Coffee House Chapel #5

Charles - I couldn't have said it better myself! All cultures try to make gods in their own image - because a god like us does not intimidate us!

 

January 12

Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

The Christian World-view:

1. God and creation. Our text says “all things!” That means the entire universe - our text teaches that everything in the universe is from God. John Murray writes that God “is the source of all things in that they have proceeded from Him; He is the Creator. He is the agent through whom all things subsist and are directed to their proper end. And He is the last end to whose glory all things will redound.”

There was a time (actually before time) when God was alone - before even space existed. “God, the great ‘I AM,’ existed and was as perfect, glorious, and blessed in His eternal existence as He is now. Before there was a sun, the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwelt in light ineffable. Before there was an earth on which to rest it, the throne of God stood firm. If that great God, dwelling in perfect solitude, chose to create anything at all, whether the universe of which we are a part or any other possible universe, it is clear that the conception of it and plans for it must have come from Him, since there was no other from whom they could have come.” (Boice)

The plan was not the only thing that came from God, the realization of that plan also came from God. God is the Creator – and He is also the Sustainer of all that is. “When God set out to create the heavens and earth, He did not call for help, since there were none to help Him.” (Boice) God created everything out of nothing – He spoke all that is into existence. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” - Genesis 1:1. “That means creation ex nihilo (out of nothing). It is one of the most profound statements ever written, for it is based on the inescapable assumption that if anything exists, then God, the uncaused First Cause, must exist and be the Creator of it all.” (Boice)

It is time that Bible believing Christians realized that there was someone there when the foundations of the earth were laid down – and that Someone (God) gave us an eye witness account of how everything that is got here – He made it. We need to teach our children that the “Goo to you” philosophy, whether in the form of atheistic evolution or the so-called theistic evolution - is espoused by people who were not there on day one - and thus have no idea of what they are talking about. God was there - He created all that is - and He gave of a written account of it in Genesis!

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

January 14

Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

The Christian World-view:

1. God and creation. What is the purpose of creation? The ultimate purpose is certainly not us! God purposed to create all that is before we were ever here. It seems clear to me, that God created all that is for His glory - and His glory alone.

Our text says in part, “to him are all things.” Albert Barnes writes in his “Notes on the New Testament,” “The reason or end for which all things were formed ... is to promote His honor and glory ... It is not to promote His happiness, for He was eternally happy; not to add anything to Him, for He is infinite; but that He might act as God, and have the honor and praise that is due to God.”

Of course - this should humble us. Here in America, we have the right to protest and vote against the very government that gives us that freedom. In our relationship with/to God - we have the ability to dispute with Him, or to even deny His very existence. C. S. Lewis writes in “Mere Christianity,” “In the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist – in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless – I found that I was forced to assume that one part of reality – namely my idea of justice – was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark.”

It is clear that it is important when our text says that the entire universe is from God, through God, and to God. It really is the concise statement of “Christian World-view!”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

January 16

Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

The Christian World-view:

1. God and creation.

2. God and the gospel. Paul has been writing about the gospel of salvation by grace. Salvation is from God, through God, and it is for His glory. God planned it all. We see religions all about us that man has devised. Each and every one of those religions has man somehow working for his own salvation - because man made religions make god in man’s image - which is completely backwards. “Only God could have planned a way of salvation that meets the austere requirements of His unyielding justice and yet also justifies sinners. Only God could have planned a salvation that is apart from human merit or good works – it is all of grace – and yet be able to transform those who are saved so they achieve a level of righteousness and produce good works that surpass the righteousness and good works of those who are trying to be saved by them.” (Boice)

Consider the timing of God’s salvation. He chose the precise time when the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Gal 4:4-5) All the circumstances surrounding His arrival - His identification by John the Baptist, His teaching and His miracles, His betrayal, trial, and crucifixion, were planned by God.


Salvation is through God - that is - through what Jesus Christ did for us. Nothing that we have done or could do – obtained our salvation. Only what Christ did in our place could provide for our salvation. As the song writer penned:

“There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven and let us in.”

