Freed from Bringing Glory to Ourselves "Regarding Glory" 10-15-23
Overview
Freed from Bringing Glory to Ourselves
Why do some refuse to believe in Jesus? Scripture answers not with a debate to be won but with a diagnosis of the heart. By nature, we are born in rebellion, turned away from God. As Paul writes, "There is no one who is righteous, not even one… no one seeks God" Romans 3:10-11. And yet, faith itself is God's gift: "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8. Two truths run side by side in Scripture: if we believe, it is wholly God's work; if we do not believe, it is wholly our own fault.
In John 5, Jesus heals a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years, and the religious leaders persecute Him for working on the Sabbath and for calling God His own Father John 5:16-18. Jesus then performs a kind of CAT scan of their hearts, exposing the cause of their unbelief. They searched the Scriptures expecting to find eternal life there, yet refused to come to the very One those Scriptures testified about John 5:39-40. They wanted a political Messiah or a bread-king who would keep their bellies full—the kind of Messiah they could heap praise upon (compare John 6:15). But Jesus says, "I do not receive glory from people" John 5:41. Then comes the piercing question: "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.
A cause of unbelief, then, is the craving for glory from others—a craving that crowds out the glory of God. Jesus warns about this craving repeatedly: practicing righteousness, praying, and fasting "to be seen by others" (Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:16). Paul confronts the same temptation: "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" Galatians 1:10. And believers still struggle here. We can be so anxious for the approval of others that we stay silent when we should speak, sit on our hands when we should act, laugh when we should not, and only shake our heads when the door is shut—all to protect the applause we have learned to crave.
The good news is that the glory we need has already come to us. God "has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" 2 Corinthians 4:6. Jesus is the glory from the only God—crucified for the sin of the world, raised, and reconciling us to the Father. Each day, God leads us back to our baptism in repentance, where we hear His word of absolution and are raised anew. By Word and Sacrament, He is steadily transforming us, freeing us from using people as means to praise ourselves, and freeing us to live as Paul did: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God… not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved" 1 Corinthians 10:31-33. That is the joy of service—being released from bringing glory to ourselves, and turned outward to give glory to Jesus, who alone is worthy of it.
Transcript
Would you open your Bible's please for our time of study this morning to the fifth chapter 3s
of the Gospel of John, if you're using a few edition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find 9s
that on page 84 in the New Testament, the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John. 15s
Why is it that some people do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? 23s
Why do some people not believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord? 31s
Well, certainly it's not a matter of losing a debate with someone. 40s
Have you ever tried to argue someone into the kingdom? 44s
No, it's a matter of the heart, isn't it? 49s
Scripture reveals to us that the heart comprises the mind, it comprises the will, it comprises 53s
the emotions. 61s
And Scripture says that by nature our hearts want absolutely nothing to do with God. 63s
We are born in rebellion against God. 71s
And so we are by nature a people that have heart disease. 75s
From the moment of conception onward, we have heart disease. 79s
And that heart disease is the disease of a heart that has turned away by nature from God. 85s
Paul puts it this way in Romans 3 chapter. 97s
As it is written, there's no one who's righteous, not even one. 101s
There's no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God. 107s
No one. 115s
Well, let's reverse the question then. 118s
How is it that some people come to believe? 120s
Paul writes in Ephesians 2 chapter that we are saved by grace through faith, 125s
and this is not your own doing. 131s
It is the gift of God. 134s
And so when one believes it is a result of God's action upon their heart, 138s
God's action of transforming them into a believer. 147s
There's two truths then that we see in Scripture, right? 152s
That if we believe, it is totally the work of God. 157s
And if we don't believe, it is totally our own fault. 164s
One cannot reconcile those two truths. 171s
They run parallel with one another. 176s
Like a cat scan of the heart. 181s
The Bible reveals to us, causes of unbelief, born out of the sinful condition of our heart. 187s
And that's what Jesus does in our text for today. 202s
The cat scan of the heart revealing a cause of why there is unbelief and interestingly, 206s
the cause that is revealed, it is still a struggle for the believer. 220s
