The Glory of God in Saving Sinners

God is a jealous God, friends, and my Bible declares in Isaiah 42.8, I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another. The overwhelming theme of the Bible is the glory of God. Every book of the Bible proclaims the glory of God, but I fear that most ministries today do not have the glory of God as their central aim, because we've lost sight of God, and in by doing so, in our mad rush to multiply conversions and to expand our already bulging church campuses.

I believe, friends, we are living in a day where few are being saved, and many are being deceived by a false gospel message of easy-believism, and multitudes make an empty religious profession, as our churches are filled with the unconverted, as few preachers today are really true to the souls of men. Rather, in many churches throughout this country, souls are made merchandise of, as pastors and entire denominations are more obsessed with numbers and building programs, rather than the true salvation of a soul from damnation and the fires of hell. I've never seen a time in my life where the gospel is more misunderstood and misrepresented than in our day and in our pulpits at this hour.

Unconverted pastors speak of a Christ they know nothing of, and lead many into a false faith. A false faith results in a false profession, and a false profession rests upon a false foundation, and a false foundation will one day crumble beneath you when you die in your sins and are cast into the fires of hell. But the grand theme throughout scripture is that all things are appointed and ordered of God for his own glory, and what that means, friends, is this, that God's glory is the only aim that will please him.

If you'll stay with me in this message, friends, I will relate to you the glory of God in saving sinners, and you will have a deeper appreciation of what God has done through the death of his son and the gospel of the glory of God, and you will have a better understanding of the who, how, and why the gospel. The title of my message today, friends, is The Glory of God in Saving Sinners, and my text can be found in Luke's Gospel. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends.

We will be in chapter 23, beginning in verse 32, and let me read just a striking passage of scripture at this time. Here now is the word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of his holy word. And there was also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death, and when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.

Let me pause here, friends. Here is that awe-inspiring scene of Christ on Calvary's cross with the two condemned criminals on either side of him, and the cruel Roman soldiers beneath the cross, parting his raiment and casting lights for it, while the jeering Jewish religious leaders passed by and mocked the very Son of God, saying, He saved others, let him save himself. Now look at verse 39.

And one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. I will stop there, friends. Here is the picture of the saved sinner.

You're the thief on the cross. You've been found out. You've been caught and convicted.

You were guilty as charged, and you admit it. This speaks of Holy Spirit conviction, resulting in repentance, and you are an awakened sinner seeking Christ. You are utterly helpless to save yourself.

This thief could not walk an aisle to accept Jesus because his feet were spiked. He could not raise his hand to accept Jesus because it's nailed to the tree. He could not be baptized to be saved because his entire body is fastened to that cross.

All he can do is look to Christ to save him. All he can do is lift his head to behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. My Bible declares from Isaiah, Look unto me, and be ye saved.

All the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. The penitent thief recognizes Christ as Lord, for he says, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Jesus said unto him, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Christ saved the thief for his own glory and fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. Listen, friends, the way this thief was saved is the only way every mother's son must be saved, namely, solely, wholly, and only by the Lord Jesus Christ for God the Father's glory. God alone can save sinners in Christ because he leads them to repentance by moving on them through the Holy Spirit, taking away the heart of stone and making it a heart of flesh through the new birth.

If you get saved, friend, it's because God gave you saving faith. In John 6, 44, Jesus declared this truth, No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me. Draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

The glory of God in saving sinners is seldom preached anymore because we've taken salvation out of the hands of God and placed it in the hands of men, and the sad result has been a multitude of false professions resulting in an unconverted church membership that sits on a rotten plankboard of an empty religious profession because they just made a decision, but they missed Christ. Listen, friends, when one loses sight of God's hand, namely, his glory, then churches and preachers will proclaim a man-centered gospel that centers around the happiness of man. That's what we have today mainly in our churches, and a man-centered gospel will maintain a low view of God and a low view of sin.

That's why so many church members who claim to be saved have never been changed by the Christ they claim. They sin all they want to and live for this world in a false assurance because of a false faith, and preachers who fail to make God's glory their paramount aim will be off in all they do for God as they preach with a view of getting quick decisions to swell their church membership, believing it's the size of a ministry that best reflects the success of a ministry. Meanwhile, men are in constant danger of dying in their sins beneath the cloak of an empty religious profession.

Now when you come to finally understand that, you will understand what salvation is in the who, the how, and the why of the gospel of the glory of God. For in our story, friends, the saved thief died to sin, the unsaved thief died in sin, and Christ died for sin, so we see the glory of God in saving sinners. Listen, friends, if we were only to grab hold of this truth, it would transform our prayer life to such degree that we'd be crying constantly for God's glory in the salvation of sinners, and a mighty change would take place not only in those who pray, but also in those to whom we pray.

Make God's glory your chief aim in life, and quite suddenly your love to God will burn with a flesh flame of order, order each day of your life to live solely and chiefly for the glory of God, and your walk with God will deepen into a more intimate love relationship with him. Oh, I can promise you that. Make the chief aim of all your evangelistic labor the glory of God in saving sinners, and your ministry will take on new dimensions and new possibilities, and make your prayer life center around the glory of God, and you'll stand amazed at how God will reveal himself to you in answer to prayer, and if you do all for the glory of God, you will be a fruitful bow, bringing him pleasure on his throne.

For Jesus said, herein is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit. The next time you pray for a friend, or a loved one's salvation, try praying for that person to be saved for the glory of God, and see if that does not ignite your prayers with a new power and a passion. Let us pray.