To the glory of God alone: Romans 11v32-12v1

Maria is going to come and read this morning. It's on page 1131 if you're using a church Bible.

Okay, Romans chapter 11, verse 33.

Romans 11:33

Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out.

Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Who has been his counselor?

Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever. Amen.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, and in view of God's mercy,

to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.

And this is your spiritual act of worship.

Thanks, Maria.

Alex is just handing around some pens and there's a piece of paper.

If you want to take notes as well, it's got headings, which you can follow along if you want to take that.

And just to remind you that today we come to the end of our little mini series, which we call Glorious Salvation.

And some of those themes that we've been looking at will be the theme of our Summer Bible Week.

So I hope it's given a taste in some ways of that.

So come along to the Summer Bible Week, which is in July.

Put that into your diary.

The lectures are repeated morning and evening.

So if you can't get to the morning, you can go in the evening.

Don't forget to pick up your summer program as well.

And you'll see on the inside that during the month of July and August, there are different people who will be preaching.

Some names you will recognize, others you won't.

But they are all related in some way to Munster Bible College and those who have been teaching or helping at that.

So do come along during the months of July and August.

Pray for those who will be preaching and teaching.

Let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at his word together.

Our God, you are great and you are glorious.

For you have done good and mighty things.

Father, we pray that you would give us a fresh glimpse.

Paint a picture upon our hearts and upon our minds.

Engrave your salvation deep upon our lives.

That we may see the wonder, the beauty, the magnificence of you, Lord Jesus.

And that in response, we would be a people who live for your glory.

Amen.

We ask for your help to us today.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

I don't know about you, but art was really never my strongest subject.

In fact, it was terrible.

And that caused a bit of a problem because exam time was getting close.

Running out of ideas, I went to one of the art rooms and collected all the leftover drawings

and put them neatly into a folder, all belonging to other people.

And the day came when we had to hand up our work and I proudly presented my work.

And I passed.

I took all the praise and all the glory for something that was not mine.

I robbed the glory that belonged to someone else.

Now, when it comes to our salvation, we can claim the glory for ourselves.

We can look upon it as something that I achieve.

God accepts me because I obey him.

God loves me because, well, I love him.

God saves me because I chose him.

It's all about me and what I've done.

It's my performance, my effort.

It's what I deserve.

But every time we say I in regard to salvation,

we are stealing or robbing the glory from God.

Rather than God being great and awesome and magnificent,

well, then I become great.

It's to Johnny be the glory forever.

Amen.

It's taking praise and glory for something that is not mine.

You see, when it comes to our salvation,

God alone should get all the glory.

Have a look at verse 36, Romans 11, verse 36.

Romans 11:36

This little section here, maybe it has a little title,

verses 33 to 36, it has doxology.

Maybe that's the title.

It's not inspired, it's not from God,

but somebody has put it in afterwards.

But really, it's just a hymn of praise, of exaltation,

a great outburst of uncontained emotion towards God.

And it comes at the very end of 11 chapters

that has gone into great detail,

showing us and detailing to us God's amazing gift of salvation.

And as he traces God's plan of salvation,

he gets to the end and he can't help but just burst out in praise.

And here's what Paul, the author, says in verse 36.

Thinking of God's amazing salvation, verse 36.

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him, to God, be the glory forever. Amen.

Salvation is planned by God, provided by God,

purposed by God, so God gets all the glory.

Martin Luther, our friend that we've been looking at over these weeks,

now with the Lord, of course,

rediscovered that salvation was nothing to do with us,

it was all of God.

And here he bursts into praise as he contemplates and thinks about it,

follow along as I read.

He says,

Christ, the Son of God, was given,

not for the righteous and holy,

but for the unrighteous and sinners.

If I were righteous and had no sin,

I should have no need of Christ to be my reconciler.

Therefore, let us praise God the Father

and give him a hearty thanks.

For this his immeasurable mercy,

that he has delivered us out of the kingdom of the devil

by his own Son,

when such was impossible to be done by our own strength.

