Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning is the last Sunday in our emphasis on the 'five solas' of the Reformation.

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 bullet-points of protest to the doors of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, he sparked a Reformation that recovered the central truths of the Gospel.

In our own day—an era where each of us has our own bible in our own language; an era where we worship in a denominational tradition that has zealously preached that men are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the Scriptures alone, it's hard for us to imagine that this was not always the case.

For a thousand years the preaching of that Gospel had all but been lost by the church—especially by the Church of Mediaeval Europe.

In it's place developed a false gospel, a manmade religion, full of unbiblical, mystical practices, invented doctrines, and superstitions.

Purgatory made people fear and obey.

Indulgences made them give.

As is always the case when false doctrine flourishes, so does ungodly behavior.

The Church of Mediaeval Europe had become a cesspool of sin.

Men, greedy for power, wealth, and pleasure, bought and bribed their way into high church office.

The common man could neither read the Word of God for himself, nor was he even allowed to sing the praises of God—only the clergy could do so.

In God's good providence, as the Church reached the pinnacle of its corruption, God raised up a group of godly men in different places.

All of them had the same burning passion and desire to see God's Word in the hands of the people in a language they could both read and understand.

Men like John Wycliffe, John Huss, William Tyndale, and Martin Luther set about this task.

Once the Bible was in the hands of the common people, they read from the Apostle Paul himself that if you added any works to grace, it would no longer be grace.

They read that God's grace came through Christ alone—who is our sole mediator—and not through church administered sacraments, religious rituals or church authority.

Not only did they read that salvation could not be earned because it was by grace, which came only through Christ, they also learned from the Scriptures that the only way a person could appropriate Christ and His saving merit was by faith and faith alone.

There is one last great Sola that comes out of the Reformation: That all things must be done to the glory of God alone.

Because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory that we must glorify him always.

We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for the glory of God alone.

In 1 Corinthians 6:20, the Apostle Paul says we are to /"glorify God in our bodies"./

Later, in 1 Corinthians 10:31, he says,/ "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."/

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I.

A GOD OF GLORY

* /“I am the LORD; that is my name!

I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.”/

(Isaiah 42:8, NIV84)

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Sola Deo Gloria—to the glory of God alone—is the motivation that ought to guide every part of the believer’s life

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God is worthy of our honor, and our praise, and our worship, and our reverence, and our veneration, and our awe, and our adoration because he is a glorious God as revealed in His attributes, and His actions

* /"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven,"/ (Psalm 148:13, ESV)

* /"to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!

Amen."/ (Romans 16:27, ESV)

* /"to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.

Amen."/ (Jude 25, ESV)

* /"Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."/

(Revelation 15:4, ESV)

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Sola Deo Gloria means that the sovereign God of the universe alone gets glory

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God is clear about this: I will not give my glory to another

#. the Reformers taught that life must not be divided between the sacred and the secular

#. all of life must be lived under the Lordship of Christ

#. every activity of the Christian is to be sanctified unto the glory of God

!! A. GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED BY ALL MEN

* /"By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear."/

(Isaiah 45:23, NIV84)

#. it is so certain that men—all men—will bow their knee before a Sovereign God that the Lord has sworn by Himself that it will happen

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God says, /By myself I have sworn ... /

#. literally the phrase in Hebrew is /As I live/ and it is an /oath/

#. who else can God swear by since there is no one greater than He?

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God is about to utter a truth that cannot be revoked—it will absolutely come to pass

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God says /" ... my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked ... "/

#. again the original Hebrew actually says, /there has gone out from the mouth of righteousness a word, and it will not return/

#. the mouth of righteousness is God's mouth—it is a voice that speaks only /right-ness/

#. the emphasis is on God's revelation

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God's word is /efficacious/

#. efficacious means /having the power to produce a desired effect/

* ILLUS.

We see the efficaciousness of God's word in the Creation Account—God merely spoke and things that were not came to be.

We also see the efficaciousness of God's spoken word in the Living Word—the incarnation of Jesus.

He became flesh and dwelt among us and in his life he accomplished exactly what God planned to accomplish—the redemption of sinners.

#. what has God spoken that will absolutely come to pass here in this passage?

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God declares that /Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear/

#. all men will sooner or later be in complete submission to the Lord God of Israel

#. the day will come when all men shall give glory to the Father

#. some will do so in /joy/

#. many will do so /under compulsion/

#. but all men shall /give glory to the Godhead/

* /"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."/

(Psalm 46:10, NIV84)

* /"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.

They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures.

They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen!

Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!"/ (Revelation 7:9–12, NIV84)

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God is going to be glorified—and by all men!

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II.

THE GOD OF GLORY REVEALS HIS GLORY IN HIS SOVEREIGNTY

* /" ... for I am God and there is no other."/

v. 22

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you will never experience the full blessings of God until you recognize that Jehovah is God and you ain't!

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He is supremely sovereign over all the created order

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He is supremely sovereign over you life

#. the average member of our society no longer has a reverence or holy fear of an awesome God

* ILLUS.

When we were home this last week, I noticed a large billboard along Hwy. 30 in Fenton.

It was a white background with large black letters that said, “God is ______________.”

I thought it was interesting.

God is “anything you want Him to be.”

Most want Him to stop being God, so that they can start!

#. for many, God ranks right up there with /Santa Clause/, the /Easter Bunny/, and the /Tooth Ferry/

#. creatures of sentimentality who pass out blessings when we are "good" and who leniently wink at the "indiscretions" of our life as if they were insignificant

#. others see God as a /cosmic Charlie Brown/

#. wishy-washy to the core

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inept and never willing to carry through with what he says

#. never meaning what He says and never doing what he plans

#. like the un-believers of the first century, they scoff

* /"knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.