Is God Only Glorified by People Who Love Him?
00:00:00.000 | A really crucial question comes into us from podcast listener Amy who writes this
00:00:09.040 | Dear Pastor John, please don't read this as accusatory. I'm just wanting to understand
00:00:15.120 | Throughout the Bible the theme seems to be that God can use bad people for his good
00:00:20.200 | So my question is how can God be most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him when he uses people like Judas?
00:00:27.880 | Iscariot
00:00:29.120 | He even uses Satan for his own purposes
00:00:31.560 | If God is most glorified in us only when we do good that seems to simplify his majesty. How would you explain this?
00:00:39.200 | Well, first of all, no offense taken at all. It's a great
00:00:44.440 | question
00:00:47.240 | I've had to clarify this in fact several times because my motto
00:00:52.240 | Does seem to some people anyway to rule out?
00:00:57.360 | God being glorified in his works of justice and his works of
00:01:03.800 | Wrath, I mean I say God is most glorified in us when we are most
00:01:09.360 | Satisfied in him and that seems to indicate to some people. Whoa, so God can't get glory when he does hard and
00:01:16.640 | Just and wrathful things towards unbelievers
00:01:20.200 | for example Exodus 14
00:01:23.880 | 4 I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue Israel and I will get glory
00:01:30.920 | over Pharaoh and
00:01:33.200 | all his host
00:01:34.800 | In the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord and people hear that and they say whoa Piper's motto
00:01:41.400 | Doesn't seem to make any room for that or Exodus 14 17. I
00:01:48.000 | Will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in into the Red Sea after Israel and I will get glory
00:01:55.560 | Over Pharaoh and all his host his chariots his horsemen
00:02:00.720 | So when I say that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him
00:02:07.200 | I don't mean that God can't be glorified in people who are not
00:02:12.880 | Satisfied in him like Pharaoh and his soldiers and I don't mean that God
00:02:17.640 | settles for a
00:02:20.120 | display of less
00:02:22.120 | glory in the universe when he glorifies his justice in the judgment of
00:02:27.720 | unbelievers
00:02:29.760 | Then he would have if he'd if he'd gotten everybody saved in and they were all fully satisfied in him
00:02:35.560 | It my motto doesn't go there doesn't mean that God God knows exactly
00:02:41.520 | How to put all his attributes on the greatest display with mercy and grace and wisdom and power
00:02:49.480 | patience and righteousness and wrath all taking their perfect place on the canvas of
00:02:57.760 | History that God is is painting. Yes. So when the question comes out of that conviction, I say yes
00:03:05.040 | Amen what I mean by the words
00:03:08.760 | God is most glorified in us when we're most satisfied in him. Is that this is true about us?
00:03:15.920 | Us
00:03:17.880 | Believers, I'm trying to answer the question. How do I John Piper as a believer?
00:03:25.560 | glorify God
00:03:28.440 | Most do I glorify him most?
00:03:31.840 | by being
00:03:34.080 | Partially satisfied in him do I show he is?
00:03:37.960 | gloriously all-satisfying
00:03:40.880 | Best by not being fully satisfied in him. Do I glorify him by?
00:03:47.640 | pursuing
00:03:49.960 | merely external obedience to Christian rules as if my heart and its joy in him doesn't really matter do I
00:03:58.200 | glorify him by
00:04:00.040 | ignoring the command
00:04:01.720 | serve the Lord with
00:04:03.520 | Gladness as if serving him were all that matters and with gladness can just be struck out of that command
00:04:10.240 | Do I glorify him most by not pursuing Psalm 16 11 with all my heart in your presence is?
00:04:17.160 | fullness of joy at your right hand our pleasures forevermore
00:04:20.520 | My answer is no I John Piper the believer who wants to live for the glory of God
00:04:27.200 | most I
00:04:29.280 | glorify God
00:04:30.560 | Most when I am most satisfied in him
00:04:34.600 | If I treat him as
00:04:38.440 | minimally satisfying I
00:04:40.560 | John Piper the sinner in that act am not glorifying him as I ought
00:04:47.560 | now if God takes my sins and
00:04:51.120 | My failures to treasure him and someday makes all of those failures
00:04:57.640 | serve his
00:04:59.880 | Glory that that will not have been my doing I'm talking about my doing
00:05:06.520 | He will not have been glorified in me in my conscious intention to glorify him
00:05:14.160 | He will not have been glorified in me in me. He will have been dishonored by
00:05:19.160 | Sin, and I don't want that to be true for me. So I'm asking the question. How can I?
00:05:25.880 | Most glorify him and so I say with great longing in my heart
00:05:31.560 | Not to do that
00:05:34.320 | God is
00:05:36.400 | glorified in me
00:05:38.400 | most
00:05:39.680 | When I am most satisfied in him
00:05:42.640 | Amen, thank you pastor John for shining light on the importance of the affections and magnifying God and keeping the stress here over and over
00:05:51.640 | again over the years and
00:05:53.960 | Thank you, Amy for the great question. We close out this
00:05:57.040 | 144th week of episodes Wow with a question about whether Arminian preachers preach a sufficient gospel
00:06:04.720 | That's tomorrow. You can find our collection of over 700 podcast episodes to date at desiring
00:06:12.000 | God org forward slash ask pastor John. I'm your host Tony Ranke. I'll see you tomorrow
00:06:17.080 | You
00:06:19.800 | You
00:06:21.800 | You
00:06:23.800 | [BLANK_AUDIO]