracious, too loving for those trying to cling to the throes of creature-credit (man's scales instead of God's). False religion proposes that self-righteousness bear some mass on God's scales, and is terribly offended when it doesn't.

J. Vernon McGee on Jas 1:27
Christians should be getting out where the people are. I feel there is a grave danger of having a religion of the sanctuary but not a religion of the street.

J. Vernon McGee on Jas 1:27
We need a religion of the street also. We should be in contact with the world in a personal way, with tenderness and kindness and helpfulness.

J. Vernon McGee on Jas 1:27
There are a lot of people out yonder who want that personal contact. My friend, you can bring a Christian contact to these people with sweetness and love and consideration and kindness.

Passing On Encouragement
You and I have been granted the privilege and opportunity to bring life-changing Truth to others. Don't think you can't. You have the seed of the true Gospel to sow, as well as the love of Christ.

What's the Problem?
Boldness in "uneducated" men unnerves the self-righteous because it debilitates the very basis of their self-esteem. A person whose self-esteem is tied to Christ is infinitely more powerful than one whose self-esteem is tied to self. Humility leaves arrogance speechless (Ac 4:14).

"what we have seen and heard"
Notice that the apostles confidence pivoted on their experiences, not just what Jesus taught them verbally, but what He taught them through His example. Like the apostles, so much of our training must be experienced for it to become something of substance.

"Follow Me."
There was much more to Jesus' words than simply a physical act. He was calling His apostles (as He has with each of us, even) to follow His example. He then sent these men out so that others could follow their example, in Christ...and so on throughout human history. Following is an experience.

"blasphemy against the Spirit"
The Pharisees knew who Jesus was, knowing He was sent from their God (Jn 11:48; Ac 4:16), which means they'd have to call the Spirit, who convicted them of who He was, a liar!

Blasphemy of the Spirit Today
Similarly, when an unbeliever says to an evangelist's face, "You're a liar," it is forgiven them. But, if that evangelist just sowed the good seed (ref. Mt 13:3-4), the unbeliever is now accountable to God for rejecting His Spirit (aka the "Spirit of Christ" - Ro 8:9). (1Th 4:8)

Sowing Seed
Facts about Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection, whether believed or not, are not the issue in salvation, strictly speaking. The issue is a person's heart response to the Gospel (which includes these facts) as a result of the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit.