Author	Thread: What is the chief end of man?
dljrn04 View Profile History	What is the chief end of man? Posted : 20 Aug, 2011 02:03 PM Man's chief end is to glorify God I Cor 10:13; Rom 11:36 To enjoy him for ever. Ps. 73:25-28. Post Reply
View Profile History	What is the chief end of man? Posted : 20 Aug, 2011 02:58 PM The way that we glorify God if we love Him is to obey all the commands of Jesus and the NT with love; just as Jesus loved us with the Hope of countless eternal rewards for faithful and loving service. John 14:23: Jesus says, "If anyone loves Me, he:rolleyes: will *OBEY MY TEACHING*. My Father will love him, and We will make our home with him!" I Peter 1:22-25: " Now that you:rolleyes: have purified yourselves by obeying the Truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again...through the living and during Word of God and the Word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the Word that was preached to you." Ephesians 3:16-19: "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you:rolleyes: with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in **LOVE**, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the LOVE OF CHRIST**, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!" I John 2:3-5: "We know that we have come to know Him {Jesus} **IF** we obey His commands. The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone **OBEYS HIS WORD**, God's **LOVE** is truly made complete in him!" And then we may "Grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the **LOVE OF CHRIST**!!":angel: 2 Peter 1:10: "Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a **RICH WELCOME** into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!" Matthew 16:27; Jesus says, �The Son of Man is going to come in **HIS FATHER'S GLORY WITH HIS ANGELS**:angel::angel: {See Matt 24:30,31 & 2 Thess 1:6-10}, and *THEN* He will reward each person:rolleyes: according to what he has done.� I Peter 1:13: "Therefore, prepare your minds for **ACTION** and set your hope **FULLY** on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is **REVEALED**!!":applause::angel::peace: Post Reply
dljrn04 View Profile History	What is the chief end of man? Posted : 21 Aug, 2011 02:45 PM Biblical Texts to Show God�s Zeal for His Own Glory November 24, 2007 | by John Piper | Topic: The Glory of God Probably no text in the Bible reveals the passion of God for his own glory more clearly and bluntly as Isaiah 48:9-11 where God says, For my name�s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. I have found that for many people these words come like six hammer blows to a man-centered way of looking at the world: For my name�s sake! For the sake of my praise! For my own sake! For my own sake! How should my name be profaned! My glory I will not give to another! What this text hammers home to us is the centrality of God in his own affections. The most passionate heart for the glorification of God is God�s heart. God�s ultimate goal is to uphold and display the glory of his name. God chose his people for his glory: He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace. (Ephesians 1:4-6, cf. vv. 12, 14, NASB) God created us for his glory: Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory. (Isaiah 43:6-7) God called Israel for his glory: You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified (Isaiah 49:3). I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. (Jeremiah 13:11) God rescued Israel from Egypt for his glory: Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works . . . but rebelled by the Sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name�s sake, that he might make known his mighty power. (Psalm 106:7-8) God raised Pharaoh up to show his power and glorify his name: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, �For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.� (Romans 9:17) God defeated Pharaoh at the Red Sea to show his glory: And I will harden Pharaoh�s heart, and he will pursue them and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord . . . And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. (Exodus 14:4, 18; cf. v. 17) God spared Israel in the wilderness for the glory of his name: I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. (Ezekiel 20:l4) God gave Israel victory in Canaan for the glory of his name: Who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? (2 Samuel 7:23) God did not cast away his people for the glory of his name: Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord . . . For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name�s sake. (l Samuel 12:20, 22) God saved Jerusalem from attack for the glory of his name: For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. (2 Kings 19:34; cf. 20:6) God restored Israel from exile for the glory of his name: Thus says the Lord God, It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name.. . . And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name. . . . And the nations will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 36:22-23; cf. v. 32) Jesus sought the glory of his Father in all he did: The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. (John 7:l8) Jesus told us to do good works so that God gets glory: In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16; cf. 1 Peter 2:12) Jesus warned that not seeking God�s glory makes faith impossible: How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:44) Jesus said that he answers prayer that God would be glorified: Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13) Jesus endured his final hours of suffering for God�s glory: �Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? �Father, save me from this hour?� But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.