To Glorify The Lord
"Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me." John 21:18-19
These passages in John
have been interpreted for centuries to be speaking of Peter’s death on a Roman
cross.
According to legend Peter
was crucified upside down.
This interpretation of
physical martyrdom has crossed over from the Catholic faith into the Protestant
faith and continues to be taught as being the way to glorify God.
As a result people have
been seeking death by martyrdom or a facsimile thereof for the past 17 hundred
years.
But what does this say
about the character of the God who said in Ezekiel
33:11, "…
'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but that the wicked turn from his way and live.
Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'”
God declares that He has
no pleasure in the death of even the wicked.
So how do we reconcile the
physical abuse of the body as practiced by so many in the church over the
centuries with what God has revealed about His nature?
This is a God who tells us
in 3John 1:2 that He desires that you,
prosper in all
things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
Listen, there are many,
many, Muslims who believe the exact same thing and willingly become human bombs
to prove themselves to Allah.
We consider this practice
to be perverse and evil but to them it is glorifying their god.
And in the Christian faith
some continue to believe that God takes pleasure in their pain and have
themselves nailed to crosses or beat themselves with sticks etc.
This is not to compare the
actions of some Christians with the atrocities practiced by Muslim fanatics who
visit suffering on others rather than themselves.
But death and pain is not
what God desires of His people.
Rather it is obedience
that He desires.
It is true that God is
glorified when a believer chooses to obey God even though it cost him his
life.
But surely it is the faith
of the believer rather than his physical death that pleases God.
He declares in Hosea 6:6, For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the
knowledge of God more than burnt
offerings.
And in Mark
So what is this death that
would truly fulfill Jesus’ command to Peter when He said in John 21:19, “Follow Me”?
I believe that He was
telling Peter to put on the Mind of Christ – to do the will of the Father.
The mind of Christ was
fully revealed not on the Cross but in the Garden of Gethsemane.
When Jesus said, Luke 22:42, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup
away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."
Before Jesus died on the
Cross the Father’s purpose had been accomplished in the Son.
But for the world to see
it Jesus had to go to the cross.
Jesus had to die on the
Cross but we don’t have to.
It was His job, not ours.
Jesus took our place on
the Cross.
We don’t have to emulate
His physical death.
Rather we are to emulate
His decision in Gethsemane – “Not my will, but God’s.”
Look at Matthew 26:36-42
Then Jesus came with them to a place
called Gethsemane,
and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over
there." And He took with Him Peter
and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply
distressed.
Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me."
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."
Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?
"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."
And He said in
Mark
Here Jesus has set an
example for us. It’s not just about
salvation, it’s about glorifying God by dying to self and living to Christ.
Turn to John 12:26-30, "If
anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be
also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. "Now My soul is
troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this
purpose I came to this hour.
"Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
Jesus died demonstrating
to the whole of Creation that He was subordinate to the Father – to the glory
of God the Father.
In John 4:34, “Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
This is the Mind Of Christ – to do the will of the Father.
We are taught that the
whole purpose of Jesus’ death was to our salvation.
But I tell you that our
salvation, as wonderful as it is, stands in second place to the Glorification
of God the Father.
That God be glorified ….
Romans 15:7 “Therefore receive one
another, just as Christ also received us, (Why?)
to the glory of God.”
1 Cor
2 Cor
Phil
And Psalm 116:15 declares, “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His
saints.”
I believe that this
Scripture is referring to the submission of the believer’s will to that of God.
Could it be any plainer? “… for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for
His good pleasure.” Phil 2:13
Even in the event that
there is physical death, I maintain that it is not the death but the submission
to God that He delights in.
To die with Christ means
to learn what pleases God and do it.
Jesus died physically in
our place so that we wouldn’t have to – therefore martyrdom is not a
requirement for salvation any more than baptism or circumcision is.
In
Romans
Understand that the Cross
brought reconciliation to the whole world but salvation is only by the life of
Christ in the believer.
As is plainly says in Col
1:27 it is, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.”
We are not called to give
up our physical lives to glorify God – but what if we were?
Would we deny our Lord to
escape persecution or death?
Paul and the other
Apostles embraced death rather than to deny Him.
Because of what Jesus did for
us, our eternal life is secure.
Adam, in Eden, left us a legacy of despair.
But Jesus, in Gethsemane, has overcome Adam’s curse and restored fellowship
with the Father.
He did this by putting
God’s will above His human will.
Jesus restored fellowship
with the Father on the behalf of fallen man.
Phi 2:8 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.
Finally, Romans chapter 12
starts out by telling us about our reasonable service as members of the Body of
Christ.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The whole rest of the
chapter speaks about the character of Christ that is available to all who will
follow Jesus to the glory of God the Father.
Who will respond to the
call of Christ and Follow Him in glorifying the Father?
Who will put aside self in
favor of the will of God?
Who will obey God no
matter what the cost?
Who will put on the Mind of
Christ, which is to submit to God and receive the inheritance of the saints which
is adoption into the family of God?
Peace and security await
all who respond to the call in Christ to die to self and Jesus did.
To the glory of God the Father.
Amen
Read the written sermons preached by Pastor David here.
