“Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) The Westminster Shorter Catechism gives us the chief end of man in the very first question and answer. “Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” I would say that apart from enjoying Him first, you will never seek to glorify Him. It’s only once you come to the enjoyment of Him that you will yearn to glorify Him. It’s a sad state of affairs when far too many people know nothing of God’s holy standard, that which they will be judged by on that last day and instead know all about the social media platforms there are, sports stats, and other ultimately worthless knowledge. “And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17) This world will pass away including everything in it. Therefore, the pursuit of the lusts of this world, whether fame, fortune, sexual pleasure (outside of marriage with your spouse alone), money, career, and much, much more that we form idols out of are vain, it is futile. It profits nothing in the life to come, only that which is done for Christ will last. C.T. Studd has brilliantly stated this very fact in his poem “Only One Life”, which states, “Give me Father, a purpose deep, in joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; faithful and true what e’er the strife, pleasing Thee in my daily life; only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” The world does not seek to glorify God, especially in their bodies, witnessed by the pornography that runs rampant, gathering in more views than the NFL, NBA, and NSL combined. Not only this, but we’ve also men, women, boys and girls undergoing surgeries and more, seeking to somehow transform their bodies into the opposite gender. We’re constantly murdering babies in the womb under the guise of “healthcare”, with statistics on abortions being unclear. However, in 2023 it was estimated that there were 1,037,000 abortions provided in the United States alone that year. That number just pertains to those that were recorded and provided through places like Planned Parenthood, but how many happen outside the confines of these places, through means of a morning after pill, or other means? We may never know, but God certainly does.
In an older video of Living Waters “Way of the Master” (Season 1, Episode 2) the Living Waters team took to public places asking people to name the ten commandments. None were able to answer with any of them, other than one lady who got two of the ten. When asked instead how many beers they could name, they were able to come up with ten if not more. This is a sad reality today, where we know more about beer than we do the holy standard of God. Understand that the law is needed today. Sadly, even many professing Christians hear the word law and shrink back thinking legalism. However, the law was never meant to be thought of in such a sense, and apart from the law, any evangelistic efforts are fruitless. How can one be persuaded of good news apart from the bad news? There is no need for salvation and reconciliation if you believe yourself to be better than the next person and therefore will somehow get into heaven by that standard, that is nothing more than self-delusion. See many believe today that hell is reserved only for the most wicked, while heaven is for the morally upright. But Holy Scripture teaches that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and without Christ, none are righteous (Romans 3:10-12). Salvation is not about being good enough, but about being found in Christ. Hell awaits not just the worst sinners, but all who reject Christ (John 3:18). Conversely, heaven is not for those who have done the most good but for those clothed in Christ’s righteousness (Philippians 3:9). Our hope does not lie in our deeds but rather in His finished work. You cannot be good enough to earn your way into heaven or escape hell. Apart from repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work, all will be condemned to an eternity in hell, and God will be not only just in doing so but He will be glorified in your destruction.
It is only once being regenerated, being made alive by God through faith in Christ, that we yearn and strive to glorify God. This because we love Him, because of the love of God which has been poured out within us by the Holy Spirit. If then we love Him, we find our enjoyment in Him and we will therefore out of a love and enjoyment for Him, aim to glorify Him in all that we think, say, and do. We do not do this perfectly, we do still reside in the fallen flesh this side of eternity after all, so we will fail and sin against God. But the born-again believer will be quick to repent of that sin and turn back to the one true and living God seeking to walk in obedience to all that He has commanded. So, let me ask you, how does one glorify God? “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) It is through obedience unto His law, walking in His precepts, doing His will. Sound like legalism? Far from it! The life that has been transformed by the gracious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, will by necessity bear fruit of that salvation; that fruit will be obedience unto God, good works. Those good works are not a means of earning anything, or as some legalistic begrudging acts to get His favor. Rather they are done out of a love for Him and all that He has done for you. It is therefore crucial we know and meditate on the law of God, striving to obey and walk according to the Spirit that now indwells us. “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scoffers! But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2) “Therefore, to one who knows to do the right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) It’s not merely law keeping but doing the good works to which God has prepare beforehand for us in Christ Jesus. This kills pride in the believer and shuts down any idea of good works being a contribution at all towards your salvation. God has prepared beforehand, meaning before the creation of the world, the works which He has appointed unto you in Christ Jesus. Not only are we given the Spirit as the seal of our salvation, but He enables us to walk in obedience to all that God has prepared for us. We’ve been equipped and enabled by God’s grace toward us, therefore there is no excuse as to disobedience, idleness, or slothfulness in any of the Christian life.
Allow me to diverge for a moment and go back to something I said near the beginning of this topic. Without the law, there is no hope for the lost to genuinely come to Christ. I normally quote the LSB for all my Scriptural quotes, however, let me quote the KJV for this one. “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7) The law of God is perfect, converting the soul. Apart from the law, people will always think themselves not needing to be saved, they believe themselves to be alright. How many times have you asked people if they think they are a good person? It will amaze you to hear how many truly believe they are good. However, good in the truest and most biblical sense of the word is to be morally perfect, meaning essentially, you’ve never sinned, never done any wrong, never been evil at any point in your life. This is impossible, as mentioned there are none righteous, none who do good (Romans 3:10-12). As Ray Comfort often mentions, and with not directly quoting word for word, but rather paraphrasing, “If you know a man is dying of cancer, and you have the cure for said cancer, do you go ahead and give him the cure, or do you give him instead the CT scan (or MRI, PET scan, ultrasound)?” Well, if you give the man the cure immediately what do you think would happen? He is going to reject it, thinking he is alright, he has no cancer, no need for a cure for cancer. However, if you reveal to him his true fatal condition, making him sweat and fret, he will reach out for the cure desiring it at that point.
Let me quote Charles Spurgeon on the matter at hand, “I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law. Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary [its most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ. They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore, the Law serves a most necessary purpose, and it must not be removed from its place. The Law cuts into the core of evil, it reveals the seat of the malady and informs us that the leprosy lies deep within. They must be slain by the Law before they can be made alive by the gospel.” So, back to the matter at hand. Let us aim to glorify God in all that we do. Born-again believers glorify God through acts of faith, love, obedience, and by living a life that reflects His character and values, whether in our personal lives, relationships, or work. Let me close with the word of God. “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:8)