Let us extol and magnify the glory of Christ,

who has delivered us into the kingdom of Christ,

to whom be glory world without end.

Amen.

So who gets all the glory?

God alone.

Well, let's see how all this is true.

We're going to look at two big ideas.

First, we're going to see the glory of God displayed,

and then we're going to look at the glory of God declared.

So the glory of God displayed.

I want you to imagine

that you're walking through an art gallery,

maybe like the Louvre in Paris

or some other national art gallery.

And as you walk through the different rooms,

you're confronted by all these amazing pictures on the wall,

all by famous artists throughout the centuries.

Each portrait, each scene that you look at,

just takes your breath away.

Well, these verses, verses 33 to 36,

is like walking into the art gallery of God.

On display as we walk through our pictures

and scenes of God's salvation,

each one reflects the glory and the beauty

and the magnificence and the power of God.

And every scene that you look at

causes you to stop and gaze in wonder

and worship of what an almighty God we have.

So let's walk through the gallery of God's glory together.

Three things we see as we look at God's glory.

First, the riches of God.

That's the first scene that we're confronted with.

The riches of God.

Look at verse 33.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

On display before us is the deep, never-ending riches

of God's goodness and kindness towards us.

There we stand, as it were, in the gallery,

looking at God's riches before us,

and we are conscious of how deep and how great our own sin is.

But as we gaze at his riches,

we are overwhelmed by how deeper and greater God's grace is.

It is like a wave that washes over us.

Let me show you a glimpse of his riches.

Go back to chapter 3, verse 22.

The end of verse 22.

Romans chapter 3, the end of verse 22.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

Talking about the human race of all people of all times.

The end of verse 22.

It says,

There is no difference, for all have sinned,

and all fall short of the glory of God.

We simply do not measure up.

But God, if you like, in his riches, verse 24,

are justified.

That is, we are declared not guilty,

freely, by his grace,

through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Move on, look at chapter 5, verse 17.

We can so easily become overwhelmed

by our own guilt and shame,

but here, look at the riches again.

Chapter 5, verse 17.

For if by the trespass of one man,

death reigns through that one man,

how much more will those who receive

God's abundant provision of grace

and of the gift of righteousness

reign in life through the one man,

Jesus Christ.

Here we see the riches of God,

his wisdom,

declaring us not guilty,

the riches of his knowledge,

knowing what we are like,

but pouring out his grace upon us.

Gaze and wonder

at the magnificence of God.

And as we gaze at that scene,

we move on and we see another picture.

We see the scene,

the plan of God.

Go back to Romans 11,

and verse 33.

We're going to be jumping backwards and forwards

to get a picture of these things.

So back to Romans 11, verse 33.

Romans 11:33

The end of verse 33.

How unsearchable his judgments

and his paths beyond tracing out.

There before us,

we see God's plan,

his judgments,

his paths,

all his plans and decisions

that he has made

to bring about our salvation.

So if you're here this morning

and you're a Christian,

look at God's plan

through your life.

You are a Christian,

not by chance.

It has been ordained by God

from before time began

and has been revealed to you

by God's own design

and you've come to experience it

by the power of his Holy Spirit.

And he wants us to stop

and look at his plan.

Look at verse 34.

Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counsellor?

Did God ever draw alongside you

and consult you

and ask you what he should do

as regards to saving the world?

Did God come looking to you

and ask you for advice

and say,

what should I do?

Did God ever turn to you

in a state of panic

and say,

help,

what am I going to do

to save this person?

No.

It all starts with God

and it all ends with God.

God acted out of his loving initiative

and he intervened in our lives

according to his will.

Have a look back at chapter 5,

verse 6.

Just wonder here

at God's plan

as it unfolds before you.

Chapter 5, verse 6.

You see,

at just the right time,

when we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly.

Very rarely will anyone die

for a righteous person,

though for a good person

someone might possibly dare to die.

but God demonstrates

his own love for us

in this,

while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

God acted

by his own will

and decree

in our lives.

