All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23)It is a sweeping statement and we all fall under its weight, but that last part ... what's up with that? We've sinned; we get it. What's the last thing?
Wikipedia says, "Glory is used to describe the manifestation of God's presence as perceived by humans." The Classroom website says, "The most common use of the word 'glory' in the Bible is to describe the splendor, holiness and majesty of God." Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says, "God's glory is the external manifestation of His being." We use the word often ourselves, but perhaps you begin to see that it's ... well ... really, really big. In reference to God, "glory" is the word that describes God's perfections in every sense and His ultimate worth insofar as we can apprehend it. We know, that is, that He exceeds our capability to grasp the infinite, but as much of Himself as He reveals to us that we can encounter and recognize is what is called His glory.
God's glory is a running theme in Scripture. You knew that, I'm sure. But did you know it is the theme in Scripture? Did you know that God's glory is what the Bible is all about? That God's glory is what we're all about? Here, let's try this little exercise. If I were to ask you, generally speaking, what is God's whole purpose in creation, salvation -- what is the purpose of life, the universe, and everything? -- what would you answer? There are lots of possibilities. "To know God." Okay. "To have a relationship with God." Sure. "To love." That's something, to be sure. But if you were to ask, "What does Scripture say?", that would be a different answer. Paul wrote, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all ... to know God." No. "To love God and your neighbor." No. "To be a good person." No. "Do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor 10:31) Everything for that purpose. Jesus said, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16). See that? "Do what you do so that they give glory to God." Salvation itself is "to the praise of the glory of His grace" (Eph 1:6). Paul goes on to say, "We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory" (Eph 1:11-12).
Perhaps now we can start to see something of the issue. If God's glory ("the glory of God") is the manifestation of the worth and attributes and greatness and perfections of God, that verse in Romans 3 is not saying, "You've all sinned and that's naughty." It's saying, "Sin is a violation of who God is." Thus the problem. Thus the penalty. It isn't a faux pas that we need to apologize for; it is an attack on the Absolute Sovereign of the universe, the Holy, Holy, Holy God. As such, "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom 3:24) is much, much bigger than we initially thought.
That's the wonder of salvation. God is "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:26). The point of the Christian life, then, is not to "be good", to "live for Jesus", to "share the Gospel", or all those other certainly good things. The aim of the Christian life is, "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). Our aim, our goal, our call, our purpose, our marching orders are to do all we can to bring glory to God by manifesting His beauties and perfections to all around us. Through good works? Sure (Matt 5:16), as a start. But it's not about those things; it's about Him, His glory. That's the long view. That's the focus. If you begin with "How can I glorify God in this?", it will likely be a good start.
No comments:
Post a Comment