Man was created to glorify God & Enjoy Him forever
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)
“Do all things to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Man has failed to glorify God & is under His just condemnation
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23)
“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
Jesus fully bore the wrath and suffered the punishment sinners deserve
Not wishing that sinners perish forever, God determined to save a people for Himself in the Eternal Son who became a man and lived the life we should have lived and died the death we justly deserve. God loves sinners and sent His Son to be the wrath absorbing sacrifice for their sin (1 John 4:10; John 6:37) he “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, andto give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45) & “rose again” from the dead (2 Cor 5:15) on their behalf.
All who, by the grace of God, turn to Jesus in submissive faith are forgiven
If you confess you are a sinner in need of Christ then God has begun to work in you a life-changing, eternally satisfying relationship with Himself! Repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:5) In Your presence is fullness of Joy (Psalms 16:11). If your trust is in Jesus alone for your salvation (that is, you have no hope save for Christ’s mercy) then you can be assured that your sins are forgiven and He has granted you eternal life.
One Comment
Stu
It never ceases to amaze me the grace and glory of God that shines through every aspect of the Gospel. I love the truth that all creation exists to glorify God. God alone is praise worthy, yet so often we seek praise for ourselves. Anything that takes the focus away from the glory of God I don’t believe is of God.
From early in my christian walk I was bombarded with ideas from other ‘mature’ Christians, so called biblical wisdom that to the untrained mind sounded right and wholesome. However so often deep down, the seemingly right sounding biblical viewpoints and beliefs are tarnished with pride and self centredness, ie the focus is on us and not on God. The hard thing is this can quite easily be in the disguise of some very fine looking and noble actions. But God is concerned more with the heart that drives our actions, rather then the actions themselves.
So early on in my Christian walk I utilised a basic litmus test to help me discern what is of God and what is not. I still use it today as I think it’s one of the best tests to discerning what is erroneous and what is truth. It’s a basic test I feel can help us even if we don’t understand most of the Bible. The litmus test is that I ask myself the following questions: Does this bring glory to God alone? Does this put God on display and not myself or others? Is Jesus exalted, as we clearly read in Scripture is one of the chief roles of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26, 16:14). It’s a simple test, but this has stood me through some very confusing times when bombarded by some very intelligent and persuasive people. However so often at the end of the day all their persuasive and alluring words deep down draws attention to themsleves and takes the focus away from God and glory that only He deserves. When we look at the Gospel message let’s remember to give God ALL the praise and glory, for it is His most glorious work in all His creation!