Well, brothers and sisters, the five solas beautifully presented on the five banners hanging behind me have come to represent five important summary statements of our Reformed theology. Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, God's glory alone. Those banners signify the fix or the correction or the reformation that the church was in desperate need of in the 16th century. And they were corrections, important corrections. I mean, if you could transport yourself back in history some 500 plus years, you would find a Roman Catholic church that had a high view of Scripture. You would find a medieval church that certainly acknowledged that salvation was by grace through faith in Christ. That was undisputed. What makes these slogans distinct from the Roman Catholic Church then and now, and what sets the Reformers apart, is the word alone. When we say five solas, we are saying essentially the five alones. The true Christian religion is grounded in Scripture alone. It's authoritative and sufficient on its own. You don't need the Pope, you don't need tradition, you don't need a teaching magisterium to augment the teaching of Scripture, sola scriptura, Scripture alone. Our salvation is by grace alone, without any consideration of human merit or contribution. It's grace alone. Our salvation is through faith alone. And no other human action or work. Faith is the sole instrument by which we lay hold of Christ and His finished work to freely give us a right standing with our Holy God. Our salvation is in Christ alone. We don't need any other mediator. Not Mary. Not a Pope. Not a priest. Just Christ and His all-sufficient saving work on the cross. And of course, there's the banner right there in the middle. Soli Deo Gloria. To God alone be the glory. And this is the center, and it's the center of Reformed theology, because it's the capstone of the other four, and really the glue that holds the other solas together. Again, if you could get in your time machine and go back to the 16th century, it wasn't as though our Roman Catholic friends would have been saying, God's glory isn't important. But when they said, you need the Bible and the church, you need grace and human merit, you need faith and good works, you need Christ and the priest's meditatorial work, they were robbing God of what? His glory. The glory and pleasure to save sinners all of Himself. The glory that belongs to Him alone. So Soli Deo Gloria is in many ways the apex or the pinnacle doctrine of Reformed theology. And as we're gonna see in a few moments, it's an apex or pinnacle doctrine to God. This morning we will be wrapping up the doctrinal section of Paul's epistle to the church or churches in Rome. And this doctrinal part of Paul's letter really concludes with soli deo gloria. And maybe of some interest to you, there's a fun and happy providence this morning. This is our hundredth sermon on the book of Romans, soli deo gloria. Well, let's see. No, it wasn't on purpose. It was a providence. Well, let's seek the Lord and then we'll get to work. Pray with me, please. Our great God in heaven, we thank you. Lord's Day upon Lord's Day that that we gather with ears wanting to hear a word from God, a word about God and a word from God to his people. And you've given us that. You've given us that word. So we pray for your spirit now to make us attentive to it, to make our hearts soft and pliable, that the truths that are communicated will enter in our mind and pass into our hearts and so enlarge our hearts that it fills us with a delight to praise and honor and glorify you. Grant us this, and we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let me ask you to open your Bibles to Romans 11. Romans 11. And this will be our last week here. We're looking at verses 33-36. Obviously, this morning it's going to be exclusively, really, verse 36. But we'll read verses 33-36. This is the infallible Word of our God. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to Him? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. There ends the reading of God's Holy Word. May it bless it too, our hearts, this morning. Dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as I mentioned in the introduction, we're wrapping up the doctrinal section of this epistle. When we come back next week, God willing, the Apostle Paul will begin to explain to us how all this doctrine works itself out in our day-to-day lives. But as I pointed out, it's noteworthy that Paul finishes this doctrinal treatise where he's unpacked the doctrines of revelation, total depravity, justification, faith alone, sanctification, union with Christ, assurance of salvation, election and reprobation, and he's wrapping up this whole big extensive theology class with praise, praise that's so exuberant it just bubbles out of him. And that's exactly where theology should lead us, dear ones, to doxology. Listen to how Dr. Steve Lawson makes his connection. The study of theology must never become an end in itself. The goal of sound doctrine is never to produce people who have full heads, but empty hearts and barren lives. Instead, the knowledge of God and His truth is intended to lead us to know and worship Him. The teaching of scripture is given to ignite our hearts with devotion for God and to propel us to live for Him. In short, robust theology must produce vibrant doxology. And theology is merely a means to the highest end. Theology renews our minds, it ignites our hearts, it elevates our worship, it directs our prayers, it humbles our souls, it enlightens our paths, it energizes our walk, it sanctifies our lives, it strengthens our faith, it deepens our passion, it sharpens our ministries, it fortifies our witness. Theology does all this and much more. Every aspect of this life pursuit brings glory