Audio Transcript
God instructions us to like him. He instructions us to thrill in him. He instructions our cheerfulness. We see this throughout our Bibles, in a cluster of texts we’ve talked about many instances over time: Deuteronomy 28:47; Psalm 32:11; 37:4; 100:2; Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Philippians 3:1; 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16, to call a number of. These 9 texts I simply talked about, in complete, have made near 90 appearances on this podcast now.
This casting of our cheerfulness and pleasure in God as a degree of obedience is one thing that causes a number of Christians to scratch their heads. Our happiness is an ethical situation to God. It’s about obedience. And on that time, we see disagreements (or misunderstandings) between Pastor John and different theologians, which we noticed in APJ 1584, simply as one instance.
On the core of Christian Hedonism is a bringing collectively of our obedience to God, our enjoyment of God, and our glorifying of him. Right here’s Pastor John, explaining the way it all connects in a 1989 sermon.
“Obligation” and “regulation” are phrases that sound adverse. They sound burdensome; they sound oppressive; they sound limiting and constricting. And so at this level, you’re up in opposition to it saying to anyone, “You should do one thing” or “You need to do one thing.” These phrases in our tradition are preventing phrases. We’re libertarians to the core relating to our personal private faith and morality. We don’t need anyone telling us we ought to or ought to do one thing. So now what do you do right here? As a result of in folks’s minds you bought this oppressive sense — responsibility, regulation, burden.
Is Obedience a Burden?
I need to present you that God’s demand for love from you, gratitude from you, belief from you, and obedience from you is a technique to glorify him that’s not burdensome. It’s not legalistic. It’s not proscribing and confining and a hardship.
“God’s demand for love from you is a technique to glorify him that’s not burdensome.”
Now right here’s the best way I’m going to indicate that to you. I stated final time that we’re alleged to be mirrors of God’s glory, like the sunshine coming by means of there this morning. You’re alleged to be a sophisticated mirror, in order that when your life is in the best angle, the best biblical angle, the glory of God shines out in a commendable and enticing technique to the world. “Let your mild shine earlier than others, in order that they might see your good works and provides glory to your Father” (Matthew 5:16).
The opposite analogy I used was the crystal or the prism. I stated, “Every one in all you is a uniquely formed human crystal or prism, in order that when it’s positioned within the mild of God’s glory, it refracts out many alternative colours and lights, and solely you’ll be able to show for this world a few of the issues that should be seen about God.” Now that’s an obligation to dwell that means and that’s not a burden to dwell that means, and I feel I can present you with a number of illustrations.
A Expert Painter
If it’s your responsibility to glorify God as a result of he’s lovely and wonderful, take into account this illustration. If there’s a lovely portray in your own home or in a museum someplace, and also you go to it and it’s lovely to you, how do you glorify that portray? Do you glorify that portray and say, “Ooh, I’ve acquired to go purchase some paint now and work on it somewhat bit, wants a border or wants somewhat extra orange.” And also you burden your self with the necessity to enhance it.
That will be burdensome, however that’s not the best way you glorify a portray. That’s an insult to a portray. The way in which you glorify a portray is by having fun with it, by delighting in it, and by talking excitedly of it to people who find themselves close to you, your mates, inviting them to go to the museum and see it. And that’s no burden and each one in all you is aware of that’s no burden. For those who love the portray, you’ll enjoyment of it, and that glorifies the portray.
An Distinctive Prepare dinner
Or let me use a extra homely illustration that’s extra related to most of us. Suppose anyone makes a superb meal for you and it isn’t solely tasty, it’s lovely on the desk and it’s nutritious. It’s the type of factor you should eat, in addition to wish to eat. How do you glorify the prepare dinner? Do you glorify the prepare dinner by placing on an apron and saying, “Oh my, we set to work on this.” So that you exit within the kitchen and also you add some extra spices otherwise you say, “Oh, we don’t have any chips.” I consider that as a result of Noel at all times used to right me. I’d say, “Aren’t there any chips?” And he or she’d say, “You’re not alleged to have chips with this meal. This isn’t a chips meal.” I didn’t glorify her culinary arts by asking for chips.
The way in which to glorify a prepare dinner is to eat a number of the meals. And if you’re executed to say issues like “Hmm” or “Ah.” That’s it. Now, is {that a} burden? For those who’ve acquired a superb meal in entrance of you, your responsibility, your regulation is to glorify this meal and this prepare dinner. Is {that a} burden to do when the best way to glorify the meal is to eat a number of it and to say, “Hmm” and “Ah.” We name that worship at Bethlehem.
A Effectively-Constructed Bridge
Right here’s one other illustration. Suppose it’s your responsibility to glorify the energy of a brand new alloy, a steel that has been created by anyone, and it’s in a bridge that holds up a highway throughout the chasm. Now, that is an old style illustration. How do you glorify the energy of that alloy? Do you glorify the energy of that alloy by saying, “Ooh, we acquired to purchase some two-by-fours and work up sweat, propping up the bridge earlier than we go over?” No, that’s a dishonor to the alloy. The way in which you glorify the alloy is by gathering all your loved ones, all of the little ones and all of the previous ones, in your automotive and, with not one whiff of hysteria, drive proper throughout the bridge singing as you go.
Is {that a} burden? It’s not a burden to belief energy whether it is energy. And if you’re known as upon to glorify the energy of almighty God, no person ought to have the ability to persuade you that’s a burden. It isn’t a burden. It’s freedom to belief energy.
A Beneficiant Good friend
Right here’s one other illustration. Suppose you’re required by regulation — divine authority — to glorify generosity or to glorify grace or kindness within the coronary heart of God or a pal. Let’s simply say you might have wealthy pal, who simply occurs to be so lavish in his generosity that he provides you issues freely. Now, how do you glorify that particular person and his generosity? Not by making an attempt to pay him again. It is a mistake we make with God. We are saying, “God has been so good to me, now what can I give him to pay him again?” Are you aware what that does to grace? It turns it right into a enterprise transaction. It rips the guts out of grace.
“It’s no burden to glorify God’s grace.”
How do you glorify grace? Primarily by permitting spontaneously lavish gratitude properly up in your coronary heart. Which of you, if a billionaire got here up and handed you a examine for one million {dollars}, would say, “Oh no. I’m going to should be grateful. Burden. Heavy load. Regulation. Obligation”? No one! You see what folks have executed with Christianity? It’s no burden to glorify God’s grace. Don’t let anyone let you know that Christianity is a summons to loss.
Will You Actually Lose?
And so I need to shut with this query. Have you ever come this morning on the run from God, pondering, “I’m not going to show to the Christian God. I’m not going to bow earlier than God as a result of it means loss, loss, loss. I lose this, this, this, this, this.” Is there anyone right here like that? If there may be, I simply pray and I hope that I’ve proven you simply sufficient, somewhat tip of the iceberg of God’s glory, that you’ll say it isn’t loss.
No matter you give as much as grow to be a Christian, as a result of it occurs to be sin, will probably be repaid a hundredfold, the Bible says, each on this life and within the life to return (Mark 10:29–30). And I simply beg of you, wherever you’re in your flight from God or your quest for God, that you’ll flip to him, acknowledge him as a fountain of grace and glory and wonder and energy, and yield to him.
