“Show Me Your Glory” by Steve Lawson
I promised in yesterday’s sermon to give you again an insightful quote by John Piper that came after he spent months studying one chapter of the Bible in depth. He states, “As I studied Romans 9 day after day, I began to see a God so majestic and so free and so absolutely sovereign that my analysis merged into worship and the Lord said, in effect, “I will not simply be analyzed, I will be adored. I will not simply be pondered, I will be proclaimed. My sovereignty is not simply to be scrutinized, it is to be heralded. It is not grist for the mill of controversy, it is gospel for sinners who know that their only hope is the sovereign triumph of God’s grace over their rebellious will.”
Piper gives wisdom that deserves to be read repeatedly. He focuses with laser-precision on the glory of God. Certainly, God calls His people to know Him, but they do not pursue knowledge for the sake of filling their brain cells with theological truth. God’s people strive to know God so he may be “adored…proclaimed…(and) heralded.” Therefore, all thoughts of God must direct us to worship Him.
Without doubt, Steve Lawson would concur with Piper’s thoughts. He stated that God is sovereign over all things as he observes, “Before time began, God the Father was the sole architect of His eternal decree, which is His one master plan that encompasses everything that comes to pass.” Steve bases this on Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:11 that believers have been “predestined according to His purpose…all things after the counsel of His will.” He coined the term “Predeterminer” to capture this attribute of God. God’s “predetermined plan was so comprehensive that it included everything that would occur. Nothing lay outside this eternal purpose. It encompasses everything that will be.”
While this attribute should bring glory to God and comfort to His people, sadly, many react with dismay. They wonder, “How can this be? Don’t I get to decide how things will go in my life?” Indeed, God predetermining all things goes against our desire for our own will and autonomy to be exercised creates a tension. We must remember this doctrine has Biblical roots and places the reception of all glory on God alone. Without “the perfect execution of His will” all of the universe would be in chaos.
As we will see in weeks to come in Romans 9 “the eternal plan of God is the salvation of His elect. In eternity past, the Father make a distinguishing choice of those whom He would save” as Ephesians 1:4-4 and 1 Thess. 1:4 joyfully proclaim. “No one persuaded Him to make the choice He made. Not did He look down the proverbial tunnel of time to observe what people would do and then make His choice accordingly. For reasons known only to Himself, God made His sovereign choice of many sinners out of the fallen human race.”
To repeat Piper, “it is gospel for sinners who know that their only hope is the sovereign triumph of God’s grace over their rebellious will.” May we live in that hope to the glory of God today!
Pastor Gillikin