Soli Deo Gloria

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

For our part we assemble this morning in obedience and in faith and it’s a pretty glorious habit when we think about it to get to assemble week by week and to Lift high God’s name together to lock arms and corporate worship to behold the Sun together and We now confess it together. Our help is in the name of the Lord Our call to worship this morning comes from Psalm 19 verses 1 through 6 the heavens declare the glory of God And the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are their words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world.

In them, he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom, leaving his chamber and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them. And there is nothing hidden from its heat. Let’s pray together. Father, we join this morning in declaring your glory, and we join creation in that undertaking. You are the Alpha and the Omega. You are the author of creation. You are the one who has made a way for us to have fellowship with you when we were yet your enemies. In your son, we have the consummate example of initiative, responsibility, and love, and because of his work, we approach you with confidence that we will be heard and that you will be honored.

So please enable us this morning to worship you in a way that is fitting for who you are. We pray this now in Jesus name. Amen.

All of our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions land in one of two categories. So all of our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions land in one of two categories. Either we are magnifying the Lord with what we think, how we feel, what we say, and what we do. Either we’re magnifying the Lord or we are attempting to usurp His glory. Either we’re magnifying Him or we’re attempting to usurp His glory. I say attempting to usurp because no matter what we do, we cannot detract from the glory of God. God has and will have His glory. So Satan tried and tries to undermine and usurp God’s glory. Pharaoh tried to stand in the place of authority that belongs only to the Lord when he believed that the Jews should submit to him instead of the Lord. And in both cases, God ordained their feeble attempts in order to magnify himself as he does with all vessels of wrath. We cannot successfully detract from the glory of God and the more we try the more glorious he is shown to be. God’s glory in human history

past and present is anti-fragile. The more we try to usurp it the more glorious he is shown to be. But that does not mean that we don’t try. This is what all sin is. Not only do we refuse to submit to the Lord, but we also do so because in our minds we sit on the ruler’s throne. God says, thou shalt not, and we say I shall. God says thou shall and we say I shall not. Questioning the authority of God is what got mankind into this mess from the very beginning. All of our sin is an assault on God’s glory. It boils down to who we think is is in charge. Is it God or is it me? Pride is the undercurrent pulling our sin. And so the start of repentance is humility. The start of repentance is our humility. It’s acknowledging our proper place before our Maker. And so as Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 5, 6 and Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.”

So, in humility, we place ourselves under the hand of God, casting our anxieties on him. when we are anxious in our fears, it’s because we refuse to humble ourselves under his mighty hand. And in that moment, our option is either to cast ourselves in God’s hand, or to try to carry it in our own hand. And so what’s interesting is that the Latin word, I am not an ECS graduate, but I am able to look up Latin words, The Latin word for hand is manus, or manus, manus. You guys know how to pronounce it? Manus. Manus. The Latin word for hand is manus. And it’s where we get our word manipulate from. So the word manipulate means to handle in that way.

Manus, to manipulate, means to handle something towards a desired end. proud, anxious person, one who refuses to humble himself under God’s hand and instead holds on to his anxieties, is constantly trying to control and manipulate the situation himself. So a few examples. An anxious dad that is displeased with his wife and kids and demonstrates it through his angry disapproval while provoking and discouraging them in order to manipulate them into submission instead of feeding his family with love and with hope. Or an anxious wife that is discontent with her portion and her station and demonstrates that by harassing her husband, whether loudly or silently, and being emotionally unstable, expecting him to address her every nagging whim in order to manipulate his actions toward her end, instead of obeying him with honor and respect.

Or an anxious church member that is bitter with the rest of the body because they claim that nobody cares and demonstrates it by sulking or complaining or guilting others in order to manipulate people’s response instead of giving of themselves through service and hospitality or an anxious man that is fearful of making a decision and holding the line because his trust in God wavers and demonstrates it by his passive abdication, naively hoping that things will work out on their own as he tries to manipulate the outcome by being passive and absent instead of holding fast to his convictions with courage. Or an anxious mother smothering her kids by trying to control their desires and decisions, suffocating their will and ambition with her overly tight grip in order to manipulate them towards her own visions of controlled utopia instead of trusting God to work in and through her children.

