For His Name Sake

One of the breakouts at the Restore Conference was on "how far is too far?" in dating. I loved the way the presenter, Justin Perry, brought in the main theme of the conference: for the glory of God!
He explained that rather than ask about boundaries and restrictions in dating (or any other aspect of life) we should be asking what brings God the most glory (and how to flee from what doesn't!)
His notes include a great overview of Biblical references to the glory of God (what God Himself says about His glory!)
I thought they were definitely worth passing on as I've mentioned God teaching me more about His glory recently. Here's the main section on the "Theology of God's Glory"


Theology of God’s glory (help from Piper’s Desiring God)
-In order to best know why this question (how far...) compromises God’s glory, it would be wise for us to set the backdrop of the glory of God in all things.
-As John Piper notes, throughout Scripture the glory of God generally refers to the visible splendor or moral beauty of God’s perfections. It is an attempt to put into words what cannot be contained in words-his unveiled magnificence and excellence. A synonym for God’s glory is for His name sake.
-Let’s journey through the Scriptures together:
-Genesis 1.26-27—God’s aim in creating man is that he (man) would mirror forth God. Man is created to reflect the glory of his Maker whose image he bears. Thus, God’s purpose was to fill the whole earth with His glory. (Numbers 14.21- All the earth shall be full of the glory of the Lord and Isaiah 43.7- referring to His people as those whom I created for my glory)
-Genesis 12.1-2—God’s dealing with Abram shows us that God promises to make Abram’s name great…is this in contradiction to God receiving glory? Not at all, as Romans tells us: No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith, giving glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (4.20-21). God blesses and by his obedience, Abram brings God glory.
-Exodus 14.4, 18—The deliverance of Israel was not because they were a great people, rather because of the great name of God! Other recordings are found in Ezekiel 20.9-But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Psalm 106.7-8-Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember Your abundant kindness, But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, That He might make His power known. God’s purpose is to act in such a way as to cause people to own up to His glory and confess that He is the only Lord of the universe…aka for His glory.
-Exodus 20.3-5—God has given His commandments to Moses, and out of the gate it is clear why He has given it to them. We have these so that we give God the glory and honor that is due Him.
-Ezekiel 20.21-22—God does not strike dead His people in the wilderness, although they deserved it. Rather, he is long-suffering for His own name’s sake.
-1 Samuel 12.19-23—After a period of judges, God raises up a king and again we see the mercy of God. He preserves His people for the honor of His name.
-For the sake of time, a few other places are 1 Kings 8.41-45 (Solomon dedicating the temple), deliverance in the time of the kings (2 Kings 19.34), exile and promised restoration (Isaiah 48.9-11), and post-exile prophets (Zech. 2.5, Hag. 1.8, Mal. 2.2)
-John 17.4, 7.18—both attest to the focus Jesus had in glorifying His Father in heaven.
-John 12.27-28—Jesus rejected any notion of saving Himself from death because His mission was to bring glory to the Father. The purpose of Jesus’ death was to glorify the Father...it accomplished much for us, but the purpose was bringing glory to the Father.
-1 Cor. 10.31/ 1 Peter 4.11/Matthew 5.16—The purpose of our lives is to glorify God.
-Revelation 21.23—John records this to show us that the consummation of God’s goal in all of history is to display His glory for all to see and praise. (John 17.24)
The conclusion of history is that God does all things at all times for His glory.