New City Catechism #9

Q: What does God require in the first, second, and third commandments?
A: First, that we know and trust God as the only true and living God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry and do not worship God improperly. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence, honoring also his Word and works.

Deuteronomy 6:13–14

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you.

The first three commandments in the Ten Commandments can be said to deal with our relationship and duty to God. The concern over these first three commandments is that we worship God alone and give glory unto God alone.
The first commandment teaches us that the main principle of piety is to give God what is His own. The first commandment can be said to be the summation of the entire Law: adore God alone, serve Him alone, and give Him total affection.
As John Calvin says: “Since God has prescribed to us how He would be worshiped by us, whenever we turn away in the very smallest degree from this rule, we make to ourselves other gods, and degrade Him from His right place.”
In ancient world, nations that abandoned an earthly king who had done much for them and entered into league with an outside ruler were considered guilty of high treason. How much worse, then, is it to turn one’s back on the great King who paid such a high price to rescue His people?
May God’s people never elevate someone or something above God Himself for they are committing the greatest betrayal possible.
Also, in our elevating other being or thing, we make ourselves slaves to that being or thing. As Peter tells us: “For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19)
Are we not slaves to so many different things that the world has to offer us? Or perhaps, better put, are we not so “addicted” to all these different things in the world?
Though we may no longer worship figures of wood or stone, we still worship other subtle things – money, sex, drugs, alcohol, body image, work, entertainment, and the list goes on forever. When we place anything before the pursuit of God, to that we become enslaved to.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
Praise God that, although we easily can become enslaved to so many different things in the world, God has set us free in Christ so that we can worship and glorify the only one true God. And now, being free, God calls us to live our lives coram Deo. Live in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.

The second commandment shows us the folly of men to easily fall a victim to sin of idolatry. Human beings are more prone to idolatry than are prone to atheism.
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:21-23)
Apart from grace, we remain alienated and hateful of the God who has made Himself know to us through the nature and through the Word. As it is the case, it becomes frighteningly easy for us to fashion deities in our own image.
For some, it is the building of the statues – especially in other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. However, in many other cases, it becomes creating mental picture of what God is like. “God is so loving that He would never condemn anyone to hell.”
As John Calvin says: “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” We would endlessly produce idols without even putting a conscious effort to do so. Because of our inclination to idolatry and possible images of God, God calls us against it.
Furthermore, we lack the understanding of the form or the image of God. “Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:12) Throughout the Bible, God speaks rather than shows His form. He is invisible and incomprehensible God.
As Christians, however, we do have this form or the image of God that was made visible to us and who is to be worshiped. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creations” (Colossians 1:15) – it is Jesus Christ.
“Jesus said to him [Philip], “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”” (John 14:9)
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3)
God has made known to us the image of Him that is to be worshiped – Jesus Christ. Don’t look any longer to the created things, to nature, to animals, to other people, to things that bring you satisfaction. Look to Christ – the image, the icon of the invisible God!

The third commandment teaches the importance of God’s name. Throughout the Scripture, the names reflect the character of the person.
“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)
All that God is can be summed up in His name and to misuse the name of God is to hold God disgraceful to His character. When we misuse the name of God, we disgrace His character and who He is. The third commandment is a stark reminder that setting His name as holy is giving Him reverence as our true Maker and Lord.
Therefore, the third commandment deals with the matter of how we should worship God. In His revealing of His name, God tells us precisely that our Creator depends on nothing outside of Himself for His existence and His character. When we take God lightly, that is when we take God in vain.
There are many ways in which we take the name of God very lightly. It happens when we swear (make a vow and cursing) using the name of God, when we falsely prophesy in the name of God, when we worship God wrongly (not according to the proper doctrine), and when we take God’s name lightly in our advertising.
Furthermore, we dishonor God’s name when we mistreat other men and women. James warns us to not do so. “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:9-10)
When we mistreat those around us, we mistreat God who has created them. Westminster Catechism Q 113 states this clearly: “The sins forbidden in the third commandment are, the not using of God’s name as is required; and the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious, or wicked mentioning or otherwise using his titles, attributes, ordinances, or works, by blasphemy, perjury; all sinful cursings, oaths, vows, and lots; violating of our oaths and vows, if lawful; and fulfilling them, if of things unlawful; murmuring and quarreling at, curious prying into, and misapplying of God’s decrees and providences; misinterpreting, misapplying, or any way perverting the word, or any part of it, to profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain janglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines; abusing it, the creatures, or anything contained under the name of God, to charms, or sinful lusts and practices; the maligning, scorning, reviling, or any wise opposing of God’s truth, grace, and ways; making profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for sinister ends; being ashamed of it, or a shame to it, by unconformable, unwise, unfruitful, and offensive walking, or backsliding from it.”
May we not take the name of the Lord lightly. As John Calvin says: “We ought to be so disposed in mind and speech that we neither think nor say anything concerning God and his mysteries, without reverence and much soberness; that in estimating his works we conceive nothing but what is honorable to him.”