Or an anxious teenager that doesn’t get what she wants and so she feels misunderstood and tries to make the people around her feel bad and pity her in order to manipulate their attention and their change instead of being generous, lights of heart, and open-handed. When we refuse to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, we try to handle, to manipulate, and control the situation to our own end. God, you don’t understand, we say, I know what I need, I will make it happen. And so we attempt to usurp God’s throne because we think we can do a better job. But like squeezing a wet bar of soap, the tighter our grip, the more out of control things get.

Our prideful efforts of controlling the situation is like starting to pull on the thread and eventually unraveling the entire rug. And yet, it’s when we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand that control starts to come about. What happens? Peter says, humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you. What happens when we give it all to God in humble faith? At the proper time, at His time, He exalts us. He lifts us up. He brings us into security, into joy and peace. Those who trust the Lord are never put to shame. God’s glory, not our own, as we humbly cast our anxieties on Him, affects every area of our life.

When we stop trying to manipulate the outcome and instead obey God in faith, doing that which He tells us to do because we believe what He says, that’s when He lifts us up. When we stop usurping His glory, He gives it to us. And so, are you casting your anxieties under God’s mighty hand? Or are you trying to manipulate and control the situation to your own outcome? If this brings to light sin that needs confessing, or perhaps there are other sins that need to be dealt with, now is a good time to confess those. So you’re invited if you desire and are able to kneel in humble confession before the Lord, and that I’ll pray for us corporately.

Let’s pray. Father, we confess that we are an anxious, proud people. We are hard to please because we are proud. We believe that we deserve more than what we have, both from you and from others. We think our needs are left unmet, and so we use the people around us, our spouse, kids, parents, siblings, friends, in order to control and manipulate them towards our end. And when things don’t go our way, we are irritated, frustrated, depressed, and angry. Instead of humbling ourselves under your mighty hand, casting our anxieties on you, we attempt to control and manipulate the situation unto our liking. We attempt to usurp your place of glory and demand others bow, getting angry when they don’t.

Our anxious pride affects our relationships, husbands and wives, parents and kids, siblings and friends, and the more we grasp, the less we have. Please forgive us for our lame attempts of manipulation towards our own glory. Lord, we see this sort of anxious pride manifest in the surrounding culture. Their life does not unfold as they would have it, so they clamor and fight against Your good standard.

They cheat and steal, lie and murder all to try to manipulate the outcome unto their own pleasing. But the more they strive, the less they have. Nations rage, people’s plot, and yet we know that their attempts at dethroning you are vain and stupid, resulting only in their own destruction. Grant repentance and revival to the humble, to the people in our city and state. May they humble themselves under your mighty hand, so that at the proper time you would exalt them. You are God Almighty and may we always submit to you alone. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. You’re invited to stand for the reminder of the assurance of your forgiveness. Our text is from Romans 3 21 through 25. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.

Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But that is not our end. By grace, we are justified in Christ. We have redemption, and by faith, we receive it. We don’t live our life striving and never arriving, always reaching and falling short.

We have what God has given us and we live in light of that. We can start with God’s glory and his pleasure and find our contentment and satisfaction there. We know that God cares for us and that at the proper time he will exalt us. And that’s a reason for us to worship. So let’s worship. Today’s scripture reading is Isaiah 6, 1 through 5. Isaiah 6, 1 through 5. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And one called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called and the house was filled with smoke and I said woe is me for I am lost I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the King the Lord of hosts father indeed it is our hearts desire that to you alone be the glory. As we look at a few selected scriptures that emphasize that, may we rejoice in the fact that we have such a God who is easy to glory in. And may we learn to abolish our foolish ways when we are tempted to gin up our own glory, trying to draw the attention on ourselves. Father, what a foolish foolish endeavor as Philip reminded us. And so Father, may we just be encouraged as we reflect for the next few minutes on your glory and may you be pleased with all that is said here. I pray in Jesus name, amen.

