On a walk in my neighborhood yesterday, I took these pictures.
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The Fundamental Test of Your Soul
God’s glory is your glory
In recent weeks we have explored God’s jealousy for his glory.
When you understand the importance the Lord places on glory, you will not be surprised when tested concerning this.
You will see it as the context for Jesus’ demanding teachings that test the ultimate devotion of your heart: “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” (Mat. 10:37). “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Mat. 6:24).
It is the rightful glory of God that people love, prize, and delight in him above all, for “every good and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). Therefore he will not abide your giving glory instead to his creation.
The idol factory
The test of exclusive worship may be the fundamental test. It is continual, for as one theologian said, the human heart is an idol factory. But it is a trial you can pass, because the Lord enables willing souls to do what he commands: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
Nothing will bring you greater fulfillment, because for this you were designed. This is both God’s glory and your glory. This is a marriage made in heaven. This is how you prove true.
Reflecting God’s Glory
Our glory is to reflect God’s glory
Last week we saw that God supremely delights to express his glory for his own joy and the admiration and pleasure of his creation.
Glory is divine, and someday it will also be fully human. Jesus, the unique Son, has unimaginable glory, and he is the firstfruit of glorified humanity. God the Father has unimaginable glory, as does the Holy Spirit.
Glory sums up God’s nature, and therefore it will similarly sum up our redeemed nature. At creation God gave humanity the priceless gift of bearing his image and displaying his glory.
God plans to restore the glory lost in the Fall and to add more for good measure. Jesus said, “The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mat. 13:43). John said, “When he appears we will be like him” (1 John 3:3). Paul said there will be “glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good” (Rom. 2:10).
The apostle Paul also writes, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). The NIV, similar to the KJV, translates the end of that verse, “the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Ultimate worship
In God’s plans, glory is not incidental, not a side benefit of salvation, not a secondary goal. It is ultimate.
Therefore when God established his covenant with Israel, he began the Ten Commandments by stressing exclusive worship. Centuries later he rebuked Israel for breaking these commands by their stubborn idolatry and said, “My glory I will not give to another” (Isa. 48:11). In this matter of exclusive worship, God means business. He is jealous for his glory.
The Ultimate Importance of God’s Glory
Since God is jealous for his glory, we likewise must be jealous for his glory
Last week we saw that God originally created humanity for glory, and that glory is good.
We are not the only ones who express our glory for the sake of our own joy and others’ admiration. God supremely delights to express his glory for his own joy and the admiration and pleasure of his creation.
In the book The End for Which God Created the World, theologian Jonathan Edwards argues that God’s ultimate purpose in all his works is to display his infinite glory—preeminently his redeeming love and grace in Jesus Christ—and receive the worship this glory deserves.
Glory is divine. Glory is the hinge of God’s purposes in creation. It is the hub of the wheel, the fulcrum of the lever, the axis of the globe, the prize of the race.
Triumphing over Satan
Glory is why Satan was playing his best card when he offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world. It is why Satan, who lost more glory through his fall than anyone ever has, craved worship.
And it was Jesus’ glory flatly to refuse him. “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Mat. 4:10). The glory of Jesus Christ is he did not fall as Adam and Israel fell. Jesus—the Second Adam and the true Israel—believed and obeyed his Father’s words. This was his glory. In both his divinity and humanity he “loved righteousness and hated wickedness” (Heb. 1:9).
He would not give God’s glory to another. (God told Israel, “My glory I will not give to another” [Isa. 48:11]). This was Jesus’ great glory. He proved to be true. He is worthy to be God’s unique Son and our only Savior, for above all else he sought the glory of his Father.
As Jesus wrestled with the thought of suffering for our sins, he said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27–28). What happened next is important. “Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again’” (John 12:28).
Mighty in battle
David prophesied about the glory of Jesus, and that glory includes his victory in battle against God’s enemies:
“Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!” (Psa. 24:7–10, italics added)
When Jesus overcame Satan’s temptations, he showed himself mighty in battle. The ancient doors were lifted for the King of glory.
The Goodness of Glory
The glory that comes from God and reflects God is good
Last week we saw that Satan tempted the human nature of Jesus with the offer of glory. I said that humans will do almost anything for glory.
Glory takes many forms. Proverbs 29:21 says, “The glory of young men is their strength,” and that explains why some spend agonizing hours in the gym pumping iron. Strength is glory. But there are other ways of finding glory. The glory of working for a company is to be promoted, to become a department head, vice president, or CEO, because authority is glory.
In various instances, wisdom is glory, riches are glory, talent is glory, education is glory, achievement is glory.
Glory is whatever makes us special, however we excel. The glory of a zebra is its stripes. The glory of a company is its brand. The glory of the sky is its sunset. Even if no one sees our glory, we enjoy it.
Glory is good
We enjoy it because glory is good. It is good because it came from God, whose glory is infinite: “Great is the glory of the Lord” (Psalm 138:5). “From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever” (Rom. 11:36).
“There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone” (1 Cor. 12:4–6).
“God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’” (Gen. 1:26).
