Sermon Cloud

1 Corinthians 10:31

Have you made a resolution for the new year? How about more than one resolution? Consider the 18th century preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards, who shortly after his conversion, established 70 resolutions for himself. Edwards put forth so many resolutions because his desire was to glorify God in every aspect of his life. Seldom do contemporary Christians exercise such self-examination.

The glory of God was clearly Jonathan Edward's all-encompassing passion and this matched up precisely with the overriding theme of all scripture in the Bible - the glorification of God and God glorifying Himself through His creation. The universe is the theater that God uses to put on His glory (Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 6:3, Romans 1:20), and, He deserves to receive glory, honor, and praise (Romans 11:36) because He is the author and creator of all that is (Isaiah 43:7); everyone was created for the glory of God, which is why all was created in the universe.

Indeed, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But sadly, we seek to glorify ourselves all too often instead. It is the essence of sin that causes us to fall short of God's glory and His glorious standards, and thereby deny Him glory. But Isaiah 48:11 tells us that God doesn't share His glory with anyone! Everything that God does is to bring glory and honor to himself.

Jonathan Edwards recognized this and this is what prompted him to self examination and to establish 70 resolutions for his life. These resolutions clearly reflected his passion and desire to glorify God in every aspect of his life. Edwards used them in a deliberate and systematic manner- to gauge his progress in accomplishing his goals. Edward's overall goal was to be the best Christian on the planet every day of his life. He felt that this was achievable if he dedicated every aspect of his life - every day, to the glorification of God.

As we move into 2009, we need to ask ourselves what will glorify God the most as we pursue our daily endeavors. The more we consider this, the more we realize that the glorification of God should permeate every aspect of our lives, no matter how trivial. God is honored or dishonored by everything we say and do. As the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Finally, we should always remember that we cannot hold to our resolutions without God's grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. It is by God's will, by His grace, and for Christ's sake that we even desire to do so.