The Chief End of Man

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Most of you are (perhaps painfully) aware...

…that I don’t do a lot of topical sermons.

I/we as a church...

…usually work our way...

…verse-by-verse...

…through books of the Bible.

I’m going to deviate from that practice this morning.

But, we will begin by reading a text...

…that will serve to summarize the topic that follows:

Romans 11:36–12:2 (ESV)

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

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Pray

-The arrival of a New Year...

…tends to bring with it...

…a sense of hopeful expectation.

We often feel like we have...

The opportunity to make a fresh start.

A new lease on life.

The past is behind us...

…the future (while still uncertain)...

…might just be better and brighter than the past.

Because of this perception of a fresh start...

…we often make resolutions for the New Year:

Loosing Weight

Getting out of debt

Quitting a vice of some sort

Reading your Bible more

Spend more time in prayer...

Or, less time on Facebook, etc.

I’ve often been resistant this practice...

…because of the rebuke that we read in James 4.

But that was, of course, referring to:

Arrogant

Presumptuous

Resolutions...

…those which are motivated by:

Greed

Pride

Self-centeredness...

…and presume upon the grace of God.

-But, I believe that a resolution made in:

Humility

Dependence

The fear of the Lord...

...And coming from the right motivation of heart...

…can be a good thing!

-So, my purpose in this sermon is pretty simple...

I hope to inspire you...

…to resolve properly and faithfully...

…and to look outside of yourself...

…for the strength to follow through with it.

-Now, in order for us to do that...

…we have to think in terms of:

Our “Telos”

The end for which we were created.

Most (in our society today) assume, that:

Our own Happiness...

…is the Telos of our lives.

They assume that the ultimate goal of living, is to:

Feel Good.

Experience the most possible amount of pleasure...

Avoid the most possible amount of displeasure.

-But, is that the actual “Telos” of our lives?

Well, The Westminster Shorter Catechism...

…Both, asks—and answers this question...

…in what I believe is a biblically faithful manner:

Question 1

What is the chief end of man?

i.e., what is the primary goal and purpose of man’s existence?

i.e., what should be our principal/primary occupation?

Man’ s chief end is to glorify God, (1 Cor. 10:31, Rom. 11:36) and to enjoy him forever. (Ps. 73:25–28)

-Now, this IS NOT Scripture...

But, is it correct?

Well, Let’s look at what Scripture says...

… beginning with the references that they give:

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

In the context of Christian Liberty:

Don’t be motivated by self-gratification

Be motivated by the glory of God!

Set aside your happiness and pleasure...

…for the greater purpose of God’s glory

(The only true and lasting Happiness and Satisfaction...

…is found in knowing Him!)

They referenced Psalm 73 to illustrate this point:

Psalm 73:25–26 (ESV)

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Do you see the Joy and Satisfaction he finds:

in God himself?

over and above His gifts.

This is the way it was always supposed to be...

Before the Fall, man enjoyed and was refreshed by...

…the presence of God in the Garden.

Sin, brought that to an End...

…At least, temporarily.

(We’ll see that later.)

-But, first look at their other reference.

It reminds us of an over-arching principle:

Romans 11:36 (ESV)

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

-Brethren, the glory of God...

…is the Telos of everything!

It is the principal occupation of God himself!

It is the reason that He created:

The World

Everything in it (including us).

Psalm 19:1–2 (ESV)

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

2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Paul explains this in:

Romans 1:20 (ESV)

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

-We see also, that His glory is the reason He created men:

Isaiah 43:6–7 (ESV)

6 ...bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,

7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

To be fair, this is probably referring to...

…the New Creation of those born of God in Christ...

But Paul also wrote:

1 Corinthians 8:6 (ESV)

6 ...there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist...

I believe this applies to all...

…who bear his sacred image...

…at least in a general manner.

Let me show you why:

Genesis 1:25–28 (ESV)

25 And God made the beasts of the earth . . . and the livestock . . . and everything that creeps on the ground . . . And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 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 . . . every living thing that moves on the earth.”

This is what is known as the Creation Mandate (first).