to God. That's where theology ends, bringing glory to God. And Dr. Lawson is simply reflecting the heart of the Apostle Paul. Theology done right will inevitably bring us right here, solely, Deo. Now you'll recall that we've sort of paused at these last four verses of Romans 11 to be astonished at some of the things it teaches us about God and his character and his attributes. And as I said last week, we could honestly extrapolate all of God's attributes from these verses. We've only zeroed in on the ones that are really clearly presented. One of the things we've learned from these verses is a doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God. That is, God is infinite and we're not. And so we'll never be able to plumb the depths of God. We will never and can never know God exhaustively because God is inexhaustible. We consider God's omniscience that He knows all things perfectly and comprehensively. He knows everything that has happened, everything that will happen, and everything that could have happened. And we've learned that God is all wise. That is, He knows how to put that perfect knowledge to its perfect and best and highest use, which is ultimately for His glory. And last week we looked at the mind and heart expanding doctrine of God's aseity. And you'll recall that word aseity comes from the Latin phrase ase. And it means literally of himself. God is of himself. He's the uncreated creator, the unmade maker. He's self-sufficient, independent, fully content, fully satisfied, in need of nothing outside of himself, because He is all, He's made all, God is ase. And here's what that means, when God created the world and everything that you and I see in it, He didn't do this because there was some deficiency. in His divine being or because the world or the people in the world would somehow add a new dimension to the life of God that He was previously missing. No. To quote one author, creation didn't make God more God or improve upon His perfection. God's perfection is of Himself, I say. As I said last week, this keeps us humble. God didn't need us. Or anything for that matter. To be happier or more joyful or more complete, God enjoyed those perfections within himself. Now it could be that you went home last week and you began to contemplate this mind-blowing truth and a question began to emerge in your gray matter. If God is fully sufficient in and of himself, and He enjoyed perfect, eternal, joyful communion in the persons of the Godhead as we learned last week, then why did God create the world and all the people? Now to answer that really petty question, I want to turn your attention to the profound wisdom of the children's catechism. Listen to the first three questions and answers that we teach our little ones. Question 1. Who made you? Answer. God. Question two, what else did God make? Answer, all things. Question three, here's the heady one. Why did God make you in all things? Answer, for his own glory. And if you're teaching this to little ones, you could certainly take them to Romans 11, 36 and explain, these are the things the apostle Paul wanted us to know. For of him, God, through him, God, and to him, God, are all things. To him be glory forever, amen. Now to be sure, when we ask why did God create, there are other secondary ways to answer that question that are important. God is gracious. God is loving. It's His nature to share. Those are all, if I can say it this way, secondary reasons for which God created the universe, but the main reason the universe exists, the main reason God made people in His image, and the main reason God redeems sinners is for His own glory. If we don't get this, by the way, we won't be able to make sense of our world and what God's doing in it. So let me begin by defining God's glory, which is a little like defining what it feels like to be wet. We can sort of describe what it's like, but it's hard to define, right? I shared this a few weeks back. The Old Testament Hebrew word for glory is kabah. That means heavy, significance, substance. The New Testament word is doxa. That's how we translate glory. That's where we get the word doxology. It's primarily associated with praise. One of the best descriptions of God's glory is the one I've shared a couple times. It comes from the late Dr. Robert Raymond, where he writes, God's glory is simply the inescapable weight of the sheer intrinsic godness of God, inherent in the attributes essential to Him as the deity. I do love that for a host of reasons. The great Dutch theologian Herman Boving describes God's glory in this way. The glory of the Lord is the splendor and brilliance that is inseparably associated with all of God's attributes and his self-revelation in nature and grace. The glorious form in which he everywhere appears to his creatures. And what these great, and both of these men are great Christian thinkers, what they're trying to communicate is that God's glory is an attribute to be sure, but it's more than a single attribute. It's really the glorious manifestation, the brilliant shining forth of all of God's attributes. Which is why what Dr. Raymond is getting at when he says it's the sheer intrinsic godness of God. It's the full manifestation of all of God's attributes spreading out, filling the world until ultimately it'll fill the new heavens and the new earth. I always think of what Isaiah saw. In isaiah 6 and our focus is rightly on the holiness of god, right? He he sees the lord of glory Filling the chamber and and the angels crying out. Holy. Holy. Holy, but then what does isaiah say? The whole world is filled with your Now stop we know the verse But if I just saw angels crying out, holy, holy, holy, and I just said, the whole earth is filled with, what would I say? Holiness. But Isaiah says