� Then a voice came from heaven, �I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again� (John 12:27-28). Father, the hour has come; glorify your son that the Son may glorify you. (John 17:1; cf. 13:31-32) God gave his Son to vindicate the glory of his righteousness: God put [Christ] forward as a propitiation by his blood . . . to show God�s righteousness . . . It was to show his righteousness at the present time. (Romans 3:25-26) God forgives our sins for his own sake: I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25) For your own name�s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. (Psalm 25:11) Jesus receives us into his fellowship for the glory of God: Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7) The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Son of God: He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:14) God instructs us to do everything for his glory: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (l Corinthians 10:31; cf. 6:20). God tells us to serve in a way that will glorify him: Whoever serves, [let him do it] as one who serves by the strength which God supplies � in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (l Peter 4:11) Jesus will fill us with fruits of righteousness for God�s glory: It is my prayer that . . . [you be] filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9, 11) All are under judgment for dishonoring God�s glory: They became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images. (Romans 1:22, 23) For all havesinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Herod is struck dead because he did not give glory to God: Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory. (Acts 12:23) Jesus is coming again for the glory of God: They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:9-10) Jesus� ultimate aim for us is that we see and enjoy his glory: Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24) Even in wrath God�s aim is to make known the wealth of his glory: Desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, [God] has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory. (Romans 9:22-23) God�s plan is to fill the earth with the knowledge of his glory: For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14) Everything that happens will redound to God�s glory: From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36) In the New Jerusalem the glory of God replaces the sun: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Revelation 21:23). Post Reply
dljrn04 View Profile History	What is the chief end of man? Posted : 24 Aug, 2011 05:33 PM Does salvation depend upon man�s willingness to be saved apart from a prior work of the Holy Spirit? We will see that no one is saved against his will; however, God changes the �willer� so as to make the sinner willing. We will see that the subject of free will is at the very heart of Christianity and has a profound effect on our message and method of evangelism. We will see that �whosoever will may come.� We will see that the Bible teaches that salvation depends not on man�s willingness but on God�s willingness, God�s grace, and God�s power�and if God did not have power over man�s will the whole world would go to hell. We will see that God does not exclude anyone in His invitations; however, sinners do exclude themselves. Listen to these lines from Philip Bliss�s hymn �Whosoever Will�: �Whosoever heareth,� shout, shout the sound! Spread the blessed tidings all the world around; Tell the joyful news wherever man is found, �Whosoever will may come.� Whosoever cometh need not delay, Now the door is open, enter while you may; Jesus is the true, the only Living Way: �Whosoever will may come.� �Whosoever will,� the promise is secure; �Whosoever will,� forever must endure; �Whosoever will!� �tis life forever more; �Whosoever will may come.� �Whosoever will, whosoever will!� Send the proclamation over vale and hill �Tis a loving Father calls the wanderer home: �Whosoever will may come.� 1 If you cannot sing this hymn from the heart, then you do not understand the Biblical teaching on free will and this book should help you. You will note that the songwriter was very prudent when he wrote �whosoever will� may come. He did not say whosoever will can come. One of the first questions that faces us in any serious study of the freedom of the will is whether there is power of the will to obey God and to do that which is spiritually good. This question is intimately connected with the subject of man�s spiritual condition before God. We must begin with how man was created and his state as an unregenerated being. It is also necessary to know what ability man possessed before the Fall and what ability man lost because of the Fall. The doctrine of free will brings us to a consideration, not of the ability and excellency of man, but to his weakness, misery, and inability, to do spiritual good. No man is saved against his will. No man is pardoned while he hates the thought of forgiveness. No man will have joy in the Lord if he says, �I do not wish to rejoice in the Lord.� Do not think for a moment that the angels will push anyone into the gates of heaven. We are not saved against our will, nor is the will taken away; but the work of the Spirit of God is to change the human will and so make men willing in the day of God�s power (Psa 110:3), working in them to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phi 2:13). �The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit� (Joh 3:8). The Spirit gives life to the soul and reveals God�s truth to it, enabling the soul to see things in a different light from what it ever did before. Then the will cheerfully bows the neck that once was stiff as iron, accepting the yoke it once despised and wearing it gladly. Man is not acted upon as a machine, he is not polished as a piece of marble, he is not planed as a piece of wood, but his mind is acted upon by the Spirit of Life. Man is made a new creature in Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and his own will is blessedly and sweetly made to yield. If you are willing, depend upon it that God made you willing. If you have one spark of love for Him, it is a spark from the fire of His love for you �We love him because he first loved us� (1Jo 4:19). When the crown is brought out and we are asked, �On whose head shall we put it?� every child of God will say, �Crown Him; He is worthy; He has made us to differ.� �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?� (1Co 4:7). The subject of man�s will is not a new topic of debate in the Christian church nor among theologians and philosophers. For hundreds of years there have been serious and ardent debates and discussions on the subject of the freedom of man�s will. As far back as the fifth century, one of our heroes, Augustine, debated Pelagius on this subject. It was also one of the key issues of the Reformation. Martin Luther began the Reformation with a denial of free will. This was, and is, fundamental to the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. At the outset of the Reformation, Erasmus, a brilliant scholar, wrote a Diatribe titled Discussion on the Freedom of the Will, defending the Roman Catholic doctrine. In response to Erasmus� Diatribe, Luther wrote The Bondage of the Will. (Every minister should study this classic.) 