Sole diogloria, translated woodenly, this Latin phrase is alone to God, glory, which we usually state as to God’s glory alone. This phrase is one of several core faith statements called the five solas and together they define what it means to stand in the tradition of reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. And I don’t know it but if you I don’t know if you know it but you actually she just sang all five solas in that song. The five solas, if you’re not familiar with them, are Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone, Sola Fide, faith alone, Sola Gradia, grace alone, Sola, Solas Christus, Christ alone, and Sola Deo Gloria, God’s glory alone.

These solas weren’t fully refined until the late 20th century, but we find origins of them in the writings of Luther, Calvin, and others. An example is found in the writings of Philip Malachthon, contemporary of Luther, who wrote, only by grace do we justify, and only by faith are we justified. These were fighting words then, and they still are today.

Most notably, the solas are at the core of reformer’s departure from Roman Catholicism. I remember visiting a close childhood friend of mine a few years ago who is a ordained deacon in the Catholic Church today. We were talking about the differences in our theology and he made it clear that the Catholics reject sola fide or faith alone. I know we’re talking about soli de ogloria today but let me take a quick aside to talk about the Catholic understanding of Sola Fide. Those of you with Roman Catholic family or friends might find it helpful. I finally, after years of talking to my Catholic family, finally believe I’ve touched on the nerve that really gets the conversation going and addresses the core issue. When you talk to your Catholic friends who have some theological chops, you will find that they react to two claims. The first claim is that Catholics believe in works salvation.

They’ll really react to that. The second claim is that we are saved by grace alone through faith. Now when they hear the term faith alone, they think of what we call easy believe-ism. The idea that you can pray a prayer as a child and then live like the devil the rest of your life and ultimately be saved. And And sadly, there are some Protestants who actually hold to that belief. We would agree with our Catholic friends that this is a false idea. If we were to expand Sola Fide to address this concern, we would agree with Luther’s statement that, quote, we are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.

And to quote, true believers are busy accomplishing the good works God has prepared for them. This is all summed up well in Ephesians 2, 8-10, which tells us, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your doing, it’s the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no man may boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So we’re not saved by works, but we’re created for works. The key takeaways from these verses are, we are saved by grace alone through faith. This salvation is a gift from God and not a reward for our good works.

God has prepared good works for us to perform as an expression of our faith, but not as a condition of our salvation. That in a nutshell is the proper understanding of sola fide. The other objection Catholics raised that I mentioned earlier is the claim that the Catholics believe in works salvation. There’s a key theological concept that Roman Catholics get wrong. They conflate sanctification and justification into one ongoing process. Many Catholics look at you funny when you talk about justification. I was just talking with my sister recently and I kept using the word justification. She says, I’m not familiar with that word.

I haven’t heard that word. And she is a very devout Catholic to this day into her 70s. It is in a theological term most are familiar with. They are taught that sanctification is an ongoing process which we agree with. But they also believe that they are growing in justification at the same time that they are being sanctified. So as they’re being sanctified, they are also being justified. They conflate the two together. If you’re tracking with me, a devout Catholic believes the works that they do are an expression of their faith, like reformers do, but they also believe that their good works are increasing their justification before God.

Undoubtedly, there are members of the Catholic faith who too get it all messed up and really do believe that their works are what saves them. This idea that good works play a role in one’s justification comes right out of the decrees from the Council of Trent, which was written as a response to the Reformation movement started by Luther. Take your Catholic friends to the Council of Trent. Most of them haven’t read it, don’t even know about it, and yet that is still the core of Catholic theology.

So paraphrasing here, the Council of Trent declared, in Caches, they declared that if anyone says that good works are not necessary for maintaining one’s justification and increasing in it, let him be anathema. Reform theology says justification is a part from works.

Justification is a one and done event when we are saved. The righteousness of Christ was credited to our account, the theological term is imputed. Having been made righteous or justified by grace through faith, we are now being sanctified, conformed to the image of Christ through the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit. So everybody agrees about the sanctification process, but it’s the point of justification. We say one and done. They say ongoing and increasing. The next time you get into a discussion with your Catholic friends, drill in on the difference between justification and sanctification. Once they understand the difference, they don’t know what to do with verses like Romans 4-1 which says, therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you catch the past tense there?