glory. Because that subsumes much more than just holiness. It's the fullness of God's attributes. And what I want us to get, and this is really important. is that the manifestation of God's glory, as difficult as it may be to define, is the purpose for which he created the world and created man, and it's the reason God redeems. And this is the primary answer to the most profound questions a human being might ask. Why do things exist? Can you understand if you could go back 800 years before Plato, just at the birth, at the cradle of Western civilization as philosophers were trying to make sense of the world, this is the fundamental question they wanted an answer to. Why do things exist? What's the meaning of the universe? What's the meaning of life? What's my purpose in this world? And here's the answer. God's glory. And listen, dear ones, the reason human beings answer those questions, God's glory, is because that, the reason we're called to answer those questions, God's glory, is because that's how God would answer those questions. Everything our God has made, the ultimate divine purpose behind everything that happens, it's all grounded right here in this incredible truth that God creates, He governs the universe according to His good pleasure to put on display and magnify His glory. If you'll allow me to put it this way, the reason our catechism begins by telling us that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever is because the chief end of God is to glorify Himself and enjoy Himself forever. That's where Paul's bringing us in Romans 11, 36 for of Him and through Him and to Him. are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. You probably noticed there in verse 36, there are three prepositional phrases. Of Him, through Him, and to Him. And you really can't over-exaggerate their importance. When Paul says, of Him, He's inviting us to look back before the foundation of the world and to be reminded that all that exists is grounded in the plan of God, that He's the great designer and architect of creation. All the planning that existed before this world existed is of Him. When He says, through Him, He's telling us the designer and the architect is also the builder who has the power to create and make his every thought come into a reality. And this mighty and sovereign work is through him. And the apostle wraps up by saying all things are to him. That is God is disposing everything for his end and that is his glory. I can again borrow from Dr. Lawson. Listen to what he writes about those three prepositional phrases. Here's the most comprehensive sentence ever penned. This is a complete Christian worldview. This is a virtual systematic theology in itself. Here's the storyline of the whole Bible in a few words. This is the history of the world in a nutshell. Nothing lies outside the parameters of this triad of phrases. All things. All things includes everything in three major areas, creation, history, and salvation. Let that sink in because it explains the why to creation and history and salvation, the glory of God. All things are to display the supremacy and majesty of His glory. I want to briefly look at this in regards to creation, man, the fallen to sin, and salvation. Creation and the fall into sin and salvation. Again, why did God create the universe? Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 19. Psalm 19. I know most of you are familiar with this passage, but it's still helpful to see it on the pages of Scripture. Psalm 19. I'm going to read verses 1-4. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utter speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where the voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. Dear friends, when you read of God's great creative works in Genesis 1 and 2, or you go out in the evening and you look up at the stars in heaven, or you contemplate the multitude of galaxies that exist, you need to know the cosmos is meant to be a grand theater to put on a grand show that has a single grand plotline, the glory of God. That's the purpose of the cosmos. And we even sang about that just a few moments ago, didn't we? Let them praise His gift, Jehovah, for His name alone is high and His glory is exalted. And His glory is exalted. And His glory is exalted far above the earth and sky. What about man? That's creation, but what about man? Why did God create man? and bestow upon him the marvelous privilege of bearing his image. Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43, I'm just gonna read verse seven. Isaiah 43, seven, excuse me. Isaiah 43, seven. Everyone who is called by my name whom I have created for my glory, I have formed him. Yes, I have made him. That's why man was created. Psalm 8 tells us God crowned man with glory and honor to reflect God's glory in all that we do. That's why God made us. Again, we would be safe if we stuck with the children's catechism, God made you in all things for His glory. That's the why of the universe. That's the why of you as an image bearer. Of course, the problem is man's fall into sin, isn't it? And it's interesting that in Romans, Paul's used the language of glory And some profound ways to explain to us what sin does and is doing in us. And what sin does to the world around us and those who are fallen. Remember from Romans 1? Paul taught us that fallen man looks around at creation. He sees creation proclaiming God's glory everywhere he looks. But thinking they were wise, they became fools and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that resemble mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. They exchanged the truth about God's glory for a lie. And they worshiped and served the creator rather than the creator who's forever blessed. And the apostles even told us that