The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork

Transcription

1 1 1 Cor. 10:23-33 Do All to the Glory of God 1 Cor. 10:31 must be one of the most quoted verses in all the Bible for Christians. It is like a catch-all phrase for the application of life. If someone asks you as a Christian how you are to act, or what you are supposed to do in any given situation, the answer is always, Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. And I think we kind of understand what this means. Do what is right! Do what is moral! Make good, godly decisions! Be a good representative of God in this life! These are all good answers. And I think these answers correspond with Paul s context. In vv Paul is summarizing the last few chapters, which we have already covered in some detail. Whether it is sexual relations, or the eating of foods offered to idols, Christian freedom in things indifferent, or how we treat our brothers and sisters, we must do all things to the glory of God. With this in mind, today I want to preach a more topical sermon on v. 31. I want to answer 4 questions: 1) What is the glory of God? 2) Why do we live for the glory of God? 3) What does it mean practically to do all things to the glory of God? And, 4) How do we do all things to the glory of God? So let s begin. 1) What is the glory of God? In order to answer this question, I looked up all the places in the Bible where we find the word God and glory in the same verse. The great majority of these verses, especially in the OT, use glory to picture something great or mighty about God. Listen to these words. Ps. 19:1: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Ps. 29:3: The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. Ps. 57:5: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! At other times, we see glory used to describe God s presence. In 2 Chr. 5:13-14 after Solomon had built the temple and the Ark of God was brought into the temple, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. This was in the form of a cloud. And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. Two times (one the in the OT and one in the NT) God is called the God of glory. So, glory is a word we used to describe what God is like, particularly his greatness, what He is like, what He does, how He shows himself. We can t quite get to him. But, we can say about him, God is glorious. And we know He is glorious because of his creation and his mighty acts in this world. I remember flying from Kenya to South Africa and the pilot of the plane circling the crater of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was breathtaking! I thought of the glory of God. Or flying over the Alps and seeing endless peaks of snow-capped mountains almost as high as the plane. I think of the rays of the sun. They are not the sun itself, but they come from the sun. They are connected to the sun. The heat from its rays tell us there is a real sun. In a small way (though great for us) it displays the glory of the sun. In this way, God s mighty acts display God. When the glory of the Lord filled the temple, there was no mistaking that this was the presence of the living God. So, God is great. There is none like Him. And he is glorious. Though glory is used in other contexts, this is what we mean we say the glory of God. 2. Why do we live to the glory of God? God s purpose, in all that He does, is to display his glory. For there is no higher purpose, no higher aim, no higher cause, than this act. I once had a guy tell me that God is selfish if he seeks his own glory and even hypocritical when he tells us not to

2 2 seek our own glory and not be selfish. But, there is no greater task or aim in the universe than to display the glory of the ONE who created the universe, the ONE who has always existed, the ONE who holds all things together, the ONE who is always righteous, always holy, always good. And, this is God s desire, to display who HE is, his glory. And it is not as if God has another option or another competing desire. God always does what is right. And to see his glory is right. Therefore, there is no greater purpose than to display the glory of God. This is why Paul can say in v. 31, Whatever you do (all things), do to the glory of God. With this in mind, there is no greater purpose for which to live. And after all, we were created by Him. He did breathe life into us. He has given us a world to live in. He has given us commands to live by and a purpose for which to live our lives, namely to display his glory. This is why we were created! Gen. 1:27-28: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. There is nothing more fundamental to understand than this truth. So if someone asks you, Why are we here? What is our purpose? You don t have to think one second about your answer. We are created for his glory to live for his glory. For there is no higher purpose, nor greater reason to live, than to live for his glory. Someone might say, Wait a minute. What about all the evil in the world? These things do not display God s glory. And I would have to concur. From this perspective sin, or the effects of sin in the world do not, in and of themselves, display the glory of God. Rom. 3:23 says, All have sinned and fall short of.... the glory of God. God is not glorified when I hate my neighbor, when a husband is unfaithful to his wife or a wife unfaithful to her husband. He is not glorified when a young boy or an old man looks at pornography on his phone or computer. He is not glorified, children when you disobey your parents. But, the existence of sin does not nullify God s command for you and me and all of the people on this earth to live our lives in such a way that gives glory to God. So the simple answer is this: There is no greater purpose for our lives. 3. What does it mean practically to do all things to the glory of God? It means to live in a certain way that shows the glory of God. And I would add motive to this meaning. To do all thngs to the glory of God practically, means to love God and to love our fellow man. If you do this, you live in a way that when people see your life, they will know why you live, why you do the things you do. Love God! Love your neighbor! And this is what Paul is saying in vv He is saying, Think of your brother when you eat certain foods and drink certain drinks. You may be free to eat and drink. But don t do so if it does not show love for your brother. And when you live in front of the Jews, don t be a stumbling block. Or, as you mingle among the Greeks, think of them. And when you come together as a church, consider your brother. And when you do these things you will live according to the glory of God. As Jesus said, Let your light shine before men that when they see your good works they will glorify your father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). With this in mind, let me try and flesh this out a little more for us this morning. I went through the verses with glory and God in the Bible looking for practical ways God is glorified in our lives. Practically, you might find these few helpful. (In no certain order.)