And the wonderful thing

about God's plan

of salvation is

it cannot be undone,

it cannot be overturned,

it cannot be reversed.

Look at these wonderful words.

Chapter 8,

verse 38.

That God not only initiates

and brings about our salvation,

but he keeps our salvation.

Chapter 8, verse 38.

For I am convinced

that neither death

nor life,

neither angels

nor demons,

neither the present

or the future,

nor any powers,

neither heights,

nor depth,

nor anything else

in creation.

So whatever you could imagine,

not even sin,

not even Satan,

not even suffering,

will be able

to separate us

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

Look at the plan of God.

The magnificence

of God's plan,

initiating

and securing

our salvation

from beginning

to end.

But we move on

to another scene.

Look at the gift

of God.

Go back to chapter 11,

verse 35.

Look at verse 35.

Who has ever

given

to God

that God

should have

to repay him?

Just think,

what did you bring

to the table

for your salvation?

What did you contribute?

What gift

did you bring

to God

to say,

here God,

look at what I've done,

now save me?

What did I

ever give

to God

that his arm

was forced

that he should

ever have to give

in return to me?

Absolutely

nothing.

Our salvation

is an extraordinary

gift

from God.

Something God

delights

to do.

Something God

takes great pleasure

in doing

because he

loves

to do good.

Go back

to chapter 9,

verse 16.

So if ever

we think

it is something

that we do

or we have earned,

look at chapter 9,

verse 16.

Speaking about

our salvation,

it does not

therefore depend

on man's

desire

or effort,

but on

God's

mercy.

Or look at

chapter 11,

verse 5.

Speaking about

God's continued

working of salvation

in people's life.

Chapter 11,

verse 5,

so too

at the present time

there is a remnant,

there are a people

chosen

by grace.

And if by grace

then it is

no longer

by works.

If it were,

grace

would no longer

be grace.

There is

nothing

we have done

to force

God's

favour.

There is

nothing we can

do to win

his approval.

There is

nothing we

will ever

become

that God

is going

to look

and say

I love

you more.

God

owes us

nothing

but in

his grace

he has

reached out

to us

and welcomed

us

and treasured

us

and saved

us

because he

delights

in pouring

out his

grace

upon us.

So here

in chapter 11

is this

wonderful

invitation

to walk

through the

gallery

of God's

glory.

On display

before us

is God's

glorious

salvation

to undeserving

people like

you and me.

and we

are just

to sit

not rush

but pause

and wonder

that God

who spoke

the universe

into existence

would come

down

into the

person of

Jesus Christ

and take

all my sin

and all your

sin and die

in our place

and would

declare me

not

guilty.

just sit

and bask

in the

knowledge

that God

forgives

rebels

like us

and adopts

us to be

his children

that we

would have

the same

rights

as the

Lord Jesus

that we

have access

to our

Father God

that we

can cry

out to

him

any time

any place

knowing he

will never

ever put

his hand

against us

but will

welcome us.

delight

in the

joy

that God

would choose

to show

such mercy

and that

God

loves

to do

so.

Walk

through the

gallery

of God's

glory

and see

his salvation

on display

and wonder

that God

did it all

for you.

the glory

of God

is put

on display.

Second

the glory

of God

is now

to be

declared.