In the end of it all, God is meant to be glorified. However, as we glorify Him, we must also know that this is for ourselves as well. For God desires to share in His glory with us. When all is complete, God will give us His glory.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17)
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30)
Praise God for giving us the laws to glorify Him because God knows what is the best for us. He knows that, in our glorifying of Him, we also are meant to share in His glory and receive His glory.

New City Catechism #8

Q: What is the law of God stated in the Ten Commandments?
A: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below—you shall not bow down to them or worship them. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7

You shall have no other gods before me.

The Ten Commandments were the laws that God gave to the people of Israel through Moses after leading them out of Egypt. At Mount Sinai, God appears before Moses and the Israelites. The recording of this Ten Commandments is listed in Exodus 20.
The Ten Commandments are a crucial part of the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law is the summation of hundreds of various laws including the Ten Commandments and more obscure laws throughout the Pentateuch – the first five books of the Bible.
The Mosaic Law consists of 365 negative commands and 248 positive commands for a sum of 613 total commands to be obeyed. It covered all the various aspects of life – the moral, the social, and the ceremonial.
The Ten Commandments mainly dealt with the moral aspect of the Mosaic Law – giving guidance to Israel in principles of right and wrong in relation to God and man.

The Ten Commandments are also considered a symbolic part of the Mosaic covenant. It is a conditional covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. It follows the pattern of the covenants of the time because it was between the Sovereign King, God, and his subjects, the people.
The Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant in that God was going to bless the Israelites, as long as the Israelites followed God’s commandments. However, if the Israelites disobeyed the Law, there would be serious consequences.
By the nature of the Law, however, the Law was not to be, could not be obeyed to the letter. But the spirit of the Law established certain moral principles which were applicable and would bring blessing to those who would obey.

The word that is often translated as “law” from the Hebrew text is the word : תּוֹרָה or torah. The huge connotation we have for the word “law” is often negative. However, it wouldn’t have seemed so negative for the Israelites because this word also carried the meaning of instructions and directions.
Instead, the law would have appeared as great for the Israelites.
“And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:8)
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heat; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.” (Psalm 19:7-9)

The Law was intended to distinguish the Israelites from other nations (Leviticus 20:26), to restrain the Israelites to some degrees, and to diagnose the problems that we have as human beings of the impossibility of fully obeying the Law.
Even to this day, the Law does the same thing for us. It shows us that we are meant to be distinct as the chosen people of God, to set us a guideline for how we must live as Christians, and show us that there is a huge problem.
For us now, though, we are free from the demands of the Law because the Scripture clearly tells us that we are saved by faith, not by strict observance of the Law. However, this does not mean that we disregard or ignore the Law. The Bible makes it clear that those who are saved are saved for the purpose of doing good works.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

As a matter of fact, New Testament is filled with Jesus and the various writers always talking about how we ought to live holy lives to please God.
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
As the new chosen people – those of faith — we are always called to sanctify themselves.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:9-12)