Having been justified. I found with my own Catholic family members that drilling in on this theological distinction moves the conversation forward. Now leaving this aside let’s get back to discussing the solely Dale Gloria. You might think that of the five solas this one would be the least controversial. Who is going to argue with to God be the glory alone? As As mentioned earlier, Roman Catholics have taken a very vocal stand against some of the other solas, such as scripture alone and faith alone, but they have never made a statement against the idea of to God be the glory alone. Later, after we look at some of the controversies surrounding proper worship, we’re going to look at some of the controversies surrounding proper worship, and we’re going to see if they in fact do support this doctrine of solely Dale Gloria or not.

Several years ago, I read a book titled God’s Glory Alone, the majestic heart of Christian faith in life, what the reformers taught and why it still matters by David van Drunen. In the book, van Drunen wrote, solely deo gloria can be understood as the glue that holds the solace in place or the center that draws the other solace into a grand unified whole. author said, Sole Day of Gloria, is the logical implication of the other four points. This makes sense when you think about it. When you put together faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and scripture alone, you eliminate any opportunity for men to take any kind of boast in their own accomplishments. You are forced to declare to God, be the glory alone.

As you take a closer look at this doctrine, I’ve structured my message into two sections. You can use these as the main points as you follow along. And those two sections are arguments for the doctrine and controversies over it, and secondly, application of the doctrine. So first, arguments for the doctrine and controversies over it. So what does Soli Deo Gloria mean exactly? The three concepts we need to grasp to understand this doctrine are God, glory, and alone. If you understand those, you got the doctrine wired. I suspect most of you have a notion of what is meant by God and alone, but what about glory? If we want to be sure that God alone gets the glory, we need to understand what is meant by the term glory.

And I’ll attempt to come up with a working definition in a few minutes. For now suffice it to say that whatever glory is, it belongs to God alone. So where did this doctrine originate? You can find it contained within the body of the Reformers’ writings, but as I mentioned before, it and the other solas were never systematized as we know them until much later.

There is no reason, though, to doubt that the Reformers would have supported these five doctrinal truths even though they might have quibbled over some of the minor details. For example, John Calvin would have no problem with solely day of Gloria. He wrote, we never truly glory in him until we have utterly discarded our own glory. The elect are justified by the Lord in order that he may glory in them and in none else. In reading about what the reformers thought about the idea of Soli Deo Gloria, I was surprised at first to find that Luther was opposed to something he referred to as the theology of glory, and in its place he argued for the theology of the cross. In 1518 the head of the Augustinian order in Germany, Johannes Staupfitz, which Luther belonged to that order, called for a meeting where Luther could express his concerns. This meeting is known as Heidelberg, Disputation. Luther was already known as a pot-stirrer in his community and some of them wanted him just to be silenced, but Staupitz was

sympathetic to some of Luther’s views and wanted to give him a fair hearing so he set up this meeting. So Luther’s thesis that he brought to this meeting contained 28 points that he wanted to present for consideration and point 21 was titled A Theology of Glory. A theology of glory calls evil good and good evil. A thought theology of the cross calls the thing what it actually is. So that’s a already a curious opening statement. Now I’m just going to read a few excerpts from this disputation that will shed some light on what he was bothered by. So under the heading of theology of glory which he objected to hear some statements he made. He who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and in general good to evil. Another quote, these are the people whom the Apostle calls enemies of the cross of Christ for they hate the cross and suffering and love works and the glory of works thus they call the good of the cross evil and the evil of a deed good.”

And one more under that theology of the first point where I just what I just lost here. He says, because men do not know the cross and hate it they necessarily love the opposite, namely wisdom, glory, power, and so on. Therefore they become increasingly blinded and hardened by such love, for desire cannot be satisfied by the acquisition of those things which it desires. Just as a love of money grows in proportion to the increase of the money itself, so the dropsy of the soul becomes thirstier the more it drinks. This holds true of all desires as Christ shows in John 4 13 when he says everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. So the theology of glory were those are all under that heading. Now the theology of the cross but just a few there. The remedy for curing desire does not lie in satisfying it but in extinguishing it.

