This morning we finished up our five-week detour from Root 66 by looking at the last of the Reformation Solas: Soli Deo Gloria. This phrase means Glory to God Alone, and it is the result of a salvation that is by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone. You can see this in Ephesians 2:8-9, where Paul writes about our salvation and then says, “So that no one may boast.” This is a key phrase that indicates that the purpose of the gospel is to ensure that we glorify God alone.
Glory (noun) – Greatness, Beauty, Majesty, Splendor
Glorify (verb) – To point out greatness, to make much of, to boast in, to honor
We were designed to be like compasses that point to the glory God. Sin, at its core, is pointing away from God’s glory and towards ourselves or others.
Our salvation is designed to remove any reasons we have for boasting in ourselves. From 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 we saw three kinds of boasting that the gospel prevents, and one kind of boasting that it produces.
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The gospel prevents boasting in our wisdom. (v 26 & 28) We aren’t Christians because we’re smarter than anyone else. We are Christians because Jesus rescued us. Paul says that the gospel is foolish in the eyes of the world and those who embrace it are not usually seen as wise in the eyes of the world.
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The gospel prevents boasting in our strength. (v. 26 & 28) Jesus tells us that it is the sick who need a doctor. We must admit our weakness before we can embrace the gospel. The story of Gideon in Judges 6-7 is a good example of how God saves through weakness.
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The gospel prevents boasting in our status or wealth. (v 26 & 28) Jesus tell us that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, because riches often deter us us from boasting in God alone. We must admit that we bring nothing to the table in order to be saved by the gospel of Christ.
The gospel produces boasting in God. (v. 30-31)
Jonathan Edwards says: There is an absolute and universal dependence of the redeemed on God. The nature of our redemption is such that the redeemed are in everything directly and indirectly, immediately and entirely dependent on God: they are dependent upon him for all, and are depend on him in every way.
All that we have is from God, through God, and for God. When we embrace the gospel it should produce boasting in God.
Here are three ways to put this into practice:
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Admit your weakness daily.
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Acknowledge God’s active role in your story.
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Attribute all your successes to God.
Jeremiah 9:24 says that “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
