Soli Deo Gloria: God's Glory Alone

“Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God Alone” November 26, 2017 is what gives weight, meaning, and significance to Creation, including your own life. • Scripture Alone is our authority. It teaches us that we are saved by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone, for the Glory of God Alone. The Big Question: Soli Deo Gloria deals with the question of “To what • end?” Why has God done what He has done? What is the reason for all that we see in the world? Why does God save traitorous people? The Big Idea: God created all that is, including you, for His glory. Apart from glorifying God with your life, you will never know your purpose or sense His presence. God, being rich in mercy, invites us into His Glory. Definition: The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of his endless perfections – it is His Holiness on display for all to see. To give God glory is to acknowledge who He is by faith, by worship, and by our living. 1. God’s Design for All of His Creation is That It Glorify Him. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. • • Creation witnesses to the beauty and vastness of God. Creation tells us of the wonder, mystery, majesty, power of the God who made all things. What does the vastness of the universe say about God? About us? 2. We Were Made to Know God and to Experience God’s Glory Psalm 29:1-2 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. • • • We are made to glorify God. It is the most natural response in the world toward Him. Glory is “due Him” – we owe it to Him! Why does God want us to give Him Glory? Hebrew word for glory is “kabod”. Originally carried the idea of weight, substance, or significance. The idea was that God’s Glory We don’t have any way of creating that kind of Glory. It is God’s alone. o Exodus 20:19 o Luke 2:9 o We want God’s Glory, we don’t have God’s Glory, but we crave God’s Glory. We Are Moons, Not Suns. We are to be glory reflectors, not glory manufacturers. o Romans 3:23 o That is, to a large degree, what the Tower of Babel story is about. 3. How Can We Know God and See His Glory? • • • • • Habakkuk 2:14 John 1:14 Hebrews 1:3 Jesus, on the night before He would die for our Sin on the Cross, prayed a remarkable prayer: John 17:20-22 In Jesus, We See God’s Glory and Even Share in God’s Glory! Hebrews 2:9–10 4. How Do We Give All Glory to God Alone? • Refuse to be a glory-robber. Isaiah 42:8 (ESV) 8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. • Trust Him – Romans 4:20 • Worship Him – Psalm 100 • Live for Him – 1 Corinthians 10:31 Every sin flows from the failure to treasure the glory of God above all things. – John Piper