Thank God that we are not under the old Mosaic Law that has ridiculous details to the point that is impossible for us to keep and obey. Thank God that we are, instead, under the new Law of Christ.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
And this Law of Christ puts into perspective what the Law of Moses was supposed to do: to teach us to have a proper relationship with God and proper relationship with others.
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” (Matthew 22:37-40)
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but though love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” (Galatians 5:13-14)
The Ten Commandments are, then, to help us realize that we ought to love God utmost and love the fellow brothers and sisters. It lays down the clear picture of what God desired from the Israelites: the obedience to love Him and love others.
Knowing that the entire point of the Law was for us to love God and love our neighbors, we understand that this is what the Law of Christ call us to do. And as we try to understand the Law under the gospel, it becomes desirable to obey the Law because Christ has died so that we may do good works.
With the clear picture of the gospel, the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments are a thing of beauty because we are no longer compelled by the demands, but we desire to obey the Law because of the beauty of the gospel.
“A rigid matter was the law/ demanding brick, denying straw/ But when with gospel tongue it sings/ it bids me fly and gives me wings.” Ralph Erskine
This is frighteningly similar to what the Psalmist declares regarding the Law of God in Psalm 19! May the gospel redefine what Law means for you and may it create a desire in your heart for you to obey the Law of Christ.

New City Catechism #7

Q: What does the Law of God require?

A: Personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves. What God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done.

 

Matthew 22:37–40

And Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

Anyone who goes to church have heard this commandment before: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all our mind.

This is the commandment that Jesus himself gives in Matthew 22:37. Jesus quotes it from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. If this has been stated in the Old Testament and Jesus quotes it again in the New Testament, the commandment must be important. This also means that God’s requirement has always been the same and will be the same into eternity.

This commandment makes clear that our hearts are central in loving God. In loving God with all our hearts, it is necessary to remember that the heart is very significant part of life – literally and figuratively.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

As the spring of life, God wants us to purify and keep a close watch of our hearts. Throughout the Scripture, God makes it known that only those with a purified and cleansed heart can come to know Him.

“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.” (Psalm 24:3-4)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

Loving God with all our hearts means that we must keep our hearts pure. We must keep our hearts holy for God. How can we know that our hearts are pure and good?

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

We can know our hearts are pure and good by looking at the actions. This means that our hearts have the control of the faculty of will. Our hearts must cause us to act and do good in our love for God. It is impossible to do good when our heart does not truly love God.

 

The commandment also makes it clear that our souls are crucial in loving God. The soul is the center of our affections and emotions. The soul is an important part of the Christian worship.

In Jesus’s suffering at the Garden of Gethsemane, we see the sorrow of the soul in Christ. It is at the point of the despair of the soul that one’s faith is often tested. Christ’s obedience is glorified because he was going to glorify God despite this sorrowfulness of the moment.

“Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38)

In our sorrows, we can still worship God and this is an act of love. Also, in the moments of joy, we must worship God. David, throughout Psalm 103 and 104, praises God for what he has done. It is the utterance of joy from his soul that he shows love to God.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5)

David rejoices in what God has done and commands his soul to bless God. The soul, which directs our emotions, is the center of worship. We ought to direct all our emotions, whether sorrow or joy, to worship God. This is how we love God with our soul.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

 

Finally, the commandment makes it clear that our minds must be important in loving God. Our mind is the center of the intellectual activity. This means that we must submit our intellect in strict subordination to God.

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:5-6)

Not only do we capture all our thoughts for the glory of God, but this means that we submit dispositions and attitudes to God. This means that we obey God as we change our perspective and our thinking.

For a human mind, it is impossible to fully know God as He is the incomprehensible God. However, this gives us more reason to truly love God with all our minds by constantly thinking about God.

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.” (Isaiah 50:4)

This is in reference to Jesus. If the Son of God, himself, had to be taught regarding God so that he can show us what it means to love God with all of our minds, we are without any excuse to love God with all of our minds as well.

 

The second greatest commandment that Christ gives is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Within this commandment is the idea that there is love of oneself. This is a part of human trait – your love for yourself. There is no command to love yourself, but you do it.

However, the powerful commandment by Christ is this: that our self-seeking and self-loving must be the measure of our self-giving.

As much as you want good food and nice clothes for yourself, you must long for good food and nice clothes for your neighbors. As much as you want safety and security, you must long for safety and security for your neighbors. As much as you seek for friends, be the friend to your neighbors. As much as you seek for significance of your life, you must desire for significance in others’ lives.

Not only do you seek the same, good things, but you must seek them in the same way. As much as you persevere in seeking good things for yourself, you must persevere in seeking good things for others. As much as you are energetic about seeking good things for yourself, you must be energetic about seeking good things for others.