Finally – salvation is to His glory. The redeemed receive an eternal blessing. “We benefit greatly and will praise God forever, thanking Him for what He has done for us.” (Boice) But as we’ve looked at in Romans 9-11, our happiness is not the chief purpose in our salvation. The question has been asked many times regarding why some are chosen to salvation – and why some are passed over! “The answer is that salvation is for God’s glory and that God is glorified in each case. In the case of the elect, the love, mercy, and grace of God are abundantly displayed. In the case of the lost, the patience, power, and wrath of God are equally lifted up.” (Boice)

Why has God planned it thus? I do not have the answer – other than to say – it is for His glory!

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

January 18

Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from our text – it is to give God the glory! The entire creation is “of him, and through him, and to him.” The way of salvation is “of him, and through him, and to him.” Each of us - as a part of creation - and most especially if we’re born again, are “of him, and through him, and to him.” That means that we exist for the sole purpose of giving God the glory.

Whatever talents or natural endowments we possess, we must remember that they come from God, and we are to give Him the glory. The Corinthians were a vain people who boasted of their individual superiorities. Paul asked them, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor 4:7)

Salvation was conceived by God and accomplished by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ultimate goal of each individual’s salvation is to bring glory to God. We need to “abandon the arrogant assumption that getting saved was [our] idea or that it was accomplished by [us], even in part, or that it is meant to honor [us]. It is not for [our] honor, but for God’s glory.” (Boice)

Our salvation was not because God found any righteousness in us - whether past, present, or future. We are not and cannot ever be saved by our own efforts. Our salvation was “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” - Titus 3:5.

We are saved by grace through faith! But do not delude yourself into thinking that God found some little germ of faith in you - that He could not find in others - that made you more deserving. Faith - yes saving faith - is a gift from God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)

“Have you had any longings after God? Do you want to pray? Do you find that you want to read God’s Word and come to understand it better? Do you seek to worship God? Are you attracted to the company of other Christian people? If those things are true of you, let me ask: Where do you think those desires came from if not from God? They are not from you. You are sinful. In yourself you have no aspirations after God. Holy desires come from a holy God and are present in you through the working of His divine Spirit. They are for His glory. Therefore, glorify God. Praise Him for them.” (Boice)

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

January 20

Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

Is there reason to give God glory when we are tempted? There is sin all around us! Evil bombards us - often we are attacked by the powers of evil! What keeps us from falling? Who enables us to stand when Satan attacks? The One to whom we should give glory - God Himself. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it - 1 Cor 10:13. (The sobering aspect of that verse is - when I sin - it is because I choose to sin - for Paul assures us that if we cannot resist the temptation - we are rescued from the temptation.)

What about our work for the Lord. Perhaps we feel that we should receive at least the recognition for our service! Dr. Boice writes, “If in your unsaved state you had no righteousness of your own, understood nothing of spiritual things, and did not seek God (as Romans 3:10-11 tells us), how could you even have had a desire to work for God unless God Himself put it there? Our work for God flows from our love of God. But ‘we love because he first loves us’ (1 John 4:19).” We achieve nothing apart from God. Every ability we possess - spiritual or secular - preaching or ditch digging - or anything in between - comes from God. So you see - it is God who must receive the glory - all the glory!

Charles Spurgeon writes: “‘To whom be glory forever.’ This should be the single desire of the Christian. ...He may desire to see his family well brought up, but only that ‘To God may be glory forever.’ He may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this – ‘To whom be glory forever.’ He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that ‘To Him may be glory forever.’

“At my work behind the counter, or in the exchange, let me be looking out to see how I may glorify Him. If I be walking in the fields, let my desire be that the trees may clap their hands in His praise....Never be silent when there are opportunities, and you shall never be silent for want of opportunities. At night fall asleep still praising your God; as you close your eyes let your last thought be, ‘How sweet to rest upon the Savior’s bosom!’ In afflictions praise Him; out of the fires let your song go up; on the sick-bed extol Him; dying, let Him have your sweetest notes. Let your shouts of victory in the combat with the last great enemy be all for Him; and then when you have burst the bondage of mortality, and come into the freedom of immortal spirits, then, in a nobler, sweeter song, you shall sing unto His praise. Be this, then, your constant thought – ‘To Him be glory forever.’”