Imagine

if you

would

for a

moment

again

walking

through

a gallery

and as

you look

at all

the various

scenes

and portraits

all around

the wall

and you

notice

people

as they

look at

them

they're

praising

the artist

they're

commenting

to each

other

amazing

incredible

and so

as you

walk around

you come

to

Da Vinci's

Sunflowers

and

you get

out a

little

scraper

from your

pocket

and you

start

scraping

off the

corner

and you

scrape

out Da Vinci

and you

just put

your own

little

signature

in the

corner

Johnny

Grant

or whoever

it's

ridiculous

isn't it

a ridiculous

attempt to

to try and

take the

glory from

the true

artist

and try and

receive praise

for yourself

well in the

same way to

claim salvation

is something

that I

achieve and

that I

deserve

is a

ridiculous

attempt to

try and

take the

glory that

belongs to

God

to ourselves

just as an

artist paints

a picture

so that we

can enjoy

all that

they've done

they paint

it and

put it

there so

that we

can be

amazed and

enjoy the

sheer brilliance

of what they

have done

so God

the ultimate

artist has

intervened and

saved us

so that we

can simply

enjoy

all that

he has

done

and in

response

as we

gaze at

his

brilliance

we are

to declare

his

glory

so first

to God

be

the glory

look at

verse 36

his

conclusion

to this

great

hymn

of praise

verse 36

for from

God

and

through

God

and

to

God

are

all

things

to

God

be

the

glory

forever

Amen

salvation

is

from

God

he

determined

it

salvation

is

through

God

he

accomplished

it

and

salvation

is

to

God

the

purpose

of

salvation

the

goal

of

salvation

the

whole

plan

of

salvation

is

all

about

God

you see

sometimes

we think

the purpose

of salvation

begins

and ends

with us

that God

looked down

upon us

and said

I need

to do

this

for you

and it

it's

all about

us

well it

is in a

secondary

sense

but in a

primary

sense

God

saves us

for the

purpose

of bringing

glory

first and

foremost

to him

he acts

in such

a way

so that

we would

respond

in glory

listen to

this

from

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

chapter

1

verse

4

just

listen

to

these

words

for he

that is

God

chose us

in him

before

the creation

of the

world

to be

holy

and blameless

in his

sight

why did

he do

that

to the

praise

of his

glorious

grace

or here

follow on

the screen

here's another

verse

from the

same

chapter

and you

also

were

included

in

Christ

when

you

heard

the

word

of

truth

the

gospel

of

your

salvation

having

believed

you were

marked

in him

with a

seal

the

promised

holy

spirit

who is

a

deposit

guaranteeing

our

inheritance

until

the

redemption

of those

who are

God's

possession

why

why

did

God

save

you

why

did

he

save

me

to

the

praise

of

his

glory

so

that

attention

would

be

drawn

to

him

God

saves

us

that

is

the

reason

we

are

saved

is

to

give

him

all

the

glory

we

have

not

been

saved

to

escape

hell

and

get

to

heaven

although

that

is

in

some

sense

true

we

are

not

saved

simply

to

make

our

life

better

although

our

life

is

exceedingly

better

because

of what

God

has

done

we

are

saved

primarily

so

that

we

might

declare

the

glory

of

God

that's

the

reason

God

delights

in

saving

us

that

is

why

he

pours

out

his

mercy

and

his

grace

is

so

that

his

name

becomes

famous

that

the

world

would

see

what

a

mighty

and

great

God

we

have

to

God

be

the

glory

forever

Amen

now

the

question

is

how

do

we

go

about

giving

God

the

glory

well

all

life

is to

be

lived

for

the

glory

of

God

look

at

chapter

12

verse

1

you

see

if we

didn't

have

chapter

headings

or

big

numbers

like

12

there

we

would

just

keep

reading

and

that's

in

a

sense

what

we're

meant

to

do

as

we

wonder

at

God's

salvation

what

do

I

do

in

response

chapter

12

verse

1

therefore

because

of

God's

glorious

salvation

I

urge

you

brothers

and

sisters

in

view

of

God's

mercy

as

you

walk

through

the

gallery

of

God's

glory

as

you

see

all

that

he

has

done

for

you

what

can

you

do

but

offer

your

bodies

as

living

sacrifices

holy

and

pleasing

to

God

this

is

your

spiritual

or

reasonable

act

of

worship

in

response

to

God's

salvation

our

whole

life

is

now

to

serve

God

we

no

longer

serve

God

to

try

and

gain

favour

or

get

his

attention

so

that

he'll

bless

us

more

or

give

us

more

we

serve

God

because

he has

saved

us

and

given

to

us

everything

and

all

that

we

need

because

he

has

blessed

us

with

every