The second commandment is an overflow of the first commandment for we know that it is impossible to properly love one’s neighbor without loving God. And it is impossible that those who claim to love God not love their neighbors.

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” (1 John 2:9-10)

If we realize that loving God is for our own good (Deuteronomy 10:12-13) and that loving God is better than our self-love, we will begin to love God more and, as a result, love others more. As much as we have been shown love from God, it is for us to show the love of God to others.

This is what John Piper says:

“If you are longing to see more of God’s bounty and liberality through the supply of food and rent and clothing, then seek to show others the greatness of this divine bounty by the generosity you have found in him. Let the fulfillment of your own self-love in God-love overflow into neighbor love. Or better: seek that God, who is the fulfillment of your self-love overflow through your neighbor-love and become the fulfillment of your neighbor’s self-love.

If you want to enjoy more of God’s compassion through the consolations he gives you in sorrow, then seek to show others more of God’s compassion through the consolations you extend to them in sorrow.

If you long to savor more of God’s wisdom through the counsel he gives in stressful relationships, then seek to extend more of God’s wisdom to others in their stressful relationships.

If you delight in seeing God’s goodness in relaxed times of leisure, then extend that goodness to others by helping them have relaxed, healthy time of leisure.

If you want to see more of God’s saving grace powerfully manifested in your life, then stretch out that grace into the lives of others who need that saving grace.

If you want to enjoy more of the riches of God’s personal friendship through thick and thin, then extend that friendship to the lonely through thick and thin.”

Are you abiding by the second commandment by loving God and allowing that love of God overflow to the love of your neighbors?

 

Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind because it is for your own good. Love your neighbors for they are designed to receive and enlarge your joy in God. To love our neighbors, show them what you have found yourself in God. Thank God for his commandments because it is ultimately for our good!

New City Catechism #6

Q: How can we glorify God?

A: We glorify God by enjoying Him, loving Him, trusting Him, and by obeying His will, commands, and laws.

 

Deuteronomy 11:1

You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.

 

The basis of the Christian living comes from the understanding that men have been created for the glory of God. And because we have been created for the glory of God, all our words and our actions must reflect of how glorious our God is.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

In order to glorify God, it is to our utmost importance to know God. Knowing God will drive us to extol and worship Him. To glorify God is to extol His attributes as God and telling of how only God is worthy of saving such depraved people like us. This is not really possible if we do not know who God is.

To glorify God, we must come to full understanding that this requires us to enjoy Him, love Him, trust Him, and obey Him.

 

First, glorifying God is about how we enjoy Him. Even in ordinary life, we can give certain value or glory to objects or people when we enjoy them and delight in what they do.

Take for example, when we watch a good movie, we glorify the movie as we enjoy the quality of the movie and tell others about how awesome the movie was. Or when you are served delicious food, you glorify the cook by enjoying the food itself. It is the pleasure that indicates how much you appreciate and treasure the object that gives you pleasure.

In the same way, we glorify God by delighting in Him and treasuring Him above all things because He is greater than any movie, any food, or any act of kindness from our earthly parents. We show gratitude to God by enjoying Him. We show how much we value God by our joy in spending time with Him. As John Piper says, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Being in the presence of God, we will be filled with joy and pleasure for God is able to fill our deepest longings and desires. C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory says: “Our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We’re half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition. When infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum, because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

If what the Psalmist said was true, our deepest longings for joy and pleasure of this world can only be satisfied by God because God provides full and forever joy.  And it is impossible to not glorify God when we come into His presence. If this is all true, our glorifying of God comes as we enter into His presence that results in us enjoying Him in our constant communion with Him.

 

Second, glorifying God is about how we love Him. We must “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

The saints of the Old Testament had one thing in common, and it was that they made this command the utmost priority of life. They would see that there was nothing in comparison to loving God. There was no other sensible option than to love God because loving God was for their “own good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

When we love God, it is not some sort of non-reciprocated love because God loves us even greater. It is a love which pours out abundant and profuse blessings on those who choose to love God for God is a good God.