But, there’s more to it:

Cultivation (Physical and Moral)

Preservation (Physical and Moral)

Genesis 2:15–17 (ESV)

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

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Man (as the holy image-bearer of God) was to...

…glorify God, by...

Subduing and governing all other creatures

Cultivating the natural resources that God had given them:

(turning trees into houses)

(building roads over mountains)

Preserving and protecting, both:

Physical...

And moral order in the world.

-This was man’s chief end...

…even before the Fall!

-Of course, after the Fall...

…man was cursed with futility:

Thorns (to hinder the cultivation and subjugation)

Birth Pains (to hinder the “filing-up”)

But, God promised to undo what Adam had done...

…through the offspring of Eve.

And, It would only be in the salvation that God would provide...

…that His image bearers would fully and finally fulfill their mandate...

…Of Glorifying their Creator!

-But, even in that salvation...

…God was chiefly concerned with His own Glory.

Isaiah 48:9–11 (ESV)

9 “For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off.

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

Ezekiel 36:22–23 (ESV)

22 ...Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.

23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

It’s so important that we realize...

..that the Glory of God...

…is the greatest possible good...

…that can result from any situation!

-It was the Glory of God that motivated our Lord...

…to endure the agonies of the Cross:

John 12:27–28 (ESV)

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

It is the Cross of Christ...

…that most reveals the Glory of God!

Exodus 33:18–20 (ESV)

18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

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The Glory of God is the outraying of the invisible divine essence

To Glorify Him, is to:

Make Him known for who He truly is...

Through Word and Deed

…And respond to that revelation with:

Wonder

Awe

Admiration

Fear

Delight

Joy

John Piper defines it more eloquently:

“Glorifying” means feeling and thinking and acting in ways that reflect his greatness, that make much of God, that give evidence of the supreme greatness of all his attributes and the all-satisfying beauty of his manifold perfections. — John Piper

So, what are these attributes?

What are the manifold perfections that...

…must be displayed and delighted in?

Well, look at how He reveals himself:

Exodus 34:4–7 (ESV)

5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

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God is:

Loving AND Angry toward sin

Merciful AND Just

Forgiving AND Holy

This is who He is!

For His glory to be revealed...

…all of these attributes must be:

displayed...

delighted in...

…Harmoniously!

This is only possible through...

…the work of Christ on the Cross.

Paul lays it out for us in:

Romans 3:23–24 (ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift...

Yeah, but How?

How can He be just and forgive us?

How can He legally reckon us to be righteous…

…when we’re not?

Romans 3:24–25 (ESV)

24 ...through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith...

He explains:

Romans 3:25–26 (ESV)

25 ...This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

And, notice how this also serves to...

...protect God’s glory from theft:

Romans 3:27 (ESV)

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded...

This is what he means in Ephesians 2:

Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

-Now, what this tells us is, that, as Christians...

As those who are a part of the New Creation...

As those who have been redeemed by the Cross of Christ...

...Our obligation to glorify God only increases:

Paul says:

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV)

19 ...You are not your own,

20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

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So, this begs the question:

How can we best glorify God today?

By Fulfilling the Creation Mandates (plural)

We have a New Creation mandate...

…that transcends (but doesn’t nullify)...

...the first!

We know it as the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We most glorify God by:

Filling the earth with the Knowledge of the Cross

Filling up the world with image bearers of Christ!

This is how...

Christ will receive the full reward for his suffering...

The world will see the glory of God...

…reflected in the faith and holiness of His people!

Jesus said:

Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

16 ...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

This should be the motivation behind our “resolutions:” . . .

That in EVERYTHING God would be glorified and enjoyed!

It is our “Chief End!”

It is the reason for which you and I were:

Created...

and then...

Re-created!

Notice what follows the text we read in:

Romans 11:36 (ESV)

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

A “therefore” follows it:

Romans 12:1 (ESV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Resolve to do that in 2023, brethren!

That’s my appeal to you, this morning

But, don’t resolve it with:

Hubris

Self-Confidence

Resolve it with:

Humility

Dependence upon Him for strength.

Can we pray to that end?

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