Still a struggle. 230s
What's the backdrop of us? 232s
The backdrop of this in the fifth chapter of the gospel here of St. John, 233s
the backdrop is a pool. The pool had five porticose. 240s
And when the water would begin to swirl, those that needed healing of various things would 245s
try and get into the water. Bible tells us there was a man who had been ill for 38 years. 251s
Jesus comes to him and says, do you want to be healed? And the man says, 258s
every time the water starts to swirl, I can't get into it because others step in before someone 265s
can get me into the water. Jesus then turns to him and says, stand up. 271s
Take your map. Go home. And Jesus heals the man who had been ill for 279s
38 years. That angered the Jews. Anger. Look when they please at chapter five, verse 16. 288s
Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus because he was doing such things on the Sabbath. 305s
But Jesus answered them, my father is still working and I also am working. 311s
For this reason, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he was not only 319s
breaking the Sabbath, but was also calling God his own father, thereby making himself equal to God. 326s
Jesus then addresses their unbelief and reveals a cause of their unbelief. 337s
Look when they please at verse 39 of chapter five. You search the scriptures because you 346s
think that in them you have eternal life. And it is thee that testify on my behalf yet, 355s
you refuse to come to me to have life. They were they were searching for the key to a 364s
eternal life. Remember the question of the man in Luke when he turns to Jesus and says, 372s
what must I do to inherit eternal life? But all of scripture it points to Jesus. In John the 376s
20th chapter it says, but these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. 386s
The Son of God and that through believing you may have life in his name. They were searching 393s
for the key to eternal life and the key to eternal life was standing right before them. 401s
And he'd recognize it. 411s
What is what Jesus says in verse 41? 415s
I do not accept glory from human beings. If Jesus was to be their hope for political Messiah, 418s
they would have eat glory and praise upon it. 438s
If Jesus simply would have satisfied whatever want they had, whatever need they had, 442s
if Jesus would simply keep their bellies full, they would have eaten glory upon him. 448s
My look, please, at verse 15 of chapter six here, right after the feeding of the five 458s
horse to make him king he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. He was popular and we'll receive 471s
all kinds of praise. If he kept their bellies full, Jesus says, I don't receive that kind of praise. 481s
Don't receive that kind of praise to be the political Messiah or one that simply keeps the bellies 492s
full. He then gets direct. Verse 42, but I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 498s
I've come in my father's name and you do not accept me. If another comes in his own name, 510s
you will accept him. The Jewish historian, Josephus recorded that in that time there were a string 515s
of people claiming that they were the Messiah and people were following these false Messiahs. 521s
Here the true Messiah is standing before them and they reject him and in the question. 528s
Question that functions scan of the heart revealing the sinful condition. 537s
Question verse 44. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek 551s
the glory that comes from the one who alone is God. 567s
The Jewish go by wife Denise and I we saw the production at Bass Hall of To Kill a Mockingbird 580s
when full readable production that was. 587s
And Burke John Boy from the Walton's. He played the belied Atticus Finch. Ben Tastic. 592s
Man Tastic. John Boy has added a few years since that show. 599s
It's such a powerful, powerful drama that lifts up the whole subject of an innocent man 607s
being tried and eventually convicted simply because of the color of his skin. 612s
And the closing argument as Atticus is defending this man. He's in the courtroom scene and 623s
he's turning to the jury and he is laying out this case that is simply just simple hijack here. 631s
Of the innocence of this man. But then the director, director to something so powerful in the 641s
staging of it as Atticus is going around and he's inside the courtroom and he's walking around 649s
and he's going to the jury that was in the back corner of the stage and addressing them. All 655s
the sudden he comes out to the apron of the stage to the front of the stage and he starts a 662s
mist his closing argument to address us. It was a powerful moment. There's all the sudden we were 667s
not detached spectators of this. All of a sudden we were part of the jury. And he was making 675s
the appeal to us. And he was in his closing argument asking us the question. And so now what is 684s
you or response? Well, there's only one possible response that you can give to the travesty 693s
and the racism that was put on display. There's only one response that you could give in that situation. 704s