Throughout the Bible, those who have chosen to give whole souled, hearted love to God were the ones who knew the mercies of God and were blessed out of God’s covenantal promises. “I love those who love me,” (Proverb 8:17) God says.

Even throughout the New Testament, the command to love God is frequently shown.

“If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.” (1 Corinthians 16:22)

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37)

Loving God is to prefer Him above all other things. If you are going to give glory to God, you must love and prefer him above money, fame, honor, success, friends, family, and all other possible idols that the world offers.

The love that we have for God glorifies Him because it shows clear understanding on our part that there is no other better option but to love and prefer God. It demonstrates our understanding that we are willing to follow the command of God to love Him with all heart, all soul, and all might.

 

Third, glorifying God is evident by how much we trust Him. Our faith brings glory unto God. It is just as simple as that. God is glorified when we trust Him.

“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” (Romans 4:20)

The world must see through us that we glorify God. Many times, we talk about how God is so wonderful and we post online some verses about how we ought to trust in God. Then, some crisis hits and we completely ignore all our talk about the glorious God. If people see that, they will not give glory to God. God is glorified when we rest in the assurance of God’s promises and His trustworthiness.

“Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar.” (1 John 5:10)

“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:17-18)

By lacking faith, we say that God is a liar. We greatly dishonor the nature of God as a trustworthy and immutable Being when we do not trust Him. Again, your trust in Him glorifies Him. God honors the faith of His beloved because faith honors Him.

Just imagine Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before King Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace. In their deep faith of God, they declare: “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” (Daniel 3:17)

Imagine, after they declare this, they fall to the ground in panic and refuse all the force leading them to the furnace, this would have been a disgraceful sight and the LORD God would not have been glorified. Why? Because it shows that the three young men had trouble in really having faith in God.

It is the same with the believers. God is most glorified when we live as if God does keep ALL of His Word and as if we believe that God is unchanging in His promises. Our failure to trust God only makes the world doubt of God’s existence and the glory that belongs to Him.

 

Fourth, glorifying God is about obeying Him. Throughout the Bible, God reminds the people that He is delighted in the obedience of His people. He would rather have obedience of the people rather than the ceremonies or the procession of empty worship.

“And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

The obedience to God is powerful tool to glorify Him because it reminds us that God is worthy of praise through the obedience that we show to Him. Also, our obedience shows that God is committed to bringing Himself glory because God hates disobedience and empty acts. If God hates these things, we have the certainty that obeying God is what ultimately shows that we love Him.

The obedience also shows the power of God’s grace and, in turn, glorifies Him. The fact, that a depraved sinner can be transformed and that God overlooks the sins of the repentant in His grace to eventually mortify those sins, reveals that God is at the source of even our obedience. When we obey Him, we proclaim this power of God to transform our lives from a wickedly depraved sinner to obedient saints.

We also know from the Word of God that the obedience is ultimately for our own good. “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?”

For our good and for the glory of God, we must obey God and His commandments. Praise God that obeying God is not too hard and that we are shown much grace even at the point of our fall.

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.” (Deuteronomy 30:11)

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)

How is the obedience to God not too burdensome? Because God is so gracious and so good to us that, through Christ’s perfect obedience, we are already seen perfect in our obedience if we trust in Christ. This must lead us to joy in our acts of obedience for we already know that God delights in our heart of obedience.

Glorifying God is certainly not an easy task if we think in human terms, but it is definitely possible. It is a Biblical command given to us that we glorify God. Therefore, enjoy Him, love Him, trust Him, and obey Him. The sum of Christian life is exactly at that: have we enjoyed God enough? Have we loved God enough? Have we trusted God enough? Have we obeyed God enough?

And the beautiful thing about Christian life is that when we fully enjoy God, we can abandon all other things and prefer God over all things, thus loving God. When we love God and we prefer Him over all, we can trust Him because He is the best option in our life (for His promises tells us so and God does not lie). When we trust God, it is impossible not to obey Him because obedience stems from trusting God’s existence and His goodness. As we obey Him, we enjoy Him for we find obedience to God is so satisfying and so fulfilling in our lives.

I pray and hope that we will be able to glorify God – enjoying Him, loving Him, trusting Him, and obeying Him. Praise God that He is worthy of the glory – the glory of God is our true joy and our good.