He who wishes to have much power, honor, pleasure, satisfaction in all things must flee rather than seek power honor pleasure and satisfaction in all things. This is the wisdom which is folly to the world. Undoubtedly Luther had verses like Matthew 20 26 you 27 in mind which says but whoever would be great among you must become the servant of all and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. I think we would agree with all of the sentiments that Luther just expressed there. It turns out that he actually doesn’t have a problem with Soli Deo Gloria. It was only that as people were rejecting the idea of the cross, can we skip the cross part and can we just get to all the good stuff in the glory part? And that was Luther’s concern is that the route to glory, if you will, is through the cross and not by just going after works and seeking or glorying those works. Luther, in fact, would have been all for this doctrine.

He was trying to show in this disputation how trusting and human achievement blocks our ability to see the glory of God He wrote it is not a fit It is not sufficient for anyone and it does not him no good to recognize God in his glory and majesty Unless he recognizes them in the humility and shame of the cross. You have to take the whole package Then drew num summed up Luther’s theology of the cross this way To behold the glory that to behold the God of glory we must behold God beaten mocked and crucified to gain everlasting the attitude we must utterly humble ourselves and find refuge only in a cursed cross.” So what about Calvin? What did he have to say on the subject? He wrestled with an issue sometimes raised when saying the glory belongs to God alone. He saw a problem in that statement. The issue is this, does saying to God alone be the glory mean that there is no glory to be found in his creation, specifically in man? Must man be totally debased for God to get all the glory? On the one hand we would say well

yeah we are debased, but on the other hand doesn’t Scripture also say we are God’s image bearers and we have been created a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor. Comes out Genesis 127 in Psalm 85. Calvin was an ardent defender of God’s glory but he also recognized that God manifests his glory in his creation, both the firmament and mankind. He wrote, in every part of the world some lineaments of divine glory are beheld. Calvin believed that glory does belong to God alone, but he then manifests that glory in his creation.

And creation should reflect that glory back to the Creator. Calvin reconciles the tension between God’s glory and man’s debasement by saying this, two ends must be kept especially in view. Namely, that the glory of God be maintained and unimpaired and that our consciousness in the view of this tribunal be secured in peaceful rest and calm tranquility. So yes to God be the glory alone but in that we also can stand before that holy God and be peaceful rest and calm tranquility. The point is this God belong to God to God belongs all the glory, but that doesn’t mean man grovels in self-loathsome-ness.

One of the beautiful things about the gospel is that God manifests his glory by reconciling men to himself and then invites them to share in his glory. That in turn gives believers, as Calvin said, the peaceful rest and the calm tranquility. In Romans 8 17 confirms what Luther and Calvin’s understanding of the issue are. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God and if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. So now that we’ve looked at some of the origins of the doctrine we need to talk briefly about the terms in it. I mentioned earlier the three key concepts, God, glory, and alone. So I’m assuming again we know what God and alone means, so I’m only going to deal with glory, or more specifically the glory of God. Let’s talk about that. When you think about God’s glory, what comes to mind? What does it mean to say He’s glorious? I imagine most of us would do

better at recognizing a display of God’s glory than trying to define it. Merriam Webster, if we turn there, describes glory like this. Praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent. Something that secures praise or renown. A state of exaltation. Okay, doesn’t help a whole lot. John Piper said in an interview, he said defining the glory of God is impossible because it’s more like the word beauty than the word basketball. And I thought to myself, thanks John, that was really helpful. He goes on to explain that a basketball is something you could explain reasonably well to someone who has never seen one before, but how do you describe the word beauty? He then takes a stab at defining the glory of God by first considering the holiness of God and then observing in Scripture where the holiness of God and glory are used together. He defines the holiness of God as God being distinct and separate into a class all by himself.