Falling short of God’s glory
In the familiar verse that describes mankind’s brokenness, notice what quality we lack: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). At creation God infused his glory into mankind and afterward pronounced us “very good,” but sin marred that glory. We fall short of our glorious purpose of reflecting God’s likeness.
Nevertheless God originally created humanity for glory, and that glory is good.
When Jesus Was Tested for Idolatry
Even Jesus faced a real temptation regarding exclusive worship
In previous posts we have seen how Abraham was tested for whether he had an idol, and now we turn to see how Jesus himself was tempted to worship another god.
How could it be that the Son of God could be tempted to worship anyone but God? He is divine himself and has lived for all eternity in the Father’s presence. Even so, he did face a real temptation in this regard.
It happened in his 40-day wilderness trial. After two unsuccessful temptations, Satan took Jesus “to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” Then he brazenly offered: “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me” (Mat. 4:8–9, italics added). So Jesus faced an undisguised test regarding exclusive worship.
How could Jesus be tempted?
It raises many questions. How could this offer tempt Jesus? How are we similarly tempted? What does this teach about the nature of God, and mankind? What does this teach about God’s command to worship him exclusively?
Regarding the first question: Was Satan’s offer a ridiculous miscalculation, a gambit that had no chance of appealing to Jesus? No, Satan knows much about human nature. This was his ultimate chance to advance his rebellion against God, so he was surely exercising all his cunning powers.
The key to understanding this temptation is to remember that Jesus was both fully God and fully man, which meant his human nature was susceptible to every temptation common to man. Hebrews 4:15 says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
Nothing about Satan’s offer could appeal to Jesus in his divine nature, for “God cannot be tempted with evil” (Jam. 1:13). And even as Satan appealed to Jesus’ human nature, he did not offer himself as the bait, as though anything about him could inspire Jesus to worship. No, the key word in understanding this temptation is glory.
Glory
The narrative reads, “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (Mat. 4:8–9, italics added). What Satan knew could appeal to Jesus’ humanity was glory.
This is what mankind wants. Glory drives sports. When men and women train for the Olympics, for example, they push their limits in work and pain, and their reason for doing so is not merely to stand on a platform and have precious metal hung around their neck and hear their national anthem. There are easier ways to hear anthems and quicker ways to get gold.
What athletes want is glory. Not just the glory of applause, but the glory of greatness, of being the best, of displaying their talent for all to see and extol. They want the glory of competition, the glory of courage and sacrifice, the glory of passion and ultimate effort, the glory of teamwork and sharing arenas with other great athletes.
They want the glory of being watched by millions on television, the glory of their names inscribed in Olympic history. They want the glory of winning, setting records, nearing perfection. They want the glory of making family, friends, and hometown proud. People will do almost anything for glory.
Peace through Surrender
When you surrender everything to God, you’re free
Abraham’s second great test for idolatry came when God commanded him to do the unimaginable.
Genesis says, “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you’” (22:1–2).
This is now decades after Abraham’s first encounter with God, and God has given him the desire of his heart by making possible the miraculous birth of a son through his wife Sarah. The Lord gives; sometimes he takes away.
The Lord knew how Abraham felt about Isaac. God called him “your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love.” He knew Abraham had for decades focused his hope on having a son, and once Isaac was born Abraham loved him above all. God also knew that his blessings can replace him in people’s hearts. Consequently one of the most harmful things that can happen to us is to get what we want. We can only find true life in our loving Creator. Because of his jealous love for Abraham God had to test to see if Isaac had become his god.
The test was stark: him or me? Obey me and sacrifice Isaac. Protect Isaac and disobey me. Which will it be?
God does what is right
The subject of testing teaches much about God. He tests for exclusive worship because of what he said in the Ten Commandments: “I the LORD your God am a jealous God” (Exo. 20:5). He forbids idols because he is jealous, not in the insecure and fallen way that humans are jealous, but rather in the strong and righteous way of guarding a romantic relationship from what it should not abide. Even heathens call adultery cheating. God knows if we are in a true love relationship with him we should not cheat on him. Your heart can have only one God.
So the test of exclusive worship includes the command to surrender whatever holds the place in your heart that belongs only to God. However, notice that after Abraham surrendered Isaac, the Lord allowed him to keep Isaac. God’s purpose was not to take what Abraham loved, but to ensure his heart was properly ordered. Abraham showed that no one could take God’s place in his heart.
You likewise must not only surrender competing loves, but also wholeheartedly embrace God, for your heart abhors a vacuum. It will have a first love.
Why People Do Not Believe in the True God
They do not believe in God because they do not want him to exist
We saw in the previous post that just because people receive objective evidence of the one true God does not mean they follow him. In fact, the Bible teaches that precisely the opposite happens.
Apart from God’s intervention the fallen human heart recoils from the one true God. Rather than worship God as he is and change as he requires, fallen people create substitute gods that suit their desires. In Romans 1, the apostle Paul said that people
“by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 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. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Rom. 1:18–23)
Three surprising facts
Notice three key truths about the turn from God to idolatry. First, verses 19–20 say all people know from objective evidence that the one true God who created all things exists.