When when Jesus asks the question, there's only one response that one can give. In fact, 714s
the answer is embedded in the question itself. Verse 44 again, how can you believe 725s
when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one 733s
who alone is God? They're seeking of praise to be heaped upon themselves 741s
was crowding out the glory of God. 757s
And Jesus points to a cause of unbelief crowding out the glory of God because one is seeking 764s
glory to be brought to themselves. It shows the sinfulness of the heart. 782s
Jesus says in Matthew the sixth chapter, he says this, beware of practicing your 798s
tea before others in order to be seen by them. In verse 5 of the same chapter, he says, 806s
whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues 814s
in the street corners. So that they may be seen by others. He goes on and verse 15 of the same chapter. 819s
He says, and whenever you fast do not look dismal like the hypocrites for they disfigure their 830s
faces. So it's to show others that they are fasting. Paul writes in Galatians the first chapter. 835s
He says, and I now seeking human approval or God's approval. Or I try to, he writes, 844s
please people, if I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of 855s
you see a cause of belief is crowding out the glory of God. 869s
As one seeks the glory for one's self. 878s
And beloved, believers, two struggle with this. 889s
We can be so concerned with getting the approval of others that will do anything for it. 906s
Anything. 918s
We'll be silent when we should speak. We'll sit on our hands when we should act 922s
because we're afraid that the applause of others will dim. 933s
We'll be so concerned with being on the inside with others. When an actuality, 942s
we should be concerned with standing on the outside. We laugh when we should never laugh. 951s
And we shake our heads about things. Only when the blinds are pulled and the door is shut. 964s
Because we don't want a risk, losing that glory from others. 977s
Jesus draws us into his courtroom and he forces us to answer the question, 992s
because we can't be a bison in audience and he draws us into the question. 1008s
A cause of unbelief is crowding out the glory of God and seeking the glory for ourselves. 1023s
And that can affect even us believers to. 1037s
We can struggle with struggle. 1045s
To the unbelieving Jews, Jesus says verse 44, 1054s
how can you believe? When you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes 1060s
from the one who alone is God. 1068s
Paul writes in second Corinthians the fourth chapter, he says, 1074s
for it is the God who said, let light shine out of darkness who has shown in our hearts 1078s
to give the light of the knowledge, the catch this, to give us the light of the knowledge of the 1085s
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now you see it then how to understand that verse. 1091s
When Jesus says to the unbelieving Jews, how can you believe when you accept glory from one another 1102s
and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God. Who is the glory of the one 1107s
who comes from God? It's who? It's Jesus, isn't it? It's Jesus. It's all such God. 1115s
The Lord Jesus Christ going to the cross and bearing the sin of the world, 1130s
the Lord Jesus Christ paying the sin that, the Lord Jesus Christ through His blood, 1135s
reconciling the world unto Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ bearing on Him all of our sin, all of our sin, 1140s
all of our sin. And pronouncing to us, forgive, 1153s
forgive. Each and every day by God's grace God leads us to return to our baptism, 1163s
how in repentance. As God shows us our sinfulness we return to our baptism and repentance 1178s
and we hear the glorious word of absolute, the glorious word of forgiveness and we are raised 1187s
a new. And God through word and sacrament is constantly at work in our lives. 1196s
Constantly at work, transforming us so that we seek not our own glory 1206s
not the praise of others but transforming our hearts to give glory to the one, the Lord Jesus Christ. 1217s
Listen to what Paul writes here. First Corinthians 10, he says this, 1236s
do everything for the glory of God. Now listen to this. Just as I try to please everyone in 1243s
everything I do, don't wait a minute. It seems to be totally opposite of what we just been studying, 1255s
right? I'll have a listen to what he says next. Right after he says, just as I try to please 1264s
everyone in everything I do, he says this, not seeking my own advantage. 1269s
But that of many so that they may be, say. See the apostle Paul, as he tried to please others, 1279s
it wasn't so that he could gain out of it. It wasn't to be to his own advantage. 1290s
It wasn't to bring glory unto himself. He tried to please people for what purpose 1299s
because he's being faithful to the one to whom he gives glory. 1308s
God Almighty, the joy of service. 1315s
God is grace, you see, freeens us, freees us from having to use people as our own means 1328s
to bring praise to ourselves. He frees us from it and he frees us to bring glory 1342s
to the one who is the glory 1359s
from God. 1365s
Jesus. 1370s