3 When most Christians think of the Reformation, the first thing that comes to their minds is justification by faith alone� and for good reason: Justification by faith alone was the key doctrine that came out of the Reformation. However, it was not the key issue at the foundation of the Reformation. A careful study of the historical facts will clearly show that the issue of man�s will was at the heart of the theological difference between Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church. To emphasize the importance of this subject, it may be profitable to quote J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston from their �Historical and Theological Introduction� to Luther�s masterpiece. Packer and Johnston translated The Bondage of the Will from German and Latin to English. The Bondage of the Will is the greatest piece of theological writing that ever came from Luther�s pen. This was his own opinion. Writing to Capito on July 9th, 1537, with reference to a suggested complete edition of his works, he roundly affirmed that none of them deserved preservation save the little children�s Catechism and The Bondage of the Will; for only they, in their different departments, were �right� (justum). Others have agreed with Luther in giving this treatise pride of place among his theological productions. B. B. Warfield, for instance, endorsing the description of it as �a dialectic and polemic masterpiece,� styles it �the embodiment of Luther�s reformation conceptions, the nearest thing to a systematic statement of them that he ever made�it is�in a true sense the manifesto of the Reformation.� And Professor Rupp quotes with approval the description of the book as �the finest and most powerful Soli Deo Gloria to be sung in the whole period of the Reformation.� In its fertility of thought, its vigor of language, its profound theological grasp, its sustained strength of argument and the grand sweep of its exposition, it stands unsurpassed among Luther�s writings. It is the worthiest representative of his mature thought that he has left us, and is a far finer memorial of his theological prowess than are the smaller tracts of the preceding years, which are so much better known. Its character stands out in relief when we compare it with the booklet to which it is a reply. Erasmus� Diatribe is elegant and gracefully written, but for all that it is by no means a significant production. There is ample evidence, as we have seen, that Erasmus had no desire to write it and no particular interest in its subject. His book suggests as much. It exhibits much learning but little insight. It makes plain what its author would not have been concerned to deny�that Erasmus of Rotterdam, the learned Biblical scholar, was no theologian. It is brief and superficial. Erasmus is deliberately noncommittal on the question which he discusses. He writes on the �free-will� debate, so he tells us, as a commentator and critic rather than as a contributor to it. His chief point is that it is not a very significant issue, one way or the other; and his main complaint against Luther is simply that the latter shows a defective sense of proportion in laying so much stress on an opinion which is extreme and improbable in itself and relates to a subject which is both obscure and unimportant. The Bondage of the Will, on the other hand, is a major treatment of what Luther saw as the very heart of the Gospel. It was no mere pot-boiler, written to order; Luther welcomed the opportunity which the appearance of the Diatribe afforded for a full written discussion of those parts of his teaching which to his mind really mattered, and plunged into his subject with zest. �You alone,� he tells Erasmus, �have attacked the real thing, that is, the essential issue. You have not worried me with those extraneous issues about the Papacy, purgatory, indulgences and such like�trifles, rather than issues�in respect of which almost all to date have sought my blood�you, and you alone, have seen the hinge on which all turns, and aimed for the vital spot. For that I heartily thank you; for it is more gratifying to me to deal with this issue.� �Free-will� was no academic question to Luther; the whole Gospel of the grace of God, he held, was bound up with it, and stood or fell according to the way one decided it. In The Bondage of the Will, therefore, Luther believes himself to be fighting for the truth of God, the only hope of man; and his earnestness and energy in prosecuting the argument bear witness to the strength of his conviction that the faith once delivered to the saints, and in consequence the salvation of precious souls, is here at stake. �As to my having argued somewhat vigorously,� he writes, �I acknowledge my fault, if it is a fault�but no; I have wondrous joy that this witness is borne in the world of my conduct in the cause of God. May God Himself confirm this witness in the last day!� It is not a part of a true theologian, Luther holds, to be unconcerned, or to pretend to be unconcerned, when the Gospel is in danger. This is the explanation of what Warfield calls �the amazing vigor� of Luther�s language. The Gospel of God is in jeopardy; the springs of Luther�s religion are touched; the man is moved; the volcano erupts; argument pours out of him white-hot. Nowhere does Luther come closer, either in spirit or in substance, to the Paul of Romans and Galatians than in The Bondage of the Will. Why did Erasmus and Luther approach the discussion of �free-will� in such contrasting attitudes of mind? The answer is not far to seek. Their divergent attitudes sprang from two divergent conceptions of Christianity. Erasmus held that matters of doctrine were all comparatively unimportant, and that the issue as to whether a man�s will was or was not free was more unimportant than most. Luther, on the other hand, held that doctrines were essential to, and constitutive of, the Christian religion, and that the doctrine of the bondage of the will in particular was the cornerstone of the Gospel and the very foundation of faith.2 This issue came alive in the eighteenth century during the Great Awakening. The subject of free will was also at the bottom of Charles Finney�s theological error and unbiblical evangelistic methods. The battle still exists between Reformed and Fundamentalist believers and their respective methods and message of evangelism. I hope in the following pages to whet your appetite to read and study Luther�s masterpiece, The Bondage of the Will. Most importantly, though, my goal is to set forth clearly the vital importance of our subject as it relates to the Christian faith and other important doctrines, such as total depravity, election, and effectual calling. It is my hope these discussions will have a profound effect on your methods of evangelism. BY ERNEST REISINGER (1919-2004) Post Reply