There’s nobody else like God. Infinite perfections, infinite greatness, infinite worth. Holiness is what he is and it is his uniquely. Ain’t nobody else in the universe that’s holy. Piper then observes in Isaiah 6.3, the passage Dave read this this morning, the scene where the angels are crying out, holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of His, not holiness, but full of His glory. From Piper’s definition of holiness and the connection to glory seen in Isaiah, he defines the glory of God as the infinite beauty and greatness of His holiness or manifold perfections put on display. So let me just give you a word picture that’ll help summarize that. Imagine a flawless diamond made up of infinite number of facets. It’s already impossible to imagine but try to imagine that. And that diamond is being struck by God’s holiness. And then what’s given off all of that radiation coming off all those facets of that diamond is the glory of God. You might be thinking all this background on

Soli Deo glory is great but it doesn’t matter if we can’t back it up scripturally. So following are six observations from scripture that clearly support this doctrine. First, glory uniquely belongs to God and he guards it jealously. You shall worship no other God for the Lord whose name is jealous as a jealous God, Exodus 3414. I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols, Isaiah 42.8. Secondly, we are told that all glory should be given to him. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we can ask or think according to the power at work within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen. Ephesians 3 20 and you can also look at 1st Timothy 1 17 and Romans 16 27. So whatever you so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10.31. A third observation from Scripture is God judges harshly those who glorify themselves.

Just two quick examples. Remember Nebuchadnezzar? And he had built that tremendous empire in Babylon. And the one day when he was looking out the windows he says, oh look at this awesome nation that I have, my power, I have built this thing and then he hears out of heaven these words, O King Nebuchadnezzar to you it is spoken the kingdom is departed from you and you shall be driven from among men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will as out of Daniel 4 29 through 33. Second example is Herod.

Remember Herod? He had given a speech to the people and they were all clapping and applauding and saying this is the voice of a God and Herod was just drinking it all in and sucking in all that glory for himself and it says and immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last Acts 12 21 through 23. Fourth observation, all things ultimately find their origin and purpose in God. For from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever amen.

Romans 11 36, fifth observation, receiving glory from other sources inhibits our beliefs. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God, John 544, and then the sixth observation. The glory of God is what is transforming us, and we shall with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. Second Corinthians 3 18. These verses all support the doctrine of solely day of Gloria, and yet even though all the glory belongs to God, consider Psalm 8 3 through 5 which shows again his graciousness to let us share in that glory. It says there, when I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is a man that you are mindful of him and the Son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and have crowned him with glory and honor. It is crazy, it is crazy to think of how

often we see glory elsewhere given that God wants to share his glory with us.

Where are we going to find anything even close to that? Moving on I want to briefly consider a controversy Reformed Christians have with Roman Catholics over this doctrine. You might find this helpful again as you are witnessing to your Catholic friends. If you were to ask your Catholic friends if they believe in solely day of Gloria, they mostly likely would say yes. The problem arises with how they venerate Mary and the various saints. We would say that they give honor to these in a way that is reserved for God alone. They would argue back that what they offer to marry in the Saints is different. And to get around this charge, that they worship Mary in the Saints, they have defined three levels of honor. In Latin those terms are latria, which is reserved for the Trinity, dulia, which they give to Saints, and then hyperdulia, or superdulia, they give to Mary. These levels of veneration were first identified at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. And part of the reason for the meeting was to settle the concern

that several of the bishops had with the practice of venerating icons. They were saying, hey, this looks a lot like worship that’s reserved for God. And the Pope and others were saying, no, no, this is fine, it’s different. And so they came up with those terms. The practice of venerating these icons had been banned by Constantine V, but it wasn’t a settled issue and hadn’t been accepted by all. So they called for this second council to discuss the topic. We don’t have time here to delve into the three terms, but suffice it to say they differ only in degree of adoration or honor paid to the recipient.

Perhaps more telling to help us answer the question if there is difference would be to just to look at a couple quick quotes that come straight out of the Catholic the catechism of Catholic doctrine found on the Vatican website as well as a quote I think I want one quote here from one of the past popes and so as I read these and there’s just two of them three of them as I read these ask you if it sounds like it is compatible with the doctrine of solely day of Gloria to God alone be the glory. So from Pope Leo the 13th, talking about the value of the rosary. He said, no man goeth to Christ, but by his mother. And then from the Catholic doctrine, one of the fundamentals of Catholic doctrine.