Second, verse 18 says they respond by “suppressing” the truth. They do not want to deal with God as he truly is, so they push reality about God from their consciousness.
Third, verse 23 says they exchange what they know to be true about God for idols. They create gods to substitute for the true God they spurn. This is what Israel did with the golden calf. This is what Abraham did until God appeared to him in Ur.
And this encounter brought Abraham’s first great test. Would he now give exclusive worship and devotion to the one true God? Abraham’s actions show he passed the test. He obeyed God by leaving Ur. When he came to the Promised Land, he built altars of worship and called on the name of the Lord (Gen. 12:7–8; 13:4, 18). In the remainder of his story, there is no hint of idolatry.
Will you follow in Abraham’s steps?
If you are not yet a Christian, you face the same test Abraham did. In your heart of hearts, even if you have never encountered God in an extraordinary way, you know he exists. You have been guilty of suppressing what you know of him and exchanging devotion to him for devotion to other things you have made ultimate instead, such as money, sex, music, career, family, friends, romance, movies, sports, food, hobbies, education, the beauty or build or health of your body, and so on.
The question is, When you encounter the truths about Jesus Christ, will you surrender your idols? Will you make him most important? God calls you to worship and serve him exclusively. He alone is worthy, and therefore he is a jealous God.
God Forgives Idolatry
Although God is rightly jealous of false gods, he is also merciful
We have seen in previous posts in this series that God is rightly jealous when people worship idols and make created things their ultimate priority, rather than making God their chief concern in life. Nevertheless, we see in the life of Abraham that God will forgive those who have lived in such idolatry.
Abraham grew up in idolatry
Scripture says that before God intervened in Abraham’s life, he, his father Terah, and his brother Nahor served other gods (see Joshua 24:2).
Fathers teach their children to worship their idols. Scripture says Terah raised his family in Ur, a large, prosperous city on the banks of the Euphrates that archeologists have found had a temple to the moon god. So Abraham grew up in an idolatrous environment, with statues of idols enshrined in his home, with regular visits with his father to the temples of false gods, eating meals and performing sacrifices in home and temple dedicated to these gods. This was his life from the cradle and through his formative years as a toddler, boy, and teen. Abraham grew up worshiping idols.
But God had designs on him. Sometime after Abraham reached manhood, God first revealed himself to him when he lived in Ur, before he and his family moved to Haran and Abraham later moved to Canaan. In Acts 7:2–4 the martyr Stephen says of this event:
“The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.”
This meeting in Ur must have turned Abraham from idols to the one true God.
Repentance is not automatic
But as Israel showed above, even after extraordinary encounters with God, turning from idols to God is not automatic, as we might suppose. Millions of Israelites saw how God judged the Egyptians and their idols with ten plagues, saw the Red Sea part and walked through it on dry ground, saw the pillar of cloud and fire leading in their journey, saw how God provided water and manna in the wilderness, saw God’s stormy glory on Mount Sinai, and heard God’s voice announcing the Ten Commandments. Yet after a lull in the action they quickly made a golden calf and held an idolatrous party.
Just because people receive objective evidence of the one true God does not mean they follow him.
But Abraham did. He repented of idolatry, and God forgave him.
If we repent of loving anything more than God, he will also forgive us.
The Savior for Every Kind of Idolator
The definition of idolatry includes far more than the worship of statues
In the crisis at the foot of Mount Sinai, what saved people was a mediator. Instead of jumping at the privilege of having God’s nation descend from his line, Moses interceded for the guilty, and God mercifully relented.
Today what saves us from God’s wrath against those who love false gods is another mediator who is infinitely greater, the one and only mediator between God and mankind, Jesus Christ. He alone can be our mediator, for he alone died on the cross for our failure to worship God exclusively. We all need Jesus to mediate our relationship with God, for all are guilty of idolatry in one form or another.
Idolatry without statues
In some cultures, idolatry involves blatantly honoring statues bearing names of false gods. It is obvious and deliberate. But in other cultures, idolatry is subtle, a matter of the heart, committed without statues but fundamentally the same.
Colossians 3:5 teaches that idolatry is essentially about love: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (italics added). This verse equates covetousness and greed—a matter of the heart and its loves—with idolatry.
Elsewhere the New Testament likewise speaks of betraying God in a way that involves the heart and our excessive love of what God has created, admonishing Christians, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
One’s ultimate concern
In his book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller defines idolatry as anyone or anything that becomes our ultimate concern, ultimate love, instead of God. If our highest love centers not on God but on something he created, we commit idolatry. We do not worship him exclusively.
Over your lifetime, what have been your ultimate concerns in place of God? Is something or someone presently pushing him from his rightful place as your chief love?
Because Jesus is your mediator, you have forgiveness through faith in him. Because Jesus is your mediator, he calls you to repent of betraying God. God’s command to worship him exclusively is a critical test.
Israel failed it. Abraham passed, and to him we turn in the next post.