3 3 God is glorified when people repent. Do you remember the sin of Achan in the OT? Israel was in the process of taking the Promised Land. They had just taken Jericho by a great miracle. Well the next battle was against the small people at Ai. And they were so small that Joshua decided only to send a few thousand men. But they were sent running as Ai defeated the men greatly. Why? There was a man named Achan who had taken some of Jericho s idols for himself and not revealed them to anyone. And Joshua found out and came to Achan and said, "My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me. (Josh. 7:19). God delights in repentance. For when we do we say to him, you are right and I am wrong. Please forgive me for my sins. God is glorified when we trust him. This is faith. Jesus said to Martha about the raising of Lazarus, Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? (John 11:40). Today, God is glorified when you trust in Him. When we trust God, we are saying, I am not God. But God, you are. And I need you! In this God is glorified. God is glorified when people are saved. Ps. 79:9: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake! God is glorified when we give praises to his name. (Many verses) This is done from hearts that voice his praises both in speaking and singing. God is glorified when some is healed physically. We see this throughout the Bible. I think of the raising of Lazarus. When Jesus heard he was sick, he said, This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God... God is glorified when he conceals secret things from us. Prov. 25:2: It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. Deut. 29:29: The secret things belong to the Lord our God. God is sovereign! Not us! God is glorified when we agree with him. 2 Cor. 1:20: For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. When we say, Amen to the promises of God, we agree with God and say in our hearts so let it be. There is so much more I could say here. But I think we get the message. What does it mean practically to do all to the glory of God? It means to love God in your heart and live in such a way that God, not you gets the glory. Whether it is giving a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus or whether you are being bound and burned at the stake for your faith (and everything between). But, if we stop here, we have no power to give glory to God. We must go further, which leads me to one more question: How How do we do all things to the glory of God? The answer to this question is the gospel of Christ. You see, most of the world is simply trying to do good in order that God may be pleased with them. Why do our Muslim neighbors pray 5 times a day, give to the poor, and try

4 4 to travel to a holy site in their lifetime? And other religious persons, why do they try and live good lives? And what about our non-christian neighbors that seem to act better than many Christians we know? Let me ask a question. Do you think non-christians can follow Paul s command to do all things to the glory of God? Why? Why not? Well, let me ask another question. Christian, when you see this command, what do you think? Can you live a life in such a way that in everything you do, God gets glory? What about your sin this week? What about your impatience with your spouse? Kids, what about your disobedience? What about the nasty thought that popped in your head about your neighbor? Young men, what about that thought you had when you looked at the pretty girl in your class? How does Paul s command to do whatever you do to the glory of God apply to you? Consider Rom. 3:23 again. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? You see, this is our problem and the problem of the world. We are sinners and this by nature. And by ourselves we fall short of God s glory. As hard as we might try and live according to this command, by ourselves, we will always fall short. This is why I must answer that non-christians cannot live up to this command. So, was there anyone who did do everything do the glory of God without sin? Yes! In John the Apostle s vision of heaven in Rev. 5 we read these words: Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! Do you remember the story of Stephen, one of the Church s deacons and the first martyr? When he was being stoned to death for believing in Christ, we read that he looked into heaven and he saw the glory of God (Acts 7:55). And then we read that he saw Christ seated at his right hand. You see, the glory of God and Christ go hand in hand. God will not give his glory to another. Yet, there is verse after verse in the NT that say God gives his glory to Christ. How can this be? Well, he isn t really giving it away. For Jesus is God in the flesh. Heb. 1:3: He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. And for those who are in Christ, those who have believed in him, actually receive this glory, and this by the Spirit. Let me end with 2 Cor. 3:17-18: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. This has to be one of the most glorious truths, to think, God gives his glory to us by the Spirit because of the work of Christ. Do you see the Trine God and his work in man? At one moment when I think I am only a creature, and I think of frailty, that I am from the dust, and then I consider my sin.... And then because of Christ and his work, through the Spirit, God will give his glory to me! Are you kidding? Who would think such things?

5 And I consider my sin (whatever it is) and how fall short. But then I consider the words of 1 John 1:1-2: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins. Christ has bron my sins in his death on the cross. God punished him instead of me. He punished the one who did do all to the glory of God for the ones who do not do all to the glory of God. And he gives takes our non-glory (our sin) and gives us his glory (no sin). And so the greatest thing I can do is trust Christ! Believe in him! Follow him! And in this, God is glorified. And then I look at 10:31 and read these words, Whatever you do, do for the glory of God? It is Christ in me/you, the hope of glory; Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27). This is the greatest news for those who fall of God s glory. So let me ask again, Can non-christians do all things to the glory of God? Of course not! 5