Christ alone truly offered the sacrifice of the atonement on the cross. Okay, so far so good. the power of the grace of redemption merited by Christ, married by her spiritual entering into the sacrifice of her divine Son for men, made atonement for the sins of man, and merited the application of the redemptive grace of Christ. In this manner she cooperates in the subjective redemption of mankind. Anybody hear any problems there? Okay. And then from Pope Pius the 9th in a doctrinal statement he made. All our hope do we repose in the most blessed virgin, in the all-fair and immaculate one who has crushed the poisonous head of the most cruel serpent and brought salvation to the world, in her who is the glory of the prophets and apostles, the honor of the martyrs, the crown and joy of all the saints, in her who is the safest refuge and the most trustworthy helper of all who are in danger, in her who with her only begotten son is the most powerful mediatrix and conciliatrix in the whole world.” Now folks that is flat out heresy. If you just woke up from your nap, that’s heresy.

Okay. I’ll let you be your own judge. What do you think? Does it sound like Rome? Does that sound like worship being given to Mary? So I would suggest to you that the Catholics cannot claim solely Deo Gloria. Let’s talk about the application of the doctrine. So what application does this doctrine have for our lives? What would giving God the glory alone look like? We’ve already read a key verse earlier. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. That answers the scope of when to give God’s glory, which is whenever you do whatever you do. It’s pretty all encompassing. Whatever role you have in life, husband, father, son, wife, mother, daughter, employer, employee, do it to the glory of God.

When we think about applying this doctrine, there are a couple of things that come to mind. First, consider that one of God’s greatest displays of his immeasurable glory was to sacrifice his son on a cross on our behalf. If this is how the creator displays his glory, then what should our reflection of that glory look like? If humility and sacrifice are not promally displayed through our lives, then we are not reflecting God’s glory, but we’re seeking our own. This doesn’t sit well with man’s understanding of glory, and it’s been a stumbling block both to the Jews and unbelieving Gentiles. It is inconceivable to them that God would even condescend to man’s level.

Vain glory is so wicked that the Apostle John lists the boastful pride of life as one of the three major sins that define all that is in the world. observation. Consider how God does not hoard his glory but wants his children to share in it. Romans 8.30, and those whom he predestined he also called and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified. When you consider that God is totally self-sufficient and does not need us for anything, it is beyond remarkable that he delights himself by letting us share in his glory. God doesn’t get anything out of the bargain. It’s not like I just need a whole bunch of reflectors.

You know, we’re not adding to God’s glory. We’re just getting to share into it. This again sets a pattern for how we act in relationship to others. Do we hog the limelight? Do we struggle with sharing the credit or recognition? Is our focus on getting the attention or are we more attentive to others? Third observation, think about why we would ever want to pursue our own glory when God inviting us to share in his. The Psalmist says it well in Psalm 8410, For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tent of the wickedness. Any glory that we gin up for ourselves is like a milliwatt light bulb next to God’s jigawatt flood lamp. Do you guys know how bright a milliwatt is? An LED, you know how bright an LED is, that’s seven watts. So now divide that by a thousand, you know, now you have how bright our glory is next to God’s jigawatt flood lamp.

Human pride and glory are laughable in the light of God’s glory. To put it in more biblical terms, why would we be happy drinking out of dirty, broken cisterns when we can drink from an abundant, never-ending fountain of living water? Jeremiah 2, 13. Fourth observation and final. Use the means that we’ve been given to drive vain glory out of our hearts. Some of those means are prayer, corporate worship, implicit trust in Him no matter the situation, obedience to His word, consistent gratitude and thanksgiving. Neglecting one or more of these areas leaves us vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks and will make the glory of men look more attractive than the glory of God. Prayer reminds us how dependent we are on God for everything. We’re reminded that we can do nothing on our own. Every heartbeat and every breath we take only happen because he has decided to make it so. As we pray from a right heart it forces us into greater humility and greater appreciation for who God is in all his glory.

Similarly, corporate worship helps us orient our thinking rightly. We draw encouragement from fellow Christians who are looking to glorify God rather than self. Lone ranger Christians just don’t survive very long in a world system driven by lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Trusting God is a daily exercise in learning not to lean on our own understanding. When we don’t do this, our accomplishments become an opportunity for us to boast in ourselves and our failures are an occasion for us to curse our bad luck. Trusting in God helps us to see that both victories and defeats come from Him, and if If we trust that He is good and just, we can glorify Him in both those situations.