that's what sin is at its core. It's falling short of God's glory. It's missing the mark of what God created us to be and created us to do. That's creation, man, the fall, And if we were to ask the question, what's ultimately behind God saving us, it won't come as a surprise at this point if I say, God's glory. Because everywhere we look in Scripture, we're reminded of him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. That's why God saves. And that's the culmination of Paul's theological argument about salvation. But let's look at another passage. Turning your Bibles to Ephesians 1, Ephesians 1. This is such a wonderful text. We almost always think of this text in regards to the doctrine of election, but it teaches so many different things. Ephesians 1, and I wanna just pick up at verse 5 and read verses 5 and 6. Ephesians 1, beginning in verse 5. having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the beloved. So before the foundation of the world, God loved us, God chose us to be holy and blameless, and this choosing was all of grace, but what was behind this? What was the ultimate purpose of this grace? For the praise of His grace. Skip down to verse 11. In Him also we've obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who are first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. When God called us and enabled us to believe the Gospel, what was the end? The praise of His glory. You might be thinking, well, as a Spirit-filled believer, how does this address my life now and the promise for the future? We'll glance down to verses 13 and 14. In Him you also trusted after you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory. So the spirits are down payment, bearing witness to the inner man that we're God's children, we are heirs of the promise, we're His purchased possession, who will be with Him forever and ever. And why has God given us this spirit? To the praise of His glory. So if you're tracking with me, why did God create? Why did God create man? Why does God redeem fallen man? This can and must be on our lips solely, Deo gloria. For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Now I'm emphasizing this for a couple reasons. First, Because Christians need to be reminded God's chief agenda in creation and redemption is His glory. God's chief agenda in creation and redemption is His glory. I've said it this way in the past. God is the most God-centered person in the universe. God is preeminently concerned with his own glory. And that's why we're to be preeminently concerned with God's glory. And here's the thing, I suspect if you went about and asked professing Christians, the vast majority of our evangelical friends would say surely. We should live a God-centered life. We should live for God's glory, to God's glory. I hear sporting people say that all the time while they're playing a game on the Lord's Day, but be that as it may, it seems that this is often tempered in a kind of negotiation. where man is sort of saying, even Christians, yes, I believe, I believe that everything is about your glory here, but can we just acknowledge, God, that you're all about us? In other words, we wanna say, oh yeah, it's all about God, so long as in the back of our mind we think God's all about us. No. The Bible tells us God is first and foremost concerned with his glory, his glory. That's why we're concerned with His glory. That's what it means to imitate God. To have the same priorities of God. In John Piper's booklet, The Nations Be Glad, which in my estimation is Piper's best work, he makes this helpful observation. The ultimate foundation for our passion to see God glorified is his own passion to be glorified. God is central and supreme in His own affections. There are no rivals for the supremacy of God's glory in God's heart. God's not an idolater. He does not disobey the first and great commandment. With all this heart and soul and strength in mind, He delights in the glory of His manifold perfections. The most passionate heart for God in all the universe is God's heart. I hope that's sinking in because that's very powerful. It changes the way we see everything from worship to suffering. That everything that happens in this universe has behind it God's desire for His glory. Beginning next week, we're going to start the application part of this epistle and we might even say the part of Romans that tells us what it looks like to be a Presbyterian. I'm saying that lightheartedly. By that I mean the rest of Romans is gonna unpack for us what it looks like to live out our chief hand, to glorify God and enjoy him forever. And we have to know foundational to all that is knowing God's chief end is God's glory. And that's our primary motivation. How does this encourage us? How does this bless us? Where does this leave us? Especially in regards to things like grace and love. Well, in part, It leaves us delighted because God's attached the manifestation of his glory to the demonstration of his grace and love. So God could no more stop showing grace to you, no more stop loving you, than he could stop seeking his own glory. And here's another way it encourages us. On this side of eternity, and this is truly awesome, on this side of eternity, we're called to live in a way that reflects God's glory, to prepare us for the other side of eternity, where God's gonna share His glory with us. Not His divine nature, but the manifestation of His glory He's gonna share with us. I want to wrap up by looking at Revelation 21. Turn it to Revelation 21. Revelation 21. We're going to read verses 9-11 and skip down to verse 22. But beginning in Revelation 21 and verse 9. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked to me saying, come and I'll show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain. And he showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Now skip down to verse 22. But I saw no temple in it. Speaking of the city. For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it for the glory of God. illuminated it. The lamb is its light. Wow. We reflect God's glory on this side of eternity. On the other side, he's going to shower us with his glory. Although we can't conceive this, Try to let your mind imagine what it'll be like in a new heaven and a new earth where there's no evil, there's no sin, there's no pain, there's no suffering, there's no death. What there will be is the pulsing power. of God's love, the pulsing sovereign joy of God shining and flooding over us. There will be the glory of God's satisfaction pervading every part of our existence. And when we've been in heaven a thousand years, you know what we'll know for sure? It's only just begun. We reflect His glory now in the sure hope that one day we will fully begin to experience that glory. Soli Deo Gloria will be the sweet song on our lips for all eternity. May it be on our lips every day. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you. We bless your great name. We thank you for these truths that overwhelm us. Take our breath away. With every fiber of being every part of us, we just want to cry out to God alone. Be glory. Grant us this, that that might be the sweet song on our lips. To God alone be glory, today, tomorrow, and throughout all eternity. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, brothers and sisters, as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, this is I could very well say this is a table for those who embrace the five solas. Because really, what these represent is the heart of the gospel, just the foundational truths that God sent his son into the world to redeem sinners, to redeem you and I. And he did it in a most marvelous way. the second person of the Godhead came down from heaven and took on flesh and lived that perfect holy life that we couldn't live and died a death in our place and then rose gloriously for our justification. If you're trusting wholly in the finished work of Jesus and nothing else for your salvation, you're a member in good standing of a Bible-believing church. And this is a meal, a covenant meal for you to feast on our great Lord and to be renewed in His promises. If that's not a description that fits you, then when the elements are passed out, just simply let them go by. As you know, we use the Apostles' Creed more often than not to confess our basic beliefs with the historic church, and you can find that on page 851 in the back of the hymnal. So, Christian, what do you believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. And I want you to give your attention to the reading of God's Word. I'm going to read Philippians 2, verses 5-11, and I have a meditation from Rev. Patrick, a wonderful Anglican bishop from the late 17th century. But Paul writes his words to the Philippian church. Philippians 2, verses 5-11. Therefore, if there's any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, Fulfill my joy by being light-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Listen to this wonderful meditation from Reverend Patrick. O most holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, heaven and earth are full of the glory of your majesty. Glory be unto you, O God most high, thou great creator and possessor of heaven and earth, the preserver of all things, the spring of eternal mercy, who has so loved us that you've opened your bosom and sent your dear Son to convey your love to us. O Lord, in praise and thanksgiving to You, O Father of mercies, who has now made me taste how gracious and good You are. and glory be to the Son of God, who took on Him the form of a servant, who died for us upon the cross, who purged away our sins by His blood, who's left us so many remembrances of His love, and given us His body and blood to preserve our souls and bodies to eternal life, who lives forever to make intercession for us, and has promised to come again and take us up unto Himself. and glory to the blessed Holy Spirit, the mighty power of God, the author of all good thoughts, the inspirer of all heavenly desires, the light and comfort of our minds, the purifier of our hearts, the guide and strength of our life, who's given us the down payment, our eternal inheritance. I have now tasted the abundance of your grace and dearest love. May it remain forever fresh in my heart that I may live forever in Your love, that I may delight to do Your will, O God, and that I may never forget to feed on Him daily by faith and love, till He more fully lives in me, and I in Him, and all the powers of my soul and body be governed by His Word. especially endue me great humility and modesty of spirit that I may live in constant remembrance of You, my Creator, who is the author of every good gift. And may I never be puffed up, nor do anything through strife and vainglory, but in lowliness of mind esteem others better than myself. Oh, that the same mind may be in me, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and humbling himself, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Let's pray. Our great God in heaven, we thank you for this sacrament. We thank you that Our participation in this covenant celebration is a mystery. A mystery in the way Christ actually communicates Himself to us. We trust when we take these elements with the empty hand of faith, that the Body and Blood of Christ spiritually nourishes our souls, and so work powerfully as we participate in this sacrament. Help us to feast upon our great Savior and strengthen our faith and strengthen our hearts that we might increasingly glorify you. We ask this through Jesus, our Lord. Amen.