September 29, 2016 | Glory To God Alone

“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
[John 3:36 HCSB]
Soli Deo Gloria
While writing recently on the powerful truth that God alone deserves glory, I received this note from my pulpit team partner, David Wade:
Soli Deo Gloria is of course anathema to the flesh. I have struggled with it for years. But as God has worked in me to answer my repeated prayer (which Paul prayed for the Ephesians) “Please grant me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that I may know you better,” I have begun to see more and more how great He is, and how totally and completely my existence and my life itself (and all creation) depend on Him. In the light of this illumination I see how only He deserves glory and how foolish it is go with the flesh and seek my own glory or idolize some created thing. Yet that resistance is always hovering in the background and it requires constant turning away and praying to God that my actions should always seek to glorify Him – instead of falling into the default mode, “It’s all about me.” To my sorrow, that’s something I do much too often.
As David displays, the blessing of soli Deo gloria requires humility.
Solus Christus
I also was blessed to teach recently on solus Christus – the great biblical doctrine that salvation comes through Christ Jesus alone. If you want to enjoy the deep challenge of solus Christus, please first read the New Testament Gospels. After that, I highly recommend a book called On The Incarnation of the Word of God. It’s written by a 4th century Christian of enormous influence and insight – an African bishop named Anthanasius. C.S. Lewis’ introduction to the 20th c. English translation explains why we should not be intimidated by such venerable books. Here’s a small portion from Dr. Lewis:
There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books. Thus I have found as a tutor in English Literature that if the average student wants to find out something about Platonism, the very last thing he thinks of doing is to take a translation of Plato off the library shelf and read the Symposium. He would rather read some dreary modern book ten times as long, all about “isms” and influences and only once in twelve pages telling him what Plato actually said. The error is rather an amiable one, for it springs from humility. The student is half afraid to meet one of the great philosophers face to face. He feels himself inadequate and thinks he will not understand him. But if he only knew, the great man, just because of his greatness, is much more intelligible than his modern commentator. The simplest student will be able to understand, if not all, yet a very great deal of what Plato said; but hardly anyone can understand some modern books on Platonism. It has always therefore been one of my main endeavours as a teacher to persuade the young that first-hand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than second-hand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire.
As C.S. Lewis exposes, the blessing of solus Christus demands courage.
I pray for myself and you that humility and courage lead us further up and further in to the life of God’s glory through Christ alone.
Filed Under: Weekly Email