Obedience to God’s word drives solely dado glory into our heart because sin impairs our relationship with God and blinds us to His glory. Sin always begets more sin, which makes the glory of God dimmer and dimmer in our eyes. And lastly, receiving what God gives with gratitude causes us to glory in Him because we are acknowledging that He is the source of all that we receive. When we forget to be thankful, when we forget to be thankful, we increase in our sense of entitlement and we become grumpy when we don’t receive what we think we deserve. By being consistently thankful for what we receive, it keeps us, again, oriented back to the giver of life.

For as much as the doctrine of solely day-o-glory makes sense, it is shocking how often we don’t give God the glory alone. We so easily accept the fool’s gold that Satan offers from the real thing. When we honestly consider the options before us, the only sane response is to agree that God alone gets the glory. As image-bearers, man is never the source of his own glory. our best we are only a reflection of His glory. A mirror can never produce a glorious image on its own. It can only reflect or distort the original image. In Matthew 5 16 Jesus charged his disciples with these words, let your light shine before others so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. The light he is referring to is the reflection we give off when we live solely Deo Gloria. Then let me finish this morning with a quote from our friend John Piper. He said, we are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go?

Because there is greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than in beholding self. Let’s pray. Father, a lot of words there, a lot of thoughts, but what does stand out is solely day of Gloria. And in moments like these, as we’re honest with ourselves and we reflect, we have no choice but to agree that yes to you alone belongs to the glory. But Father, we are sinful people and prone to error and perhaps even before this day is out, one or more of us are gonna turn to those old broken cisterns and try and suck some glory out of them. Help us, Father, to learn to not be so foolish.

May you quicken us, enliven us, drill this doctrine into our hearts and that that would become our life’s aim to live in such a way that you alone are getting the glory in us and through us and may we take deep satisfaction in being recipients of sharing in that partaking in that glory may we be good reflectors of it to those around us we just ask this in your son Jesus name amen when I found out Jim was going to preach on solely day of Gloria I started considering the question of how should solely day of Gloria help frame our thinking about communion. I believe that focusing on God’s glory will help us celebrate robustly, but we need to know why. Every week we have an opportunity to grow in the grace of our Lord by sharing this table. First, we learn that we are here because of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2.4, but God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved.

Glory to God alone that he sent his Son to die for our sins and to take on the punishment that we deserve. Glory to God that his grace through Christ is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age. We can praise our Father that his Son Jesus died for our sins but that he is also actively saving us from our sins each day. Here we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Glory to God alone. We didn’t do anything to earn or deserve this. It is all free gift. Second, we learn that we are here for one another. The author of Hebrew tells us, let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as a as a habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Beloved, my charge for you is this. Let Souli Dale Gloria be the song of your soul. If the chief end of man is to glorify God alone, Souli Dale Gloria, and enjoy him forever, then acknowledge him, acknowledge his kingdom where you are. Running after God’s glory is a game changer. Go out this week and remember that you were created for God’s glory. Jesus is coming back. Seek the Lord. We have the Holy Spirit, and because of that, we should know our roles and do the best solely Dale, Gloria characters that here and now that we can don’t hold back. So now it is my prayer now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before his presence of his glory with great joy to the only God our savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory majesty dominion and authority before all time now and forever. Amen.

Beloved, my charge for you is this. Let Souli Dale Gloria be the song of your soul. If the chief end of man is to glorify God alone, Souli Dale Gloria, and enjoy him forever, then acknowledge him, acknowledge his kingdom where you are. Running after God’s glory is a game changer. Go out this week and remember that you were created for God’s glory. Jesus is coming back. Seek the Lord. We have the Holy Spirit, and because of that, we should know our roles and do the best solely Dale, Gloria characters that here and now that we can don’t hold back. So now it is my prayer now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before his presence of his glory with great joy to the only God our savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory majesty dominion and authority before all time now and forever.