The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us the chief end of man – “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

January 22

Romans 11:36, “To whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

The Protestant Reformers loved the Latin word “solus” – which means alone. They wrote about “sola Scriptura” which means Scripture alone. “Sola Scriptura” has to do with authority. The reformers believed that the Bible is our ultimate authority. Not all religious groups use the Bible as their final authority. There are a variety of (what the reformers considered secondary) authorities, such as the pope, the church, traditions of the church, church councils, personal intimations, and subjective feelings. There is one thing in common with that list – the authority is subject to change at any time. Popes die or deliver new edicts. Churches change all the time. Think about traditions - and how they come under attack or are added to. Church councils usually come up with some new nuance, perhaps to justify their existence. Certainly we can agree that our personal intimations and subjective feelings are highly likely to change - almost as much as the weather. Whenever these secondary authorities differ from Scripture – they must be judged by Scripture – and rejected is they differ with Scripture.

“Solus” is also used in other phrases:

“Sola fide” – which means “faith alone.” This deals with the purity of the Gospel - that justification is by faith alone - apart from any work of man.

“Sola gratis” – which means “grace alone.” Sinners have no claim upon God. God does not owe us anything good. In fact - the only thing God owes us is eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire – because of our sin. Salvation is by grace alone.

The reformers favorite word - “Solus” - is also used in reference to God and His glory - or the glory that is due Him. “Soli Deo Gloria” means - to God alone be the glory. “Do we think about the Scripture? If it is from God, it has come to us through God’s agency and it will endure forever to God’s glory. Justification by faith? It is from God, through God, and to God’s glory. Grace? Grace, too, has its source in God, comes to us through the work of the Son of God, and is to God’s glory.” (Boice)

“Soli Deo Gloria” is the theme Paul uses to end this third section of Romans. Everything we have is from God - and it is for His glory. Believers should and must give all the glory to Him. For the next few devotionals, we shall explore this subject.

“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be:
World without end. Amen.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

January 24

Romans 11:36, “To whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

Today I give you an account that is best quoted word for word from Dr. Boice!

There was “a revival that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, under the leadership of a remarkable Scotsman named Robert Haldane (1764-1842). He was one of two brothers who were members of the Scottish aristocracy in the late eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. His brother, James Haldane (1768-1851), was a captain with the British East India Company. Robert was the owner of Gleneerie and other estates in Perthshire. When he was converted in the decade before 1800, Robert sold a major part of his lands and applied the proceeds to advancing the cause of Jesus Christ in Europe. James became an evangelist and later an influential pastor in Edinburgh, where he served for fifty-two years.

“In the year 1815, Robert Haldane visited Geneva. One day when he was in a park reading his Bible, he got into a discussion with some young men who turned out to be theology students. They had not the faintest understanding of the gospel, so Haldane invited them to come to his rooms twice a week for Bible study. They studied Romans, and the result of those studies was the great ‘Exposition of Romans’ by Haldane....

“All those students were converted and in time became leaders in church circles throughout Europe. One was Merle d’Aubigne, who became famous for his classic ‘History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century.’ We know the first part of it as ‘The Life and Times of Martin Luther.’ Another of these men was Louis Gaussen, author of ‘Theopneustia,’ a book on the inspiration of the Scriptures. Others were Frederic Monod, the chief architect and founder of the Free Churches in France; Bonifas, who became an important theologian; and Cesar Malan, another distinguished leader. These men were so influential that the work of which they became a part was known as Haldane’s Revival.

“What was it that got through to these young men, lifting them out of the deadly liberalism of their day and transforming them into the powerful force they became? The answer is: the theme and wording of the very verses we have been studying, Romans 11:33-36. In other words, a proper understanding of God’s sovereignty.

