This sermon delves into the fundamental question of whether God is viewed as an end or a means in our lives. It contrasts humanism, which focuses on man's happiness as the ultimate goal, with Christianity, which asserts that the glory of God is the true purpose of existence. The speaker emphasizes the importance of repentance and obedience stemming from a heart that recognizes God's worthiness, rather than seeking personal gain like avoiding hell or securing blessings. True transformation and glory for God come when individuals fully surrender to the cross, not for personal joy or success, but solely for the honor and glory of God.

And the question that you're going to ask yourself is, is God an end or is he a means? And you have to decide very early in your Christian life whether you're viewing God as an end or a means. The philosophy of the day became humanism, and you can define humanism this way. Humanism is a philosophical statement that declares the end of all being is the happiness of man. The reason for existence is man's happiness. Now, according to humanism, salvation is simply a matter of getting all the happiness you can out of life. This group of my people, the fundamentalists, that say, we believe in the inspiration of the Bible, we believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, we believe in hell, we believe in heaven, we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Remember, the atmosphere is that of humanism. Humanism says the chief end of being is the happiness of man. And so it wasn't long until we had this, that the fundamentalists knew each other because they said, we believe these things. But you see, it wasn't long until, having said these are the things that establish us as fundamentalists, the second generation said, this is how we become a fundamentalist. Believe in the inspiration of the Bible, believe in the deity of Christ, believe in his death, burial, and resurrection, and thereby become a fundamentalist. And so it wasn't long until it got to our generation, where the whole plan of salvation was to give intellectual assent to a few statements of doctrine. And a person was considered a Christian because he could say uh-huh at four or five places that he was asked to. And if he knew where to say uh-huh, someone would pat him on the back, shake his hand, smile broadly, and say, brother, you're saved. And so it had gotten down to the place where salvation was nothing more than an assent to a scheme or a formula. And the end of this salvation was the happiness of man, because humanism has penetrated. The liberal says the end of religion is to make man happy while he's alive. And the fundamentalist says the end of religion is to make man happy when he dies. Until we find it something like this. Accept Jesus so you can go to heaven. You don't want to go to that old, filthy, nasty, burning hell when there's a beautiful heaven up there. Now come to Jesus so that you can go to heaven. And the appeal could be as much to selfishness as a couple of men sitting in a coffee shop deciding they're going to rob a bank to get something for nothing. It becomes so subtle that it goes everywhere. What is it? In essence it's this. That this philosophical postulate that the end of all being is the happiness of man has been sort of covered over with evangelical terms and biblical doctrine until God reigns in heaven for the happiness of man, and when Jesus Christ was incarnate for the happiness of man, all the angels exist and everything is for the happiness of man. And I submit to you that this is unchristian. Christianity says the end of all being is the glory of God. Humanism says the end of all being is the happiness of man. And this is the betrayal of the ancient. And it's the betrayal in which we live, and I don't see how God can revive it until we come back to Christianity. Dear friends, there's only one reason, one reason for a sinner to repent, and that's because Jesus Christ deserves the worship and the adoration and the love and the obedience of his heart, not because he'll go to heaven. If the only reason you repented, dear friend, was to keep out of hell, all you are is just a Levite serving for 10 shekels and a shirt. That's all. You're trying to serve God because he'll do you good. But a repentant heart is a heart that has seen something of the enormity of the crime of playing God and denying the just and righteous God the worship and obedience that he deserves. Why should a sinner repent? Because God deserves the obedience and love that he has refused to give him. Not so that he'll go to heaven. The only reason he repents is so that he'll go to heaven and it's nothing to try to make a deal or a bargain with God. Why should a sinner give up all his sins? Why should he be challenged to do it? Why should he make restitution when he's coming to Christ? Because God deserves the obedience that he demands. I have talked with people that have no assurance of sins forgiven. They want to feel saved before they're willing to commit themselves to Christ. But I believe that the only ones whom God actually witnesses by his Spirit that are born of him are the people, whether they say it or not, that come to Jesus Christ and say something like this, Lord Jesus, I'm going to obey you and love you and serve you and do what you want me to do as long as I live, even if I go to hell at the end of the road, simply because you are worthy to be your loved and obeyed and served and I'm not trying to make a deal with you. Do you see the difference? Do you see the difference between being a Levite serving for ten shekels in a church or a Micah building a chapel because God will do you good and someone that repents for the glory of God? Why should a person come to the cross? Why should a person embrace death with Christ? Why should a person be willing to go in identification down to the cross and into the tomb and up again? I'll tell you why. Because it's the only way that God can get glory out of a human being. If you say it's because you'll get joy or peace or blessing or success or fame, then it's nothing but a Levite serving for ten shekels in a church. There's only one reason for you to go to the cross, dear young person, and that's because until you've come to the place of union with Christ in death, you are defrauding the Son of God of the glory that he could get out of your life. For no flesh shall glory in sight. And until you've understood the sanctifying work of God by the Holy Ghost taking you into union with Christ in death and burial and resurrection, you have to serve in what you have and all you have is that which is under the sentence of death. Human personality and human nature and human strength and human energy. And God will get no glory out of that. And so the reason for you to go to the cross isn't that you're going to get victory. You will get victory. It isn't that you're going to have joy. You will have joy. But the reason for you to embrace the cross and press through until you know that you can testify with Paul, I am crucified with Christ, isn't what you're going to get out of it, but what you'll get out of it. For the glory of God.