spiritual

blessing

in

Christ

here's

how

our

dead

friend

Martin

Luther

put

it

we

are

both

joyful

and

happy

because

of

Christ

in

whom

so

many

benefits

are

conferred

upon

us

therefore

it

is

our

only

one

occupation

to

serve

God

joyfully

without

thought

of

gain

you

see

we

declare

the

glory

of

God

as

we

serve

him

and

the

way

in

which

we

serve

God

is

not

by

wandering

off

into

some

private

little

excluded

commune

and

singing

hymns

to

God

all

on

our

own

although

you're

quite

welcome

to

do

that

and

it's

good

to

praise

the

Lord

it's

by

serving

one

another

in the

context

of

everyday

to

day

life

listen

again

to

Martin

Luther

here's

what

he said

although

the

Christian

is

free

from

all

works

that

is

free

from

trying

to

earn

salvation

God

he

he

ought

he

he

to

empty

himself

take

upon

himself

the

form

of

a

servant

and

serve

help

and in

every

way

deal

with

his

neighbor

as

he

sees

God

through

Christ

has

dealt

with

him

and

still

deals

with

him

we

want to

serve

God

well

just

think

in the

ways in

which God has served you and the way in which God deals with you, he does not treat us as our sins

deserve. So in the same way, deal with one another and serve each other. So no longer are we striving

to use our good works to make God love us, but now God has given us good works to serve others

for the good of others, for the glory of God. What will it look like? Well, continue on. Chapter 12, verse 9.

Here's what serving God or serving one another is going to look like in the context of every day-to-day

life. Let me just read a few examples. Chapter 12, verse 9. Love. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil.

Cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

This is how we bring glory to God. Verse 13. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice

hospitality. Invite people to your homes. Or invite them out. Spend time with them. That's how we bring

glory to God. Or verse 17. Do not repay evil with evil, but be careful to do what is right in the eyes of

everybody. Sorry, I should have read verse 14. Let's go back to verse 14 again. Bless those who persecute

you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who are mourning.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people

of low position. Do not be conceited. Verse 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil

with good. You see, living life to the glory of God is not confined to one hour on a Sunday morning.

It's not about separating ourselves from the world and surrounding yourselves by a nice group of

Christians and singing hymns and praying, although we should sing and we should pray. It is lived out in

the context of every day-to-day life, 24-7, in the nitty-gritty hardship of life, whether you're at home with

your kids and spending time with them, whether it's working alongside a grumpy colleague, whether it's

serving an annoying neighbour and being friendly to them, or giving hospitality to those who are

outsiders. In all of this, we are responding and we are serving God for his almighty salvation in our

lives and we are saying glory to him as we serve one another. All of life is lived for the glory of God.

Look at chapter 15, verse 7. In some ways, this brings it all to a conclusion. Chapter 15, verse 7.

1. Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you. Why? Why serve one another? Why love one another?

Why mourn with those who mourn? Why rejoice with those who rejoice? Why forgive each other?

Here's the reason. In order to bring praise to God. To bring him glory. So let me encourage us all

to walk regularly through the gallery of God's glory. Do not rush, but stop and gaze and wonder at the

pictures and the scenes on display. His riches, his plan. Everything worked out for our good. And in response,

serve one another in love. To God be the glory forever. Amen. Let's pray.

Our Father God, would you please help us to sit, to reflect, to think upon the beauty, the power

and the greatness of our almighty God. And may you work in us in such a way that we delight

in all that you have done and enjoy all that you have done and live our lives in service to you.

Father, may we bring glory to you. Father, may we bring glory to you. Father, may we bring glory to you.

May all the praise go to Jesus so that your name is exalted and you become known throughout the world.

Father, we pray for your help that we might do it well. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

We are going to sing together two songs, which I hope help us in some way to respond to what we have been thinking about this morning.

The first one, let your kingdom come, let your will be done, so that everyone might know you.