“We know this because of a letter from Haldane to Monsieur Cheneviere, a pastor of the Swiss Reformed Church and Professor of Divinity at the University of Geneva. Cheneviere was an Arminian, as were all the Geneva faculty, but Haldane wrote to him to explain how appreciation of the greatness of God alone produced the changes in these men. Here is his explanation:

‘There was nothing brought under the consideration of the students of divinity who attended me at Geneva which appeared to contribute so effectually to overthrow their false system of religion, founded on philosophy and vain deceit, as the sublime view of the majesty of God presented in the four concluding verses of this part of the epistle: “Of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.” Here God is described as His own last end in everything that He does.

‘Judging of God as such an one as themselves, they were at first startled at the idea that He must love Himself supremely, infinitely more than the whole universe, and consequently must prefer His own glory to everything besides. But when they were reminded that God in reality is infinitely more amiable and more valuable than the whole creation and that consequently, if He views things as they really are, He must regard Him as infinitely worthy of being more valued and loved, they saw that this truth was incontrovertible.

‘Their attention was at the same time directed to numerous passages of Scripture, which assert that the manifestation of the glory of God is the great end of creation, that He has Himself chiefly in view in all His works and dispensations, and that it is a purpose in which He requires that all His intelligent creatures should acquiesce, and seek and promote it as their first and paramount duty.’

“A testimony like that leads me to suggest that the reason we do not see great periods of revival today is that the glory of God in all things has been largely forgotten by the contemporary church. It follows that we are not likely to see revival again until the truths that exalt and glorify God in salvation are recovered. Surely we cannot expect God to move among us greatly again until we can again truthfully say, ‘To him [alone] be the glory forever! Amen.’”

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

January 26

Romans 11:36, “To whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

There are two doxologies in Romans, our text and Romans 16:27, “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” Both of these doxologies speak of the glory of God - forever. Today we’ll consider two questions regarding this glory!

1. Who is to be glorified. The sovereign God! We humans are egocentric! We start with ourselves - and our needs. This is not where the apostle starts. Paul always starts with God and ends with Him. Paul clearly focuses on the glory of God in Romans. Donald Grey Barnhouse published ten volumes on Romans. The following are the titles: “Man’s Ruin,” “God’s Wrath,” “God’s Remedy,” “God’s River,” “God’s Grace,” “God’s Freedom,” “God’s Heirs,” “God’s Covenants,” “God’s Discipline,” and “God’s Glory.” Let us join the apostle and say - “To God be the glory forever! Amen.”

2. Why should God be glorified? Again, the apostle gives us the answer - “from him and through him to him are all things” – particularly the work of salvation!

Why is man saved? – Not through anything in us! It’s solely because of God’s grace. Because God elected us - predestined us to salvation - before the foundation of the world.

How is man saved? – Solely through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ - the very Son of God. We could never save ourselves - so God saves us through the vicarious - atoning death of Jesus Christ.

By what power are we brought to faith in Jesus? – Only through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit - we are made alive.

How can we become holy? Holiness does not originate in man. Left to his own devices - man evolves downward - into the dregs of sin. God joins us to His Son - and makes us a different person (new creation). We die to sin and are made alive to righteousness - all the work of the Sovereign God who created us.

Where are we headed? – To heaven - because Jesus is preparing a place for us.

How can we be sure of arriving there? – Because God - who began the work of salvation in us - assures us in His Word that He will continue to do that work - until we are at last in His presence for all eternity.

What should be our response? What must be our response? – “To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Charles Hodge writes of our text: “Such is the appropriate conclusion of the doctrinal portion of this wonderful epistle, in which more fully and clearly than in any other portion of the Word of God, the plan of salvation is presented and defended. Here are the doctrines of grace, doctrines on which the pious in all ages and nations have rested their hopes of heaven, though they may have had comparatively obscure intimations of their nature. The leading principle of all is that God is the source of all good, that in fallen man there is neither merit nor ability, that salvation, consequently, is all of grace, as well satisfaction as pardon, as well election as eternal glory. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

I leave you with two verses from Isaiah:

“I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (42:8)

“For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.” (48:11)

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd