by Pastor Joey Carroll
The Westminster Catechism is very useful in helping us understand the basic elements of the Christian faith. It is written in the format of questions followed by answers from the Bible. The very first question has been pondered by men of every generation since the beginning of time. What is the chief end of man? The answer the Catechism gives is, “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever,” (Westminster Larger Catechism).
Our Lord said something very similar when He was about to complete the mission for which He was sent by the Father. On the evening before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, He prayed to the Father saying, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do,” (John 17:4, NASB). Now it should be plainly evident that men are to do the same with their brief time here on earth – to spend their lives in worship and service to the God who created them and redeems them through the death of His only Son. The Apostle Paul described it this way, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” (1 Corinthians 10:31, NASB). For the Christian, that should be their life motto and goal of all that they do.
We fail at that mission to glorify God for many reasons. In the first place, we were born with a heart that is rebellious toward God. We had our beginnings with an attitude of pursuing self-glory in everything that we do. And it is only by God’s grace that we are able to die to ourselves and be born again with a new heart whose desire is to deny self and glorify God.
A second reason that makes bringing God glory so difficult is that the world in which we live seeks to deny God the glory due Him. How can that be since God created the world and all things in it? The reason given by the Bible is that there is a “god of this world” (see 2 Corinthians 4:4) who works tirelessly to steal that glory for himself.
But sadly, another reason for resistance to God’s glory is found when Christians allow too much of the world to influence them. As Christians, we have been set free from the obligation of keeping the Law of God for salvation. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did two necessary things on our behalf. He died for our sin, and He secured for us the righteousness required to spend eternity with God in everlasting joy. Jesus kept the whole Law of the Father, and His perfect obedience is credited to our account through faith alone. And so now, we have been set free from the burden of the Law. But we are not free to continue in sin. Why would we ever continue in sin knowing that our Savior died on our behalf? Yet, many do.
We discussed a few weeks ago how those at Corinth were eating out at restaurants that served meat that had been sacrificed to idols. They were certainly free to do so, but Paul writes something that should have made them think more deeply about the things they were participating in. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?” (1 Corinthians 10:21-22, NASB).
That question should ring in our ears every time we consider participating in the things of this world. Our freedom cannot be argued for Christ has certainly set us free. But our goal remains clear, to strive to bring glory to our good God.
In reality, every moment that we actually do glorify God in the things that we do and say is a result of God’s gracious work in our lives. Nonetheless, may God’s glory be our every day’s pursuit.
This article originally appeared in The Clarion Newspaper.
Corinth Baptist Church 